The HfP chat thread – Saturday 2nd October

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• Graeme says:

  2 Oct2 October 08:53

  Morning all, looking for a bit of help and advice on evouchers that I can’t find anywhere online or through BA.

  4 pax due to travel on (very cheap, £1750 all in) PE tickets INV to LAX next Monday, which I upgraded to CW using UUA(220k avios and c. £1120 taxes/fees). None of the flights look like they’ll be cancelled now. 🙁

  As I understand it my options are: 1) Apply for evoucher where my avios will be auto converted to £ alongside fares/fees. OR 2) cancel my upgrade for avios (£35 per pax fee) before applying for the voucher to get back the 220k avios.

  I’ve read that option 2 may be a non starter as I will have to pay the difference between PE fares then and now, which is huge. So left with option 1.

  Can anyone tell me the formula by which BA is translating UUA avios points into cash on evouchers. Flat rate or estimation of value?

  Thanks in advance, Graeme

  • Louise K says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:28

    I had a holiday booking with just the deposit paid, and UUA on one of the legs.

    I got the cash deposit refunded on a voucher then the Avios redeposited. Had to haggle with the Twitter team to get them back though.

  • Gavin says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:29

    I’ve not heard of avios being converted into cash for voucher purposes. I would have thought you’d be issued an FTV (avios + cash all held inside a voucher)

  • ChrisC says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:56

    If you cancel the UUA then there is nothing more to pay as you’d just revert back to PE for this booking,

    Where you could have more to pay is taking the voucher and rebooking for a later date in which case you pay the price at the time of booking.

    The only time where there is nothing more to pay is rebooking after BA have cancelled.

    • Graeme says:

      2 Oct2 October 10:24

      Thanks all, will persevere with getting through to BA regarding cancellation of the the UUA. Doesn’t look like approach is that consistent with the voucher so this sounds the safer option.

• Barraclough says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:03

  Has anyone had any success recently extending hotels.com free nights by booking ultra cheap accommodation in Asia? Worked for me once before but not recently. OH won’t travel until next year so I’m thinking of doing a local mattress run but the cheapest accommodation locally though Hotels.com is from around £50.

  • John says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:07

    No local hostels for £20?

    • Barraclough says:

      2 Oct2 October 09:21

      Thanks John, good idea. I’ll have a look.

  • Mike says:

    2 Oct2 October 10:57

    Yes I booked a hostel in Thailand for £4.17 ish worked fine with hotels.com – hope I wasn’t posted missing by the hostel

  • Mikeact says:

    2 Oct2 October 11:24

    Don’t forget, the lower cost of nights booked = 10 night average towards your free night, you’re not getting much value at 10 x £20 !

• Oz_Traveller says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:10

  Can I gain access to the Intercontinental Park Lane Club Lounge with Spire Elite status?

  • Paul says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:19

    No.

    Complimentary access to the Club Lounge is applicable for our Luxury and Signature Suites – you can find these on our website by clicking the link below:
    https://parklane.intercontinental.com/en/signature-suites-park-lane/.

    • Rob says:

      2 Oct2 October 11:21

      Book via Emyr – all his bookings get the lounge comped. Same in Paris.

      • Oz_Traveller says:

        2 Oct2 October 11:44

        Brilliant – thank you @Rob.

        It really does question the benefit of gaining Spire status with IHG.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          2 Oct2 October 11:52

          Better drinks on your chit

          Remember Emyr can only book fully flex rates in most cases and unless there’s an offer on this is far more expensive than the cheapest non refundable for example. Not always an issue on a 1/2 night stay as you get credit etc too

          Check what IC PL charges for lounge access to see what works out better for you.

  • Ikaz says:

    2 Oct2 October 10:33

    You will get access if you book via Emyr paying cash. It was closed until July though, not sure if it is currently open

• John says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:10

  Well, ernie paid me £25 today for the first time ever, so I’m slightly happy. Curved £1000 a month for the past 18 months, no withdrawals

  • Yorkie Aid says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:30

    What an incredible return on £18k 😂

    • John says:

      2 Oct2 October 11:44

      Well it’s a return on £9000 as that was the average balance. But I already got a 0.5-0.6% return in the form of HH points (or for bragging rights I can say 5% since I used them at a hotel charging outrageous prices I would never have paid)

  • JSemity says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:56

    wow! You might be able to turn the heating on for a day now 😉 haha

    • John says:

      2 Oct2 October 11:45

      I save on my heating bill by doing mattress runs 🙂

  • Ali M says:

    2 Oct2 October 10:42

    ugh – mine says ‘try again later’ thinking its cuz I have won 100,000 and they dont want me to drop from shock horror.

