The HfP chat thread – Thursday 3rd June

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• Benilyn says:

  3 Jun3 June 12:21

  HI Kensington High St vs Indigo “Kensington” – Thoughts? Both same redemption cost, 2x adults, 1x 6mth baby. Former better location, but assume worse inside? Not bothered by brek / facilities, but need somewhere clean and nice.

  • Benilyn says:

    3 Jun3 June 12:27

    Tell a lie, HI about 5k p.n. cheaper.

    • Rob says:

      3 Jun3 June 12:37

      Reviews of HIK are generally terrible – not sure if it was refurbed since joining HI. Smarter location though.

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    3 Jun3 June 13:26

    Think I just saw the Indigo Kensington still on TrazelZoo. Best book there

  • Andrew says:

    3 Jun3 June 14:03

    On Wrights Lane?

    We use it regularly for our conferences and have always had excellent feedback from the registrants about the hotel, the food, and the rooms for those who stay (they book accommodation independently).

    Some of the rooms are a touch compact – but that’s not unusual for any major City hotel. Location wise it’s great, one minute from Kensington High Street Tube.

• Electrofun says:

  3 Jun3 June 12:35

  Singapore Airlines is today marking 50 years since its first flight route with Britain launched in 1971 and in honour of the anniversary, Singapore Airlines is offering the following 48-hour deal:

  https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/portugal-green-list-amber-travel-holidays-covid-cases-holidays/

  • Andrew says:

    3 Jun3 June 12:49

    And if you have a Virgin gold card maybe from the BA status match you get elite privileges on SQ – useful for the £707 premium economy deal.

  • Anna says:

    3 Jun3 June 12:49

    The rest of it is nail-biting stuff! It’s almost as if the government wants people to decide it’s just not worth trying to get away this summer …

  • Laura says:

    3 Jun3 June 13:05

    Super tempted to go for ten days over Easter. £382.82 in economy is ridiculously cheap

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      3 Jun3 June 13:12

      13 hours non stop in economy?
      I’ll prefer a break at Dubai or Doha.

      • Sam G says:

        3 Jun3 June 13:21

        That still isn’t 400 quid though… SQ economy is really very pleasant and if you take a night flight and have a few glasses of red wine it soon passes along ! The economy prices aren’t groundbreaking to be honest but a great price for premium.

        However I’d be nervous about tying any cash up in Asia tickets currently- although they have a rebooking policy you’d still have to pay the fare difference

        • Laura says:

          3 Jun3 June 13:34

          yeah, that was the only thing that concerned me; it might not be such a bargain with the fare change.

          However, the Ts and Cs say “You can seek a refund of the unused portion of your ticket in the event of a flight cancellation, international border closures, or if you test positive for Covid-19 and are unable to travel.”
          This makes me think that if the situation remains unchanged, and we’re not actually allowed into Singapore, the ticket is refundable.
          The optimistic in me thinks they know border rules are changing, and that’s why they are offering the deal. The pessimist thinks it’s a bit of a cash grab…

        • Sam G says:

          3 Jun3 June 15:17

          Interesting @Laura – if you click through to the form that then isn’t one of the criteria for a refund. There is also the risk that entry is possible but you have to quarantine in some form which wouldn’t be covered for a refund.

          It’s also worth mentioning that Singapore “phase 3” aka the “new normal” which is expected to be as loose as things get for a good while yet is pretty restrictive for a tourist – no dining/drinks after 10.30pm, 1hr prebooked slots for the pool, breakfasts restricted, popular activities capacity controlled (even the Sentosa beaches at weekends) etc. Personally I’d only consider booking this for Phuket (maybe open jaw back out of Bangkok).

      • Laura says:

        3 Jun3 June 13:30

        I flew Istanbul to Sao Paulo in economy on Turkish and it was fine. Not the best but definitely done worse

      • marcw says:

        3 Jun3 June 14:09

        Better a long flight than a 2x 7h flight and then a connection in the middle of the night somewhere in the middle east.

• Electrofun says:

  3 Jun3 June 12:38

  Scroll down to 11:42am.

• Anna says:

  3 Jun3 June 12:57

  Anyone like me still holding a glimmer of hope for getting away this summer?!
  The media keeps reporting that the Cayman Islands may well be going on the green list this week, but neglecting to mention that you need to apply for authorisation which is only granted 2 – 4 weeks before travel, find a seat on one of the very few flights going there, then on arrival quarantine in pre-booked accommodation for 10 days if you’re all vaccinated and 14 if any of your party isn’t!
  I’m mulling over Malta. Went 20 years ago this week and always wanted to see more of it.

  • The Lord says:

    3 Jun3 June 12:58

    BBC now saying no additional green countries today. Overly conservative if you ask me.

    • Andrew says:

      3 Jun3 June 13:02

      And they are still looking to move Portugal to Amber. So we are going backwards not forwards with travel restrictions.

      • Anna says:

        3 Jun3 June 13:19

        My feeling is that they weren’t expecting there to be such a strong desire to travel (as they are completely out of touch with the electorate on certain issues!) and it’s come as a surprise to them that many people are happy to visit amber countries and (supposedly) self-isolate on their return.
        I am also thinking that a lot of people will rely on the ongoing shambolic approach to test and trace etc to wriggle out of actually doing the isolation.

  • James says:

    3 Jun3 June 13:05

    Malta is beautiful, you’ll love it.

