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The HfP chat thread – Monday 12th July

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General

Comments (291)

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

  • Rum says:
    12 Jul12 July 12:05

    Any advice on a hotel for one night in or near Southampton for a family of 4? Looking to make use of Marriott or IHG Amex offers.
    Marriott only have ‘prepay’ rooms so not sure if Amex offer will trigger.
    Looking at Moxy Southampton or Holiday Inn Express Southampton West. Portsmouth Marriott also a possibility. Any comments on either would appreciated.

    • Jen T says:
      12 Jul12 July 12:34

      I think the newest of these is the Moxy: it is right in the centre of town – plenty of food options there as well as tourist activities if you have time, but parking may be expensive (the nearby West Quay shopping centre does £5 per day though). The HIE Southampton West is essentially on an industrial/retail estate – nothing walkable. Similar location type for Portsmouth Marriott. Have you looked at the Holiday Inn Eastleigh? There are sometimes good prices and it’s close to Southampton.

      • Rum says:
        12 Jul12 July 13:42

        Thanks! Any idea how the rooms compare at the Moxy or Portsmouth? Two young kids but they could share a larger bed.
        Beginning to think HIE might not be the best. Also the Eastleigh HI is booked for the days we want.

      • Magic Mike says:
        12 Jul12 July 15:08

        Moxy Southampton you can use the West Quay Multistorey next door which is £5 per day. (do not use the Ikea car park or the West Quay Podium, these are more expensive!)

    • MisterE says:
      12 Jul12 July 13:34

      I have stayed several times at the Portsmouth Marriott over the last year or so, and also pre-pandemic. Its a perfectly nice ‘ordinary’ hotel in decent condition and reasonably priced. Parking is easy and either free or not very expensive. They used to have a pool but that seems to be closed permanently. Close by, there is Port Solent with places to eat. Portsmouth itself has the harbour and naval stuff, plus Gunwharf Quay (think Bicester Village by the sea). And Southport is quite nice also.

      • Rum says:
        12 Jul12 July 13:45

        Thanks. I think I’m definitely favouring the Marriotts right now so it’s between Moxy and Portsmouth (which is slightly further away from where we need to be).
        Any idea if we and the kids will get free breakfast as gold?

    • Matt C says:
      12 Jul12 July 16:33

      I favour choosing a Southampton hotel as travelling from Portsmouth to Southampton can be an issue at times due to the ongoing roadworks on the M27. What would be a normal 30 min journey can easily become 1hr +.

      • Rum says:
        12 Jul12 July 17:25

        That’s excellent information. Went with the Moxy hotel in the end. It’s this sort of information that I find very useful. Now I know about the M27 in advance, I know to avoid it. Much obliged!

  • Doug M says:
    12 Jul12 July 12:08

    I can see issues moving forward with IHG and Curve. Just received an email about online transactions needing extra security checks. If you have this underlying the Curve checks it’s a recipe for failure.
    Was in a Greene King pub Friday evening, ordering on app as is now the norm, and trying to pay with Curve/IHG combo kept failing. Switching from the GK app to authorise the Curve notification seemed to result in the GK app not getting the authority. Used an Amex without issue.

  • HAK says:
    12 Jul12 July 12:10

    Any recommendations for a week in Burgundy? Not fussed as to whether it is a hotel, cottage, or spa type retreat. Cheers

  • Thomas Shelby says:
    12 Jul12 July 12:11

    Has the Rimowa offer disappeared on AMEX? Spend £500 for 10,000 MR points ends 31/07. I can’t see it on my platinum card anymore.

  • Ryan says:
    12 Jul12 July 12:34

    Thanks to the intern at Marriott, we’ve got a stay coming up at Sheraton Park Lane

    I’ve never stayed at a Marriott, is there anything I can do to gain any levels on their scheme? Looking online, it doesn’t look as easy as the IHG status

    Or is there anything we should do to maximise the stay?

    Thanks in advance

    • david says:
      12 Jul12 July 12:44

      AMEX plat gives you gold or you could try a status match.

    • Rob says:
      12 Jul12 July 12:48

      They don’t do matches. You could get Gold by getting the credit card in the current special offer, or by getting Amex Plat, but this won’t change much about your stay.

    • Si says:
      12 Jul12 July 13:42

      I wouldn’t worry too much about trying to maximise that particular stay. You’re already in their top room (the grand suite) and breakfast and lounge access are already included so not really much else they could offer you.

      Only things you may miss out on are a later check-out and bonus points on the stay but I think that is it.

      I did 2 nights back in May and loved it. You will prob never get anything better in central London for anywhere near £200-250pn again

      Only thing you could do is tell them you have a young child… I told them in advance we’d be checking in with a young baby and they very proudly presented us with a doggy soft toy (called Henry – after the hotel architect), which had been sitting on the reception desk waiting for our arrival 🙂

      • Ryan says:
        12 Jul12 July 17:35

        Thanks guys, much appreciated

        Will definitely mention a small child beforehand!

  • jek says:
    12 Jul12 July 12:38

    Anybody with a recommendation for a pre-departure return to the UK test that I can order and gets delivered before Friday? Chronomics has taken my money last week but they haven’t dispatched the test yet.

    Or any tip to get such a test in Germany? Will be flying from CGN.

    • Yorkieflyer says:
      12 Jul12 July 14:16

      Qured have been reliable for us tests arrived after 2 working days

    • Cats are best says:
      12 Jul12 July 16:26

      I also use Qured, ordered midday on the 8th and chose normal post, was surprised when it arrived on the 9th via DPD.

      You might be lucky too, but it seems best best to choose to pay for DPD if you need it fast.

  • Bumper says:
    12 Jul12 July 12:56

    Hi all, can I request an Octopus referral please?

  • HfP Reader says:
    12 Jul12 July 13:16

    == AMEX PLAT TRAVEL INSURANCE

    We booked 10 days in Croatia for September in anticipation of in-bound restrictions being lifted on Amber countries and our NHS vaccination record being compatible with EU-DCC. Realising September is a lifetime away in terms of Covid, I booked Avios reward flights with BA and cancelable accommodation. Question 1 : assuming travel is possible, will our Amex Plat travel insurance be valid in September as the trip was originally booked before restrictions were lifted? Question 2 : Would it cover us for an enforced stay if we fail a Covid test before returning to the UK?

    • Anna says:
      12 Jul12 July 14:00

      Everyone needs to check the Ts and Cs on their own policies and ensure it fits their particular circumstances, however it’s been suggested a couple of times on here that you won’t be covered for anything Covid related if FCDO advice was against travel at the time of booking. The traffic light system isn’t aligned with FCDO advice so you would need to check separately.

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

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