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We do like to be beside the seaside …. at the new Holiday Inn hotel in Bournemouth

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A new Holiday Inn has just opened in Bournemouth, bringing some much needed quality to the town.

Long-term readers will know that I have a soft spot for decent hotels opening up in British seaside resorts, since one of the things – admittedly not the only thing – that stops people spending more time on the British coast is the dire selection of accommodation.

It is genuinely the case that the best hotel in Scarborough, for instance (somewhere I stay for family reasons occasionally) is the Premier Inn – worryingly, nothing else comes close.

Bournemouth is bucking the trend.  I reviewed the new Hilton Bournemouth here – it’s even got an executive lounge! – and the new Hampton by Hilton, which is attached, here.

Holiday Inn has now joined them.  A new Holiday Inn opened this week – it is the fully refurbished ex-Ramada Encore.  It is owned by Interstate, who built the impressive new combined Holiday Inn Bath Road (reviewed here)  and Staybridge Suites (reviewed here) at Heathrow which opened recently.

Looking at the pictures, it is a surprisingly funky Holiday Inn which I would be happy to stay in.   It is on Bath Road and claims to be “easy walking distance of Bournemouth Beach and town centre.”  Note that it does not have a pool, so the Hilton remains a better choice if you’re worried about wet weather activities.

Full details are on this page of the IHG website.

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IHG One Rewards news

IHG One Rewards update – April 2025:

Get bonus points: IHG is not currently running a global promotion.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

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Comments (158)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Anna says:
    16 Jul16 July 09:53

    Really annoyed with BA (again!) – on the BA253 service to NAS/GCM, is it still only possible to pre-order your meal if you are disembarking at NAS. Those of us continuing the 90 extra minutes to GCM will have to put up with what is left. I had this issue 2 years ago on the same flight and was told it was being rectified. I’ve put in a complaint but if they can’t sort it in 2 years I’m not optimistic about anything happening within the next 3 weeks! It’s a 12 hour flight, OH is on a pretty expensive cash booking and we have no idea if there will even be anything we want to eat!

    • Yorkieflyer says:
      16 Jul16 July 10:26

      We had the same issue ex LGW going to Grenada via St Lucia a couple of years ago, bizarre

    • Lady London says:
      16 Jul16 July 10:46

      Is it not even possible to pre-order if you phone BA?

      All it takes is someone to load GCM into the list of destinations the pre-order process looks at…. Oh, sorry, that’s a simple IT thing. Or, despite what they say, given it’s not been fixed in 2 whole years it could, just, be a stupid marketing decision.

      • Anna says:
        16 Jul16 July 12:07

        I’ll give it go but when I spoke to them 2 years ago they couldn’t do it, said the IT needed fixing…! I’ve ended up ordering my son a kid’s meal, which is invariably some chicken nuggets and a mini KitKat from the WTP cabin, but at least I know he’ll eat that! But OH having paid £2k for his seat should definitely get the same perks as the rest of the passengers (though he has to bear some of the blame for being the one insisting on flying direct this year).

  • Yuff says:
    16 Jul16 July 10:05

    OT: I need to park at Luton airport this Friday and return Saturday evening ( from Heathrow via Uber)
    Parking is coming out at £70 ish. Can anyone suggest a cheaper option.
    Is a mattress run at the HIX a better option?

    • Lady London says:
      16 Jul16 July 11:29

      Haven’t got time to check for you but would holidayextras or one of the airlines flying out of LTN have deals on their website? Otherwise HIX depending what time you need to leave it – parking would not cost much extra but room rate is high for that location.

      I go to LTN by bus whenever I can precisely because of the rubbish with the train (Luton Corporation were too cheap to extend the rail line into the airport so you have the ridiculous pfaff of de=training onto a bus that you wait for…. don’t get me started.!!) and because it’s relatively unfriendly for parking.

      • Lady London says:
        16 Jul16 July 11:30

        PS Rob did a very recent article updating airport parking sources – I presume you’ve already looked at it – there were at least 2 good general parking sites for airports mentioned in the article.

