The HfP chat thread – Saturday 21st August

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• Andrew says:

  21 Aug21 August 10:20

  Nectar Connect Offer. 20pts/£ at Vision Express. Could be handy for contact lens top ups.

  • Andrew says:

    21 Aug21 August 10:34

    Just spotted 10% on MBNA too.

    Rob has previously said they won’t stack. The only stackable transaction I’ve done hasn’t reached the Nectar’s 25 day time limit yet to test the position.

  • KBuffett says:

    21 Aug21 August 11:40

    LensStore (owned by VE) are much cheaper for contact lenses. As are many other online stores.

• Rob says:

  21 Aug21 August 10:48

  Someone reported getting this yesterday after a call but they had to suggest it as an option to the agent.

  • Doc says:

    21 Aug21 August 10:51

    Thanks Rob

• Marie says:

  21 Aug21 August 11:02

  Hi. Looking for a simple but central and affordable ( circa £100) central London hotel after a show on a Saturday in September. Any deals / suggestions.
  No established loyalties as yet

  • Mike says:

    21 Aug21 August 11:09

    Marie – surely you are loyal to HFP

    • Rob says:

      21 Aug21 August 11:20

      Look at the £99 Sloane Square Hotel deal we wrote about yesterday.

      • Jody says:

        21 Aug21 August 13:48

        I messaged them yesterday to ask if they cater for Coeliacs. No reply so far.

    • The Savage Squirrel says:

      21 Aug21 August 11:37

      Surely London, like Manhattan, is the definition of a situation where points work.
      Even if you have none now:
      Apply for Amex Plat: get Plat bonus 60k – can voucher/advance spend to it if needed; can cancel card after a month (so about £60 cost after pro-rata refund).
      Convert 60k Amex MR to 120k Hilton (or many other scheme options if you prefer). Apply for Gold status too.
      Stay in best Hilton in London (you decide which that is) rather than . eat the free breakfast, AND you’re still up £40 AND a 2nd night in a midrange property… ​
      Virgin Points can get you there too.

      If you really do want low cost cash central affordable and acceptable though, then the Z Hotel on Gloucester Place sometimes goes as low as £55…

      • The Savage Squirrel says:

        21 Aug21 August 11:38

        *”rather than … a budget property” that was meant to read.

• TheOtherN says:

  21 Aug21 August 11:19

  Quick state of play, LGW -> BCN, 2 x Vaxxed

  LGW is busy and buzzing now. A suspicious amount of people seem medically exempt from mask wearing in the public spaces. No time for a lounge, straight onto the flight. Nearly full plane.

  No testing required to enter Spain. The SPTH entry form has a section asserting your vaccinations and type of vaccine. The QR code is scanned once you pass immigration, no further paperwork required. Plane to street in about 10 minutes.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    21 Aug21 August 11:38

    Masks are only mandatory in English airports through passport control

    • TheOtherN says:

      21 Aug21 August 16:26

      Interesting! Did not know that!

    • John says:

      21 Aug21 August 17:00

      But Gatwick can make masks a condition of entry

      • Blair says:

        21 Aug21 August 17:15

        MAN has made masks mandatory but adherence was pretty patchy. Many exempt passengers on my flight too. Sitting in row 1 was quite interesting, hearing the various exemption reasons and having the irate crew reject them. I’m personally unconvinced of the need or effectiveness of masks on planes (especially when poorly worn and poorly fitting) but dear god these passengers could have put a bit more effort into their excuse back story.

        • Blair says:

          21 Aug21 August 17:16

          Side note: Emirates are asking passengers on the PA system to remind fellow passengers on board who nay momentarily forget about the mask requirement. Nice outsourcing of the enforcement.

• Venturelog says:

  21 Aug21 August 11:24

  Am I right in thinking that the FTV is limited to only the passengers name? What if only one passenger (named) wanted to use the FTV to travel?

