Category Archives: London 2012

My London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Weekend

Posted on August 11, 2012 | 2 Comments


Pic: Bart Lapers at Athens 2004 Olympic Games (Aug 2004)
Flashback to August 29, 2004.  The picture above was shot a few hours before the Athens 2004 Closing Ceremony.  I had been volunteering at the Olympic Aquatic Centre for two weeks which allowed me to witness the World’s Top Athletes in action joined by Kings, Queens, Celebrities and World Leaders.  My first and most memorable Olympic Games.

Pic: Bart Lapers at Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bird’s Nest (Aug 2008)
In 2008, we were back at the Olympic Games, this time as spectator at Beijing 2008.  Arrived in Beijing without a single ticket for any event at the Games, but thanks to the Belgian Embassy and the Belgian Olympic Committee I managed to buy a huge stack of tickets at face value.  It even allowed me to invite some of my friends living in Beijing to attend the Games, as I had bought several pairs of tickets.

 Video: My personal Beijing 2008 Olympic Games compilation

Pic: Olympic Torch Relay London 2012 arrives at City Hall (Jul 2012)
With the Rio2016 Games on my bucket list, I couldn’t skip the London 2012 Olympic Games.  London being a less ‘exotic’ location for a Belgian, still I need to admit the Brits impressed me with their Games.  Everyone was convinced the Opening Ceremony was not going to match the Beijing one, still Danny Boyle his team impressed the World with a very British London 2012 Opening Ceremony.

Pic: Olympic Torch Relay London 2012 at Tower Bridge (Jul 2012)
Also the Belgians impressed, not with their Olympic performances, but with the BOIC Belgium House located at the Middle Temple.

Pic: London 2012 Belgium House at The Temple (Jul 2012)

Pic: Welcome at Belgium House London 2012 Olympic Games (Jul 2012)

Pic: Wall of Fame at Belgium House – Fred Deburghgraeve (Jul 2012)

Pic: Wall of Fame at Belgium House London 2012 – Tia Hellebaut (Jul 2012)

Pic: London 2012 Belgium House ‘Zuipkaart’ Drinks Vouchers (Jul 2012)
As the only tickets left for the Opening Ceremony were around £2000 (!) the Belgium House had to be the best alternative to watch the ceremony.  In 2008, I witnessed the Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremony at the Belgian Embassy in Beijing, who had organized a nice event with Belgian beer & snacks.  The London 2012 Belgium House website and twitter account mentioned “July 27: Open as of 4pm to the general public”.  Different story at the entrance of the Belgian House, “Sorry Sir, tonight is invitation only, maybe you can try the Brazilian House”.  WTF!  I teamed up with four ‘Topsport’ students who had just graduated from VUB and who were also refused entrance to the venue.  After a short brainstorming session and some text messages, we managed to get hold of the phone number of the Belgian Olympic Committee Marketing Director.  After a friendly call, 200 extra ‘non’ invitees were allowed entrance to the Middle Temple! :)

Pic: The Inner Temple Belgium House London 2012 Opening Ceremony
 Video: Atmosphere at Belgium House during London 2012 Opening Ceremony

Pic: London 2012 Men’s Road Cycling Race at The Mall (Jul 2012)
On the first day of the Games (Saturday, Jul 28) I was present at The Mall hoping a Belgian would finish first in the Men’s Road Cycling Race event.  Unfortunately doping sinner Alexander Vinokourov ‘won’ the race.
Later that afternoon, I visited the London 2012 Olympic Park.  A huge area with numerous friendly volunteers making sure everything ran smoothly in a relaxed and enthusiastic atmosphere.  The park didn’t feel artificial as it had many grass fields, trees and colorful flowers along the paths connecting the different venues. 

Pic: London 2012 Olympic Park – Olympic Stadium and Orbit (Jul 2012)

Pic: London 2012 Olympic Stadium (Jul 2012)

Pic: London 2012 Olympic Stadium Close-Up (Jul 2012)

Pic: Elite Hospitality – Prestige at the Olympic Park London 2012 (Jul 2012)

Pic: London 2012 Olympic Park Basketball Arena (Jul 2012)

Pic: London 2012 Olympic Park Info Sign and Zeppelin (Jul 2012)

Pic: Handball at Copper Box London 2012 Olympic Park (Jul 2012)

Pic: London 2012 Olympic Park Riverbank Arena Hockey (Jul 2012)

Pic: Me and Coca-Cola ‘Move to the Beat’ Olympic Park Promo Team (Jul 2012)

