The HfP chat thread – Saturday 28th August

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

• David Aames says:

  28 Aug28 August 11:02

  I tried to post this question on the relevant thread but it’s not letting me do so.

  Its about this: https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2021/07/12/tesco-credit-card-hotels-com-offer/

  Have people been receiving their 750 Clubcard points from the promo? I made 7 booking in India, 5 have been ‘completed’ and 2 left but no points.

• Lady London says:

  28 Aug28 August 11:10

  You also have Holland Park and Shepherd’s Bush stations within short walking distance so Central Line highly accessible as well as the little known link to Gatwick

  • Lady London says:

    28 Aug28 August 12:31

    *above for Hilton Kensington.
    Wordpress randomizing Reply placement again

    • John says:

      28 Aug28 August 13:13

      It seems to only be you who is having this problem day after day?

      • Peter K says:

        28 Aug28 August 13:57

        No one else has as much trouble as LL certainly.

      • Lady London says:

        28 Aug28 August 14:45

        I type mostly on a mobile so 1 finger at a time. Last 2 months hellish poor quality signal issues with 2 networks. So plenty of time for cr4p Wordpress to do its thing and mess up its cache so link to post being replied to is lost. It shouldn’t do that at all.

        If you want me to stop posting I’ll stop.

        • AFKAE says:

          28 Aug28 August 15:35

          No, whatever you do don’t stop…….please!

        • Niall says:

          28 Aug28 August 15:57

          Please don’t stop 🙂

        • JDB says:

          28 Aug28 August 16:01

          LL – you need to learn two finger ‘phone typing – I can’t but look enviously at my son who can type super fast this way. We also ‘made him’ do a touch typing course which he wasn’t too thrilled about at the time, but he would now acknowledge has been super useful.

        • JDB says:

          28 Aug28 August 16:02

          PS. doesn’t your ‘phone do dictation? Much faster than one finger typing.

        • Peter K says:

          28 Aug28 August 21:38

          I never asked you to stop posting, sorry if you are offended by my comment. I was merely pointing out that you do seem to have more trouble than others.

          I assume you have an iPhone if single finger typing? Is there a swype equivalent keyboard app you can use. It revolutionises writing on a mobile.

        • Danny says:

          28 Aug28 August 22:01

          Yes Lady London you should stop posting as “kitten” on the same phone/profile as that’s the reason why you are having problems with Wordpress.

        • Lady London says:

          28 Aug28 August 22:28

          Peter K thanks for the idea. The phone does text2speech but user reports negative I will keep it in mind for my next phone.

          Apologies also for mistypes on some of my posts. Between strongminded but wrong Samsung text editor and network problems sometimes I’ve been too grateful when Submit has submitted 🙂

      • VerdantBacon says:

        28 Aug28 August 15:21

        Imagine how fun following all the comments would be if we all had as much Wordpress trouble as LL

• Nick says:

  28 Aug28 August 11:36

  I know a few on here are Tenerife regulars so I’d love your opinions on the best part of the island to stay. If it helps I definitely don’t want a ‘Benidorm-style’ trip! Is Santa Cruz nice? I don’t mind taking a bus from the airport.

  • Tw33ty says:

    28 Aug28 August 11:40

    Santa cruz is nice, has a palma feel about it.
    South of the island is more benidorm style, the North much better.

  • Anna says:

    28 Aug28 August 11:43

    I’ve been on holiday a few times and spent a year at uni there a long time ago!
    If you want to avoid the Benidorm type resorts, there are plenty of places to stay in the north, which is very green & lush. However this also makes the climate unpredictable on that side and you can end up with a week of full cloud cover if you’re unlucky. Santa Cruz is a bustling city with lots of museums etc (it’s where Nelson lost his arm in battle) and a very nice beach at Las Teresitas.

    • Anna says:

      28 Aug28 August 12:00

      Puerto de la Cruz is more touristy but not as much so as the south – lots of accommodation options and you can do day trips on the excellent public buses to lovely old towns like Garachico and La Orotava. The Canaries have a long colonial history as they were important staging posts on the journey from Europe to The Americas. A visit to Teide National park is also a must as the landscapes are stunning. If you’re interested in Geology, there’s a good visitor centre with displays about how the islands were formed by volcanic eruptions.

