DCA - SAN and back (long over due)

At 7:15 AM, as planned, our neighbor was waiting to take us to the metro station. It is only 20 minutes away (by foot) or 2-minute drive, but with luggage, it would have been quite a trip. The trip to the airport through the metro was uneventful. I was surprised to see how much I did not feel the crowds. Not traveling at this time of the day usually, it was nice to see how comfortable the ride is. DCA security is always a breeze, and it was the same today.  

DCA Fire Dep. Drill

AA DCA – DFW

My (slightly oversized) carryon was quickly taken away from me and sent a luggage. That is what you get when you fly without status on group 4 boarding, I guess. The flight was uneventful but somewhat late. We had a very short time to connect to our flight, so a dash through the connecting train system to our connecting flight was due. The connection train in DFW is very efficient and a fast way to transverse the big airport.

Rainy day in DCA

My leg space

AA DCA – DFW

My (slightly oversized) carryon was quickly taken away from me and sent a luggage. That is what you get when you fly without status on group 4 boarding, I guess. The flight was uneventful but somewhat late. We had a very short time to connect to our flight, so a dash through the connecting train system to our connecting flight was due. The connection train in DFW is very efficient and a fast way to transverse the big airport.

AA DFW – SAN

Getting to the gate was a breeze. However, the plain had some mechanical issue and the game of staggering delays started. Everyone who’s been through DFW knows how it works. The AA automatic notification system calls you every 15 minutes just to let you know that your departure time had changed again by another 15 to 30 minutes. All in all, we were not worried as there were other flights to SAN that day, despite the fact that the earlier DFW-SAN flight was canceled. We were delayed for about an hour before taking off to SAN. Even my luggage made it.

As all good plans go, the plan to stay in the Indigo did not survive reality. A couple of days prior to our departure, I’ve noticed a $110 rate in the Hilton Gaslamp. Considering being Hilton Gold member, I would receive a free breakfast and a possible upgrade, I’ve jumped on the deal. I even did the unthinkable and put in for a NOR-1 upgrade to the Jacuzzi suite in the hotel within the hotel. I was pretty sure it would clear out as the reservation system allowed booking it easily.

The hotel itself was nice, but just OK. For a category 7 Hilton’s hotel not in a major city I did expect more. The check-in was courteous but a little slow. The Jacuzzi suite was big, but a little disappointing. Clearly, the finishing touches had been forgotten, as there were broken cabinets, and roughed out features in the room. The design of the room itself was lacking as well, as moving between the Jacuzzi to the shower requires making the whole floor wet. It was also quite a shock to discover that there is only one sink in the bathroom. The concept of open bathroom to the living room is interesting, but I’m not sure it works with the space provided. Service was sketchy at best – request for extra towels was not met for the whole 24 hours we were there, and the wait time for someone to answer the phone to make the request was unacceptable. Breakfast was uninspiring. Check out was slow, and compounded with a mistake on the bill that took about 20 minutes to correct, was disappointing.

All in all, it is an OK hotel – will I be back, maybe if the price is right. If ever back to San Diego I will make sure to try out other properties in the area.

AA SAN – DFW

San Diego is not a very user friendly airport, and AA terminal doubly so. The flight was delayed by the fact that there were plenty of wheelchair passengers on the arriving flight (probably all boarding HAL’s Oosterdam we just debark). The 30 minutes delay in boarding will cost us greatly, as our connection time in DFW was vanished to nothing.

AA DFW – DCA

Another mad dash through the airport only to find out we have missed our flight by 3 minutes. Quite maddening in fact, as there were several other passengers in the same predicament. They could have waited for us to board. Be it as it may, we were booked on another flight 3 hours later. DFW is not a place I would like to spend 3 hours in without status and lounge access. Again, my carry on, which was just fine on the flight to DFW had to be checked-in. Not that I understand why, as the flight was literally half empty and it would have fit in just fine. The flight itself was uneventful.