Pic: Sunset at London 2012 Olympic Stadium (Jul 2012)
My visit to the London 2012 Olympic Games was a short one (3 nights) but gave me a good impression of both infrastructure and atmosphere at the Games.  The Brits did an excellent job and I have a tremendous amount of respect for all volunteers working day and night with such enthusiasm and persistence to make the London 2012 Olympic Games a success.  See you in Rio de Janeiro for the next Summer Olympics Rio2016!
Pic: Casa Brasil at London 2012 Olympic Games (Jul 2012)

Pic: Bart Lapers at Casa Brasil Countdown Rio 2016 – London 2012 (Jul 2012)
Video: Bart Lapers Hang Gliding in Rio de Janeiro (Apr, 2009)

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Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill

Posted on August 4, 2012 | 4 Comments


Pic: King Bed Superior room 506 at Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill (Jul 2012)
Last weekend, I attended the Opening of the London 2012 Olympics.  Apart from my amazing experiences at the Olympic venues, I also had a fabulous hotel stay.  Back in August last year, I wrote about the luxury hotels I had booked using PriorityClub points.  A few weeks ago, I changed my mind about the length of my London 2012 stay and shortened it from 9 to 3 nights.  If I would have booked my hotels in Aug 2011 on the best available prepaid rates (which were as high as £450 per night), it would have been impossible to shorten my stay without a penalty.  This is a huge advantage of booking with points: You can cancel your reservations up to the day of arrival (before 6:00 PM local hotel time) without penalty.  Note: Make sure to check the cancellation policy for each points booking you make.  Some properties impose a more strict policy (e.g. the IHG French Polynesia resorts require to cancel a few days in advance to avoid a penalty).  But in general, you can cancel point bookings and have the points returned in your account instantly without any penalty!  Also make sure to have separate reservations for each night you book with PriorityClub points, even if it’s a seven night stay at the same hotel.  This will allow you to cancel certain dates of your stay without cancelling the entire booking.  It might be impossible to make a new reservation using points at the time you want to make changes.  IHG hotels are required to release at least 5% of their room inventory for PriorityClub bookings, but once those are gone, it might be impossible to book on points. Also, canceling a room reservation booked on points doesn’t necessarily mean it’s being added back to the inventory of rooms  bookable on points.

Pic: Work Desk Superior room 506 Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill (Jul 2012)
Finding my way from the Eurostar St. Pancras International station to the hotel was easy, as Aldgate tube station (Circle line) is on walking distance from the hotel (note: Aldgate East station also is nearby).  To my surprise, enthusiastic front desk staff member Tamara spoke fluent Flemish, my first language.  She had been living in Antwerp (Belgium) for 10 years where learned both Dutch and French.  As PriorityClub Platinum member, I was offered a complimentary dessert or glass of wine at the hotels restaurant ‘Square Mile Kitchen & Lounge’.  Internet access was complimentary for all guests, and so was the minibar!

Pic: Nespresso Essenza at Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill (Jul 2012)

Pic: Shower Bathroom Superior room 506 Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill

Pic: Bathroom Superior room 506 Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill (Jul 2012)

Pic: Aveda Bathroom Amenities Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill (Jul 2012)

Pic: Olympic Welcome Gift Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill (Jul 2012)
On my first two nights, I didn’t receive an upgrade and was assigned Superior room 506.  It was one of the smallest rooms on the 5th floor (plan), still spacious enough to move around comfortably and it was a corner room.  As I felt ‘home’ at Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill, I decided to cancel my reservation at Radisson Blu Edwardian Mercer Street (booked on Club Carlson points) and to stay a third night at Hotel Indigo Tower Hill.  For my first two nights, I had burned 25K points per night as they were booked back in Aug 2011.  Unfortunately PriorityClub devaluated their points in Jan 2012 by increasing the number of points required for a free night at many of it’s prime properties, including Hotel Indigo Tower Hill (now 35K).  At least those extra 10K points were rewarded with an upgrade to a King Executive room (406) on the 4th floor (plan).  The Executive room was much more spacious than Superior room 506, still it had exactly the same size on the floor plan (4 vs 5).  The bathroom at the Executive room also had nicer walk-in shower and the TV was placed on a drawer instead of being mounted on the wall.

Pic: Bed King Executive room 406 Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill (Jul 2012)

Pic: Bed and Work Desk King Executive room Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill

Pic: Overview King Executive room Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill (Jul 2012)
Conclusion: I had a fantastic stay at Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill during the London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Weekend thanks to the well appointed cosy rooms and the outstanding staff.  Even at 35,000 Priority Club points, I can highly recommend it!

