SQ26/25 SIN-FRA-SIN A380 Biz & Suites: Frankfurt Xmas Markets & 2 Weeks in Portugal

[yflyer]

Our flight from Lisbon to Frankfurt was TP572, a 6.30pm departure. This flight had a scheduled time of 3 hours 10 minutes, and was scheduled to arrive in FRA at 10.40pm.



Today's flight was operated by A320neo registration CS-TVF, a 3 and a half year old aircraft powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines...



Once again, we were in the J cabin, in seats 1A and 1C (with no-one in between...)



Safety card proudly indicating that this was indeed a A320neo...



A/C power and USB socket for each J seat...



Single bathroom for J pax in the front of the plane, next to the cockpit...

[yflyer]

Powerful take-off into the night sky,..



From the front J cabin, the A320 neo's CFM LEAP-1A engines sounded noticeably different from the A320ceo engines on take-off...while the previous generaton's CFM56 or IAE V2500 engines had a deep buzzing sound, the new engines sounded more like higher-pitched, howling wind...

[yflyer]

Cabin service began with a round of drinks...



I initially asked for a glass of wine, but I overheard the pax behind me order a Gin & Tonic. Great! There was no menu, and I had no idea G&T's were available! I switched my order to a G&T as well.



Wow, now that was how a G&T should be presented.

Each pax also received a pack of nuts.

[yflyer]

Flight time from LIS to FRA today was 2 hours and 50 minutes.

There was a full dinner service in the J cabin on this flight.



The full meal was served on a single tray, with a choice of bread roll from basket.



Red wine to accompany the meal...



This was a really tasty meal, with the veal terrine, served hot, deserving special mention.

[yflyer]

Our flight took us over the Bay of Biscay. There was no airshow display on this flight (In fact, there was no IFE at all), but I found that Google Maps on my iPhone did a decent job of pinpointing our in-flight location...



Later, we passed close to the city of Reims...





We landed in FRA on time.

Because of the late hour (and all our luggage), we took a taxi rather than the train to our hotel, the Roomers Frankfurt.

[yflyer]

The Roomers Hotel in Frankfurt is a stylish hotel, conveniently located close to the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof train station and a 10-15 min walk from many city attractions.



The Roomers is nominally a part of the Marriott group, as part of their Design Hotels category. I say nominally because while it is possible to earn and redeem points at the Roomers, there is otherwise minimal recognition of Marriott status, whether Platinum or otherwise.



The Roomers is one of those hotels you either love or hate. The design is dark, edgy and stylish. Very dark.



In our case, while we had a good stay there, the overall vibe of the place was not really to our taste, and we would probably stick to the JW Marriott Frankfurt for future stays. A big issue for us was the fact that the moment we entered the lobby, we were hit by the strong aroma of cigarette smoke. It turned out that while the lobby was non-smoking, the adjoining hotel bar was a smoking bar, and the smoke had also permeated the lobby.



To add to that, there were absolutely no Marriott Platinum recognition or benefits. No breakfast, no room upgrade, no lounge, not even verbal acknowledgement that we were Platinum.

When I asked if there was an Executive Lounge on the premises, some of the staff members did not even appear to know what an executive lounge was (!). I found this so weird, as every other Marriott property on our stay offered Marriott Platinum members something, and we were so warmly treated at every other Marriott property.

There were individual staff members who were warm and friendly through, and to some extent this was one of the Roomers' redeeming qualities. One of these individuals greeted us really warmly at check in, and offered us glasses of sparkling wine as we completed our check in...this really hit the spot, and lifted our mood a little after a very mediocre check-in experience.



We headed up to our room...

[yflyer]

Like the overall hotel design theme, our room was dark, stylish and elegant...



This room was not particularly large, but well appointed...



...with a fairly conventional layout...



...with a few design touches, such as frosted glass "picture frame" looking into the bathroom...



Complimentary tea and coffee...



The minibar was very well stocked, however everything was on a chargeable basis...



To some extent this room was more form than function...there were too few power sockets available, and the light switches took a while to figure out...