  • Joints&Piles says:

    2 Oct2 October 12:11

    £25 for me too.
    I’ll consider it part of the annual fee refund I’m due on my IHG card.

• ankomonkey says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:10

  By accident, last night I discovered Ryanair have just added direct flights between Manchester and Ponta Delgada, Azores. The prices were significantly cheaper than BA’s direct flights from LHR and even FR’s own flights from Stansted. I don’t know exact dates, but I booked for school summer holidays next year for less than £100 return.

  I’m based in the Midlands so Manchester and Heathrow are similar journeys for me. At that price I’m happy to fly FR!

  • Anna says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:17

    That’s good to know – I hope the route is still running by the time we get chance to visit!

  • Bobri says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:19

    You need to book your rental car, now. It’s very short supply, can turn out costing more than the hotel

• Andrew says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:15

  There seem to be conflicting reports on the T5 arrivals lounge being open. Some say it’s been open for a couple of months others say it’s just being used as the bag drop thing. Has anyone actually used it as an arrivals lounge and had breakfast and a shower or know what the situation is about it being open or not to arrivals?

• FatherOfFour says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:16

  Does anybody here know what card acceptance is like in Copenhagen?

  • John says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:18

    More likely to be card only than cash only

  • Peter K says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:28

    Excellent. Taken almost everywhere, inc taxis. Might want some cash for tipping.

    • FatherOfFour says:

      2 Oct2 October 09:36

      Thanks both. Have become so used to card only now, but having read comments on previous pages about Germany, I thought I ought to check!

  • Jen T says:

    2 Oct2 October 10:18

    Scandinavian countries are working hard to go completely cashless (many reasons and all pre-COVID) – you’ll struggle to use cash! Complete opposite of Germany.

    • John says:

      2 Oct2 October 11:50

      That’s only the case in Sweden. Although cash use in Denmark is actually lower than in Sweden, I’ve never found any business that refused it.

      Some vendors in Sweden don’t even accept card, only their local app Swish which means they basically can’t be bothered with tourists as customers (though occasionally a few of these can be convinced to accept cash).

  • David says:

    2 Oct2 October 10:25

    Card use v widely accepted. Cash not a problem either, despite what some suggest here.

  • Andrew H says:

    2 Oct2 October 17:15

    Scandinavia has very high card uptake. Sweden (ok – not Denmark) has highest global usage. U.K. second.

• Crafty says:

  2 Oct2 October 09:26

  Midway through a 2-nighter at Kimpton Clocktower. Slightly disappointed so far. We’ve been “upgraded” to a deluxe room (I’m Spire), but the room has a connecting door, and there’s no soundproofing at all – last night the neighbours enlightened us about how vaccines protect against hospitalisation but not infection, and this morning we had to listen to the woman “enjoying herself” while her male partner had popped out to bring them breakfast. Now they’re on a noisy Zoom call with family. (We’ve asked to change rooms, which will hopefully happen this morning.) It’s my birthday, which we had contacted the hotel to let them know, and while I wasnt exactly expecting a cake, a simple “Happy birthday” at check-in might have been nice. And I think we’ve actually had less generous a welcome amenity than we’d normally get at a Holiday Inn Express – £10 credit for the bar, which is all well and good but won’t buy us two drinks.

  I know others on here have enjoyed this hotel, especially Anna. Any tips for getting more out of it?

  • Harry T says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:31

    Interconnecting rooms are the Devil’s work, you have my sympathy. I recently had a one night stay at a swanky Paris hotel ruined by an awful family, an interconnecting door, and a lack of effective soundproofing.

    • Dave says:

      2 Oct2 October 13:30

      A rookie mistake is to choose your own room during online check-in…and fail to notice that it’s interconnected!

