The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 6th October

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Cambridge Dad says:

6 Oct6 October 22:29

1. Nectar? 2. You can buy Amex points (used to be for 1.5p) to convert onwards but unlikely to save you money. 3. Or buy Iberia Avios and send them over?
- Niall says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 22:42
  
  Checked Iberia and price is the same 🙁
  
  Amex points is an interesting idea, thanks! I’ve never actually paid enough attention when I did transfer. Is this instant?
  - Cambridge Dad says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 22:53
    
    I think buying them is instant but it’s the usual timeline to convert Amex to Avios, ie 1-2 days but sometimes faster.
  - Rob says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 22:58
    
    Overnight. Although perhaps not if triggered at 11pm.
    - Niall says:
      
      6 Oct6 October 23:05
      
      Cheers Rob and Cambridge Dad!
Saiz says:

6 Oct6 October 22:31

If booking two rooms using Hilton points (Diamond member) do both rooms get free breakfast for two people or just one room? Wanting to book a room for 2 adults and another for 2 children (over 12 years). Talking about Conrad or Waldorf in UAE.

What’s the rule for unvaccinated children flying in to the UAE?
- Louise K says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 22:50
  
  I’ve always had breakfast included for both rooms, and I’m Gold.
- Rob says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 22:53
  
  Just one, strictly speaking. Might get lucky.
  
  Note that some Hilton hotels offer a 2nd room at half price for kids. Annoyingly this is something you need to call them about, I don’t think it appears online. Hotels are not obliged to take part. It may swing your decision of cash vs points though.
  
  Note the Waldorf in Ras has 2-bed family suites (1 x king, 2 x singles) which are good value for cash.
  - GaryE says:
    
    6 Oct6 October 22:57
    
    In order to get 2nd room half price you need to book both rooms at the fully flexible Hilton rate, which you can do online – and then phone the hotel in question who will amend the price of the 2nd room. That’s the T&Cs – have done this a number of times.
    - Saiz says:
      
      6 Oct6 October 23:04
      
      Thank you, very helpful. Any hotels you’d highly recommend for a 4 days stay in Dubai with two children over 12 years? Just want complete relaxation. Is the WA Palm worth it? I keep reading Diamond is not well recognised. I have read your review Rob but if there are other hotels, not crazily priced, I would be happy to consider those especially any exceptional deals. Have stayed at WA RAK and loved it and we found Conrad a bit of a party crowd but redeeming Hilton points did help with the high taxes!
      - Rob says:
        
        6 Oct6 October 23:33
        
        WA is a bit of a bunfight. The Dar Al Masyaf villas at Madinat work for us but expensive. You get a semi-private pool (access restricted to around 40 people, 95% of whom are never there) and they are exceptionally quiet, remarkably so given where they are.
        
        I would go back to WA Palm but only on points to do it cheaply. It’s not hugely pleasant at peak periods – we spent two days sat by the toddler pool last year (our youngest is 10) because it was the only space to get sunbeds together. The RAK hotel is far nicer.
        
        Rhys will be running his Dubai reviews after Week Of Wonders which might help.
        
        Jumeirah Zabeel Saray has family rooms and the property is a substantial step above W-A Palm, despite being in identical position on opposite sides of the Palm. I’d only recommend that if it was 35%+ cheaper than Madinat though.
        
        Raffles has just opened a big resort on the Palm in the last couple of weeks.
        
        What I’ve found as my kids get older is that they don’t want beach any longer (I’d say we spend 2 days out of 10 on the beach, despite staying at a beach resort) and somewhere with a good pool complex could do the trick just as well. This open up, for eg, Park Hyatt on the edge of the creek.
        
        You could even look at a desert resort like the Ritz in Ras we visited last year.
- TGLoyalty says:
  
  6 Oct6 October 23:29
  
  Doesn’t matter if you are vaxxed or not everyone just needs a pcr test for Dubai
  - Saiz says:
    
    7 Oct7 October 06:16
    
    Thank you both.