Get bonus Avios with new Marriott Bonvoy accounts

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• SammyJ says:

  10 Jun10 June 07:26

  “To earn a further 2,000 bonus Avios, just complete a second paid stay at a Marriott non-participating hotel“

  Is there a typo there on the second stay, or am I just far more hungover than I think this morning? You earn the second bit by staying at a non-participating hotel?

  • Rob says:

    10 Jun10 June 08:31

    Typo, sorry.

• Catalan says:

  10 Jun10 June 07:28

  Rhys, you’re beginning to come across as a grumpy old man these days. A change from when you first started at HfP.

  • Mikeact says:

    10 Jun10 June 07:40

    Middle Aged…

    • The Original Nick says:

      10 Jun10 June 07:50

      He’s no where near middle aged..

    • @mkcol says:

      10 Jun10 June 19:13

      Middle aged?

      He’s a twink!

  • Andrew says:

    10 Jun10 June 07:52

    That’s what a few years of reporting on hopeless airlines like BA does to you.

    • Rob says:

      10 Jun10 June 08:35

      To be fair, sometimes (not here though) I edit articles written by the younger members of the team which are enthusiastic due to a narrower field of reference.

    • Nick says:

      10 Jun10 June 09:37

      Grumpy is what comes from taking his stories off flyertalk instead of being able to come up with his own 😜

      • Rhys says:

        10 Jun10 June 14:39

        These are all from press releases!

  • Richie says:

    10 Jun10 June 08:31

    No he isn’t. He’s being informative with a bit of a view, which is welcome. Many HfPers who enjoy wine already know where to get their favourites.

  • Rhys says:

    10 Jun10 June 09:11

    What’s grumpy about thinking that Whispering Angel is overrated? 😘

    • QwertyKnowsBest says:

      10 Jun10 June 09:45

      You said it, I think it. WA = Marketing hype.

    • GeoffreyB says:

      10 Jun10 June 12:34

      Overrated is an interesting word.

      Quite often it means you don’t like something that other people do or you just think it’s rubbish (and in reality not many people actually rate it).

      (No idea if Whispering Angel is any good by the way)

• PeteM says:

  10 Jun10 June 07:48

  I can’t wait for @JDB’s views on Whispering Angel 🤣

  • Michael C says:

    10 Jun10 June 08:45

    Right?! I’m going to have to check back at least once an hour today!!

  • JDB says:

    10 Jun10 June 08:45

    Well @PeteM LVMH is a phenomenal marketing machine with a long track record of in its drinks division of selling very non-descript/unremarkable wines at very high prices relative to their cost or quality – eg Moët, Veuve Clicquot and Whispering Angel, so one is much better off being a shareholder rather than a consumer.

    If people seriously want to spend £15-£20/bottle for WA, descaler can be bought more cheaply. If you enjoy rosé, a much better alternative might be Guigal Côtes du Rhône rosé which costs about half the price of WA and is a significantly superior wine from a very respected wine maker.

    • Richie says:

      10 Jun10 June 08:52

      Thanks very much @JDB , Guigal Côtes du Rhône rosé gets good reviews on Vivino, I’ll get a bottle.

      • PeteM says:

        10 Jun10 June 09:37

        Thank you, @JCB, you 100% delivered. We don’t always agree on things, but on this one we definitely do ✅😃

    • dougzz99 says:

      10 Jun10 June 09:37

      Whilst I find some of your more recent posts a little disturbing at times, accusation of prostitution in regard asking for lounge access, I knew I’d enjoy the wine feedback.

      • camille55 says:

        10 Jun10 June 12:41

        100% agree LVMH are slick and successful at marketing. I’ve previously used my quarterly £125 Centurion credit at Close 19 for WA. Its not bad, but the Aldi rose’s are proper VFM.

        More recently used the credit for Cloudy Bay Pelorus Brut Rose, which I find to be quite delicious.