  • Swiss Jim says:

    2 Oct2 October 09:37

    I would have knocked on the interconnecting door, told the lady in question it was my birthday, and asked to be let in… 😏

    • BP says:

      2 Oct2 October 10:13

      Brilliant! I’ve called the interconnecting room to wake up a snorer in the middle of the night before. It worked!

      • Lady London says:

        2 Oct2 October 10:33

        I’d give the hotel all these details right after breakfast and insist on my room being moved now. I’d not really want to pay that night as if you can’t sleep, your performance and enjoyment is blighted for at least the following day and can make your trip a bit of a waste.

    • Lady London says:

      2 Oct2 October 10:18

      🙂

    • ankomonkey says:

      2 Oct2 October 14:57

      🙂

  • Joints&Piles says:

    2 Oct2 October 10:21

    Ask to speak to the duty manager and raise these issues while you are there and they can still do something about it.

    Stayed at the Kempinski Riga 2 weeks ago, which was great, but I was disappointed with the arrival experience and lack of recognition. Brought it up politely, described how it had been at other GHA hotels, expressed my disappointment and how much I value these little treats and benefits, and came back to my room later to find a bottle of bubbly, a plate of charcuterie, and a hand written letter.

    Last week I was at the IC Ljubljana, had a few issues with the junior suite, spoke to the DM, ended up in the presidential suite.

    Similar experience many times at may other properties – bring it up while you’re there and they have time to do something, don’t wait until check-out.

    Shouldn’t be hard for them to understand your genuine disappointment given it’s your birthday.

    • Adam says:

      2 Oct2 October 10:29

      JointsandPiles, what loyalty level are you GHA? I am considering Kempinski Riga for a stay next week. Do the rooms have good soundproofing?

      • JDB says:

        2 Oct2 October 10:46

        By the way on GHA/Discovery I received an email extending my elite status by 12 months in case any members haven’t yet received it. The programme seems to offer significant benefits beyond those reported on here for the more mainstream brands.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          2 Oct2 October 11:55

          No idea if Corinthia Recognised my GHA status (I suspect not). Apart from the breakfast I wasn’t impressed. The Connaught would get my money every time.

      • Joints&Piles says:

        2 Oct2 October 12:22

        Platinum, and that usually gets me a welcome gift along the lines of a bottle of Prosecco and a charcuterie plate or chocolates, and always a good upgrade (though I always avoid high season travel).

        Kempinski Riga was superb. I booked deluxe and was upgraded to an opera view deluxe, which was a beautiful room I had no complaints about being upgraded only to a better view, and so big you’d struggle to hear neighbours. I never heard a thing, not a single slamming door, not a voice, nothing.
        The spa and pool area is beautiful and was empty every time I went. The gym is great. Location is perfect. Breakfast was great. Downsides – top floor restaurant was closed, ground floor bar area was deserted, lobby lounge and restaurant was an OK place but lifelessly empty.
        Rooms and spa and easily the best in Riga. I also stayed at the Grand Poet which was junk by comparison (bad views, rooms not comfy, spa and pool good but nowhere near as good as the Kempinski, and overcrowded breakfast), and the Radisson Blu Latvija Conference & Spa where a Superior room was utter crap and the Premium room I got upgraded to after complaining was fine but the rest of the hotel was naff.

        I would pick the Kempinski over any other Riga hotel every time, and you must use the spa and pool, which is really nice and feels high class.

        • Adam says:

          2 Oct2 October 14:11

          Great review! Thank you very much. I second your views on Grand Poet and Radisson Latvija!

      • Joints&Piles says:

        2 Oct2 October 12:25

        Also – I got a better deal booking direct on the Kempinski site (logged in with GHA credentials). They offer rates that are the same as you would get through a Virtuoso agent, eg including airport transfers, laundry, late checkout etc, and they were cheaper than booking at the GHA site. Your GHA benefits are valid whether booking at GHA or Kempinski.com

  • Lady London says:

    2 Oct2 October 10:26

    Is it worth proactively putting a note on hotel reservations “No interconnecting room” or “Interconnecting room not acceptable”?

