Bits: IHG 5000 points PointBreaks preview – with a London-ish hotel, HfP on Rip-Off Britain

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• martin says:

  28 Jul28 July 05:23

  The London Borough of Croydon? Not technically in London? Hmm.

  • Aeronaut says:

    28 Jul28 July 06:01

    *Greater* London, certainly.

    Rob would have been wiser to use some rather vaguer phraseology!

  • JamesB says:

    28 Jul28 July 07:17

    What is more relevant is that Croycon East is only 20 minutes from Victoria IIRC so it makes it just as good as many more central hotels where you might spend as long getting to Victoria (or wherever) by bus or underground.

    • Natalia S says:

      28 Jul28 July 09:42

      Croydon is not bad at all for those who are visiting London, it’s quite strategically located: 16mins direct train East Croydon to Victoria (every 3-10 mins); 17mins direct train to London Bridge; 16mins direct train to Gatwick (including night trains). There’s also direct train to Saint Pancras and further to Luton Airport Parkway. Also there’s a tram to Wimbledon (25 mins travelling time, every 5mins or so). There’s even direct express bus X26 to Heathrow 1-2-3, but this one will take a good hour and a half, and is twice an hour only.

      The location of the hotel is 9 mins walk from the station, and next to two large shopping centres and the high street. And btw, East Croydon is half an hour leisurely walk to Norwood, which does have London SE code if that’s what you are after – though it would be much less convenient for getting into central London or to the airports. I don’t like living in Croydon that much, but it’s almost unbeatable in terms of commuting to London and when you need frequent access to more than one airport for work.

      • Neil says:

        28 Jul28 July 16:13

        Indeed, and it is a very decent hotel, which can usually be had for £50-60, even when there isn’t a promotion on. I stay there often when visiting London.

        • Peter K says:

          28 Jul28 July 19:55

          Having stayed at the HIE croyden last year for a large family event (and to hit an accelerate target) I can’t recommend it. The area was VERY rough, it’s down an alley and the breakfast layout was so poor that people were quite trapped in the cubby hole it’s in. Only one member of staff at reception seemed to know anything, others gave wrong information. I wouldn’t return.

        • JamesB says:

          28 Jul28 July 20:33

          @Peter, if you need to go back there again you might want to try Hampton. It’s also competitively priced and is 20k points per night. I stayed when it just opened but since then I think a new secondary entrance to the ststion has opened opposite the hotel. Personally though, I felt quite confortable throughout Croydon.

• Sandgrounder says:

  28 Jul28 July 05:25

  ‘Technically’ speaking, the London Borough of Croydon is in London, surely? 🙂

  • Sandgrounder says:

    28 Jul28 July 05:25

    Beat me to it!

    • Gavin says:

      28 Jul28 July 06:49

      Not a London post code – CRX XXX as opposed to SE / SW . The postal address is Croydon, Surrey

      • Simon says:

        28 Jul28 July 06:56

        On those grounds, Richmond, Twickenham, Kew, Kingston etc aren’t in London either…

        • John says:

          28 Jul28 July 07:14

          I admit to reading the daily mail, so have this interesting tidbit to share about Richmond.

          When referring to a high house price, Richmond is always in Surrey, but when talking about chavs, Richmond is placed in London.

      • John says:

        28 Jul28 July 07:11

        Counties are not part of postal addresses but can be included for people who refuse to move on.

        Sewardstone, Essex, is in postal code E4.

        • martin says:

          28 Jul28 July 07:37

          it’s the only place with a London compass point postcode that’s not in a London borough. There are plenty of places for which the converse is true though.

      • Clive says:

        28 Jul28 July 07:27

        Can everyone commenting on Croydon/London please also leave a comment on the other thread about Virgin Atlantic selling for £220? Thanks.

        • AVM says:

          28 Jul28 July 09:32

          Clive, consider it’s done!

      • Sandgrounder says:

        28 Jul28 July 10:59

        If it is under the authority of the GLA, it is in London. But anyone, for what ever reason they choose, can claim it is still part of Surrey. Many do, and will always continue to do so. It matters not.

        • JamesB says:

          28 Jul28 July 20:39

          Glasgow Airport? Getting more complicated by the minute!

• Westers says:

  28 Jul28 July 06:05

  Filming in Salford not Manchester

  • Clive says:

    28 Jul28 July 06:45

    Thank you for this important information.

  • Leo says:

    28 Jul28 July 08:29

    Look he had to leave the South for this – has the man not already been through enough??!

    • Gavin says:

      28 Jul28 July 08:53

      Lol!

  • Rob says:

    28 Jul28 July 08:52

    True.

    • JamesB says:

      28 Jul28 July 20:42

      Better hope they don’t read that around your old Yorkshire haunts!