        • mradey says:

          10 Jun10 June 13:38

          Thanks for the tip – I’ve done my quarterly HN but found no inspiration at Clos19. I’ll get some Cloudy Bay. Cheers!

    • David P says:

      11 Jun11 June 10:52

      I don’t enjoy most roses because I find them overly saccharine. Even ‘dry’ roses with no residual sugar often have levels of esters which makes the wine come across as too confected for my palate – notes of candied fruit or fruity sweets like pear drops are just not for me. It’s the main reason I dislike Prosecco as well.

      For all the marketing BS, Whispering Angel is a properly dry rose. It’s not something I choose to drink at home because I think it’s overpriced (my preferred roses are generally from Sancerre), but when out and about it’s a reliable choice because I know I’ll get a wine that is palatable to me. I’ve tried the Guigal you recommended and for me it’s too sweet. But that’s fine, the world would be a boring place if we all liked the same things.

• Ben says:

  10 Jun10 June 08:58

  Majestic has 25% off all rosé today (Saturday) as, apparently, it’s National Rosé Day, whatever that means. So WA £16.99 (which is still not worth it)

• Michael C says:

  10 Jun10 June 09:11

  A style I’d never tried before, but Freeman’s Bay riesling rosé from Aldi (Decanter:89) is incredible VFM easy drinking for this warm weekend!

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    10 Jun10 June 11:50

    Aldi have many really good wines that some people reject simply based on price rather than taste

    Expensive does not always mean it’s the best.

  • NorthernLass says:

    10 Jun10 June 13:40

    I find white wine (not keen on rose unless it’s sparkling, for some reason!) gets warm too quickly in this weather. I’ve made some daiquiris and put the mixture in the freezer where it has promptly frozen solid, so I clearly didn’t add enough alcohol 🤣

• Derek Scott says:

  10 Jun10 June 09:14

  I’ve been in 3 BA Lounges in the last 10 days and have to say they are letting the brand down badly. In Edinburgh a couple of the chairs had threadbare material and 2 out of the 3 coffee machines out of action.

  In T5B, you just need to look at the state of the carpets.. filthy at seats and close vicinity, and in bad need of either a significant deep clean, or better still, full replacement (which doesn’t appear to be mentioned as part of the refresh).

  Then we come to T5 Galleries South. It’s regularly at capacity and when it’s that busy it gets very warm. It means the ‘premium’ aspect is lost in my view. It can no longer be considered the ‘sanctuary’ they once would have been designed to create an image and benefit of.

  I do think BA need to be a little more on top of Brand image when it comes to their own Lounges and they need to plan two things now… to either expand capacity for T5B or create a lounge space in T5C, and then, they should start to ‘push’ more passengers to the satellite lounge to improve the use of B and reduce the ‘stress’ in South. Maybe even start to refuse entry to South when a passenger’s flight is taking off from B/C, to strike a better balance.

  And if you every flight out of San Diego, simply don’t bother with the allocated lounge, Aspire. It’s small, basic, at the opposite end of the terminal to the usual gate 51, and alcoholic drinks are chargeable. Food options are basic to say the least. It’s just not a wise option and I think BA should look at an alternative arrangement with one of the bars/restaurants in the terminal. It would be a more appropriate option for locations where the 3rd party facilities are just not up to standard

  • dougzz99 says:

    10 Jun10 June 09:35

    Regarding warm BA lounges. I’m sure I read on FT by a respected contributor that the entire air conditioning in T5 is not adequate. As more shops and pop-ups have been added the airflow is restricted and the air con fails to serve purpose. The terrace in the First Lounge is invariably far too warm. The only place that really feels chilled is the tunnels between A/B/C.

    • Economist_Nearby1 says:

      10 Jun10 June 11:36

      An FT contributor saying it’s not BAs fault, it’s HALs fault? Surely not!

      • dougzz99 says:

        10 Jun10 June 15:47

        Of course, it’s the Internet. But some posters are very balanced, and to my mind trusted. I might add I typically find T5 too warm generally, since the lounges are higher they’ll be warmer still.