    Luckily I’ve managed to avoid these except in the odd older Palace-type hotel. Even if the connecting room’s not occupied it never feels comfortable because of the airflow and sound feel of the room.

    • Adam says:

      2 Oct2 October 10:30

      I always do put a note!

  • Anna says:

    2 Oct2 October 10:46

    Oh no! I’ve had really quiet stays both times, though that could be due to the white noise from the superb air con. Rooms at the back overlooking the car park (grim Mancunian view!) are definitely quiet. Both times we got 2 x £10 bar credits. The 2nd time I booked one of the rooms via Emyr so got double goodies, his and Spire benefits. I had also contacted them in advance so they put fresh milk in the fridge, though actually there is a mini Tesco plus Sainsbury’s across the road so getting supplies is not a problem. Hope your second night is better!

    • Anna says:

      2 Oct2 October 10:50

      I would definitely be sending an email to the hotel and IHG afterwards describing the sounds you were subjected to! The office staff tend to be really helpful but don’t work weekends so it might be worth directing the email that way.

      • Lady London says:

        2 Oct2 October 15:26

        Yes for one thing it’d give the office staff a laugh when they read it, so they might give you some extra points for the laugh

  • Benilyn says:

    2 Oct2 October 10:53

    I apologise for the noise

    • Memesweeper says:

      2 Oct2 October 11:55

      LOL

  • meta says:

    2 Oct2 October 11:50

    It seems we have a new trend in hospitality- staff hired have no common sense at all. It’s just logic not to put your top elite member in interconnecting room. Last year, those who travelled had practically red carpet laid out in front of them, mostly because the old staff was still there. This year, all the trained/long-service staff have gone and new hires just don’t have a clue what they’re doing. They don’t even know the types of rooms they have in a hotel. Think it’s ok to ask a guest to change dirty bed sheets as they don’t have housekeeping staff available (happened to me recently!) and so on.

    • John says:

      2 Oct2 October 11:55

      For staff to be able to anticipate customers’ expectations they need to have experienced travel from their customers’ perspective.

      Hostel staff will probably have stayed in hostels, but new hires at mid-range hotels probably won’t have stayed at hotels of the type they are working at.

      Maybe I’ve been lucky but I’ve never been disturbed by someone in an interconnecting room, I wouldn’t have thought it was a problem until reading about it here.

      • meta says:

        2 Oct2 October 12:54

        I know plenty of people working in luxury hotels who have never stayed in one and they excel at their jobs. It’s all about training and after that common sense.

      • Adam says:

        2 Oct2 October 14:16

        John, you were lucky :). Interconnecting rooms are the evil that ruined quite a few stays.

    • OP says:

      2 Oct2 October 12:54

      I recently had to explain to a member of staff at a 5* hotel what turn down service was… it was cut by the hotel ‘for COVID’ but the brand new service staff didn’t know what it was or that it was ever a thing.

  • Chrism20 says:

    2 Oct2 October 14:20

    Sounds very similar to my experience at The Clocktower back at the end of June where I was in the middle room with it interconnecting both ways. Very noisy and no soundproofing at all.

    My conclusion was the hotel was all style and very little substance although others have reported great stays. The room did not encourage me to return.

  • John says:

    2 Oct2 October 17:09

    Honestly surprised to hear people rate this hotel. I’ve stayed numerous times for work, as it’s always within policy budget and walking distance to the Manchester office but I can’t stand it! Always had at least 1 or 2 issues on every stay to the point where I’ve stopped staying there now. There’s much better hotels in Manc.

    • Crafty says:

      3 Oct3 October 11:32

      We did get our room changed, but there were further issues with that – both housekeeping trying to get into the old room while we were still there attempting to nap, and subsequently maintenance trying to force the lock (having been advised by housekeeping they could not get in!).

      Cleanliness in common areas is also extremely poor. I’ve lost count of the number of bits of food and discarded drinks I’ve seen lying around the hotel and not addressed 24+ hours later.

      It’s clear the hotel is very busy (they have a conference today), understaffed (trying to get away with lower numbers post Covid), and the average experience of the staff they do have is low. But all in all, this stay has been a shambles really.

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