The HfP chat thread – Saturday 26th June

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• BJ says:

  26 Jun26 June 08:02

  Looking for advice on furniture today please. Firstly, any thoughts on Brook & Wilde mattresses? Contemplating a purchase of elite king firm before sale and amex offer ends. I like a firm mattress but am a bit reluctant as they seem to be topped with memory foam which I am not really a fan of. Secondly, my partner is sold on a leather sofa from Sofology but I am very reluctant. According to their website they use only 100% real leather but I’m not convinced, sofas don’t smell like real leather to me. According to web it seems impossible to haggle with them and I cannot find any codes or savings. Checked trustpilot and most reviews if real are excellent but the bad ones are extremely bad and are colouring my judgment. Would be grateful for any thoughts, and especially personal experience readers have. Thanks.

  • JRC says:

    26 Jun26 June 08:10

    Try John Ryan by Design Mattesses. Build quality very impressive and excellent customer service. And much cooler than the Eve Hybrid Premium and other beds we had to send back that have memory foam. Not cheap but 1/3 of your day is spent in it and much better value than Visprung etc. Oh and also made in Britain for all those Brexit loving folk on here!

    • BJ says:

      26 Jun26 June 08:59

      I’ll have a look thanks.

    • Magic Mike says:

      26 Jun26 June 22:29

      +1 to John Ryan – geek out on their website…

  • Sandgrounder says:

    26 Jun26 June 08:12

    I bought an elite king firm which came in at 584 after site discount, amex and voldeportal. It’s holding up nicely so far, it has softened a bit but is still very supportive. I haven’t had the overheating problems other memory foam mattresses have given me in the past. It’s worth the price I paid.

    • BJ says:

      26 Jun26 June 09:05

      Thanks, good to know, particularly about the heat. My concern is that despite the firmness of tge bowsprit ut js ultimately determined by the foam.

  • Lottie says:

    26 Jun26 June 08:25

    I bought a medium 3 years ago and it’s holding up really well. I was also worried about the memory foam but it’s only softened a little in all this time. Much better than our last, expensive, mattress and we are really happy with it.

    • BJ says:

      26 Jun26 June 09:06

      Thanks, feedback seems quite consistent 😉

  • Crafty says:

    26 Jun26 June 08:32

    Had you actually heard of them before the Amex offer? I hadn’t, and try not to be tempted by that alone. We recently bought a Simba, which took a few days to adapt to but now we’re very pleased with.

    • BJ says:

      26 Jun26 June 09:09

      Nope, I hadn’t tbh, hence my question 🙂 Always bought Sealy to date.

  • Vit says:

    26 Jun26 June 08:33

    @BJ, I am not able to comment on B&W as I am still deciding and looking for one too. Though, I can definitely recommend Sofology. We are a big fan of them especially with their “Clearance”. We initially did not know that they have the clearance range but I believe there is nothing wrong with them as some sofa are returned item (i.e. sofology has policy of “rejecting items on delivery” so they goes in to the clearance. You can also ask the customer service as why it goes on clearance etc.

    The only “catch” is that you may not get the colour, range you are looking for. We have no problem with that as the range we want (such as alchemist and gigi) are available within clearance but timing is the key. Some items are sold pretty quickly once it is listed as clearance. We have saved a fortune doing this, at least for the sofa we wanted.

    Quality wise, we love it. It feels exactly like a real leather as it is real leather. It depends whether you opt for the real (aniline — super soft but hard to care) or real (but treated – feel less soft but easier to care) leather. We opted for the real (aniline) one as don’t have kids / pets (yet).

    So far, we are happy with our Gigi and just order two more Alchemist for our new place. Good luck and let me know if you need any further feedback. You can also visit their showroom in Edinburgh to try it out. 🙂

    • BJ says:

      26 Jun26 June 09:14

      Thanks Vit, that’s reassuring. Range in question is Alessio in a brown shade so slim chance we will pick up pieces we need in clearance. Also tempted to go with the softer leather as no kids or pets either.

  • SteveJ says:

    26 Jun26 June 08:58

    I find all these memory foam, mattress in a box types to be a waste of time. Much prefer a multi pocket traditional mattress. Millbrook is the brand I’ve used for a good few years and very pleased.

    • BJ says:

      26 Jun26 June 09:16

      Never heard of that one either but I’ll have a look, thanks.

  • TicknBash says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:12

    BBC Watchdog did a not so favourable coverage on Sofology however back in 2018 though.
    Previous comments here have highly rated B&W.