  • Andrew (@andrewseftel) says:

    28 Aug28 August 11:56

    In general, the weather is better further south but you get more Benidorm. Will depend a bit how much time you want to spend relaxing on-property Vs exploring the island. The hotels around Playa del Duque are fairly refined whilst being on the edge of the action. More remote are places like Ritz Carlton and Gran Meliá (esp Redlevel) that still have a resort feel on property but that stops as soon as you’re outside. Then you have some smaller options on the north coast that are much less resort-y. Santa Cruz is nice enough but not sure I’d make it a destination if you didn’t have a reason to be there. Would strongly recommend hiring a car to be able to take in all that the island has to offer (including some great driving).

    • Anna says:

      28 Aug28 August 12:02

      Book well ahead with car hire, stocks were very low when we were there earlier this month – the family in front of us hadn’t pre-booked and were being quoted 1000 euros for a week’s hire!

  • Harry T says:

    28 Aug28 August 12:05

    The best advice I have is to stay at the RC Abama in the Villas section.

  • AJA says:

    28 Aug28 August 12:06

    As others have said the south is more benidorm than Santa Cruz in the north however there are nice hotels in Costa Adeje in the southwest.. Not sure if you’re after family or adults only. Not sure of your budget either but I definitely recommend hiring a car as that gives you flexibility and allows you to drive to Santa Cruz and take a drive around the Teide national park

  • Degsy says:

    28 Aug28 August 12:22

    Anyone stayed at the Sheraton La Caleta Resort in Costa Adeje? (and can they recommend it?) We’re potentially looking at 3 nights there next year en route to a week in La Gomera

    • Harry T says:

      28 Aug28 August 12:26

      I stayed at the Sheraton for four or five nights last November. Was pretty solid – elite treatment was good, with an upgrade to a massive suite. Happy to answer any questions!

      • Nick says:

        28 Aug28 August 13:20

        Thanks everyone, I knew asking here was a good idea… have plenty to research this afternoon. I’m not a massive beach fan, would probably only go for one day at most, so not too bothered if a hotel isn’t on a good one. Exploring cities and cute towns (thanks Anna for the suggestions!) or the national park much more my thing, with a few hours by a pool also welcome. Will probably be on my own so don’t care about family facilities. Walkable to cafes/restaurants/bars is good. I don’t want to hire a car unless it’s absolutely unavoidable – am aware this makes me both weird and complicated, but I don’t like driving at the best of times and having to do it on holiday always takes away from the enjoyment of being away.

      • Pauline says:

        28 Aug28 August 22:39

        What was the weather like in November?

  • Aaron C says:

    28 Aug28 August 15:46

    Ritz-Carlton Tagor Villas are excellent.

    In the north Iberostar Grand Mency is also very good but more “business” and the weather isn’t as good.

• Lady London says:

  28 Aug28 August 12:22

  Thanks all

• Jonathan says:

  28 Aug28 August 12:32

  Does anyone have a good phone number to ring BA customer services on at all ?

  I’ve had booking that was meant to depart in less than a month’s time to amber list country with no advice against travel by the government, I’ve tried numbers ending in 7900 and 0145 (the number ending in 0145 is the number they supplied in the email telling me the flight has been cancelled) but both just give an automated message saying we’re too busy take your call, and cuts off

  • SteveJ says:

    28 Aug28 August 13:02

    0787 Option 1 if a cash ticket
    0747 Option 3 if an Avios ticket

    Both have worked for me recently

  • ChrisC says:

    28 Aug28 August 13:20

    What is it you’re trying to do?

    Online chat maybe an option.

• a270 says:

  28 Aug28 August 12:37

  Friend ordered Day 2 PCR tests from Randox but whole family has been isolating at home anyway due to a close relative’s bereavement and hasn’t used them. They are wondering if tests can be used for a future trip as haven’t been activated or will Randox have an issue or is it best to just use them on Day 5 today if they will be useless at a later date.

  • a270 says:

    28 Aug28 August 12:38

    Sorry forgot to say Day 2 PCR for return to England. They came from an amber country but adults are vaccinated and kids under 16.

