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Presentation: Luxury Travel on a Budget

Bart Lapers — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:33:36 +0000

On May 16, I spoke at a seminar for hospitality professionals called Hotel ’13. Afterwards, I translated my presentation to English and posted it on SlideShare which featured it as ‘Top Presentation of the Day‘. Result: a whopping +24,000 views in 24 hours!

TravelMagic 2013 – The Hotel Brussels

Bart Lapers — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 18:56:57 +0000

Pic: TravelMagic 2013 – Saturday September 21 at The Hotel Brussels Belgium
It is with great excitement that we announce our first TravelMagic 2013 speaker: one of the most influential travel bloggers on the planet… Ben Schlappig!
About Ben Schlappig (aka Lucky)
Ben is a travel consultant, full-time travel blogger at One Mile at a Time and avid points collector living in Bellevue, Washington. He travels over 300,000 miles per year and spends around 100 nights per year in hotels. He has visited over 40 countries on six continents, and loves sharing tricks about how others can use miles and points to do the same. Ben has been cited as a travel expert in various publications, including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and many more.
About TravelMagic
The first edition of TravelMagic, the seminar for Luxury Travellers on a Budget, took place on Dec 1, 2012 at Holiday Inn Brussels Airport. With more than 50 participants and many raving reviews, it was a huge success. For the 2013 edition, organizers Bart Lapers and Erlend Debast have set the bar even higher. The brand new 5* The Hotel Brussels will host TravelMagic 2013 on Saturday September 21. The seminar will feature a Beginners (Dutch) and Advanced (English) track with national and international speakers with proven track record in luxury travel on a budget. Registration for TravelMagic 2013 isn’t open yet, but interested travel fans can sign-up for our mailing list at TravelMagic.be

Singapore Airlines A380 Business Class: SYD to SIN

Bart Lapers — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 15:53:09 +0000

DoubleTree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur

Bart Lapers — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 12:28:07 +0000

How to find really cheap hotels using Google

Bart Lapers — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 19:46:46 +0000

Pic: Search all hotels in Belgium at once using Google Hotel Finder!
Google Hotel Finder allows you to search hotels the Google way: a neat interface with some really cool sorting and filtering options. The first great find of the day: You can search all hotels in Belgium at once! (at least for now)

Pic: Use Google Hotel Finder to spot amazing hotel deals!
The search query above returns 2532 available hotels for a Sunday night stay in Belgium. If you apply the ‘Sort by Price Compared to Usual’ function, you can spot some really good deals. In this case Google Hotel Finder revealed the Park Inn by Radisson Leuven was available for just $46 (€37,50) which is indeed 50% less than the usual rate we see at this hotel.

Pic: Park Inn by Radisson Leuven for €37,50 via Booking.com (Mar 2013)
This makes Google Hotel Finder an awesome tool for Best Rate Guarantee claims! What other great hacks did you find using Google Hotel Finder? Please share them in the comments section of this blog post, thanks!

Park Hyatt Sydney

Bart Lapers — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 13:32:04 +0000

Singapore Airlines First Class: SQ211 to Sydney

Bart Lapers — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 17:43:21 +0000

Fiji Trip Report Index
Introduction: Belgium to Fiji in 13 flights (26561 miles, 42746km)
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Grand Suite at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur
Singapore Airlines First Class: The Private Room @ Changi Airport
Singapore Airlines First Class: SQ211 Singapore to Sydney B777-300A
Opera King room at Park Hyatt Sydney
Beachfront View room at InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa
Singapore Airlines Business Class: SQ232 Sydney to Singapore
Thai Airways First Class: Royal Orchid Spa, TG920 Bangkok to Frankfurt A380

Pic: Singapore Airlines First Class Seat 1F on Boeing 777-300 (Jan 2013)
Back in July 2012, Singapore Airlines made a mistake while upgrading their booking engine. They took it offline for a weekend long upgrade, but when their systems came back online, for a brief moment (24h), it was possible to book Singapore Airlines Business and First Class awards via frequent flyer programs of Star Alliance partners. This was unintentional, as they normally release longhaul C and F award space exclusively to their own loyalty program, KrisFlyer. I used this opportunity to book Singapore-Sydney-Auckland-Nadi for 45K United miles + $159,70 (€132) Taxes/Fees with SIN-SYD in Singapore Airlines First Class, SYD-AKL in Air New Zealand Business Class and AKL-NAN in Air New Zealand The Works Economy Class. This routing is also a great sweet spot on the United MileagePlus Award Chart: A First Class award ticket from Singapore to Sydney or Auckland normally requires 60K United miles, however routing via Australia and/or New Zealand to anywhere in Oceania is only 45K miles!

Pic: SQ First Class – Givenchy Sleeper Suit and Kiehl’s Amenity kit (Jan 2013)
So how did I get hold of the 45K United MileagePlus miles required for this award? The obvious way would have been by flying, but I haven’t deposited any of my flown miles in my United MileagePlus account in the past two years. Instead I try to buy miles as cheap as possible throughout the year. In this case, I bought 98,000 Wyndham Rewards points for $308 (€237,85) during the yearly U.S. Travel Association “Daily Getaways” campaign and converted them to 39,200 United MileagePlus miles. With 9K miles left in my account from the Continental OnePass and United MileagePlus merger, I had enough miles to cover the remaining 5800 miles required for this award.
Total cost: 39K miles €237,85 + 5800 miles in account + Taxes/Fees €132 =
€369,85 for an award ticket with a revenue value of > €6000!
Pic: Singapore Airlines First Class – Dom Perignon Champagne (Jan 2013)
The retrofitted Boeing 777-300 had 8 seats in First Class of which only two were occupied. As I was the only passenger having Dom Perignon Champagne, the crew continuously refilled my glass, even replacing the glass when it was still half full just to make sure I would only drink perfectly chilled champagne!

