Peppers Soul Surfer's Paradise: Hotel Review

Peppers Soul Surfer's Paradise has long been the accommodation I have stayed at when visiting the Gold Coast. It is located 35 minutes from Coolangatta (Gold Coast) Airport. It is in the best location, situated right across the beach and the vibrant Cavill Avenue with cafes, restaurants and more .Soul Boardwalk is a stylish shopping center featuring casual fashion boutiques & eateries with beach views. This most recent stay was on the 13th floor in 1301, which is a 3 bedroom ocean view apartment. The ocean views are always enviable from Peppers Soul. Reception is on the 2nd floor to check in, which you can go up the stairs or on a lift.

The stairs of the lobby that lead up to reception

3 bedroom ocean view apartment overlooking the Pacific!

The bedroom I slept in

The only gripe I had at the beginning was that the Air Conditioning going from the lift to room and vice versa was broken, however this was quickly attended to. Amenities of my three bedroom ocean view apartment includes: balcony, two bathrooms (one with spa bath) ,air conditioning, wi-fi (free, although you will need an access code, ask at reception), cable television, mini bar, full kitchen, dishwasher , washing machine, dryer iron & ironing board ,hairdryer, desk.

Kitchen and living area

Living Room overlooking onto balcony

Peppers Soul has two pools: one inside, the other outside, which offers the best views directly looking out onto the ocean. There are also two spas: one inside and the other outside. In addition, there is a steam room , sauna and state of the art gym all on the same floor, offering great range of facilities for everybody. A cinema and Zen Garden where you can enjoy an intimate BBQ also feature. There is also free and secure parking, another big plus for those that dont want to simply just stay put and have rented a car. Peppers Soul also offer limousine transfers.

Overlooking the outdoor heated pool and spa from my balcony

I highly recommend staying at Peppers Soul Surfer's Paradise!

Rating: 4/5

Tigerair Australia: Boeing 737-800 Review

The 23rd of January 2020 saw me fly Tigerair Australia for the first time. Unlike my flight up to Brisbane, there were two different things about my flight back home to Melbourne: 1) The aircraft was a Boeing 737 NG (VH-VUD) , the aircraft Tigerair are incrementally transitioning to from Airbus A320s of which I flew up on. My A320 on the way up was VH-VKJ . Currently , Tigerair has 5 Boeing 737 NGs in its fleet, with about 9 Airbus A320s left. Virgin Australia owns Tigerair Australia and thus, it has given some of its 737-800s to Tigerair Australia.

Embarking the rear stairs of my aircraft. Tigerair Australia Boeing 737-800 VH-VUD

2) Instead of an early morning flight I departed during the evening . Because I boarded towards the final stages of boarding, from Terminal D Satellite Gates, Gate 31, it meant less wait time on the aircraft before cabin crew doors were armed (closed) and we pulled away for an on time departure. We took off north south towards Morton Bay before banking right to turn inland on our way to Melbourne .

The interiors of the aircraft are also different , even though they are both narrow body aircraft and have the same 3-3 configuration , the A320 on the way up had cloth whilst the B737 NG has two tone leather seats with black mostly and yellow headrests .

I forgot to take a photo of my seat but here's a generic photo showing the interior. My seat was 20E in the middle seat.

Because Tigerair is a low cost carrier, there are no complimentary meals, rather, there are items available for purchase . As the flight was only 2 hours, not medium or long haul , this is ok with me. Cabin Crew were fine. I couldn’t fault the service. There is also no form of inflight entertainment or inflight wifi, but again, not really necessary on a short haul domestic trip . I just occupied myself listening to music on my. phone.

The menu showing what can be purchased on the flight

Also, other cost saving measures include utilising flights of stairs instead of aero bridges. Personally, I love embarking up and down the stairs as most aircraft today are boarded via aerobridges . Embarking and disembarking the stairs for me is always fun, especially getting to walk on the tarmac . Arrival was at Tigerair’s designated Gate 15, at Terminal 4 which it shares with rival low cost carrier Jetstar and regional airline REX Airlines. All in all a good flight despite a lot of negative experiences from others flying Tigerair Australia.

Air Vanuatu:Boeing 737-800 Economy Review

Embarking via the forward door stairs. Love this way of getting onto the aircraft.

I will be reviewing Air Vanuatu Flight NF8 from Port Vila to Melbourne. This was my second time flying Air Vanuatu , with my first time operating as NF7 on the trip up from Melbourne to Port Vila, on their only Boeing 737-800 in the fleet so far registered YJ-AV8. They are in the process of modernising and expanding their fleet. Mid 2020, they will be taking delivery of the new Airbus A220 aircraft, with longer range new engines and improved efficiency.

Air Vanuatu has only just launched direct services halfway through the year to Melbourne connecting the capital Port Vila with Melbourne already serving the established routes of other east coast capital cities like Sydney and Brisbane. It is certainly relieving that no international connection was needed , requiring hopping off the domestic flight then transferring onto the international one, which sometimes can be inconvenient, as some airports are that large you need a monorail or bus to transfer you to the international side, and thus can be a headache, especially with airports you are transiting through for the first time, or that there may be major refurbishment and new projects adding to transiting pains. My departure gate was Gate 2, a nice simple process as Bauerfield Airport is small in comparison to the major city airports on the mainland. Immigration process was quite swift as well. I did like the small size of the airport, as it is partially open air and you embark the aircraft via the forward and rear stairs, just like the old days .

My seat (as specified on the boarding pass ) was Seat 11A which is a window seat, my favourite seat preference. Like the flight up, the time of departure twas punctual . Additionally, like the flight up, it was not full, having the extra seat of the 3-3 configuration free. There are no individual flight entertainment screens, only overhead projector screens, however this was no problem for me, as I had downloaded movies prior to the flight and was able to watch them offline. Ps do bring your laptop or iPad or phone with Netflix or Stan, to watch your favourite TV shows or movies on.

Seat 11A . Why I always choose the window seat.

Dinner was delicious , having gobbled it all down. Extra kudos for having wooden utensils instead of plastic.I chose the peri peri chicken with yellow rice and a a Mrs Higgins raspberry and white choc cookie as a complementary sweet. I then followed up with a couple of white wines which went down nicely. The flight was very smooth as well, with phenomenal views being provided over the South Pacific. As an avid traveller and flyer, that is all you need. Stunning views (especially flying over mountainous New Caledonia), and especially that defining hue of blue of the Pacific Ocean. I especially loved the cabin mood lighting which was either a neutral or light blue tone, calming in nature . I also love the cabin crew uniform which is a lovely light blue, as seen on the aircraft’s livery.

Peri Peri chicken with vegetables and yellow rice, complimented with a raspberry and white chocolate cookie

Overall, I had a fantastic flight with no criticisms. I recommend Air Vanuatu and look forward to flying with them again.

+Very punctual departure time

+ Dinner was delicious

+Wooden utensils instead of plastic (Vanuatu has banned plastic) , great sustainability

+ Young aircraft, delivered in 2016

+ Mood lighting

+Stylish, subtle Interior

+Window Seat

-No individual flight entertainment screens.

-No wifi

Rating: 7/10

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