Tag Archives: view

InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa

Posted on March 10, 2013 | 9 Comments

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)

→ 9 Comments

Posted in Hotels, trip reports

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ocean View Pool Villa at Conrad Koh Samui

Posted on July 19, 2012 | 11 Comments


Pic: Conrad Koh Samui entrance on top of the hill (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Private Pool at Oceanview villa (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui One Bedroom Oceanview Pool Villa (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breathtaking Sea View from Villa 311 (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Pool Villa 311 Oceanview (July 2012)
Each year in the April/May time frame, the U.S. Travel Association organizes a five week sale of (mainly) hotel loyalty points called “Daily Getaways”. The aim of the Daily Getaways campaign is to encourage domestic US summer travel and thus intended for US citizens, nevertheless both in 2011 and 2012, I managed to buy several point packages. As these points are being sold at steep discounts, the sale has become incredibly popular and the better offers tend to sell-out in seconds. My best ‘catch’ in 2011 was a package of 24,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points for $250 (€175,43) This year, I scored two great offers: I bought 98,000 Wyndham Rewards points for $308 (€237,85) and 150,000 Hilton HHonors points for $825 (€633,46) I had never heard of Wyndham hotels before and wasn’t planning to stay at any of their properties either. Still, buying those 98K points was an incredible deal as you could convert them to a lot of partner airline miles. In my case, I converted the 98K Wyndham Rewards points to a whopping 39,200 United MileagePlus miles. The icing on the cake came two weeks ago, when Singapore Airlines accidentally released all reward inventory to Star Alliance partners. An ideal opportunity to convert those cheap United miles into something very valuable… Yes, I booked a Singapore Airlines First Class flight for Jan 2013! :) More on that later.

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Villa Keycard (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Bedroom of Oceanview Pool Villa 311 (July 2012)
Back to the subject of this post, Conrad Koh Samui in Thailand. A property with 66 villa’s located on a west facing hill in the Southern tip of the Koh Samui island. Opened in September 2011, with an average room rate well above THB20,000 (€500) per night, not particularly fitting the average travel budget. Except if you collected and/or bought Hilton HHonors points. The hotel is ranked Category 7 in the HHonors program, meaning 50K points are required for a free night. HHonors Elite Members (Silver, Gold and Diamond) get discounts on the number of points required for extended stays. As I obtained HHonors Gold status for free last year, I was eligible for a 15% points discount on a four night stay: 42500 points per night (4 nights = 170K) instead of 50,000 (4 nights = 200K). Before my 150K points purchase, I had 16,565 HHonors points in my account. The missing 3435 points to total the 170K were offered during the booking process for $34,35 (€28). That brought the total for 4 nights at Conrad Koh Samui to €661,46 (€633,46 (150K) + €28 (3K) +16K points which were in my account) A paid stay at my one bedroom Oceanview Pool Villa using the cheapest non-refundable rate would have cost me THB78,523 (€2020)!

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Bathroom Oceanview Pool Villa 311 (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Hilton HHonors Gold Welcome Amenity (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui HHonors Gold Welcome Amenity (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Zest Restaurant Entrance (July 2012)
The downside of exclusive resorts like Conrad Koh Samui is their remote location. Without own transportation means, it’s quite hard to leave the resort and the nearest restaurants and shops are not at walking distance. This works in the advantage of the resorts who tend to charge much higher prices for food and drinks compared to the local market value. Fortunately, my free Hilton HHonors Gold status comes with complimentary breakfast for up to two room guests. This allowed us to take an extensive daily ‘brunch’ covering both breakfast and lunch. As HHonors Gold, we could order anything from the menu (except the Sparkling Breakfast option) and/or we could serve ourselves at the buffet.

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Zest Restaurant Interior (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Meat Selection (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Freshly Baked Pastries Selection (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Fresh Honey (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Fresh Juices (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast with a view at Zest (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Freshly Baked Pastries (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast Egg Royal (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Breakfast French Toast (July 2012)
 For in depth reviews of the resort, I would like to refer to colleague bloggers Garry Leff (View From The Wing, part 1, part 2) John Ollila (LoyaltyLobby.com) and the thread on Flyertalk. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comment section below. Thanks!

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Main Pool (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Main Pool Infinity Edge (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Main Pool Underwater View (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Beach Hammock and Chairs (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Beach Lounge Chairs (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Azure Pool Bar and Gril Restaurant (July 2012)

Pic: Conrad Koh Samui Azure Delicious Pizza (July 2012)

Pic: Travel blogger Bart Lapers at Conrad Koh Samui (July 2012)
 Video: One Bedroom Ocean View Villa at Conrad Koh Samui

→ 11 Comments

Posted in Hotels

Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stopover at Hilton London Tower Bridge

Posted on June 16, 2012 | 4 Comments


Pic: Welcome ad Heathrow Airport – Beefeater Tower of London (May 2012)

Pic: Hilton HHonors ad at London Heathrow Airport (May 2012)
On my return from Thailand to Belgium, I made a stopover in London.  I arrived on Sunday night (open-jaw Etihad ticket GVA-BKK-LHR) and had a Eurostar ticket to Brussels for Monday afternoon.  It was another opportunity to use The Great Getaway Hilton promo. (valid till July 23 for stays until September 30, 2012)  I paid £100 (€128 on Amex) for a Double Hilton Guest Room at Hilton London Tower Bridge which was upgraded to a Double Hilton Executive Room thanks to my free Hilton HHonors Gold status.  This upgrade included access to the Executive lounge (free breakfast, evening cocktails & snacks, etc…) and HHonors Gold member, I also got free internet access.