    • BJ says:

      26 Jun26 June 09:27

      Yeah, I heard about Watchdog. Recent reviews seem to indicate issues are mostly related to things going wrong with delivery, and CS failings. I was hoping I might minimise chance of things going wrong by going through a store.

  • N says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:32

    A vote for whatever IKEA’s most expensive mattress is called. Got a superking (get the biggest bed you can get in your bedroom) 4-5 years ago and still love it.

    • BJ says:

      26 Jun26 June 09:38

      We could put in a super king but it wouldn’t leave room for a chair.

  • BP says:

    26 Jun26 June 10:11

    Not a fan of Sofology. Bought a fabric sofa from there and I feel the foam used is inferior to the display model. It gets misshapen far too easily. Wouldn’t buy again from this retailer.

    • BJ says:

      26 Jun26 June 18:37

      Noted, thanks.

  • Chas says:

    26 Jun26 June 10:51

    BJ – no direct experience of B&W, but we have just been through the process of choosing and buying a new mattress, and the one thing I would say is it is really important to try them out yourself. We nearly bought a particular brand online on the back of some fantastic reviews, but decided to postpone until lockdown was lifted so that we could go to John Lewis and try them out. I’m so glad we did as both my wife and I hated it, as it was too soft!

    You say that you want a firm mattress, which is how my mindset started, but I was very clearly advised by the JL staff that it should be your body weight which dictates whether you get a firm or medium (I think it was 100kg or 110kg+ that was advised for firm), otherwise the springs won’t work as they’re meant to, and won’t support your body shape whilst sleeping. In the end, having found most of the mediums too soft and cushiony (in part due to the toppers which some of them had built in), we settled for an Orthopaedic mattress, which despite only being a medium tension actually felt really firm and supportive (the 11,400 springs probably helped!). We tried so many mattresses in person, and I’m really glad that we did as we would have made an expensive mistake buying online. Recommendations can be really useful, but everyone’s body and preference is different, and when you spend up to a third of your life in bed it’s not necessarily a mistake you want to make.

    • Crafty says:

      26 Jun26 June 18:02

      Almost all of the online mattress businesses allow you to try the item at home and return without penalty for an extended period of time.

      • Tony1 says:

        26 Jun26 June 18:58

        Just how do you get one of the expanded foam ones back in the box ? And how much is the return post ? I am sure this would deter most people from return. That said there are a lot of reconditioned ones on offer

      • Chas says:

        27 Jun27 June 09:49

        Crafty – yes I know, but the mistake we almost made was buying a traditional pocket-sprung mattress from JL online without having ever tried it. But even if you can return things under a guarantee, you can minimise the chance of needing to do that (and the hassle of doing so…) by trying the mattress first.

    • BJ says:

      26 Jun26 June 18:43

      I hear you Chas and I may have to grin and bear it tomorrow. I am not a great fan of shopping, especially with salespeople around.

  • Paul Pogba says:

    26 Jun26 June 15:11

    Anyone have any recommendations for bed linen/manchester (other than White Co)?

  • BJ says:

    26 Jun26 June 18:34

    Cheers, that beats Voldeportal.

• Sandra says:

  26 Jun26 June 08:29

  We have a medium king and it’s very comfortable. Take a look at Brand Alley they had them on their site earlier this week and you may find that they are cheaper on there than buying elsewhere with Amex cash back.

  • BJ says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:29

    Thanks Sandra, I’ll check it out.

• Njb says:

  26 Jun26 June 08:36

  Any advice please on where to stay for Wimbledon. We are driving up morning of 9/7 from Bournemouth area. Want to leave car at/near hotel around 10. Early check in would be amazing if possible!
  Then tube or train it to Wimbledon.
  Happy with London outskirts or central London but makes sense to avoid congestion charge.
  Currently got Indigo Kensington booked on points but wondering if there is something nicer in Kensington?
  Wondered about Kingston upon Thames, Hilton Cobham? Syon Park is nearly £300 and not sure its worth it for one night.
  Any suggestions gratefully received.

  • Cheekybhd says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:32

    Hilton Cobham is nice, drive down A3 to Wimbledon; Doubletree in Kingston – you can get train/bus into Wimbledon; or in you want independent there’s Warren House, (very close to Richmond Park) get taxi or bus from down the road into Wimbledon.