Some hotel services and amenities were available via an iPad...

[yflyer]

The bathroom...



Shower stall (no tub)...



Toiletries from Grown Alchemist...


Wardrobe...

[yflyer]

Our room had a view of the small park across the street from the Roomers...

[yflyer]

There was a lobby restaurant.



The hotel bar looked really stylish...



...however it was a bar which permitted smoking, and it seemed that quite a number of guests in the lounge were smoking.



Just a few cocktails listed on the menu...



We sampled one, which was very balanced, before we decided we had inhaled enough smoke for one evening...

[yflyer]

Overall, the room was comfortable, and the location of the Roomers Frankfurt was good (But not as good as the JW Marriott, which was right smack in the Zeil). We had a pleasant enough stay there, and some of the staff were really friendly.

All that said, we found this hotel not really to our taste. As I mentioned at the start, you will either love or hate this hotel. Perhaps a younger, more stylish generation might find the vibe there more appealing.

On the bright side, most Frankfurt attractions were walking distance from the hotel, and there were some excellent bars in the area, which we would explore later on our trip, so all was not lost.

[yflyer]

When we first arrived in Frankfurt on 17 November, at the start of our trip, all the Christmas markets were still being set up, with stalls still being constructed.

Now, at the end of November, the Christmas markets were all open, and in full swing.



The Römerberg Christmas Market, in a historic town square, was one of the largest and most festive...



...with a gigantic Christmas tree...



...and Carousel...



...which we couldn't resist trying out...



...even though we were well over the average age of other riders.

What was nice about the Frankfurt Christmas markets was that there were several markets in the city, all fairly close to each other, so you could walk from one to the other...




...almost like one gigantic market spread out over the city...



We went from one to another, sampling typical Christmas market food and beverages...



The atmosphere was incredibly festive...



...with everyone out soaking in the Christmas mood...

[yflyer]

We indulged in some Gluhwein...



Judging by the number of mugs, lots of gluhwein would be consumed over Christmas!



We tried the bratwurst...



I could not resist the currywurst either...



Apart from sausages, there was a lot of other stuff to eat...



...meat on a stick...



...and a seemingly infinite variety of sausages, ham, cured meats and cheese...

[yflyer]

We headed back to Cafe Laumer, in the Frankfurt suburb of Westend, for lunch...



The day's menu...



Wine to start...



Delicious lentil soup with frankfurter sausage...



...then Wiener Schnitzel for me, and Ganse Keule (Goose leg) for Mrs yflyer....



The Wiener Schnitzel was excellent. This is a deceptively hard dish to get right....the batter and crust has to be just the right texture, and everything cannot be too dry...this one was near perfect.



The goose leg, accompanied by traditional potato dumplings (Kartoffel knödel) and red cabbage, was quite delicious too...



We ended with coffee...a regular coffee for me, and a beautifully made Irish Coffee for Mrs yflyer..



What a satisfying lunch!

[yflyer]

We spent the day in the city centre before taking a pleasant evening walk back to our hotel, passing by the main train station, Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof, on the way back.



At that point on our trip, I was getting a real craving for Asian food. Thankfully there were many options in the area.

I didn't eat there, but it was nice to know that there was a branch of Saravann Bhavan in Frankfurt, located just next to the train station,just a few minutes walk from the Roomers.



Instead we headed to Zhuge Grill, a Chinese restaurant just a stone's throw from the Roomers Hotel.



This was a restaurant which specialised in Chongqing / Sichaun - style spicy mala grilled fish.

I glanced at the menu, and it looked quite authentic. Besides, any Chinese restaurant which posted a photo of Xi Jinping at their entrance had to take some pride in their cooking...



We stepped inside for dinner...and weren't disappointed...the food was absolutely authentic, and quite delicious!

Cold cucumber marinated with garlic to start...



Spicy pig ears...yum...



Our main course was poached fish with huajiao (Sichuan flower pepper)...



...accompanied with steamed jasmine rice...



The poached fish was addictively tasty...



What an excellent meal. Anyone who needs a Chinese food fix while in Frankfurt need look no further than this place...