  • Rob says:

    28 Aug28 August 13:57

    I am using a Randox tomorrow bought for a cancelled trip 5 weeks ago.

    • AFKAE says:

      28 Aug28 August 15:38

      Yes, I did this too. No problem at all.

  • Ross Parker says:

    28 Aug28 August 19:34

    You can use them for any trip. Having said that, Randox bother to send me results roughly 20% of the time. Thankfully the government doesn’t seem to check whether the test was actually done, or I’d be in trouble. I have since moved to another provider (Corona Test Centre) that is a couple of quid more but gives you an envelope to courier back your PCRs.

• Amy C says:

  28 Aug28 August 12:44

  Yesterday BA cancelled my CE Morocco flights only a week after I’d booked them and despite it staying amber. Am I right in thinking I can now choose to go on any flight to the same place within a year validity? I’ve just tried to move them to the same dates but in October and computer says no due to ‘no availability’. Yet if I go and book these exact same dates as a new booking there’s loads of availability. What are they playing at? Currently 85th in an online chat queue so thought I’d ask on here if anyone has come across this before.

  • Harry T says:

    28 Aug28 August 13:02

    You are correct in your thinking. The online IT is very flaky, so won’t always work as it should. Unfortunately, you are often forced to call. Good luck!

  • ChrisC says:

    28 Aug28 August 13:22

    I’d try again tomorrow or Monday.

    The rebook option isn’t the quickest IT to kick in for csancelled flights.

  • Matt says:

    28 Aug28 August 21:42

    They’ve probably just moved them from LGW to LHR, so if you want to go this year then just accept the change

• Ross Parker says:

  28 Aug28 August 12:49

  Where does the idea that the “fit to fly” test before entering the UK needs to happen 72 hours prior to departure of your flight comes from? Government advice says 3 days – which is not the same thing. For example, the gov.uk site says:

  “You can take the test any time in the 3 days before the service on which you will arrive in England departs.”
  “For example, if you travel directly to England on Friday, you could take a test any time on the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. The test result must be available for boarding.”

  Reference: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-testing-for-people-travelling-to-england

  In the example given above, it does not say that if your flight leaves at noon on Friday you need a test after noon on the Tuesday. It explicitly says *any time* in the three days prior.

  However, most non-government sources say 72 hours. Why?

  • Harry T says:

    28 Aug28 August 13:02

    It’s three days.

  • John says:

    28 Aug28 August 13:12

    Because most of the world uses a time limit in hours but the UK has decided to be different

    • Ross Parker says:

      28 Aug28 August 13:16

      Ok, that makes sense. Flipping confusing, but useful… I have a 78 hour trip and this saves me a test.

      • Mattb says:

        28 Aug28 August 13:33

        You may be very unlucky and have an agent who thinks it’s 72 hours and refuses to allow you to board.

        • Ross Parker says:

          28 Aug28 August 13:42

          I’m using VeriFly on the return, so I should know if the VeriFLY agent has accepted it in advance. At the airport they’ll just check the VeriFly. I also have a printout of the GOV.UK page with the 3-day statement.

        • AFKAE says:

          28 Aug28 August 15:39

          Yes this is the risk, an overzealous misinterpretation from check in staff.

        • Ross Parker says:

          28 Aug28 August 19:39

          As an update, VeriFLY have accepted by 78 hour-prior negative test. If recent experience is any guide, the check in agent (BA agent or contractor at Pisa) will *just* check VeriFLY – mainly because it makes their job much easier – and so I shouldn’t be at huge risk. I have taken a second test with me just in case. If I check in early, I should have time to run the test if there are any problems. Now I am just wondering if the test needs to be in a plastic bag as it contains some tiny amount of liquid!

  • kitten says:

    28 Aug28 August 14:49

    Because the people writing the reservations know that education in UK schools is so bad, most people won’t be able to calculate what time on which day 72 hours is. However they can just about count to 3.

    Well, you did ask.

  • JDB says:

    28 Aug28 August 15:10

    Go with the government site, which says 3 days which makes things rather more flexible and is correct. A lot of people can’t understand the subtle difference between 72hrs and 3 days. Unfortunately, so many things are hopelessly imprecise, like ‘applications must be made by 31 August’. Is that until 23.59 on 30th or 31st?

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