The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 13th July

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

• Super Secret Stuff says:

  13 Jul13 July 09:21

  Cheapest hostel I have found so far is Uzbekistan, it rounds to £0 for the price (I am bored at work ok, lol)

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    13 Jul13 July 09:22

    Re: tesco offer

    • Ryan says:

      13 Jul13 July 10:18

      Think I found that one too, Orzu Hotel?!

      Looks like it costs £0.02🤣

      • Super Secret Stuff says:

        13 Jul13 July 10:50

        Hahahaha yep, best I could find. Sorry I wasn’t a penny 🤣

        • Super Secret Stuff says:

          13 Jul13 July 10:50

          It

  • Reney says:

    13 Jul13 July 11:43

    Given the change in terms of this offer and the possible fraud issue someone else has had, is there a point in this (no pun intended).

• Mirp says:

  13 Jul13 July 09:25

  Thanks all. I was surprised that the flight was cancelled as now double vaccinated do not have to quarantine on return. But I guess demand is not there yet. I will wait and see if we are rebooked. The email says the will contact us but I know that they are very busy. On the 14 days we are leaving in less than 14 days on 24 July. I know it is the return flight that is cancelled that counts but seems tricky to say we need to sort it when the holiday starts in less than 14 days.

• Andrew says:

  13 Jul13 July 09:39

  Only 23 comments by 9:30 on a weekday – must be some kind of record! We really have run out of things to talk about – done with moaning about Boris, discussing the continual rebooking of our flights/hotels and asking about the parameters of our FTVs, and no meaningful offers or promotions to get us going.

  • Anna says:

    13 Jul13 July 09:44

    I think quite a few of us have got travel booked over the next few weeks so fingers crossed there are no major traffic light upheavals at either end and we can wax lyrical about the joys of a Ryanair flight to a self-catering apartment in Spain (can we cope with the excitement? 🤣)

    • meta says:

      13 Jul13 July 09:53

      I am over the moon that I finally got to see my family after 2 years so very little time to check comments here. Today is a lazy morning, so have a bit more time, but I think I am just going to go out now for a bit and enjoy the sunshine. It’s going to be 37 this afternoon…

      • Lyn says:

        13 Jul13 July 10:27

        Meta – so glad you can finally see your family. I think there are probably a lot of people that either have recently been or still are in the same position.

        And many people still haven’t been able to get home. I’ve just managed to get home for the first time since Covid started and it is such a relief.

        The only people I actually know who are planning travel at the moment are either desperate to see their families or to get to their summer homes to deal with essential house or garden maintenance. With all the difficulties involved in travel at the moment, whether cancellations, quarantine, entry restrictions, tests or masks, I don’t think any of them would actually bother if it was “just” for a holiday. So good for the HfPers who are making the effort and dealing with all of it.

        • meta says:

          13 Jul13 July 14:19

          @Lyn it was super easy to get away. Almost like old times. It took me five minutes to set up and upload my vaccination certificate to Verifly. At Heathrow, I just showed my passport and they had everything in the system. I was in the lounge within 10 minutes. Now, I’m dreading the return with all the faff with pre-departure tests, forms, etc though I’m hoping Verifly works well again.

    • Number9 says:

      13 Jul13 July 10:06

      I’m excited for a 1 night stay at intercontinental at O2 in September ! At least no expensive tests to take .. well hopefully not!

      • Andrew says:

        13 Jul13 July 10:10

        Unless it’s still a quarantine hotel then….

        • Lady London says:

          13 Jul13 July 12:43

          And they will only cancel you a week or two before, claiming the IC O2 has been “requisitioned” by the government. Ignoring the fact that they’ve done a nice guaranteed payment deal with the government, and are cancelling you to do so.

          Oh, and contrary to accepted practice, particularly at the IC level of hotel, their offer will not include offering to “walk” you to a similar level hotel free of charge.

          At least if you’re lucky the IC O2 won’t do what The Langley did last summer : got a contract for a film crew whole-hotel, cancel award bookings then insist a higher rate of points was to be paid by the award-bookers they’d cancelled, for another date….all whilst claiming the booking was cancelled as The Langley was “closed”. Yup at their choice, for other money, and The Langley couldn’t even treat people decently.

          I’d read my t’s and c’s whilst waiting for the IC O2 to contact you, Number9!

        • Number9 says:

          13 Jul13 July 15:03

          Good job I’ve got a back up hotel already booked then.

      • Rob says:

        13 Jul13 July 10:19

        I wouldn’t be – highly likely it does not reopen to normal guests by then and continues as a quarantine hotel.

        • Anna says:

          13 Jul13 July 10:20

          Yes, it’s not coming up on Ambassador free night searches for September so I’m assuming not taking any new bookings at the moment.