  • Rob says:

    21 Aug21 August 11:34

    You may need to pay the £35 pp cancellation fee to cancel your FTV to get the individual components returned to you, and then rebook normally. Could be wrong though …

• Richie says:

  21 Aug21 August 11:32

  BTW Ryanair is starting Malaga to Gatwick flights 30th October and joining BA, easyJet and Wizzair on the route. There could be some great air fares to match up with hotel point redemptions.

• Anna says:

  21 Aug21 August 11:55

  The Hilton Doubletree at MAN has permanently done away with its shuttle and you’ll now have to pay for a taxi if you’ve got too much luggage to walk to the terminal! The Clayton now seems to be the only one still with a free transfer but we’ll see how long that lasts, I imagine. Sign of the times 😕
  BTW, the Doubletree was awful when I stayed 3 weeks ago – service in the restaurant was dire; it took 1 hour 15 mins in total for 4 main courses to arrive (they comped one pizza after I complained), our rooms which were supposed to be reasonably close together ended up being on separate floors, there were people smoking drugs outside the entrance unchallenged by staff – not a great start to the re-branding.

  • Blair says:

    21 Aug21 August 17:18

    I think all 3 of them are a bit crap Anna but at least in CP I get free water in the lounge and it’s the closest for walking (I never take the shuttle). The building site opposite (Airport City) has at least 2 branded hotels going in.

• Ian M says:

  21 Aug21 August 12:02

  Hi all,

  Looking for recommendations for a cat 6 Marriott hotel in Dubai for a 7 night stay in early December (I have a 7 night certificate to use).

  Would be myself and girlfriend going. Neither of us have been to Dubai before.

  Thanks in advance

  • KBuffett says:

    21 Aug21 August 12:24

    I’m not sure if the list of Cat 6 hotels I checked was up to date. Based on that list, I would say Grosvenor House (although not on the beach) or perhaps Habtoor Grand Resort.

    If it’s your first time, i don’t think you will be disappointed as most hotels are great, standards are high and service is great.

    Le Royal Meridien Beach & Spa is awesome for a first trip, but I think it’s Cat 7.

    • Ian M says:

      21 Aug21 August 12:40

      Hey, thanks for the reply. Yes Grosvennor House and Habtoor Grand Resort are cat 6 still.

      The other cat 6 options in Dubai are..

      – Sheraton Jumeirah Beach Resort
      – Renaissance Downtown Hotel
      – Dubai Marriott Harbour Hotel & Suites
      – JW Marriott Marquis Hotel
      – La Ville Hotel & Suites CITY WALK

      There looks to be some nice options in Abu Dhabi also, perhaps we should consider there..

      – The St Regis
      – The Edition
      – Al Wathba

      • Guernsey Globetrotter says:

        21 Aug21 August 13:13

        I haven’t stayed there but I remember reading that the Grosvenor guests can access the Royal Meridien Beach & Spa facilities.

        • KBuffett says:

          21 Aug21 August 13:57

          Yes, that is true.

      • KBuffett says:

        21 Aug21 August 19:10

        Go for Grosvenor House without a doubt.

        • Ian M says:

          22 Aug22 August 15:59

          Thanks, Grosvenor House top of the list!

  • Blair says:

    21 Aug21 August 17:21

    Grosvenor House kicks the rest of them into next week sun holiday wise. JW is beautiful but sits amongst tall buildings and is drive in/drive out. GH you can walk around the marina and use LRM’s beach. Sheraton Jumeirah is very Costa del Dirham. And Habtoor Grand has a relatively tight pool area with constant pounding dance music. Alternatively consider Le Meridien Mina Seyahi; you’ll have access to the entire stretch of private beach shared with the Westin.

    • Blair says:

      21 Aug21 August 17:23

      St Regis Abu Dhabi on the Corniche is I think the best AD option of those you list. St Regis Saadiyat Island is Cat 8 I think.

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