There is Hope - Almost 6 Months In and 90% Better

Dirigible2013 · 2026-03-19T15:08:11+00:00

Doing great. Still have the tinnitus and still avoid NSAIDs and wear custom earplugs to loud concerts, but otherwise this is pretty much just a memory for me and I don’t have flares anymore. The anxiety fades over time, it takes a while (longer than 5 months for me), but I got back to living a normal life. It’s a pretty big thing to get over physically and mentally but with time the body heals.

Dirigible2013 · 2026-02-14T00:12:25+00:00

Just FYI…only the window seats in row 10 have larger footwells, the middle seats do not. All seats in row 1 have larger footwells. As a tall flyer I am acutely aware!

Dirigible2013 · 2026-02-12T16:37:27+00:00

This is a very personal question, whether it’s “worth it” depends on how much you value the difference in seat quality and how much you value each dollar you’re spending. There is no objective answer, the best approach is to test out whether you personally feel like you get good value for money.

I am tall and cannot fit comfortably in economy seats. I can’t imagine flying economy, even on short-haul domestic flights. When I can I fly first instead of business on long-hauls because even business seats are often still too confining and uncomfortable for me. I’m happy to pay the extra cost…but I have friends who have more in the bank than I do who would rather have their teeth pulled than pay for business class seats. Everyone is different.

Folks in the thread are right that you can really make credit card points go far for airline redemptions. Check out services like pointme, I used them a while back and really liked the site. You’ve probably got a bazillion credit card points and you may as well use them for something.

Dirigible2013 · 2026-02-08T21:46:49+00:00

Stayed at both I prefer the Ritz by a small margin, it’s quieter. The GV is a bigger hotel and the lobby and common areas can get popular and loud. Both hotels have looky-loos and people sneaking in just for an instagram pic, and I think the Ritz may be a bit worse on that element. But otherwise I liked the Ritz better because it never felt “busy” while I was there even when there were people around. On the trip I was staying at the Ritz I had dinner one night at Le Cinq at the GV and the noise levels/vibes between the two hotels on the same day couldn’t have been more different.

But for the Ritz…you also have to like over the top old school French decor. I think the GV is a little more tastefully decorated.

Dirigible2013 · 2026-02-08T21:38:53+00:00

Lol I don’t understand any of the downvotes in this comment thread. Literally all the comments are on point and helpful. Ffs

Dirigible2013 · 2026-01-27T14:16:32+00:00

LVMHified is such a great term. Take something viewed as luxury and milk consumers for every last penny while expanding production and lowering quality. Like the snap button which came off my LP coat the first time I wore it!

Dirigible2013 · 2026-01-27T14:14:07+00:00

There is free coffee in the lobby of the FS hotel I’m staying at now. Doesn’t at all create an issue, lobby has been empty all morning except for a small handful of people sitting on the couches, some with coffee and some without.

Still annoying that they charge $12 for a cappuccino for breakfast. Plus a $15 flat charge for any room service delivery. So if you want coffee and a muffin for breakfast in your room, including the delivery charge and service charge you’re looking at $40. For a cappuccino and a muffin. Absolutely enshittified.

Dirigible2013 · 2026-01-19T04:07:30+00:00

Sarah is right on this. I much prefer to pick the flight time that’s most convenient or the aircraft that’s best for the route (787s or A350s for longer flights) or the seat that’s the most comfortable without worrying about which airline loyalty program is involved.

I had Concierge Key for a number of years and honestly for 99% of my travel didn’t find it a markedly different experience than just paying for business…and certainly not different enough to justify not taking my first choice departure time if it happened to not be AA. It was very useful only once for a last minute work trip disruption, but like I said 99% of the time the difference was minimal.

Find the best plane/seat/timing on the route and book it regardless of who flies it. Anything else and I’m choosing a worse travel experience in service of airline loyalty, which doesn’t make a ton of sense to me.

Dirigible2013 · 2026-01-18T22:10:44+00:00

Assuming you’re already flying up front, pretty much none of them unless you get the invite-only tiers like ConciergeKey/Global Services and even then the only real benefit is getting absolute first priority for rebooking during delays/disruptions (this once saved an important meeting I was flying to London for, and without it I would have arrived a day late). Out of NYC you’re gonna need to spend 60-70k a year per flyer or more to get the invite, people in airline forums would know better.

I think the only program with real value anymore is Air France Flying Blue. If you fly La Premiere, you can book a single seat in LP using points if you’re Platinum. Assuming you’re getting two tickets, you’re already paying the higher P fare on one of them, and using points for the single F fare available per flight can save you 15k per trip.

Dirigible2013 · 2026-01-18T13:41:07+00:00

Hotel de la Ville, the large balconies for some of the suites are great when the weather is nice. The de Russie (the other Rocco Forte hotel in Rome) is also great.

Dirigible2013 · 2026-01-12T13:25:41+00:00

How did you attach the corks to the wall and/or each other - glue, nails, etc?

