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The HfP chat thread – Saturday 16th October

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Comments (302)

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  • Toby Stanbrook says:
    16 Oct16 October 03:18

    Currently staying at the Holiday Inn close to Gloucester Road tube station. Really wish I picked one of the other nearby hotels instead!

    • ChrisC says:
      16 Oct16 October 03:30

      Thoughts and prayers for you at this difficult times but you made your bed so now must lie in it.

    • Michael C says:
      16 Oct16 October 06:20

      It would be a Holiday In any other place!

    • Andrew says:
      16 Oct16 October 06:31

      I actually don’t mind that hotel – the location is great and like an economy seat, you pay a fraction of the cost of sitting up front and still get to the same place at the same time.

      • John says:
        16 Oct16 October 06:41

        But not in the same state of mind… Which is what matters some of the time

    • Cats are best says:
      16 Oct16 October 07:23

      On the bright side, you can still go and enjoy the garden in the Doubletree (formerly Crowne Plaza).

      • Rob says:
        16 Oct16 October 08:07

        It’s a dump, I could have told you that. Do go across to the Doubletree’s garden though. It was meant to be demolished but the council and/or mayor keep rejecting the plans, so investment stopped years ago.

        • Toddy says:
          16 Oct16 October 08:39

          In fairness, they did ‘spruce up’ the ground floor 2/3 years ago.
          The rooms are pretty grim though…

          • BJ says:
            16 Oct16 October 09:43

            In fairness that’s hard to believe too. We parked there while staying at the Curio. Had to go to reception to try and get some cars moved so we could get out. I thought the lobby was grim enough. Don’t recommend anybody pay to Park there either (Just Park etc), the spaces are much too tight for anything bigger than a small hatch and they seem to allow blocking.

        • Jonathan says:
          16 Oct16 October 09:33

          Used to see a lot of crew buses outside when I was cycling to/from Chelsea & Westminster Hospital daily. Made me realise it’s not just BA that treat their staff like dirt!

          • Toby Stanbrook says:
            16 Oct16 October 21:46

            From some of the louder conversations, I definitely got the impression that many simply preferred having a zone 1 location with convenient access to the underground. After all, all these non-UK based people don’t want to spend most of their time in a hotel room, when staying in London.

      • Toby Stanbrook says:
        16 Oct16 October 21:50

        Thanks to everyone for the sympathy. We spent the day outside, so it’s just tonight to tolerate. Decided to skip tomorrow’s breakfast and just get home sooner rather than later.
        It was this hotel’s 4 star rating that drew me in… we have previously stayed at far better 3 star Holiday Inns (the one on the outskirts of Toulouse comes to mind).

    • Blair says:
      16 Oct16 October 11:42

      I reviewed on Tripadvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g186338-d193133-r712274495-Holiday_Inn_London_Kensington_Forum_an_IHG_hotel-London_England.html?m=19905

      • Chrisasaurus says:
        16 Oct16 October 19:50

        Liked their comment back – somewhat needless suggestion at the end since it sounds very like your stay was already memorable!

        • Toby Stanbrook says:
          16 Oct16 October 21:43

          I was wondering if we should have paid more for a better room, but after reading that review, I am glad that we didn’t.
          Noticed a Radisson nearby. Maybe should have stayed there.

    • Nick Booker says:
      16 Oct16 October 13:37

      I lived in the Baileys round the corner for 2.5 years when working on London bombings, lovely place, loads of history

      • Rob says:
        16 Oct16 October 15:36

        Doesn’t look great these days, with its neighbours now including KFC and Burger King. Bugis Street is still alive and well. Still looks more attractive than its sister concrete hulk hotel next door though.

        I think the Doubletree ex-CP is the only decent hotel in that little stretch, unless you count Blakes a few streets back. Hilton’s 100 Queens Gate is a short walk too.

        • Toby Stanbrook says:
          16 Oct16 October 21:41

          Hey, wasn’t someone flogging stays at Millennium hotels on this site not too long ago? Funnily enough, we took that advice and stayed in the Baileys for 5 nights till yesterday. Bedroom a lot better than the Holiday Inn, but the bathroom is oddly designed with nowhere to put toiletries. Lots of staff being trained and one very frightened lady working Reception. Breakfast was terrible, with the cheapest ingredients. Still preferred that to the Holiday Inn, though!

          • Rob says:
            16 Oct16 October 22:21

            We plugged it because it was good value, which it was. I live 3-4 mins walk from Baileys and pass it regularly.

  • Ant says:
    16 Oct16 October 08:22

    Morning can anyone confirm what you need to get into Italy if fully jabbed? Does the lateral test have to be in person?

    • JohnT says:
      16 Oct16 October 08:30

      BA website has good guide for requirements for most destinations – in Coronavirus section..

    • Swiss Jim says:
      16 Oct16 October 08:37

      Just be mindful if you are going with children 12 or over. Complicates matters when you are there.

    • Richie says:
      16 Oct16 October 08:47

      I think they are reviewing their requirements 25th of this month.

    • jj says:
      16 Oct16 October 08:57

      I used a Chronomics LFT kit last week with no issues. No need for in-person testing.

  • Lyn says:
    16 Oct16 October 08:22

    Niche question re location of bus stops at Heathrow T5 for the 423 bus. Sorry.

    WaynedeP kindly told me that bus 423 departs from bus stop 6 outside T5 departures.