        I am sure you can do better than £70!!

        let us know what you think of the new Clubrooms at LTN if you can get in.

      • Yuff says:
        16 Jul16 July 14:00

        I think it was 10k points when I looked, but I need to leave the car at around 10.30am so they might not let me check in…….

    • Graham Walsh says:
      16 Jul16 July 11:29

      Have a look on just park web site. Loads of housing around LTN, so must be some on there. A short walk or cab ride to the airport then. You could try the Ibis or HIX that is at the airport, might do a parking deal.

    • Chas says:
      16 Jul16 July 19:18

      Try http://www.airparks.co.uk – I just looked and could get something for c£44. Their car park is in Slip End, c6-7 mins drive from the airport

  • lev441 says:
    16 Jul16 July 10:07

    O/T – Got another offer on my plat amex – spend £8,700, get 1,500 bonus MR points… valid on spend 1-31 August.

    Not as appealing as my spend £7,700, get 10,000 bonus MR points!

  • Benylin says:
    16 Jul16 July 10:08

    OT Help: booking my first reward flight ever, using BA 2-4-1. Booking London to Osaka, and Tokyo to London back

    Pricing up separate one way gives taxes of £387 London to Osaka in Biz, and £104 HND to London in First. So £491 total.

    But on the phone when I book they are charging £574.

    Multiply everything by 2 here as using companion voucher.

    Any ideas? Do I book first leg on-line, then second leg on phone and pray?

    • Rob says:
      16 Jul16 July 10:15

      Looks like BA is not allowed to add fuel surcharges on tickets ISSUED in Japan. Your problem is that a return flight is issued in London, so you’re paying £574. If you were not using the 241 you could book 2 x one-ways.

      (PS. Have you actually clicked through to the payment page to see if the £104 goes up? I didn’t think Tokyo was exempt from fuel surcharges to be honest.)

      • pauldb says:
        16 Jul16 July 10:26

        TYO is not exempt but, for whatever reason, has much lower fuel surcharges on ex-Japan bookings. About £75 I believe.

        Benylin, if you have enough avios you can book the HND-LON online for full, 2x avios, and them call them to have it adjusted for the voucher: i.e. 1x avios refunded.

        • pauldb says:
          16 Jul16 July 10:28

          (I should expand to say that means your inbound is treated as a ex-JP booking and therefore holds on to the lower YQ than were it part of a ex-UK return booking. The higher fees you are being quoted are not a mistake – so this is the only way around it.)

          • Spurs Debs says:
            16 Jul16 July 10:46

            Yes I did two separate bookings as I have the avois, I phoned up to book return and it was all sorted out then.

    • Spurs Debs says:
      16 Jul16 July 10:23

      I paid £387.12 x2 for LHR to HND
      Return £189.90 x 2 from Narita to LHR.

      This was in April/ May this year and I used a 241 voucher.

  • nick says:
    16 Jul16 July 10:36

    Booked 4 one way flights from LHR on 6th Aug using Avios. Paid the £70 reward flight saver fee with my Amex Plat.

    Apparently this is the day where BA and Airport staff may strike.

    There is no longer any reward availability either side of my booking.

    Assuming the flight is cancelled – what are my options? and when will I have some assurance?

    • nick says:
      16 Jul16 July 10:41

      * I also hold a BAPP, and intend to use that card to pay the Reward Flight Saver Fee for the 4 inbound flights I intend to book this week.

    • Rob says:
      16 Jul16 July 11:06

      If BA pilots strike then you’re not going anywhere, realistically. Whatever your legal rights, most flights are going out full in August on leisure routes and the seats simply are not there.

      • nick says:
        16 Jul16 July 11:08

        But assuming cash tickets are available (but not avios seats) – BA would move me to the next available flight?

        • Lady London says:
          16 Jul16 July 11:38

          The point is, it’s August and all flights are rammed.
          With the best will in the world from BA, if they do end up with a pilots strike at that time (and I’m not sure they will) then the next available flight could be for only one of you and in three weeks time.

          BA can’t magic seats up out of thin air if they were all already booked.

