TFCflop, my "worst" experiences (companies/hotels/lounges) of this 2023
Over the past few weeks I have been posting my TFCbest, which are the best experiences I have had around the world [...]
Over the past few weeks I have published my TFCbest, that is. the best experiences I've had around the world during this 2023, a couple of readers wrote to me asking if I was also going to publish the other side of the coin, and so Starting this year, the TFCflop column also begins, which is the worst experiences Of my travels during the year just ended.
A small premise
In this article:
As I have had occasion to write often (and frequently). I do not travel at other people's expense, I am not a guest of airlines or hotel chains, unless clearly specified (such as the recent trip with La Compagnie) I always travel at my own expense and I don't notify anyone that I will be on board or in the hotel.
I want to be treated as any paying guest, a nobody who has invested his or her own savings to travel with that company or stay at that particular facility. It's a huge difference with the 99% of influencers who instead always move in "exchange goods" (you host me I'll make you the video) or for a fee (you pay me I'll make you the video). What you see in my videos, what you read in my reviews, is me being honest and sincere at 100%.
The worst experience of my 2023
The title of Absolute Flop of 2023 is not a flight, but a hotel. Without any doubt the biggest disappointment of my 2023 was the W Hotel Hollywood in Los Angeles.
W Hotels are 5-star insignia of the Marriott chain, I have stayed in several hotels of this brand this year and many I will visit in the future. The experience in Los Angeles was one of the worst of my life, parameterized of course to the category of hotel where I was, the cost of the room and the importance of the location, let's say I am managed to find myself much worse even than the stay at W Times Square in New York City. which I thought marked the lowest point in this chain.
What disappointed me was the room, absolutely not up to what W Hotels are used to offering, the service and the breakfast. In short a stay to forget, even considering the cost of room 335$ including almost 80$ by junfk fees.
The worst flight of 2023
This year I took more than 120 flights, traveled with more than 25 companies in all classes of travel, including low-cost. The worst experience aboard an airplane was aboard VietJet, not because of the company, but because of my "fellow travelers."
Between bare feet, fragrant food, and spitting at the end of the meal, the title of the worst flight of 2023 is on board Of Asian low-cost from Phuket to Hanoi.. No fault of the company, although it could prohibit, as other carriers do, bringing certain foods on board that may bother other passengers.
The disappointment of 2023
When you book a first-class ticket you have very high expectations, also because fewer and fewer companies have this cabin on board their planes. This was exactly my case since I had managed to book Qatar's first class aboard the A380 to fly from Doha to Bangkok.
Unfortunately, however. when expectations are very high, the risk is to immediately go back on one's heels, even if you are going to travel aboard one of the best airlines in the world. Qatar bets everything on its Qsuite And the few first-class seats right don't hold a candle to what the award-winning business class cabin offers to passengers. This flight was not a flop, but a disappointment since I was expecting something even more WOW than the QSuite and that was not the case.
The worst business class of 2023
Here there is no doubt, the victory and by detachment is all British Airways. One of my goals in 2023 was to fly as many A380s as possible, and this was a flight chosen for just that. Unfortunately, however. went much worse than expected, between poor service, non-functioning seats all in one of the worst business class configurations flying around the world today.
The worst economy in 2023
I'm sorry to say this, but the worst experience in economy this year was aboard ITA Airways. I say unfortunately, because I have had so many pleasant flights, but not all donuts come out with holes.
I had chosen (and booked) a ticket to try out the new A330neo, in premium economy and economy. If the outbound flight from FCO to IAD went smoothly (And won the title of best EP of 2023) the same cannot be said of the return flight. To fly on the "mole" I had moved to New York and only when I arrived at JFK I found out that the machine had been changed and I would have to fly on the "old" 330/200. Contributing to the less-than-pleasant experience was the anarchy at the gate, the lousy IFE, the wi-fi, and the food offerings.
The worst lounge in 2023
Given all the flights I have taken over the course of this year I should have visited more than 150 lounges and I have to say that worse than the lounge at New Delhi airport.. Of course I have also had disappointments in American Express lounges, but not at the level of this one.
Chaos at the entrance, filth and confusion inside. Considering that this is the international terminal of India's busiest airport, it would be logical to expect something better from the nation that will dominate the skies in of the world in the coming years with two companies like Air India and Indigogo.
In conclusion
"Misfortunes" can happen to anyone, and those who travel often are certainly more exposed to small/big mishaps. Sometimes it is the snowfall of the century (or of the week), other times it is a machine change that turns plans upside down. Overbooking forcing changes in plans.
The important thing is to know how to behave, who to complain to and what to ask for as compensation for the inconvenience/disruption/disadventure.