        • Claire says:

          13 Jul13 July 11:14

          What do we reckon for chances of a booking in October for o2. Currently using free night certificate for a booking. Supposed to be seeing genesis. Date has been moved twice because of covid. I see my dates are also showing no availability currently.

  • idrive says:

    13 Jul13 July 10:13

    if you are so keen, you could advise where to go Menorca, Palma or Ibiza (i love it and Formentera too) without spending too much and possibly making the most of my 150k Melia Rewards points (which cost me approx £480), I am still struggling to make good value per £.
    Ideally a well positioned resort with access to beach for the lazy times but thinking of getting a car to explore other beaches but would avoid driving at night to go for drinks and dinner or spending 40 eur for a taxi as in Ibiza sometimes.
    I have never been to Menorca nor Palma and i target 4 days, 3 nights
    someone said they never had good experiences in Sol.
    I had a look at Sol Ibiza and Sol Beach House Menorca. but again i have no clue on distances and places to be in Palma/Menorca.
    thank you if you can be bothered helping

    • Anna says:

      13 Jul13 July 10:23

      I haven’t been to the Balearics for many years, I’m afraid! Got a week booked in Mallorca at the end of August but it’s geared towards my friend’s 5 year old – I’ve booked a lovely-looking apartment complex called Ona Cala Pi with a half board option next to a pretty little cove.

    • Gtellez says:

      13 Jul13 July 11:25

      Last year I spent 3 nights at the Sol Milanos Pingüinos in Menorca, it is quite basic, but the location is very good and there is plenty of restaurants nearby. It was outstanding value last year (11k Melia points per night, cash rates were something between 100-150 euros a night), but don’t know how are the prices this year. That was during the last week of august and we enjoyed the island a lot without many tourists. We rented a car and drove around the island every day, for that reason we didn’t bother booking a not so fancy hotel.

      • idrive says:

        13 Jul13 July 13:42

        thank you for the insight!! unfortunately it is definitely not 11k a night now! more like over 30k!

        • Gtellez says:

          13 Jul13 July 15:38

          Oh yeah, I just saw that for this summer no more rooms at that price. That is the bad thing with Melia that releases only a limited number of standard rooms at cheap prices. I can see that price for October for example, but not August…

    • Birdy says:

      13 Jul13 July 11:35

      Sol Beach House Menorca is in a quiet beach resort with nice beaches and walks but there isn’t much else to do. It’s around €40 taxi from the airport. There are a few restaurants in walking distance so you’d be fine for 3 nights if you just want a relaxing break. We enjoyed it when we stayed for 3 nights but went back for a week and it was too long.

      We’ve just come back from Palma and would recomend that for a few days over Menorca. You don’t need a car if you stay in the city. There are loads of great bars and restaurants you can walk to for drinks and dinner and you can take the bus to the beach – Illetas is close. We’ve never stayed in a Melia hotel in Palma though so no recommendations

      • idrive says:

        13 Jul13 July 13:43

        great, got your point and it makes sense, perfectly in line with my ideas. the consideration on bus+taxi obviously depends on the rate of the car as well!

    • jj says:

      13 Jul13 July 12:53

      It won’t help you to spend your points, but I’ve just come back from a fabulous week in Mao, the capital of Menorca. The benefit of being in town is that the restaurants and shops are on your doorstep, and the town is at the centre of the island’s transport network for days out. The historical town centre is pedestrianised, beautiful and overlooks a stunning natural harbour, so it’s a great place to hang out. Our hotel had a peaceful pool and gardens, and we used a mixture of buses and taxis to explore the island – cheaper than a car and no issues with parking or alcohol consumption. We stayed in the absolutely fabulous Cristine Bedfor boutique hotel but loads of other options are available.

      • idrive says:

        13 Jul13 July 13:44

        sounds amazing!! thanks for your view, very enthusiastic as well!

• Toby says:

  13 Jul13 July 09:40

  Any waiting for the BP offer £10 back. Mine just arrived, 9 days after the transaction posted.

  • Andrew says:

    13 Jul13 July 09:45

    Filled up on the 6th July
    £10 Credit has the statement date of the 11th July – but only appeared on the account this morning (13th).

    • Harrier25 says:

      13 Jul13 July 09:50

      Exactly the same here. A bit of a slow one this offer….0 to 60 in 7 days! 😂

  • John says:

    13 Jul13 July 09:56

    Filled up Tues credited Thurs (2 days later not 9!)

  • Tracey says:

    13 Jul13 July 09:58

    Mine still not arrived. Filled up on 29 June.

• Bagoly says:

  13 Jul13 July 09:48

  I need flexibility (due to airlines cancelling/moving/adding flights) for a hotel booking.
  At a Marriott non-luxury brand in the UK, with no superior room levels.
  I could make multiple overlapping bookings in separate names/channels.
  Or make three separate bookings for 1, 2, 1 nights, and then hope to stitch together to avoid changing rooms if we end up needing 3 or 4 nights.

