Bart Lapers
Visiting Every Country In The World
Weekend in Barcelona
Pic: Museu Nacional d Art de Catalunya, Barcelona (Apr 2012)
Barcelona, my third Brussels Airlines #Flyday trip. Faro was first, Bristol was second. Several more Flyday trips will follow, with Venice booked for this weekend and Warsaw for next weekend. Fellow travel enthusiast @RaphaelCockx has created a Google map with all Brussels Airlines destinations featured in the Flyday promo. As my travel frequency went up from once a month to once a week, it’s important to keep my budget under control. That’s why I set myself the goal to spend less than €100 on hotel accommodation for my Flyday weekend trips (2 nights). My initial idea was to stay at W Hotel Barcelona, but at €480 euro for two nights it didn’t match my budget. Instead, I chose another Starwood hotel: Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona Diagonal. Remember my Honeymoon Suite stay at Sheraton Seoul D Cube City? That €122 stay earned me 2346 Starwood Preferred Guest points (included 2000 points Welcome Back bonus) and a SPG social media survey earned me 1000 points in March. Together 3346 SPG points, enough to cover my first night (3000 SPG points) at Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona! Those points saved me €90, which was the best available rate for Apr 14. For my second night I paid €69, well below my €100 budget for two nights!
Pic: Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona Diagonal (Apr 2012)
Pic: Four Points by Sheraton Barcelona Diagonal Room (Apr 2012)
My room on the 10th floor was basic, but offered all features for a comfortable stay. If you want more details about the hotel, how to get there, etc… I recommend to read the master thread at Flyertalk.
Pic: Bart clubbing with CS friends Neus and Julia in Barcelona (Apr 2012)
Pic: W Hotel Barcelona (Apr 2012)
Weekend in Bristol (UK)
Pic: SN2055 Brussels-Bristol operated by BMI Embraer 145EP (Apr 2012)
Bristol (United Kingdom), my second Brussels Airlines #Flyday weekend trip. Last month I traveled to the Portuguese Algarve using the Flyday promo, this month I chose Bristol, Barcelona and Warsaw. Yes, I’m addicted to this promo, but it’s a great deal! Every Friday, Brussels Airlines offers three destinations at €99 for take-off over any of the 4 following weekends. The booking class is b.flex economy (H) which means you can use the premium check-in desks and fastlane security at the airport. B.flex passengers are seated in the front part of the cabin and served complimentary food & drinks. The €99 return trip in B.flex earns 2500 status miles (on Brussels Airlines operated flights, see Miles & More) instead of the usual 250 status miles in B.light economy. A great offer, but availability is limited. As you can see in the picture above, the flight to Bristol was operated by BMI Regional. I only noticed this at online check-in, as at the time of booking it was indicated as an SN operated flight. This is important for Air Miles collectors like me, as BMI operated flights only earn 1500 status miles with Miles and More (booking class H, European return trip). My miles didn’t post yet, I still hope to earn 2500 status miles.
Update: Looks like the BRU-BRS BMI flight was a wet lease, as 1250 status miles have posted. If you have Miles and More Frequent Traveller, Senator or HON Circle status, a 25% status miles bonus is added. In this case, the return trip Brussels – Bristol earns me 3126 status miles.
Pic: 1563 status miles posted on my Miles & More account for BRU-BRS flight
Pic: Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre – Entrance (Apr 2012)
For my hotel booking, I used IHG’s ‘ Exclusive 2 for 1‘ promo. A two night stay at a four star hotel for £79.95 (€97) – Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre (opened June last year) As Priority Club Platinum member, I was upgraded to a Deluxe room. Nice room, although a bit small, with extra’s like bathroom amenities, bathrobe, huge Samsung flatscreen tv, etc…
Pic: Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre – Deluxe Room (Apr 2012)
Pic: Holiday Inn Bristol City Centre – Elsyl Bathroom Amenities (Apr 2012)
I didn’t know what to expect from Bristol, I had the impression London was the only interesting city in the UK. Well, I was wrong. Bristol has many things to offer: Touristic attractions like Clifton Suspension Bridge, Brunel’s ss Great Britain, the famous Bristol Zoo, many interactive museums and on top a great shopping and nightlife scene. My most spectacular experience was a visit to The City of Bath, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was established as a spa by the Romans in AD 43 and features the Roman Baths. The superbly maintained baths are fuelled by England’s only mineral hot springs, outputting over a million litres of hot water each day. Bath is located 13 miles (21 km) south-east of Bristol and can easily be reached by train. A journey from Bristol Temple Meads station to Bath Spa takes less than 15 minutes.
