StarwoodGuy: Southern South America with Starwood Day 1

So it is time for another big trip, this time staying at Starwood hotels across southern South America. I am heading out for 17 days departing from Canada via the US to South America using a mix of paid tickets and points.

I had thought of heading down to South America often since I spend so much time in Mexico, and currently with the strong US Dollar prices have dropped quite a bit in many locations. When I started researching tickets I realized as a Canadian that the US dollar was carrying quite a lot of weight, but I did not know that a ticket from Seattle to Lima would be double the cost of one from Vancouver to Lima. When I saw the deal of Vancouver to Lima return for $1365.00 US I jumped at the chance. I booked with my AMEX and they had a deal of $250.00 off any Delta purchase of $1000.00 or more, so suddenly I was only paying $1,115.00 to fly from Vancouver to Seattle, Seattle to Atlanta, and Atlanta to Lima all in First/Delta One for the price of just the ticket from Seattle to Atlanta. It seemed like a no brainer and I could throw in some work visits as well.

I have added an article below from a Canadian paper on these low fares out of Canada. Those in the US with access to flights from Canada due to close geographic location should seriously consider this to save an incredibly large amount of money on Coach and Business deals.

http://business.financialpost.com/news/transportation/cross-border-flights-reversed-with-low-loonie-more-americans-flying-out-of-canadian-airports

I was just finishing a trip with friends to Vancouver for Valentine's Day so I left the Vancouver Wall Centre and had my friends drop me off at the Westin Wall Centre at the Vancouver Airport on their drive back to Seattle.

I checked in and was given a corner suite upgrade. There was a nice welcome gift of macaroons and a bottle of wine, but before I jumped into those I headed down for a workout in the small but empty gym with a focus on cardio where I had a quick run before heading to the pool and hot tub both of which are nice features. There were sweeping views from my room and from the pool out over Richmond and towards the airport, but the weather was quite dreary so there was not too much to see. Afterwards I caught up on some work in the Club Lounge, with limited options but a nice space, before heading to my room for my dessert and wine. I went to bed at 8:00 pm so that I could wake up at 3:00 am for my early flight. The hotel was great for an airport stay, just a bit of a distance from the hotel to the airport once you factor in that the shuttle stops at the Four Points on its way.

The next morning I succeeded in walking up at 3:00 am and showered before jumping in the hotel shuttle to the airport. It was a 20 minute trip and then a quick trek through the Nexus line to the Global Entry kiosks. It is always odd to clear US Customs when still in Canada but it does make the travel process much easier once back in the physical US. Unfortunately there were no US agents on at 4:00 am and they did not show up until 4:30 am. From there it was a short walk in to the Plaza Premium Lounge, but this did not open until 5:00 am. I was the first one in but it quickly filled up. Limited offerings, but juice, coffee, tea and various light breakfast options. I just grabbed a coffee (no to go cups sadly) before heading to my first flight of the day on Delta to Seattle. This Plaza Premium Lounge is definitely not as large or as detailed as the Plaza Premium Lounge for International Departures (once upon a time it was the Maple Leaf Lounge) but it did the trick since the line at the Tim Hortons (no surprise) was very long.

I had never been on an Embraer plane before.It was a 175 model and seemed dated. I was in 2A in First with a 1-2 configuration with Coach being a 2-2 configuration. The bins on my side were not large enough for standard or even smaller wheeled bags so I put my smaller bag under the seat in front and my larger across. The flight is very fast and easy, but the coffee machines were not working so it was water or juice for everyone in First with no service in Coach. We arrived at the S- Gates or Satellite terminal and with only an hour and a half I did not want to take the train to the main terminal to the Alaska Board Room or the Amex Centurion Lounge so I headed upstairs to check out the Delta Sky Club which is quite nice with a good bar, though some drinks are covered but my mimosa was $8.00. There is a notice of a secondary large lounge with showers which Delta is bulinding by the A Gates as they continue their Seattle expansion.

I then went downstairs tot he Club Lounge which is accessed by various carriers but specifically for me Priority Pass. The food offerings were skimpy but they have a separated First Class Area which is very quiet with the main area being a little busier. No charge for my mimosa here. My gate was right next door to this lounge and I boarded a 757, a plane I had not been on since I was a kid flying Eastern Airlines from Toronto to Florida. I was not sure how old the plane itself was but it had been renovated well with good inflight televisions. The cheese omlette for breakfast was good as was the attentive service.

Upon landing in Atlanta at the A Gates I headed right for the train to take me out to Delta's large lounge in the International F gate area. I went in and found it to be spacious but still packed so I opted for a glass of wine on the beautiful terrace, though it was surprisingly chilly for Atlanta. After I used the great shower suites complete with plush towels and amenity kits in order to freshen up before my next flight on to Lima.

The Lima flight was on board a 767-400. I was in 1A, which as Seatguru had warned me can get noisy since the service for Delta's First/Business or Delta One is all done out of here and this was definitely the case. The service by the Atlanta based crew was good, still not as good as other international carriers for longer flights, but compared to most US it was great. I had the appetizer to start, then a chicken pot pie, and a cheese plate for dessert before trying to get a few hours of sleep since I would be landing at 1:00 am into Lima. The in-flight entertainment system was again much appreciated as was the Tumi amenity kit. It was a little odd that before landing there was no final service but it was a difficult time being so late at night or early in the morning.

So far so good with Delta and my Westin Airport experience and all of the lounges. Now for a 4 hour layover before heading to Cusco!