          However if you can, best to wait and let BA solve the problem – because you will not be as well off if you try to solve it yourself.
          If you can’t wait then pay whatever it takes to get other transport that can be cancelled if the strike does not go ahead, ideally on an airline that is not OneWorld.

          • Lady London says:
            16 Jul16 July 11:41

            And yes, in the case of irrops the airline is supposed not to restrict replacing avios seats, to replacing with avios seats. in that case they will consider cash seats as well to put you in. There does not have to be a replacement avios seat, they will put you in any seat available regardless of whether avios or cash.

            the problem is that in August cash seats are all sold already too.

            Personally I am not so sure the strike will go ahead at that date.

      • BJ says:
        16 Jul16 July 12:39

        I don’t know how many times you are going to have to point this out before it starts to sink in. In almost 40 years of flying I only recall two flights that could be described as half empty, one was an SQ a380 on boxing day and the other a US Airways flight to Philly. Regardless of month of travel, I could probably count on one hand the number of empty seats on the vast majority of flights I have ever taken. Always been surprised by reports on poor loads because it has not been my experience.

        • Optimus Prime says:
          16 Jul16 July 14:02

          About 8 years ago, in February, we flew LHR-JFK with Delta. Economy cabin was truly half empty. Everyone could change seats, lift up arm rests and sleep in a ‘flat bed’ (Air New Zealand style, isn’t it?).

        • The Savage Squirrel says:
          16 Jul16 July 18:24

          I had 4 seats to myself in 2001 and rest of cabin was similar. Probably because it was 5 days after 9/11….

        • Chas says:
          16 Jul16 July 20:15

          Back in the late 90s, I flew back from Bermuda to the UK via New York on Easter Sunday. Both flights were very lightly loaded, and my recollection (perhaps hazy through the eons….) was that the final leg was no more than 20% full. I definitely had 4 seats to myself, and could choose to occupy the full row ahead of me or the one behind me. The F&B service was definitely the swiftest zip have ever experienced in Y.

        • Alex Sm says:
          20 Jul20 July 10:31

          Flights from London to Moscow are often half empty in the low season but the airlines keeps flying the route as it is “prestigious” and losses are offset by expensive tickets in high season and weekends

    • the_real_a says:
      16 Jul16 July 12:22

      Don’t forget on Amex plat – in addition to all the other advice here – you have “travel inconvenience” insurance upto £100 per person to spend on whatever you like regardless of the reason of delay of more than 4 hours.

  • Rk says:
    16 Jul16 July 10:44

    O/T – in last weeks HFP summer party comments someone mentioned a whatsapp tier point run group

    Not sure who runs the group, but would appreciate being added to it

    Thanks
    RK

  • marcw says:
    16 Jul16 July 10:48

    A spanish bank, Popular (now part of Santander) used to have a Travel account linked to IbPlus. Interest was paid in Avios

    • Michael says:
      16 Jul16 July 11:18

      Each to there own but why on earth would you ever accept airmiles over cash.

      • Lady London says:
        16 Jul16 July 11:35

        Worth a punt if interest is negligible, anyway. I guess that’s why people are doing it.
        Bit like accepting payments in a banana republic currency, though, then finding the currency devalues and it’s worth zilch.

      • Mark2 says:
        16 Jul16 July 11:46

        that depends on the rate, but unlikely to be favourable.

      • Alex Sm says:
        20 Jul20 July 10:43

        The article gives the answer to that (hint: interest rates are too low and _some_ can get a better value from miles, but size of deposit matters here), while for banks it is even a more lucrative proposition:

        “The bank can offer such a generous chunk of Asia Miles because it buys them in bulk at a discount from Cathay, which, in turn, knows that many customers will fail to redeem the rewards before a three-year expiry deadline.”

        • Rob says:
          20 Jul20 July 12:02

          Avios does not do bulk discounts. No-one pays much under 1p. I know one very small partner (now gone) that was paying 2p – more than the public pays.

  • Andrew says:
    16 Jul16 July 11:02

    Bergamo is well worth a visit in itself, lovely citadel with good restaurants. I much prefer it to Milan.

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