    • Anna says:

      3 Jun3 June 13:12

      I did last time! It ticks a lot of boxes, amazing archaeology, diving, sunshine. Will it be green or amber though by August?!

      • Harry T says:

        3 Jun3 June 13:13

        The only way forward is to either gamble or book very last minute.

        • stevenhp1987 says:

          3 Jun3 June 13:18

          We gambled with Malta for late June.

          If, as the BBC reports, they’re not on the green list then I’m not sure the green list is being supported by the science as their vaccination program is ahead of ours…

        • TGLoyalty says:

          3 Jun3 June 13:46

          Have you still not twigged There’s no science being applied by these muppets.

      • Tracy says:

        3 Jun3 June 13:35

        I’m hoping green by 3rd August 🤞

    • WaynedP says:

      3 Jun3 June 14:13

      +1

      And very Anglo-centric.

      Bonus if you’re Catholic.

  • Harry T says:

    3 Jun3 June 13:13

    I expect more countries to be on the Green list in July. I wish I lived near LHR and Avios flights could still be cancelled for 50p each way 🙂

    • Anna says:

      3 Jun3 June 13:21

      It doesn’t seem to be going that way right now, though. I really think they want to keep as many people as possible at home this summer, both for genuine reasons of minimising importation of variant covid strains and to get people spending money in the UK.

      • Rob says:

        3 Jun3 June 15:13

        Last time I checked (ie 2019) all UK holiday resorts were 100% full in August depsite 10m people (or whatever) leaving the country. How you plan to solve that one?

• Super Secret Stuff says:

  3 Jun3 June 13:19

  I think it is time for another “things I found on Travelzoo”, a few new London offers like Flemings Mayfair and Sloane Place in Chelsea. I have just booked the brand new Leonardo in Bristol for 2 nights for £115, going to use it for a weekend away.

  Also tempted by the Grand in Brighton, a really good location and meant to be quite nice. Is there going to be a HfP party this year? If so I might grab a voucher for somewhere in preparation. After all they are fully refundable!

• Andrew says:

  3 Jun3 June 13:20

  The new offers for Virgin for June have popped up.

  20% back at Burberry is notable.
  10% back at French Connection to match the Amex offer that’s also arrived today.

  The rest are just the usual suspects, with the only travel offers being Warner Leisure Hotels.

• Miles. On point says:

  3 Jun3 June 13:23

  The Langley – award availability for this weekend:

  For anyone with Marriott Bonvoy points, The Langley has opened up some award availability for this weekend (check in Saturday 5th June, check out Sunday 6th June) @ 60,000 points vs cash rate of £673, a respectable 89p per point.

  The spa is fabulous, outdoor dining terrace is open and we’ll see you there as my wife and I are staying this weekend 🙂

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    3 Jun3 June 13:29

    Do you have a calculator? The maths is way off but still good value

    • BuildBackBetter says:

      3 Jun3 June 13:47

      😂

  • TGLoyalty says:

    3 Jun3 June 13:47

    I’m sure you meant just over 1.1p but I wouldn’t pay £673 a night.

    • MilesOnPoint says:

      3 Jun3 June 13:51

      Haha, apologies. I’ll blame the heat and bad multi tasking. 1.1p/point, I stand corrected

      • MilesOnPoint says:

        3 Jun3 June 13:52

        I think I meant to write 0.89p but that was still wrong. Don’t give up the day job and all that..

        • Anna says:

          3 Jun3 June 14:03

          We just had 2 nights from the “sale” a few months ago at 36k per night, which I think works out at 1.32p! £673 is insane for a standard room though, it’s not worth that!

        • Anna says:

          3 Jun3 June 14:03

          As in, the room we had was £478 pn night during our stay.

• YC says:

  3 Jun3 June 13:23

  Apologies I’m sure this has been asked by other readers before (but can’t seem to search it through google). IHG free night:
  1. How long did it take for vouchers to be posted in normal times?
  2. My counter has not refreshed despite receiving my annual statement. Any idea when this changes into the new year?

  • Sandra says:

    3 Jun3 June 13:36

    I can’t remember exactly but I think it is once the first statement after the end of your membership year is issued and the new fee charged. The end of my year is September and my latest free night voucher is valid from 23 October which ties in with the first statement date of the new membership year. Unlike some people I have never had a problem (yet) with the voucher posting and had the card since it launched.

    • Sandra says:

      3 Jun3 June 13:43

      Just gone back over old statements and the £99 fee was charged on the statement dated 22 October (annual statement was in September) with the voucher issued 23 October 2020

  • Shub says:

    3 Jun3 June 13:49

    I received my Free Night on 25th May (First time receiving it), Have not yet been charged been charged the annual fee.

  • Anna says:

    3 Jun3 June 14:06

    Mine arrived more or less the same date as my 12 month statement. It did take a while for the counter to re-set – in fact I think I’s actually spent the next year’s £10k and it was showing I’d hit the free night before it actually adjusted itself!

    • Sandra says:

      3 Jun3 June 14:14

      Yes their IT, along with their customer service usually, is sh1t !

  • YC says:

    3 Jun3 June 14:26

    Thanks all – much appreciated! Will wait for my next statement (month 1 of new year) before chasing up on the free night. Also sounds like I should have no worries about spending now as it should count towards the new voucher target despite counter not resetting.

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