Now it is time to discuss our air travel portion of our trip.
We flew a direct flight from Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) to London-Heathrow (LHR) on British Airways. The flight in itself was pretty decent, the air crew was awesome! The gate crew was wonderful, there was a woman at the gate who moved us to the bulkhead seats, they had a tray that pulled down and you could put a type of baby carrier that the airline provided for the child to sit/sleep in. That was wonderful. My daughter didn’t like it too much, but it saved me so much stress. So all in all the flight over was pretty good.
We took a train to Edinburgh. That will be talked about in another post.
We had to fly back from Edinburgh to LHR. Oh my dear sweet heavens! I can’t really say what I want to say. But it was the most disorganized, stressful, please let me punch someone time I have EVER experienced. I am more a vocal person when it comes to violence. Meaning, I talk a lot and don’t follow through.
So, we get to Edinburgh Airport on time the crew at the check-in look and act like they just woke up and eventually get us all through. We wait in line for the security check, really nice guy let us go through the handicapped area, yay for toddler in a stroller. We wait and wait and wait. Finally get through with time to spare, when it comes to air travel I really don’t like to wait to the last minute.
The time to spare turned into almost 2 ½ to 3 hrs. Our flight left almost an hour late, because British Airways overbooked the flights back to LHR! So, a very nice looking, tall thin lady comes over the PA system stating that they needed about 3 or 4 more people to change flights. If those people didn’t show up anytime soon then the plane wasn’t going to take off and we were just out of luck. Because we as passengers/PAYING CUSTOMERS were just wanting to get the heck home and because of British Airways incompetence we were the ones getting punished.
Not our fault. Get my happy butt on the way home. We finally board and make our way to LHR. THEN we have to go through customs AND security! I understand Scotland and England are 2 separate countries, but really? So, we finally go through that. I left my husband waiting for his mother because the security people looked absolutely confused on what to do with doing rechecks!
Myself and my children “run” the mile to get to the BA/AA gate and have to do a darn security check again. Really?! In that time my toddler has stripped off her clothes and people are boarding. I had 3 people, before I got to the line to board, tell me that I could check my child’s stroller at the gate right before I get on the actual plane. This is where mommy has a meltdown. A male gate employee comes up and tells me that he needs to take the stroller. I proceed to look at him with pure anger and frustration tell him what has been told to me prior, and he was a butt in the whole process. I yell with tears running down my face, “you all need a meeting and get your crap together!” I finally get my naked child out of her stroller, walk it calmly to the guy with the stroller and said if it is lost, you are personally responsible for my sanity when we land in DFW.
I am officially not a fan of British Airways or American Airlines for that matter and honestly every other flight I have been on with AA has been pretty darn good. Your gate crews really need to work on their people skills. Airport baggage handlers have to put up with EVERYONE from both sides and have a better attitudes. Flight crew was very nice and SUPER helpful on the way home.
Summary:
From DFW to LHR absolutely wonderful!
From Edinburgh to LHR to DFW the biggest pain in the butt, that I wouldn’t want to wish on my worst enemy.
We also didn’t get our baggage until 2 days AFTER we were home!!! That was because of the delay in Edinburgh to LHR.
If I can tell any of my friends not to fly British Airways, unless it was the ONLY option I am and will. Disappointed so much.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Our Sheraton Hotel experience in the United Kingdom
*Due to the nature that I do not have wifi available at my home and my youngest almost always with me, so free chances are few and far between. My apologies for the delay.*
I have so much to talk about.
My family and I went on vacation in July to the UK, London and Scotland to be exact. When I say my family, I mean my husband, our 2 kids (both under the age of 5), my mother-in-law to help with the kids, and myself.
Okay if you are not a seasoned international traveler, some advice from someone who isn’t a seasoned international traveler as well. DON’T TAKE YOUR CHILDREN WITH YOU UNTIL THEY ARE OLD ENOUGH TO WORRY AND MAINTAIN THEIR OWN LUGGAGE! That is right my friends, I needed a vacation from my vacation because of that.
But that isn’t what this post is about. This post is about our hotel stays.
Our first leg was in London, we stayed at the Sheraton Skyline, right across the street from the runways at London-Heathrow Airport. You are probably asking why we didn’t stay in London itself. One word: Wimbledon. The prices were sky high, even for the cheapest hotel in London.
What can I say about Sheraton Skyline? Pretty darn good. Staff was helpful and super nice. I heard all horrible things about what to expect with the customer service in the UK in general. I only encountered it once from a bus driver. But back to the Sheraton Skyline. It was really nice, very comfortable, very clean, and there was a Starbucks in the lobby. I don’t drink Starbucks normally but it was a must on this trip.
Sheraton hotels have a twitter account, now I was not expecting to hear from ANYONE with the hotel one single bit. A big chain like that? I was so very wrong. I post a picture of the lobby, late at night. I get a message. We stayed at the Skyline for 4 days, awesome the whole time.
We then head up to Edinburgh, Scotland for the rest of our vacation. We stayed at the Grand Sheraton Hotel and Spa. Right across from a theater, Kenny Rogers was playing there one night, I didn’t go to it. I had let Sheraton’s social media people know we were going there, still not expecting anything. My husband and I went for a walk after dinner the first night and came back to find a pretty big pile of fruit with a sweet note. It was from Sheraton’s social media team wishing us a great first visit to the UK (Europe). To say that I was in shock was putting it mildly.
I blog about things from my own experience, I never expect anything from anyone unless it’s been planned. Which for the record has never happened. I messaged my cousin as soon as I could to tell her and she said, they are listening. They are, they want to know.