Pic: Singapore Airlines First Class – Champagne and Warm Nuts (Jan 2013)
As with every international First Class flight, the menu was extensive:
Lunch menu from Singapore to Sydney (1,2,3)
Cocktails and Aperitifs (1)
Champagne and Wines (1,2)
Spirits and Beers (1)
Non Alcoholic Beverages (1,2)
Coffee Selection (1,2)
Tea Selection (1)

Pic: Singapore Airlines First Class – Chilled Malossol Caviar (Jan 2013)
One of the highlights on a First Class flight: Caviar, just love it!

Pic: Fennel cream soup with mint seared scallop and small pasta (Jan 2013)

Pic: Singapore Airlines First Class Dining – Ceasar Salad (Jan 2013)

Pic: SQ Book the Cook – Wagyu Sirloin with Eringi Mushroom (Jan 2013)
Singapore Airlines offers Business and First Class passengers the possibility to pre-order their main course up to 24h before departure. I used the Book the Cook service to order Wagyu Sirloin with Eringi Mushroom from the Japanese menu. Unfortunately, I wasn’t too impressed with the quality of the meat, next time I’ll go for a Singaporean dish or the Boston Lobster Thermidor.
Pic: Macaroon with Pistachio Cream, Fresh Raspberries & Passionfruit sorbet

Pic: Singapore Airlines First Class – Macaroon and Sorbet Dessert (Jan 2013)
While it was a relatively short (8h) daytime flight from Singapore to Sydney, one of the Singapore Girls had prepared seat 2F in full flat bed mode to allow me to take a nap and watch a movie in all comfort. Having flown a few First Class flights now, I realize being one of the only passengers in the First Class cabin is a big plus!

Pic: Singapore Airlines First Class Bed on Boeing 777-300A (Jan 2013)

Singapore Airlines First Class: The Private Room

Bart Lapers — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:06:29 +0000

InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa

Bart Lapers — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:05:01 +0000

Fiji Trip Report Index
Introduction: Belgium to Fiji in 13 flights (26561 miles, 42746km)
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur
Grand Suite at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur
Singapore Airlines First Class: The Private Room @ Changi Airport
Singapore Airlines First Class: SQ211 Singapore to Sydney B777-300A
Opera King room at Park Hyatt Sydney
Beachfront View room at InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa
Singapore Airlines Business Class: SQ232 Sydney to Singapore
Thai Airways First Class: Royal Orchid Spa, TG920 Bangkok to Frankfurt A380

Pic: Club Infinity Pool at InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa (Jan 2013)
The InterContinental Fiji Resort Map includes Restaurants & Bars and practical Fiji travel advice. The InterContinental Fiji Concierge Guide includes info on how to get around, where to eat, drink, shop and what to discover more at Fiji.

Pic: Beachfront room 1114 at InterContinental Fiji Natadola Bay (Jan 2013)
Instead of paying FJD920 (€394, $514) per night for a Garden View room, I used the Priority Club Points + Cash trick to book my 4 night stay at InterContinental Fiji. At 30K points per night, this resulted in $210 (€161) room rate. Upon arrival at 11am I was told my Garden View room wasn’t ready yet, despite my Royal Ambassador status which guarantees 8am check-in, and no room upgrade would be given as I was staying on points. When inquiring about my other Royal Ambassador benefits, the front desk agent responded he wasn’t sure and had to check. As my Garden View room would only be ready by 2pm, I was suggested to wait at the Kama Lounge. The bartender provided me with the cocktail menu and offered me a complementary drink to ease the wait. After 15 minutes, the bartender still hadn’t returned to take my order so I asked him what was going on. He told me his supervisor had informed him the complimentary drinks policy had changed and I would actually have to pay for my drink. My stay at IC Fiji was off to a bad start… room wouldn’t be upgraded, front desk didn’t know if RA benefits applied or not (previous IC Fiji trip reports suggested they did including room upgrades) and a complimentary drink had to be paid for. In this kind of situations I turn to Twitter to express my malcontent, which in many cases results in a satisfying solution. I tweeted @IHGCare and @InterConFiji and expressed my frustration. Soon after, I was informed my Beachfront View room was ready, courtesy of the InterContinental Fiji marketing department. For the Royal Ambassador benefits, local management confirmed they didn’t apply on point stays as per IHG Ambassador T&C.

Pic: Bedroom of Beachfront room 1114 at InterContinental Fiji (Jan 2013)

Pic: InterContinental Fiji – Beachfront room 1114 Terrace with Cleopatra Bath

Pure Fiji Bathroom Amenities at InterContinental Fiji Natadola Bay (Jan 2013)

Pic: InterContinental Fiji Resort & Spa – Beachfront View Rooms 11xx
Pic: InterContinental Fiji Resort & Spa – Natadola Bay Beach (Jan 2013)

Pic: Breakfast at Sanasana Restaurant, InterContinental Fiji (Jan 2013)

Pic: InterContinental Fiji Resort – Main Infinity Adults Only Pool (Jan 2013)

Pic: Dedon Nestrest at Club InterContinental Fiji Inifinity Pool (Jan 2013)

Pic: Wedding Chapel at InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa (Jan 2013)

Pic: InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa – Indigenous band (Jan 2013)

Pic: Entrance InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa at night (Jan 2013)

Pic: Nighttime at Club InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa (Jan 2013)

Pic: Sunset at Infinity Pool Club InterContinental Fiji (Jan 2013)

Grand Suite at Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur

Bart Lapers — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 18:59:14 +0000