    My question is whether there is also a stop on the arrivals level, perhaps at the end near M&S Food? And if so, where does it start – arrivals or departures. We may have luggage and if so would prefer to get on at the beginning and also not traipse around T5 more than necessary. Sorry, I have already looked on the TfL web-site and can’t find the info. Thank you!

    • Anuj says:
      16 Oct16 October 08:24

      Have you tried the Citymapper app?

      • Lyn says:
        16 Oct16 October 10:31

        Thank you Anuj, that’s another one to bear in mind for future use, but not helpful in this particular case

    • roberto says:
      16 Oct16 October 08:43

      No..
      Two stops on the lower level. One to get off and one to get on.

      • Lyn says:
        16 Oct16 October 10:34

        Thank you Roberto. Not sure what you meant by “No …”? Good to know there is a stop on the lower level, which I take to mean the Arrivals level.

    • MrHandBaggageOnly says:
      16 Oct16 October 11:00

      Hi Lyn, the buses do not go up to departure level, they stay on the ground level (Arrivals). The 423 terminates at Stop 1 when coming in to T5 (far right, as you exit the terminal – M&S end), but the drivers will not let you get on there. You have to get on at Stop 6, where the route begins, which is pretty much in the middle of terminal. No problem with luggage.

      • Lyn says:
        16 Oct16 October 11:56

        Thank you for the clarification, Mr HBO. That makes sense and fits with our previous experience. I must have mixed up departures and arrivals in Wayne’s comment.

        We’ve taken luggage on the bus before without a problem. I just don’t want to walk around searching for bus stops in the wrong places with luggage in tow. Hopefully we’ll be able to get rid of it anyway using twilight check-in.

    • the_real_a says:
      16 Oct16 October 13:21

      Also take a look at use google maps. Hover over the bus stops and it tells you bus numbers and departure times.

      • Lyn says:
        16 Oct16 October 15:10

        Thank you. Bit lost here, I’m afraid. But the info from MrHandBaggageOnly cleared up my mistake re departures so I know where to catch the bus now!

    • Matty says:
      16 Oct16 October 18:18

      Think it’s bus stops 8 and 9. That’s from memory, from May this year.

  • G says:
    16 Oct16 October 08:26

    Got a ‘Chasback Credit’ on my IHG white card. Only been paid for transactions that were not CRV*NS&I

    • Froggee says:
      16 Oct16 October 08:28

      Gosh – who would have thought they could be so competent.

    • Yorkie Aid says:
      16 Oct16 October 16:19

      Just checked mine and it was only about a quarter of the amount I should have received (excluding all NS&I payments). Since I wasn’t really expecting anything I suppose it’s still a bonus.

  • KS says:
    16 Oct16 October 08:26

    Not sure if this has been covered. Received 10k points from IHG because my account was locked.

    “ As a token of appreciation for your patience we have deposited 10,000 points into your account. ”

    • Andrew says:
      16 Oct16 October 08:47

      Yes the points showed up a couple of days ago and then they sent out the emails saying what they were for last night.

    • BJ says:
      16 Oct16 October 09:48

      That’s good from IHG, enough for a stay in some decent hotels at times.

    • AndyW says:
      16 Oct16 October 10:03

      Mine was blocked but nothing here. Didn’t bother contacting them and waited for it to resolve itself so could be why

  • JohnT says:
    16 Oct16 October 08:32

    BA refunds from part using a voucher? How long have people been waiting – seems to be back in last year’s dark ages…

    • roberto says:
      16 Oct16 October 08:54

      An eVoucher? I used one to book this week and there was a balance left of about £30 and that was emailed less than an hour later as another eVoucher.

    • Tim says:
      16 Oct16 October 09:41

      Hi JohnT, I cancelled a flight part paid with a voucher in March and didn’t get a new voucher. Raised a query in May with BA and have chased it a number of times but just get “we are very busy and we passed it on”. I even asked to raise a complaint about my over £200 lost in BA’s system and they refused to do so – as customer relations “can’t view the voucher system”!! Good luck, vouchers are clearly a mess.

      • K says:
        16 Oct16 October 10:42

        You do realise the line * customer relations “can’t view the voucher system” * is just utter nonsense and intended to simply wave away the naïve with contempt?

        It translates as “Go away and don’t annoy us”

        Don’t ever believe such guff, regardless of which company you’re dealing with.

      • ChrisC says:
        16 Oct16 October 10:45

        “Dear BA Legal Department, you owe me £200, please pay up of its off to MCOL”

        Obviously with a bit more detail in your letter! These days it’s seems the only way to get them to do anything,

  • Aso40 says:
    16 Oct16 October 08:33

    In case of interest, received the 2000 Marriott points from the week of wonders credit card promotion for a stay which was already booked before registering.

    Pre-booked stays were supposedly not meant to trigger it, which I did think was odd based on how these promos usually work.

    • Harry T says:
      16 Oct16 October 09:26

      I had a similar experience. Marriott IT isn’t good enough to manage their T&Cs!

    • Tracy says:
      16 Oct16 October 15:51

      Good to know. I have a booking coming up which I thought about cancelling and rebooking but the price was much higher so just left it, might get the points anyway 🙂

  • Lee says:
    16 Oct16 October 08:42

    I did post this yesterday, but wasn’t that clear.

    From what I can see whilst we need a LFT or PCR to enter the USA from 8th November, unvaccinated people can still enter from Mexico and the Caribbean without any compulsory isolation. They only recommend you isolate which of course means people will not.

    So as far as I can see we are still being penalised as being fully vaccinated.

    Correct me if I am wrong.

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