  In normal times I’d do the overlapping, but during Covid are the extra cleaning requirements between guests such that they are likely to be only too keen to stitch together two or three bookings at a couple of day’s notice?

  • John says:

    13 Jul13 July 09:56

    If you don’t need the cleaning they will be happy to save money

• xcalx says:

  13 Jul13 July 09:58

  Just checking my BAP to see if I could spend the £30 for the BP offer and not trigger the 2 for 1 voucher and noticed that the spend bar is missing. Please tell me this is an IT issue and that the bar does not disappear when hitting the spend target. Thanks

  • Sam says:

    13 Jul13 July 10:00

    My spend bar is also gone FWIW

    • Reney says:

      13 Jul13 July 11:45

      +1

  • Laura says:

    13 Jul13 July 10:09

    the bar keeps coming and going for the signup bonus on my gold

    • xcalx says:

      13 Jul13 July 10:15

      That looks like the issue. I will check again later. Thanks.

    • Gtellez says:

      13 Jul13 July 11:29

      For the 10k spent bonus on my gold card, the bar disappeared after I hit the 15k spent and never came back until it restarted for the new year

• Yorkshire Rich says:

  13 Jul13 July 09:59

  If we are that bored and strapped for things to say. You can talk about me staying at Hilton watford this weekend and deciding whether to use my points or cash. You can talk about me paying 55quid a ticket for the challenge cup final when I could just storm the barrier, or you could talk about me going to silverstone and probably seeing naff all.

  Seriously though, need somewhere to stay for Sunday Monday in a few weeks as a mini honeymoon break. I enquired with emyr about rocklife hall and I just cannot justify those prices whatsoever. Any suggestions are more than welcome.

  • Tracey says:

    13 Jul13 July 10:01

    Hilton Watford for a honeymoon? The Grove is up the road. If you don’t want to spend the money on The Grove, you could go there for afternoon tea or dinner.

    • Yorkshire Rich says:

      13 Jul13 July 10:05

      Noo even if I have just that little more style. The honeymoon is separate trip to this weekend. I’m in the north but would travel within reason. We were looking at spa hotels but the prices are ludicrous and tbh I think I would rather spend 2 nights in a london hotel. Again, open to any suggestions?

      • Tracey says:

        13 Jul13 July 10:10

        We found the ME London, part of the Melia group very good value. Smart modern hotel in a good location.

        • Rob says:

          13 Jul13 July 10:18

          My brother was in there for Wimbledon. It does have hugely impressive public areas and if you get the right room (base ones are small) it is definitely novel. Just avoid the STK Steakhouse which is currently the preferred dining spot for failed Love Island auditioners from the sticks on Thu/Fri nights and over the weekend.

      • Tracey says:

        13 Jul13 July 10:13

        Alternatively for something quirky, the Karma Sanctum Soho. Again great value for a good location.

      • Genghis says:

        13 Jul13 July 10:24

        We stayed a night at Middleton Lodge (Middleton Tyas, so not too far from Rockliffe) on IHG points at the end of May. We weren’t blown away but I’d stay again. Food was very good. Breakfast included in the points room rate. There’s a spa but we didn’t use.

      • James says:

        13 Jul13 July 10:25

        Abroad Rich. Wait for the updated list on Thursday and then depart Plague Island.. don’t give Laura a choice! 😉

      • Bagoly says:

        13 Jul13 July 10:43

        Airport hotels (except Heathrow) generally seem particularly cheap at the moment.
        Most only have standard rooms, but are there any with bridal/presidential suites?

        Or go down a level of hotel and take the best room – E.g. a top Suite at the Best Western Walworth Castle? (I have no idea about standards of service there)

    • Paul Pogba says:

      13 Jul13 July 10:28

      The Hilton Watford is on a busy A road opposite a Costco and was used as the Linton Travel Tavern in “I’m Alan Partridge”. If you’re in the Watford area and don’t have The Grove money surely Mercures Hunton Lodge would be better?

      • Paul Pogba says:

        13 Jul13 July 10:29

        *Hunton Park

  • Andrew says:

    13 Jul13 July 10:57

    There is (generally) stuff to do everywhere in the UK without visiting the big places.

    Have you considered heading North? With the glut of hotels in Aberdeen, they are still relatively cheap. Looking at the weekend of the 23rd-25th July.

    Jury’s Inn, £45pn. Village Inn, £56pn. Malmaison, £96pn. Crowne Plaza (Dyce), £60pn. Residence Inn, £71pn. Marriott, £66. HIX, £56.

    It’s almost cheap enough for you and your wife to stay in separate hotels and do mattress runs for points.

• Tracey says:

  13 Jul13 July 10:02

  Nearby is the Manor Hotel, Elstree formerly the Laura Ashley hotel if you are looking for reviews. Or Sopwell House, St Albans.

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