  • QwertyKnowsBest says:

    10 Jun10 June 09:48

    All correct I think.

    Does this mean that BA see business class travel as continuing to be more leisure dominated in the future, thus lower revenues, lower bar set for the experience?

    • Rob says:

      10 Jun10 June 10:11

      That’s not how it works though.

      A business traveller on a £10,000 ticket funded by his employer isn’t generally too bothered about anything, and even if they are bothered they are stuck with BA because of a corporate contract.

      A leisure traveller paying £2,000 of hard-saved money, on the other hand, is expecting a BA service equivalent to a luxury hotel every step of the way.

      • His Holyness says:

        10 Jun10 June 11:46

        Unless this leisure traveller has never flown BA in their life and is so sheltered to have never seen the news from one of their frequent meltdowns they don’t expect “luxury hotel” like experience at all.

        They know exactly what to expect, despite the “Luxury Sales”, “A British Original” marketing guff.

        • Rob says:

          10 Jun10 June 12:37

          I doubt they do or they would be travelling elsewhere.

          Similarly, Virgin seems to benefit from premium cabin leisure bookers who don’t realise what dodgy seats (and recently dodgy food) they may get.

        • dougzz99 says:

          10 Jun10 June 15:52

          I’d take AA over BA over Virgin any day in business. I think Virgin attracts a certain type of customer, but many enjoy it. AA often cited as cold, bolshy cabin crew, and poor food. But based on the last year AA food is great, then again I think BA have upped their game food wise. Not flown Virgin since pre-pandemic, hate that seat and no desire to try them again at present.

        • Track says:

          10 Jun10 June 18:05

          A stale sandwich in T5 lounge, to the quality of best Virgin train meal, will put them right.

  • S says:

    10 Jun10 June 10:52

    I don’t mind south if you get a good seat (the ‘padded room’ being my favourite spot)

    B is ok but when it’s busy it truly feels it.

    North is awful.

  • Track says:

    10 Jun10 June 18:03

    T5 Galleries food options are close to atrocious.

    No meat but chicken (in curry and sandwiches). Near plain pasta, buffet looks not edible across the entire selection. Salads — not edible vinegary stuff from jars.

    No items to order, not even a dry burger, stopped.

    what’s the hell happening.

• Lady London says:

  10 Jun10 June 09:17

  Why don’t BA start with the lounge that needs it? And in summer…bonkers with the traffic flow.

  Has the Pest Control Officer given them a deadline, given the number of sightings of the wildlife concerned?

  There is more here, wish we could know.

  • Michael C says:

    10 Jun10 June 09:54

    “…given the number of sightings of the wildlife concerned?”

    Are you referring to the On the Beach travellers, @LL?!

  • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:

    10 Jun10 June 11:57

    Since it appears the lounge isn’t being taken out of action I’m not sure why it can’t happen in the summer?

    Timing is likely down to the availability of getting new carpets and furniture etc then a security cleared company to come and do the work.

  • Blair Waldorf Salad says:

    10 Jun10 June 12:19

    Oh ffs, mice?

    • QwertyKnowsBest says:

      10 Jun10 June 13:25

      Wouldn’t be the first time I have seen one in a lounge, think about all those crumbs around the place.

      Once told the receptionist about a mouse visiting without status at a MCO lounge, she ran a looked herself in the back office.

      AND as a rodent control guy once told me, you never have a mouse, you have mice, you saw the overconfident one. Sorry.

      • meta says:

        10 Jun10 June 17:16

        Let’s not start on the restrooms… I’ve seen awful animals there too.

      • Tariq says:

        10 Jun10 June 17:53

        I imagine that there’s rodents in most public spaces purely because of easy of access.

• IslandDweller says:

  10 Jun10 June 10:24

  Rob, you are spot on about Whispering Angel. Quite a while since I was so underwhelmed.

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