Hilton Brussels City becomes a Hotel Indigo on 4th November

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• Stu N says:

  2 Sep2 September 04:29

  OT: The Langley – some thoughts.

  We had a stay at the Langley a few nights ago. We arrived into Heathrow quite late off an evening domestic flight and got a car to the hotel.

  The bad – there was no one to meet us so we dragged our bags up the stairs to reception – the receptionist was appalled and couldn’t have been more apologetic.

  From here on in, it was all good. The receptionist arranged for our bags to be sent to our room while she checked us in. We were on a redemption and had Marriott Gold via Amex but were upgraded to a junior suite (room 24) which is in the eaves and has the round window overlooking the frontage. The room was beautifully furnished and finished, I can’t emphasise enough the quality of the place. We have stayed in Mandarin Oriental and RItz-Carlton properties and other top end hotels and this was a level beyond that.

  We had a wander around the immediate grounds then a bottle of wine and some bar snacks on the terrace – service exemplary – and retired for the evening.

  In the morning we used the pool, steam room and jacuzzi for an hour and a half and had it entirely to ourselves. It was immaculately clean and beautifully designed, a most enjoyable experience.

  Breakfast was very good (£28 for the buffet, it ought to be!) and we had none of the issues Rob reported, though the hotel did seem quite quiet. We had a wander through the hotel grounds and wider park for an hour then back to the hotel to check out and head to T5 for our long haul flight.

  Overall, the hotel is beautiful, staff are superb and the spa facility is amazing. The breakfast and bar prices are not unreasonable for a hotel of this quality and while in isolation they may look a little pricey, if you think of it as a cost of doing business on an outstanding redemption you’ll leave happy. £170 and 35k Bonvoy thingies for dinner, bed and breakfast is a steal in my book.

  • Rob says:

    2 Sep2 September 08:26

    Thanks, glad things seem to be picking up.

  • BJ says:

    2 Sep2 September 08:46

    If you’re getting £28 worth out a breakfast buffet it is obviously doing you more harm than good, physically at least, not emotionally 🙂

    • Stu_N says:

      2 Sep2 September 13:09

      Breakfast buffet was very high quality. It’s clearly not good value standalone. £28 for juice, coffee, some fruit, continental selection and a couple of small pastries is bonkers. It’s not the sort of buffet you could fill yourself up at and be set up until evening but it’s acceptable to me as part of the hotel package.

      • BJ says:

        2 Sep2 September 17:33

        Sounds good to me. I’ve never been big on full English, especially the buffet variant. Sometimes I take the notion though and I much prefer it cooked to order.

  • Ian M says:

    2 Sep2 September 16:34

    I had the same issue with bags when I checked in. I arrived around 9pm, which was the time I had put as my arrival on the online check-in. But there was no one to help with getting luggage up all the steps at the front.

    Did you have any hot food at breakfast or just the buffet? I’m staying there again at the end of the month. Agree it’s a wonderful property. Hopefully things are moving in the right direction.

    • Stu N says:

      2 Sep2 September 20:15

      Just had the buffet

  • Brian says:

    2 Sep2 September 18:05

    Looking to do very similar myself (Redeem as Gold via Amex). What is it a midweek stay that you managed to get upgraded?

    Did you have all your points available before booking or did you move them at a later date?

    • Stu N says:

      2 Sep2 September 20:16

      I had the points at time of booking and it was a midweek stay.

• Waddle says:

  2 Sep2 September 05:35

  OT: Amex offers
  I have a Wheely offer on my Gold credit card – £25 back on £25 spend valid twice. Many readers will have taken advantage of a similar offer a few months ago. It is a good service.
  Sign up with my code E9AZH if you want for 20% off your first ride.

  • Andrew says:

    2 Sep2 September 09:43

    £10 off £30 at GAP

  • Rooster says:

    2 Sep2 September 17:10

    Yes it’s very good albeit a little pricey but if your not price sensitive then it’s worth it for the service

• Anna says:

  2 Sep2 September 06:56

  OT – my OH has now achieved Bronze status from his CW flights this summer (thanks HFP!). According to his BAEC account this lasts until 31/8/21 (result!). If he achieves Silver before this date, does that reset the clock on all his tier points, i.e. the Silver status will last for the rest of the year he achieves it and the following membership year? Still getting to grips with the status process!

  • Doug M says:

    2 Sep2 September 07:33

    Your TP collection year is 9th to the 8th of the month shown, your status lasts until the end of the month following. So your collection year is 9th July 19 to 8th July 20, your status gained in this year lasts until 31st August 21. If you get 600 before 8th July 20 you’ll immediately be silver, if you get 1500 before that date you’ll be gold. TP will be reset to zero 9th July 20. All this assumes you’ve done 4 x BA flights. Any new status you achieve is given for current year and entire following year.

    • Lady London says:

      2 Sep2 September 18:29

      How about getting it lapse in 2021 then rapidlt doing something(s)that gets all 600? Would give best longevity

  • The Original David says:

    2 Sep2 September 07:34

    He needs to get a total of 600 TPs between 9th July 2019 and 8th July 2020 to get Silver. If he already has 300, that means another 300 to go. TP count will reset on 9th July 2020.

    • The Original David says:

      2 Sep2 September 07:36

      i.e. What Doug said!