    • Lou says:

      26 Jun26 June 22:12

      We stayed in the Hilton Cobham recently, pool/gym was closed

  • Oh! Matron! says:

    26 Jun26 June 10:00

    Hotel Du Vin, Cannizzaro Park, Wimbledon Common. Failing that, and if chain hotels are your thing, Doubletree Kington. A literal 2 minute walk to both the Thames and central Kingston. Kingston is awash with great places to eat and, well, you’ve got bushy park, Richmond park, Hampton court palace on the doorstep too. Can recommend Narenj (Persian), Stein’s (German) : Both have terraces on the Thames. Woody’s is a really nice if eclectic place for a drink by the Thames too

    • Oh! Matron! says:

      26 Jun26 June 10:01

      You can walk to Wimbledon courts from Hotel Du Vin too

      • Njb says:

        26 Jun26 June 10:12

        Thanks for that info – trouble is Hotel du Vin is £550 for the night. Not sure I want to spend that much when we would hardly be there. Location is perfect though!

        • JohnT says:

          26 Jun26 June 10:22

          Can’t comment on its parking rates but Hampton East Croydon is £50/n next week. Can get tram to Wimbledon

        • John says:

          26 Jun26 June 11:27

          Tram to Wimbledon followed by a bus (will be free transfer from the tram) or a walk up a very steep hill

  • Gavin says:

    26 Jun26 June 11:14

    Hampton East Croydon has a secure car park opposite and as John T says is adjacent to East Croydon station where there is also Boxpark

• Aliks says:

  26 Jun26 June 08:41

  AArgh BA and their hotlines. Refused to take my call 4 times this morning trying to change an Avios flight.

  They passed me the number of tghe Newcastle office 0191 which basically hangs up after lengthy messages.

  Doh!!

  • Yuff says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:06

    I had to cancel a booking 2 days ago and did it through Twitter

  • Lord Doncaster says:

    26 Jun26 June 14:05

    Try online chat on BA website?

• Steve S says:

  26 Jun26 June 08:57

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• Munch says:

  26 Jun26 June 09:00

  Looking to use the Laithwaites offer on Amex. Any code stacking tips, I’m struggling to make any of the voucher codes work – its seems to accept the code but doesn’t reduce the price. Does the discount appear at final checkout? Example SUMMER30

  • Dave says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:06

    Check the T&Cs of the codes – typically they exclude Champagne and fine wine.

  • GaryE says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:09

    The SUMMER30 code stacks with the £25 off £100 spend Amex offer. Make sure you put £150 in your basket apply the SUMMER30 code which will leave a balance of £105 and amex will then credit you with £25.

  • Simon says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:21

    The codes do work, but its a real trial and error on which wines are/arent valid. I add 12 bottles of a chosen wine to “trigger” the offer. You will see the checkout price fall. Then keep adding your other wine choices, and play with the amount of bottles of each. Sometimes when you add another selection, it kills the offer and the checkout price shoots back up – so you know that wine isn’t part of the offer. I ended up with 16 bottles of red, white and rose, 5 different wines, for about £125, which will trigger the AMEX 30% offer.

    • Munch says:

      26 Jun26 June 20:32

      Thanks for all the tips. It was fine wine which stopped the offer triggering.

• rotundo says:

  26 Jun26 June 09:04

  Any train travellers around? Until 31 December, the £10 fee to change the date/time of travel on Advance tickets is waived, only the fare difference is due. More importantly, they can be exchanged for a travel voucher valid for 12 months. So they come with a fair amount of flexibility – it could be worth cancelling a more flexible ticket and rebooking as an Advance to save a bit of money.

  Rail companies need to opt into this “book with confidence” scheme so check the train company website beforehand!
  https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/times_fares/ticket_types/46583.aspx

  • John says:

    26 Jun26 June 11:29

    There is no reason to buy a flexible ticket until your travel is certain to happen because the price doesn’t change (except at the January fare rises and the May and September fare adjustments). There is a fee to refund a flexible ticket.

• YC says:

  26 Jun26 June 09:14

  do we know if the amex regent st offer is cumulative?

  • David says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:25

    Someone posted a few days ago that it did.

    • YC says:

      26 Jun26 June 09:33

      thanks appreciate it

  • BJ says:

    26 Jun26 June 09:45

    Trying to figure out if this allows us to exchange an LNER Advance ticket for a voucher or if we can still only change the date of those?

    • rotundo says:

      26 Jun26 June 09:59

      Looks like it, expand the “If you want to change your Advance ticket” section here:
      https://www.lner.co.uk/customer-service/refunds/#Applyforarefund
      (They certainly don’t advertise it loudly!)

      • BJ says:

        26 Jun26 June 18:53

        Thanks very much, that’s great. I had looked at that page before more than once but it has now updated in our favour.

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