Pic: The Roman Baths in Bath (Apr 2012)
IHG – Two nights for the price of one
Update Aug 11, 2012: Updated links to discount rates.
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) includes Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Hotel Indigo and InterContinental hotels. It’s loyalty program, Priority Club Rewards, offers incredible value in terms of free nights redemptions. Points can be earned fast & easy and redeemed with no black-out dates. Even without points in your Priority Club account, there are a multitude of options to make your next stay much cheaper. I’ve already blogged about several techniques in the past. Today I want to highlight two (more or less hidden) rates for stays in Europe:
“2-for-1” (make sure to select ‘Exclusive 2 for 1’ as Rate Preference)
and “35% off” (make sure to select ‘Exclusive Prepaid A’ as Rate Preference)
I have a number of upcoming weekend stays for which I used the ‘Exclusive 2 for 1’ rate saving me up to 44% in hotel expenses.
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Brussels Airlines new long haul cabin
Brussels Airlines inaugurated its brand new long haul cabin this week on a flight to Cameroon (April 1st, 2012). The first long haul aircraft to be refurbished with the new Business Class flat bed seats, the ergonomic Economy Class seats and a state-of-the-art inflight entertainment system, SN Airbus A330-300 OO-SFW, is now flying between Brussels Airport and Africa and will set course to New York JFK as of June 2012. I will join inaugural flight SN501 from BRU to JFK on June 1st. My return flight SN502 will be on June 3rd. I booked my ticket on the announcement day of the new BRU-JFK route (Dec 27, 2011) for €399! A full trip report will follow on your favorite ‘Luxury on a budget’ travel blog. 😉
For now, take the 3D virtual tour through the new Economy and Business Class cabins on the Brussels Airlines website.
Video: The new Brussels Airlines Long Haul Cabin
(Pictures: Brussels Airlines)
Extended weekend in the Algarve (Portugal)
Pic: Porto Bay Falesia, Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal (Mar 2012)
Pic: Sundeck at Porto Bay Falesia, Algarve, Portugal (Mar 2012)
Since a few weeks, Brussels Airlines is running a promo called Flyday. Every Friday they offer three destinations at €99 for take-off over any of the 4 following weekends. The booking class is b.flex economy (H) which means you can use the premium check-in desks and security fastlane at the airport. B.flex passengers are seated in the front part of the cabin and served complimentary food & drinks. The €99 return trip in B.flex earns 2500 status miles (Miles & More) instead of the usual 250 status miles in B.light economy. A great offer, but availability is very limited. On Feb 24, Faro was one of the three destinations on offer, an opportunity I used to book a trip to the Portuguese Algarve (March 17-20). With the flight booked, I started looking for hotel and immediately noticed how cheap hotels are in the Algarve. The combination of low season and Portuguese economic downturn makes it a very affordable destination. After my excellent stay at Porto Bay Rio de Janeiro in December, Porto Bay Falesia was my preferred option. Possible alternative (but almost twice as expensive) was Sheraton Algarve. With a Tripadvisor rank of 3 out of 160 hotels in Albufeira and a room rate of €46 per night (Garden View – incl. breakfast), making the choice for Porto Bay Falesia was easy.
Tips: Try to get upgraded to a ‘Sea View’ room on a higher floor, use discount codes ‘facebook’ or ‘twitter’ on PortoBay.com to get a 5% discount and sign-up for the Porto Bay Prestige Club card (several benefits starting from your 2nd stay incl. 10% discount on hotel Food&Beverages)
With flight and hotel booked, local transportation was next. You definitely want to have a rental car to cruise along the Algarve coast. My three day rental of a Mazda 2 at Sixt was €38 (via ebookers.be), I declined the €45 damage waiver fee. Consumed fuel (Unleaded 95 * €1,80/L * €49 total) was more expensive than the car rental fee!
Pic: Praia Porto de Mos, Lagos, Algarve, Portugal (Mar 2012)
As you can see in the pictures, I was lucky with the weather. Most memorable experience was the hike from Praia Porto de Mos to Praia da Luz. Incredible views from the top of the cliffs. If you want to see more pictures and details of this trip, check my twitter timeline from March 17 – 20.
Pic: Cliffs near Praia da Luz, Lagos, Algarve, Portugal (Mar 2012)
Also worth to mention, the new Living lounge at Faro airport (FAO). Spacious and clean with a good selection of complimentary drinks. Ideal to escape the holiday makers chaos in the departure terminal. Access for Star Alliance Gold members.
Pic: New ‘Living’ Faro Airport lounge, Portugal (Mar 2012)
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