Pic: TV and Work Desk King Executive room Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill

Pic: Bathroom King Executive room 406 Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill
 Video: King Executive room 406 at Hotel Indigo London Tower Hill (Jul 2012)

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New Years Eve 2012 in London

Posted on January 2, 2012 | 2 Comments

Video: New Years Eve London 2012 Fireworks (make sure to watch in 1080p)
Thanks to the very generous Eurostar compensation policy I was able to travel to London for free with three friends to celebrate New Years Eve.  On a family trip back in September, our Eurostar train to London was delayed by 135 minutes due to electrical problems in the Eurotunnel.  Even with the root cause being out of control of Eurostar, each traveller was compensated with a free round trip ticket from their departure city to London.  The train manager even announced this to everyone on the delayed train.  I was even more surprised to learn there were no black-out dates to use these compensation tickets.  As long as there are seats available on the train, you can book using compensation tickets.  Instead of paying €185 per round trip ticket Brussels-London, I used four (out of five) of our compensation ticket for a free trip to London during the 2012 New Years Eve Weekend.  Saved us €740!

Pic: Crowne Plaza St James London – Exterior (Jan 2012)
Traditionally, New Years Eve is one of those nights with room rates sky high.  A great opportunity to burn points and get maximum value out of them.  Initially I had booked Hyatt Andaz Liverpool Street on GoldPassport points, but changed my mind once I understood location was prime for the London NYE fireworks.  I was looking for a hotel as close as possible to Westminster (Big Ben) – Victoria Embankment.  Mid December the best available PriorityClub hotel with reward nights was Hotel Indigo London Paddington.  I booked it for 25K points and started monitoring availability on daily bases.  A week before year-end, the best IHG hotel (location wise) showed availability, Crowne Plaza St James.  Ten minutes walking distance from Big Ben, excellent!  Cancelled my Indigo Paddington booking and booked Crowne Plaza St James instead.  Paid rooms at St. James were around £250, so I got excellent value for my 25000 Priority Club points.  Out of curiosity, I kept monitoring the availability of IHG hotels  and noticed on Dec 30 even InterContinental London Park Lane had opened up some rewards rooms for NYE!

Pic: Superior Room at Crowne Plaza St James London (Jan 2012)
Upon arrival both our standard rooms were upgraded to superior rooms on the second floor.  The 2nd floor hallways and rooms looked like they had been recently refurbished as they didn’t match the old fashioned lobby area.  Staff was very friendly and helpful, location was perfect for the fireworks, St. James area itself was very quiet.  Around 8pm we headed towards Big Ben to join the crowds for the most spectacular fireworks I ever witnessed in my life (see videos)  A big thank you goes out to the Mayor of London.  Very promising for my upcoming London 2012 Olympics trip!

Pic: Bart Lapers at Big Ben in London on New Years Eve 2012
Video: My view from Big Ben – New Years Eve London 2012 Fireworks

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Hotel Indigo London Paddington

Posted on September 12, 2011 | 4 Comments


Pic: Hotel Indigo London Paddington By Night (Sep 2011 – iPhone)

Pic: Hotel Indigo London Paddington Room 409 (Sep 2011)
The first weekend of September, I stayed with family members at Hotel Indigo Paddington in London.  Indigo is a boutique brand of the InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG).  I had booked 3 Standard Double rooms with Queen Bed using the 2 nights for the price of 1 promo.  The total for two nights was 159,60£ per room, not bad for a 4* hotel in London.  At check-in we were assigned room numbers 206, 207 and 210.  As you can see on the 2nd floor plan, rooms at Hotel Indigo Paddington are not created equal.  Out of our three rooms, 210 had the best layout.  After the first night, my parents told me their room (206) had a noise issue.  Just outside the room on the roof of the 1st floor of a connecting building an A/C unit was making an irritating monotone buzz sound.  The front desk assigned my parents a new room, 409 (see picture above), which was more spacious than any of the other three rooms we had before (see 4th floor plan).  Tip: Avoid rooms in the 5XX range as those are not on the fifth floor but in the basement!  Staff was very friendly and helpful at all times.  As the breakfast buffet at Indigo was very limited, I would recommend to check the options in the vicinity of the hotel or take the tube to Green Park to enjoy the fabulous breakfast at The Wolseley.  Just make sure to book in advance to avoid disappointment.