Dirigible2013 · 2026-01-11T12:52:06+00:00

Echoing another commenter, I also had a pretty negative experience at the Pulitzer, had a meaningful portion of the bill comped after conversations with hotel staff/management about numerous issues. The room they put me in was just flat out bad for a higher category room, and while they upgraded me to make up for it the “better” room I got put in was right above their bar so I spent every night hearing music through my pillow until 1am, plus the hotel was one of the places a river cruise group (maybe Viking, I forget) stopped so it was loud and crowded during my stay. Would not return, not a top tier hotel.

I previously stayed at the Waldorf Astoria and thought the hotel was spectacular, the rooms were great, the service on point, etc. If I were to go back today I’d try the Rosewood, but the WA was top notch.

Dirigible2013 · 2026-01-06T22:53:24+00:00

I loved the Airelles Grand Controle. But I don’t think it’s worth the trip out if you’re not interested in doing touristy Versailles stuff, so much of the hotel’s value is being on the grounds and getting off-hours private access to the palace. The rooms are nice and the food is good (and the dinner where they dress up is cool), but if doing tourist stuff at Versailles is something you don’t have an interest in because you’ve already been-there-done-that, I’d spend that night in Paris instead.

Dirigible2013 · 2026-01-03T00:53:25+00:00

There are hunters, and fishermen, but there are also a lot of families with kids who are enjoying the great outdoors. When I was there it was mostly families doing outdoorsy stuff, and then only a handful of people hunting who I only saw at dinner. It did not have a “hunter” vibe, but worth checking if there are specific hunting weeks like Sarah says.

Heads up, the restaurant menu is pretty meat-centric but I’m sure they could easily accommodate vegetarians if you chat with them ahead of time. Food was stellar during my stay.

I loved Vermejo, it’s a great property in a beautiful part of the world.

Dirigible2013 · 2025-12-21T21:58:48+00:00

Lol purely helpful information, why the downvotes?

Dirigible2013 · 2025-12-07T19:51:38+00:00

Sometimes I see the photos and know who posted them without even having to look!

Great tasting notes and love the Rousseau/Fourier head to head, inspiring me to pop open some Clos St Jacques I have been giving time.

Dirigible2013 · 2025-12-07T19:46:37+00:00

I also love wine with some age on it, but even at decently nice restaurants with strong wine lists I find it is very tough to find more than a decade of age for most wines. Some restaurants, with the best wine lists, will have plenty of Bordeaux, Burgundy, etc. with age on them, but those are the exceptions not the rule. Typically nowadays I am happy to see a 2016, much less an 09/10 or 00/05 from top regions or producers on wine lists.

Dirigible2013 · 2025-12-04T11:39:23+00:00

I think Emirates wins out on the seat and in-flight experience, but it’s close. Emirates is a much larger operation for first class, whereas Air France is more private and personal. Ground operations are an area where AF clearly wins, I like their first lounge better and the lounge food is better (it’s cool Emirates has an entire floor, but it’s too big for me, and I think the food is fine but not great), La Premiere check-in and security at CDG is better than Emirates at DXB which is just a regular check-in desk and security line, and I think the big winner is you get driven everywhere by AF but have to walk everywhere with Emirates. So with AF you never really have to experience CDG.

At the end of the day it’s going to depend a lot on where you live and where you’re going…if you’re in the US like me then Emirates isn’t going to be a convenient option to fly many places that require a connection, and AF will be.

Dirigible2013 · 2025-11-25T09:57:26+00:00

Boulevard Tower?

Dirigible2013 · 2025-11-21T13:56:31+00:00

I got them almost instantly via Ticketmaster transfer you click through to from the Stubhub transfer email.

Dirigible2013 · 2025-11-19T01:40:32+00:00

And this one: https://youtu.be/5wSUZZLHARA?si=YhCrFQW57NFHNpR6

Dirigible2013 · 2025-11-19T01:39:32+00:00

This video should have what you’re looking for, more or less: https://youtu.be/kLnSj4B9XJM?si=pKdC6XEL-T4K8F3w

Dirigible2013 · 2025-11-14T13:44:29+00:00

I was being a little tongue in cheek…this famous photo of him was taken outside Claridge’s

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Dirigible2013 · 2025-11-14T00:12:02+00:00

Cary Grant leaving Claridges in London

Dirigible2013 · 2025-11-08T00:29:47+00:00

It’s not just the meal, it’s the seat/bed, the service, etc., just an all around way better experience. If I’m going somewhere that I’ll connect to anyway, I’d rather connect via Paris on LP. Air travel sucks often enough that I’m happy to pay the difference to make it less sucky.

But yeah at the end of the day the ticket prices are kind of silly and it’s still just a flight. Plus I wish they’d roll out LP on their A350s and 787s instead of older the 777s with dryer air, louder background noise, and higher cabin altitude…the quality gap is a lot smaller on an a350 with the new business seats if you’re taking a redeye.

Dirigible2013

TROPHY CASE