    • Anna says:

      2 Sep2 September 07:42

      So does that mean that in July 2020 his tier points will reset but he’ll keep his Bronze status for another year? In another couple of years when we’re both retired I’m planning to organise our travel so we’ll both hit Silver but we’re too restricted with the amount of leave we can get at the moment.

      • Optimus Prime says:

        2 Sep2 September 07:55

        Correct.

      • @mkcol says:

        2 Sep2 September 17:34

        Do you both need to be silver, or will it be fine if just one of you is as you tend to travel as a couple? That may sway plans.

        • Lyn says:

          2 Sep2 September 18:22

          A good point. In general we try to save money and avios by paying for my flights, to keep my Sapphire going, and using our miles for my husband’s reward flights.

          It works very well for check-in, lounge access and luggage, even flying economy. Less well for choosing seats on BA. Qantas and American are OK, they are understanding. The downside on BA is that, while I always try to check my husband in at exactly T-24 and always manage to get him an aisle seat, we are often not able to sit together. The upside for him is that occasionally only First class awards are available …..

  • Doug M says:

    2 Sep2 September 07:36

    Silver is the sweet spot, lounge access and easily achievable with 4 CW flights and a Dom/Euro hop.

• Gregor says:

  2 Sep2 September 08:35

  To save me testing it can anybody confirm if they already have if the IHG premium credit card charges as a purchase cash withdrawals via curve or not ?

  • Benylin says:

    2 Sep2 September 08:40

    Purchase

  • @mkcol says:

    2 Sep2 September 17:35

    And what about topping up Monese?

• Gemma says:

  2 Sep2 September 09:11

  So does that mean you could withdraw £200 a day on IHG via curve. Which is 6k a month and trigger spire and your free night within 90 days and pay it all back immediately and have paid no interest??

  • DANIEL MACDONALD says:

    2 Sep2 September 09:26

    Fair use rules will apply and you risk being shut down promptly by Curve….it’s in the Ts+C’s.

  • Rob says:

    2 Sep2 September 09:27

    You’d need to be on the premium Curve plan to get £200 per day of free cash withdrawals.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    2 Sep2 September 13:58

    Nope as IHG still restricts cash like transactions to c£700 a week

  • Lady London says:

    2 Sep2 September 16:55

    Dont even think about doing that.

  • Rooster says:

    2 Sep2 September 17:15

    There are much better ways to spend 6k than doing this, even for non business people.

• Chrisasaurus says:

  2 Sep2 September 09:31

  Is there any issue in crediting flights booked through BA Holidays to AA?

  It’s on AA metal but will of course be a BA flight number and BA booking. BA Holidays with a car (I don’t know if this is widespread) is not just a bit cheaper for the flight I want – we’re talking £947 vs £1780 but I want the EQMs and I want to be able to add seat selection as it’s in economy and it’s a looooong flight

  • Lyn says:

    2 Sep2 September 11:02

    Also, in case you don’t already know, if you have BA silver or AA platinum status you can choose Main Cabin extra seats on AA. Only a few extra inches leg room but it makes a real difference to economy flights.

    • Chrisasaurus says:

      2 Sep2 September 11:30

      Thanks Lyn – I’ll have plat with AA after this flight (I think) so the crediting is important – and I’ll worry about the rest later on.

      Thanks!

      • BJ says:

        2 Sep2 September 13:26

        If you need to find your fare basis just click on the flight number in MMB and it will show in the pop up window undef selling class.

• Russ says:

  2 Sep2 September 09:56

  I’ve done 17 stays at Marriott under this promotion and only picked up one set of 1,500 points as all apart from one were one night stays.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    2 Sep2 September 13:59

    yep its rubbish. though i have had targeted promos the last couple of quarters too.

  • Crafty says:

    2 Sep2 September 15:01

    Obvious question – was this deliberate? Hilton would have been lucrative!

  • BJ says:

    2 Sep2 September 17:37

    One reason why Hilton is so much better, you’d have bagged 1000 for mos if not all stays, all but one night at double points, the 10 stays bonus, and avios (probably most of them) via the store.

• Mark says:

  2 Sep2 September 10:44

  Hi, O/T related to BA strike, happy to move to another thread if more appropriate. Just logged into MMB and it is highlighting that strike action may affect my flight…as we are due to fly at 8am on Sunday 8 September can I assume this is a blanket “your flight might be delayed/disrupted” notification as we are flying just before the strike date? Got the bogus cancellation email and confirmation of error so (hoping!) this is just a warning for any flights around the 9th

  • The Original David says:

    2 Sep2 September 10:51

    If your flight is still showing in MMB and not crossed out, you’re all good.

    • Mark says:

      2 Sep2 September 10:52

      Great thanks! Saved me waiting on hold to BA for hours…

      • Lady London says:

        2 Sep2 September 17:04

        And the good news is you’re now within the 2 weeks notice required by eu261 for BA to now have to pay you compensation if they do cancel.

        The bad news is that BA will do everything to avoid cancelling you on the day. But, say, a 2 hr 56min delay on the day would get no compensation as would have to be 3hrs min for compo.

        If you do get messed around on the day check the flight you do actually go on still has the same flight number – if it’s not the same flight number then it’s technically a cancellation.

        • Anna says:

          2 Sep2 September 18:36

          Do strikes definitely count for EU261? I thought this was still being argued in the courts.

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