Pic: Sunset City Hall view from London Tower Bridge (May 2012)
The hotel is conveniently located near London Bridge station.  I didn’t check the closest station in advance and ended up at Tower Hill station.  Exhausted from the longhaul BKK-AUH-LHR flight, I dragged my luggage across Tower Bridge.  In the process of doing so, I managed to make the sunset shot above.
Continue reading →

→ 4 Comments

Posted in Hotels

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,

Club View King room at Grand Hyatt Seoul

Posted on March 13, 2012 | 4 Comments


Pic: River view from “Club View King” room at Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)

Pic: King Bed Club room at Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)

Pic: Seating area and work desk Club room Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)
After my excellent stay at Park Hyatt Seoul last year, I had to try Grand Hyatt Seoul this time.  The night before my stay I was resting my head at IP Boutique Hotel (Itaewon).  Google maps indicated a 400 meter distance between IP Boutique and Grand Hyatt, so I decided to walk.  Turned out to be a bad idea.  GH Seoul is located on Namsan (lit. “South Mountain”) which means it’s  a 400m steep uphill walk.  To make things worse, the hotel’s entrance faces uphill, so you encounter the back of the hotel first.  What an embarrassing hotel arrival, carrying my suitcase through the garden looking for an entrance.  I finally managed to get in via the Spa/Gym floor garden entrance.  Arriving from the opposite direction at the front desk, staff were surprised I wanted to check-in, not check-out.  After showing my Gold Passport Diamond card, I was guided to the Club floor for check-in formalities.  My standard room (booked using Gold Passport points: category 4 hotel,  30K points for 2 nights) was upgraded to a Club View King room (1558,  28-sq. m) offering panoramic views of the city and Han River.  I was also informed about the free shuttle service which runs daily from 10am until 9pm as follows: Hyatt :00 -> Itaewon :05 (In front of KFC) -> Hyatt :10 -> Myeondong Subway Station Exit4 :20 -> Hyatt :35

Pic: Gold Passport Diamond Welcome Amenity Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)

Pic: Bathroom Club room Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)

Pic: Nighttime view Club View King room Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)
During the winter months, the outdoor pool is converted to an ice skating rink.

Pic: In room breakfast service at Grand Hyatt Seoul (Mar 2012)
Complimentary continental breakfast, evening drinks & Hors-d’oeuvre were served in style at the Grand Club on the 15th and 17th floor.  On the morning of my arrival, I had late in room breakfast charged at KRW35000 (€24).

→ 4 Comments

Posted in Hotels

Tagged , , , , , , ,

Regency Suite at Hyatt Regency Cancun

Posted on June 5, 2011 | 3 Comments

Pic: View from my Regency Suite at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)Pic: Regency Suite Bedroom at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)
I’m currently enjoying a 10 9 night stay (arrived one day late thanks to Continental Airlines – United) at the Hyatt Regency Cancun.  The main reason for this trip is to secure my Gold Passport Diamond level for the next two years using the Gold Passport Status Match Challenge.  At arrival I was assigned a Regency Suite King with Ocean view (room 1115).  I used two Suite Upgrade Awards to exchange my King room for a Regency Suite at the time of booking.  Initially I was disappointed with the view.  The room was facing the ocean, but you couldn’t see the Cancun bay.  I went back to the front desk and requested a room facing the bay.  The front desk attendant told me no Regency Suites facing the bay were available, but I should come back the next day at 1pm to check if I could move to an other room.  I was fine with that, as I would stay 9 nights anyway.  Once back in my room, I got a call from John, the Chief Concierge at Hyatt Regency Cancun.  He wanted to check why I didn’t like the room and if he could offer a solution.  Ten minutes later I could pick-up new keys for a Regency Suite (room 1220) with view on the bay.  Now that’s customer service!

Pic: Arial Para Sailing view of Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

Pic: Nighttime view from Regency Suite at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

Pic: Lobby Area at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

Pic: Lobby Area and O restaurant at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

Pic: Main Pool Area at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

Pic: Pool Area at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

Pic: Pool Lounge Chairs at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

Pic: Pool with beach view at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

Pic: The Beach House Spa Cabana at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

Pic: Cabanas with beach view at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

Pic: Cabana with beach view at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

Pic: Stunning beach at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)
Video: Regency Suite at Hyatt Regency Cancun (Jun 2011)

→ 3 Comments

Posted in Hotels

Tagged , , , , , , ,