So, the Sheraton Grand in Edinburgh. Very impressed. Mood lighting in the bathroom was pretty cool, sound in the bathrooms from the TV. They did have adjoining rooms so my mother-in-law was next to us. Staff was wonderful as usual. The food service staff that handled our breakfasts and dinners when we were at the hotel. Oh my goodness! Can you say above and beyond? Super nice and very helpful. One young lady named Aileen was at every breakfast and dinner we had, she was so nice, and listened to a silly American from Texas ramble on about the possibility of being a descendant of the family of Robert the Bruce (not him exactly but his family), and a few other royal families from Scotland.
You read all of this and not one complaint. Well, yeah there were a few issues but the good out weighs the bad. I know the awesome people at Sheraton would like to know so here we go. My husband is a diabetic, not a lot of diabetic friendly food dinners at the hotel during our visit but we made due. We had a minor issue with bedding but that was resolved so fast, it made my head spin. Needed a baby crib.
That was basically it. I am sorry if I went a bit long but I could’ve gone a bit longer.
To sum it up:
Rooms were clean
ALL staff went above and beyond to help
I would recommend these hotels to stay at for anyone.
I have so much to talk about.
My family and I went on vacation in July to the UK, London and Scotland to be exact. When I say my family, I mean my husband, our 2 kids (both under the age of 5), my mother-in-law to help with the kids, and myself.
Okay if you are not a seasoned international traveler, some advice from someone who isn’t a seasoned international traveler as well. DON’T TAKE YOUR CHILDREN WITH YOU UNTIL THEY ARE OLD ENOUGH TO WORRY AND MAINTAIN THEIR OWN LUGGAGE! That is right my friends, I needed a vacation from my vacation because of that.
But that isn’t what this post is about. This post is about our hotel stays.
Our first leg was in London, we stayed at the Sheraton Skyline, right across the street from the runways at London-Heathrow Airport. You are probably asking why we didn’t stay in London itself. One word: Wimbledon. The prices were sky high, even for the cheapest hotel in London.
What can I say about Sheraton Skyline? Pretty darn good. Staff was helpful and super nice. I heard all horrible things about what to expect with the customer service in the UK in general. I only encountered it once from a bus driver. But back to the Sheraton Skyline. It was really nice, very comfortable, very clean, and there was a Starbucks in the lobby. I don’t drink Starbucks normally but it was a must on this trip.
Sheraton hotels have a twitter account, now I was not expecting to hear from ANYONE with the hotel one single bit. A big chain like that? I was so very wrong. I post a picture of the lobby, late at night. I get a message. We stayed at the Skyline for 4 days, awesome the whole time.
We then head up to Edinburgh, Scotland for the rest of our vacation. We stayed at the Grand Sheraton Hotel and Spa. Right across from a theater, Kenny Rogers was playing there one night, I didn’t go to it. I had let Sheraton’s social media people know we were going there, still not expecting anything. My husband and I went for a walk after dinner the first night and came back to find a pretty big pile of fruit with a sweet note. It was from Sheraton’s social media team wishing us a great first visit to the UK (Europe). To say that I was in shock was putting it mildly.
I blog about things from my own experience, I never expect anything from anyone unless it’s been planned. Which for the record has never happened. I messaged my cousin as soon as I could to tell her and she said, they are listening. They are, they want to know.
So, the Sheraton Grand in Edinburgh. Very impressed. Mood lighting in the bathroom was pretty cool, sound in the bathrooms from the TV. They did have adjoining rooms so my mother-in-law was next to us. Staff was wonderful as usual. The food service staff that handled our breakfasts and dinners when we were at the hotel. Oh my goodness! Can you say above and beyond? Super nice and very helpful. One young lady named Aileen was at every breakfast and dinner we had, she was so nice, and listened to a silly American from Texas ramble on about the possibility of being a descendant of the family of Robert the Bruce (not him exactly but his family), and a few other royal families from Scotland.
You read all of this and not one complaint. Well, yeah there were a few issues but the good out weighs the bad. I know the awesome people at Sheraton would like to know so here we go. My husband is a diabetic, not a lot of diabetic friendly food dinners at the hotel during our visit but we made due. We had a minor issue with bedding but that was resolved so fast, it made my head spin. Needed a baby crib.
That was basically it. I am sorry if I went a bit long but I could’ve gone a bit longer.
To sum it up:
Rooms were clean
ALL staff went above and beyond to help
I would recommend these hotels to stay at for anyone.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
A little hiccup
I am so sorry for the delay in getting these pictures out but if you've moved a ton of junk from one place to another with 2 kids, 2 dogs and no source of entertainment for the kids while you try to your fastest to unpack. Then you know exactly what I am going through. Oh yeah, cellphone dying and internet being sparse. Weeeeeee
I promise next month we will get this show on the road and probably by the time I am finished with it all we will be going on a trip to Scotland.
Talk to you all soon.
I promise next month we will get this show on the road and probably by the time I am finished with it all we will be going on a trip to Scotland.
Talk to you all soon.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Boy, do I have a lot to share with you
Instead of adding a page to my blog, My life as it is... I think I have decided just to make this blog site for now. I am currently in the town of Poipu, on the island of Kauai, in the beautiful state of Hawaii.
I know right!
This place is absolutely wonderful and I have so much to tell you all about this trip. I have a notebook and let me tell you I am writing a bunch of stuff down. When I get back home I will start looking up websites and making sure I have links to as much things as I can! I am talking about food, sites, flights, and anything else I can think of.
Well, I must be off to explore some more.
ALOHA!!!
I know right!
This place is absolutely wonderful and I have so much to tell you all about this trip. I have a notebook and let me tell you I am writing a bunch of stuff down. When I get back home I will start looking up websites and making sure I have links to as much things as I can! I am talking about food, sites, flights, and anything else I can think of.
Well, I must be off to explore some more.
ALOHA!!!
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