Bart Lapers
Visiting Every Country In The World
Stopover at Hilton London Tower Bridge
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.
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Etihad Business Class BKK-AUH B777-300ER
Pic: Etihad Airways Business Class Check-in (May 2012)
Early May, Etihad Airways was running a 96h World Sale which included some great fares. Some of those fares became even better if you booked them as open-jaw tickets. And that’s exactly what I did for my recent Thailand trip: Geneva – Abu Dhabi – Bangkok – Abu Dhabi – London Heathrow for 358 Swiss Franc or €307! Of course I still had to get from Brussels to Geneva and from London to Brussels. Flew Easyjet from BRU to GVA for €62 (incl. luggage fee) and took the Eurostar from London to Brussels for free using a compensation ticket. €362 for a return trip Brussels – Bangkok is a great deal, right? Yes, it was, but keep in mind the additional expenses and time lost making ‘detours’. Even though my outbound GVA-AUH flight was only on Wednesday night, I had booked the Easyjet morning flight from Brussels to Geneva. I wanted to avoid missing the Etihad flight, which meant I had a 9h layover at GVA airport. No problem I thought, I will store my luggage at the airport and visit Geneva or work on my laptop during the day. This turned out to be an expensive scenario, as the weather wasn’t too good in Geneva, I decided to stay at the airport. I spent almost €80 on food, drinks and wifi during that layover. Geneva is awfully expensive (fifth most expensive city in the World): 24h wifi €21, Pizza with one beer €22, Starbucks Frappuccino €8. Getting comfortably from LHR airport to St Pancras International station wasn’t cheap either: Heathrow Express train €24, London Underground ticket €5,50. All this additional info to remind you to think twice and to make your calculations before booking open-jaw tickets. Still, I felt I got excellent value out of this trip, primarily because I managed to upgrade on leg of the trip to the fantastic Etihad Pearl Business Class.
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Weekend in Birmingham (UK)
Pic: The Bull at Bullring Shopping Mall Birmingham (Jun 2012)
Birmingham, my sixth Brussels Airlines Flyday destination. Once again, thanks to the IHG 2-for-1 discount rate, I managed to stay two nights abroad for less than €100. In fact, this time I paid £59 (€75 on amex) for two nights at Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre. Not the most fancy hotel in town, the exterior looks a bit dated, but with recently refurbished rooms and located conveniently around the corner of Birmingham New Street station. If your budget allows, I would recommend the new Hotel Indigo Birmingham located at the fantastic Cube building next to the upscale shopping mall The Mailbox.
Pic: Double Bed room at Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre (Jun 2012)
Being the the most populous British city outside the capital London, I was surprised to find Birmingham City Centre quite compact with many streets pedestrianized. Most things to see and do can be reached on foot from the major hotels in town. If found Birmingham less exciting than Bristol, but fans of shopping and nightlife will love it for sure. Several new shopping malls are frequented by thousands every weekend. The most impressive one being the Bullring featuring the iconic Selfridges department store. Nightlife enthusiast, whom can cope with typical English partiers and their behaviour, should check Bond Street, home of many clubs including the famous Gatecrasher.
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Brussels Airlines new Business Class JFK-BRU
Pic: Brussels Airlines entrance at New York JFK Terminal 1 (Jun 2012)
Pic: Lufthansa Senator Lounge at New York JFK Airport (Jun 2012)
On Friday June 1, I joined inaugural flight SN501 from Brussels to New York JFK. I flew economy class and was seated on the first row (14D) in Y. As frequent Brussels Airlines flyer (almost weekly now thanks to their Flyday promo) and Miles and More Senator, I was upgraded* to business class on the return flight from JFK to BRU. Both the hard and soft product were outstanding. I think my pictures speak for themselves regarding the quality of the hard product. The only two negative experiences I had during the BRU-JFK-BRU journey were out of Brussels Airlines control: A queue of almost three hours (!) at JFK Terminal 1 Immigration to enter the USA and a 1,5 hour queue on the JFK runway before take-off back to BRU. Not sure what’s wrong with JFK airport, but I hope they fix these issues soon!
Pic: Brussels Airlines A330-300ER OO-SFM at JFK Airport (Jun 3, 2012)
Pic: My Brussels Airlines Business Class seat 4K on flight SN502 JFK – BRU
Pic: Brussels Airlines new business class – Seat controls (Jun 2012)
Pic: Brussels Airlines new business class seat in lounge mode (Jun 2012)
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Sky View room at IC New York Times Square
Pic: InterContinental New York Times Square entrance (Jun 2012)
Pic: InterContinental New York Times Square building (Jun 2012)
My two night weekend stay in Manhattan was the ideal opportunity to burn an InterContinental “Free weekend night” voucher. Every time you renew your InterContinental Ambassador status, you receive a complimentary weekend night voucher. It’s valid for weekend stays at all IC hotels worldwide and uses the BOGO (Buy One, Get One) principle: you pay for the first night, the second night is free. If you’re staying more than once a year at InterContinental hotels, I can highly recommend the Ambassador program. The initial membership fee is $200 for the first year, $150 for every renewal. It comes with some great perks:
• Guaranteed room upgrade
• Guaranteed late check-out (4 pm)
• Free movie – One complimentary Pay-TV film per stay
• Fresh fruit and mineral water – in your room upon arrival
• Guaranteed room availability with 24-hour advance reservation
• Complimentary newspaper each morning
• Complimentary use of health club facilities (fitness gym, swimming pool, jacuzzi etc most hotels)
• Welcome gift upon arrival (often something reflecting the local culture at participating Hotels)
• Complimentary weekend night voucher
Pic: King Bed Sky View room at IC New York Times Square (Jun 2012)
Pic: King Bed Sky View room at IC New York Times Square (Jun 2012)
Using the complimentary weekend night voucher, I paid $347 for two nights (vs $693 regular rate) at InterContinental New York Times Square. Yes, hotels in Manhattan are expensive! My Deluxe room booking was upgrade to a Sky View room on the 35th floor offering me amazing views of the city.
Pic: Ambassador welcome amenity at IC Times Square NYC (Jun 2012)
Pic: Bathroom amenities at InterContinental Times Square (Jun 2012)
Pic: In-Room Dining Breakfast at InterContinental Times Square NYC
Pic: Sky View at InterContinental Times Square New York (Jun 2012)
Pic: Sky View at InterContinental Times Square New York (Jun 2012)
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