Pic: Breakfast at The Wolseley – London (Sep 2011 – iPhone)

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London 2012 Olympic Games – My Free* Hotel Room

Posted on August 22, 2011 | 6 Comments


Pic: Bart at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (Aug 2008)
My interest for next year’s Olympic Games was low.  Earlier this year, I didn’t managed to grab any London 2012 tickets in the disastrous Belgian London 2012 ticket sale nor did I have any luck with the international London 2012 ticket lottery.  End of June, Eurostar announced they were selling 2012 return tickets Brussels – London at 99 euro each to celebrate the start of the London 2012 train ticket sale.  Why not visit the City for the Opening Weekend of the Games to enjoy the atmosphere, I thought.  I booked the ticket and challenged myself to find a reasonable priced hotel room for July 27 – July 29, 2012.  “Impossible” is what most people said.  If I failed, I could still CouchSurf or bail for 99 euro.

Today, just two months after I booked my train ticket, I can report success.  I booked a room for the London 2012 Opening Weekend!  And for the first week of the Games too!  Eight nights at luxurious hotels in London City Centre… Best Of All, It’s FREE!*
Pic: Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Bird’s Nest (Aug 2008)
The InterContinental Hotel Group (Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, …) loads it’s hotel inventory 50 weeks in advance.  This happens every Sunday morning at 7AM (CET)  Rooms are released per week, from Sunday until Saturday.  Two weeks ago, IHG did something unexpected.  They released reward rooms for the Opening Night of the London 2012 Olympic Games.  And on Sunday August 14th, they loaded rooms for the whole first week of the London 2012 Games.  Finally, this weekend (Aug 21)  the second week of the Olympics was loaded.  I didn’t really expected this.  PriorityClub had always been very generous with reward rooms, but during the Olympics?  The 5* InterContinental hotels in London were not available, but the 4* Indigo boutique hotels , some 4* Crowne Plaza’s and most Holidays Inn’s in the heart of London were available for both paid and reward bookings.  The “best available” rates were highly inflated, somewhere between £400 to £800 per night.  With 180.000 points in my PriorityClub account, I booked 7 nights (July 27-Aug3) at the Indigo brand at 25000 points per night.  Two nights at Indigo London – Tower Hill and 5 nights at Indigo London – Paddington  Those 7 nights would have cost me around 5000 euro booked on the best available rate.

On Aug 21st, I had again 16000 points in my account thanks to my stay at InterContinental Bangkok and Holiday Inn Pataya earlier that week.  Unfortunately no rooms were available anymore for Aug 3-4, so I booked an 8th night (15.000 points + $60) for Aug 4-5 at Holiday Inn Express London – Swiss Cottage.  So that leaves me with one night open on Aug 3-4, 2012.  HI Swiss Cottage has availability, but only on paid rates with the cheapest being around 400 pounds for just one night!  I rather have a £400 party that night!  You’re all invited! ;-)

What’s in it for you?  If you don’t have a PriorityClub account yet, I suggest you create one now.  Sign-up for all available bonuses.  Stay a few times at IHG hotels.  Soon, you’ll find yourself in a free hotel room at a World Event!  :)

PS: Follow me on twitter to get instant updates on great travel deals.

* Booked with PriorityClub points.  70.000 points were bought (out of 200.000 points required for this booking)  60.000 via the Discover America promo (253 euro) 10.000 via the points + cash option ($60 = 42 euro).  Total cash: 295 euro.

Update 1 (24/08/11)
Last night I checked the Reward Night availability again for Aug 3, 2012 in London.  I noticed Holiday Inn Express London – Swiss Cottage  showed available nights at 25K points.  As I had only 2500 points left in my account, I had no other option than to buy (expensive) points via the PriorityClub website.  I bought 13K points for 162.50 USD and then selected the Points + Cash (60 USD) option to book the HI Express Swiss Cottage.  In total I paid 222.50 USD (155 euro) for my Olympic night on Aug 3, 2012.  Total cash: 450 euro.
Update 2 (18/09/11)
This morning, Hotel Indigo London Paddington loaded award night availability for almost every day of the London 2012 Olympics.  Consequently, I canceled my Holiday Inn Express London – Swiss Cottage booking for the second weekend of the Games.  Canceling the 2 nights at HI Express resulted in a 50K points refund.  For my new booking at Indigo London Paddington I used points+cash (15K + $60 per night).  At the end of the transaction I spent $120 (90€) and recovered 20K points.  Thus, I paid $120 for 20K points which are now in my Priority Club account.  This keeps my total for 9 nights at the London 2012 Olympics on 450 euro.

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