• John says:

  28 Jul28 July 06:05

  What’s more, this hotel is ideal for (budget) travellers flying in and out of LONDON Gatwick airport, which is definitely not in London, technically or non-technically.

• John says:

  28 Jul28 July 06:15

  The list is pretty empty outside the US and the US properties are pretty rubbish too.

  • Brian says:

    28 Jul28 July 08:54

    It’s a taster…

• TripRep says:

  28 Jul28 July 06:21

  Good TV promo for this site Rob, be sure to get them to invite you back for Airlines delibrately calculated overbooking policies and their resulting IDBs and downgrades!!! Now that is a RipOff. 😀

  • Brian says:

    28 Jul28 July 08:54

    Sounds like Rob was defending the airlines in this particular show!

    • Graeme says:

      28 Jul28 July 09:54

      agree @Brian – I find the broad brush ‘rip-off Britain’ mantra one of these annoying throw away statements everyone is coining these days. I wish those whining presenters, who’d twist on 21 it would seem, would just leave the country instead of doing their level best to make everyone regret living here….

• Anna says:

  28 Jul28 July 06:43

  I can’t understand why people limit themselves to one avios route – even BA make it pretty clear that there will always be a limited amount of redemption seats available. You have to treat it like a shop full of desirable items – it won’t always have the exact thing you want, but you’re sure to find something fabulous. My in-laws gave up on avios because they couldn’t get redemptions to Bermuda, but refused to consider flying J or F to NYC or Miami and then getting a short connection!

  On a more positive note, after much chasing around and a further £75 in compensation, Lloyds has finally manually applied my upgrade voucher to my avios account – AND it now has the option to book it as 2 x one way upgrades. Now we just need the BAPP 2 4 1 to be split into 2 parts….

  • John says:

    28 Jul28 July 07:16

    Redeeming long haul on BA is not really something that can be described as fabulous.

    • Clive says:

      28 Jul28 July 07:24

      Redeeming in F with cheap miles and a 241 on a shiny new 789 (for barely more than the price of economy) certainly can be fabulous 🙂

      • Anna says:

        28 Jul28 July 07:37

        For those of us who can’t routinely afford business class travel (or don’t get it through work), believe me, it’s fabulous!

        • Stu N says:

          28 Jul28 July 08:10

          I do quite like the “game” element of it as well. If you’re willing to learn how the system works as you go along and are flexible in your plans there is basically no downside to it. Helps to have a way of building up and maintaining a six figure Avios balance so you can strike when opportunities present themselves too.

          If you have fixed plans and expect to get exactly what you want when you want it for (almost) free then you’re onto a loser there.

        • Genghis says:

          28 Jul28 July 08:21

          I like the game element as much as the rewards. A bit of maths, reading T&Cs, exploiting loopholes and trying to get a good “deal” sounds a bit niche though doesn’t it… lol

        • JamesB says:

          28 Jul28 July 20:52

          The greatest game of all was calling Pune for BMI trips of a lifetine several times per year, just had to love them, they will never be equalled 🙂

  • pauldb says:

    28 Jul28 July 08:28

    Lloyds voucher – do you mean you can literally apply it to a one-way booking, and retain the other “half” to use on another one-way? That would be useful (especially in the T-355 case) but unexpected.

    • Wally1976 says:

      28 Jul28 July 09:28

      I was hoping this too when I read the above but doing a dummy online booking nothing appears to have changed (at least for me).

    • Anna says:

      28 Jul28 July 21:58

      No, you can use it for 1 return or 2 1-ways.

      • Genghis says:

        28 Jul28 July 22:16

        It’s always been like that

  • Ro says:

    28 Jul28 July 08:34

    that’s fundamentally not understanding how many people travel.
    many people have limited time and/or set dates. For many people – even in premium class – flying to their holiday is a necessary evil and not enjoyable. They hate flying indirect and would rather fly direct in economy than indirect in business.

    we are constantly seeing horror stories about the flying experience, even in mainstream media… it’s not surprising that most people just want that part of the trip over and done with

    And these people get into the miles game with the lure of making that horrible journey a little bit more tolerable but don’t fully understand the difficulties of redemptions until it’s too late. Whilst all of us here clesrly enjoy the gaming element…. it really isn’t for everyone

    • Rob says:

      28 Jul28 July 08:54

      I was trying to say that in the show, altho’ you can’t put it like that.

      • Ro says:

        28 Jul28 July 14:11

        looking forward to seeing the segment 🙂

        • Rob says:

          28 Jul28 July 15:20

          It will certainly bear little resemblance to what was filmed, given that at least 75% will be lost in the edit.

• Gavin says:

  28 Jul28 July 06:51

  The Williamsburg Busch Gardens is a good option, I’m fairly certain I stayed there as a kind in 1993 when I was living in DC

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