For Valentine's Day this year, Gregory surprised me (he's full of 'em) with an extended weekend getaway to Austria, a ski holiday in the one of the most stunning Alpine valleys: Grossarl. Now you know how I am with my boutique luxury hotels. Gregory booked at the Grossarler Hof Hotel, an idyllic ski heavenly chalet, a hotel that is part of the Small Luxury Hotels of The World group. {Sign up for a membership now if you haven't... it's free!}
I was in ski heaven for 5 days. I had never been skiing before so it was an exhilarating experience albeit I was recovering from minor jet lag. Though, I can't say I got it 100% down, I don't have a fear of skiing like I thought I would. I am looking forward to exploring new ski resorts every year, as I perfect this beautiful sport!
However, this blog post will about my impressive and pleasant experience with an airline that got me to Austria, Eurowings. I am stunned by the seemingly negative reviews floating around about them, so I'd like to give my two cents. I have always been a firm believer of creating your own experiences. My experience with Eurowings was outstanding simply because I got on that plane so excited to explore a new country.
If you've traveled to Europe on a budget, you may know that RyanAir and EasyJet are the most popular budget airlines. Having flown on RyanAir multiples times, I believe they are an embarrassment to the budget airline industry and should aspire to be like Eurowings. What makes RyanAir so attractive is their super low rates. But what makes them UNattractive is all the massive hidden costs {I mean, they might as well tax you to breathe!}. Some of these hidden costs include check in fee, reserve a seat fee, luggage fee, etc.
Gregory booked a 5 night stay roundtrip from Paris to Salzburg for 2 people for about 200 Euros (212 USD). God, I love traveling in Europe. It is vastly superior to America. People can actually travel abroad here without denting their wallet. He booked on Eurowings using the SmartFare, which is their standard fare out of their three (Basic, Smart, Best). The SmartFare benefits include:
-Preferred seating
-Free snack & drink (ham or cheese sandwich with soft drink of choice; alcohol not included)
-1 bag up to 23 kg (that is 50 lb!)
-Miles, if you choose to accrue them
-Booking flexibility
We were seated in row 6 and I need to to say right off the bat that every row had ample legroom. Amazing! The first three rows were supposed to be "first class" seats but I honestly could not see a difference. I was pleasantly surprised by all the room & comfort, given it was a budget airline. Gregory is a big man, standing at 6'3"... he had plenty of room! My experience on RyanAir was uncomfortable and a little ghetto, for lack of a better word (pre-recorded announcements, no real interaction with flight attendants, claustrophobic, food menu taped onto seats, grimy seats etc). The flight attendants on board had the most beautiful, colorful turquoise uniforms. The style felt very 60s :) Austrians are so kind and very silly. Always a hoot talking to them. On some planes in Europe, boarding can be done from the rear and the front. Therefore, boarding felt very organized, smooth and quick!. Best of all, departure and arrival was early on both legs of my flight. Nothing makes me happier than arriving at our destination sooner than expected.
During the flight, you'll see a traveling bistro with fun and enticing food to munch on if you want more than a snack and drink. I loved that my snack was free. It was carried in a cute, cloth lunch bag. The menu is colorful and inviting to open.
I definitely felt I was flying with a touch of luxury. Though the reviews out there say they have much to improve on, this lady says otherwise and applauds Eurowings on their new venture.
Flying to more than 140 destinations in Europe and now expanding to America, I hope you book with Eurowings on your next trip. You can book your next flight here.
What's your go to budget airline in Europe?
Safe & happy travels,
Cherie
