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Bits: 3000 Clubcard points with pet insurance, Mandarin Oriental drops Venice

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News in brief:

Get 3,000 Clubcard points with Tesco Pet Insurance

It’s a novelty when we feature a Tesco Clubcard deal these days, but Tesco Insurance has launched a new pet insurance offer, and it is the most generous we have seen for a long time.

Via this link, you will earn 3,000 Clubcard points when you take out a new policy with Tesco Pet Insurance.

According to the rules, you only need to keep the policy for 90 days to earn the bonus. 

3,000 Tesco Clubcard points converts into:

  • 6,000 Virgin Points
  • £60 of Hotels.com credit

…. or many other deals from Tesco Clubcard partners.

The offer runs to 30th September.

Thanks to Stephen for flagging.

Mandarin Oriental takes over Venice's San Clemente Palace

Mandarin Oriental leaves Venice …. after three months

Well, here’s a thing.

Back in June, it was announced that Mandarin Oriental had taken over management of the San Clemente Palace hotel in Venice from Kempinski.

Readers may remember that this was originally a St Regis hotel when it first adopted an international brand, but it threw in the towel very quickly. The combination of seasonal operation – which made it difficult to retain staff – and its location on an island in the lagoon took their toll.

Mandarin Oriental had taken over with immediate effect. A renovation was due to start in November 2025 after it closed for the winter, to be completed in three phases. It would not carry the Mandarin Oriental name until it reopened in April 2026, although it was bookable on the MO website.

And now …. it has gone.

Loyalty Lobby flags an email from the hotel which told a guest that Mandarin Oriental was pulling out as of last Sunday. Go onto the Mandarin Oriental website and you will see that Venice is no longer listed.

This is, to put it mildly, bizarre. What has caused Mandarin Oriental to pull out of what was probably a 20 year deal after just three months, and before its name ever appeared above the door?

On the basis that you can’t use points for Mandarin Oriental hotels, and the resort could now rebrand with a points-redeeming chain, this is potentially positive for HfP readers.

Category

Tesco Clubcard

Comments (35)

  • Michael C says:
    9 Sep9 September 06:11

    Fingers crossed it becomes a Hampton Inn, with free brekky!

    Reply
    • daveinitalia says:
      9 Sep9 September 10:51

      Well as the Doubletree in Rotherhithe his becoming a hostel, there’s a precident for hotels to drop down a few notches when changing hands

      Reply
  • Thywillbedone says:
    9 Sep9 September 06:48

    Having stayed at the JW Marriott Venice (also on an island), one thing all island hotels need to improve is the regular transfer service to the city: the boats have hotel livery but are obviously operated by the local boat mafia and none have air conditioning or even a fan operating in the cabin. At peak times in the summer (after breakfast, before dinner) they get quite full and it makes for a less than luxurious experience with the heat.

    Reply
    • jj says:
      9 Sep9 September 09:01

      The San Clemente boats are quite different from the Marriott boat: much smaller and much more beautiful, with polished wood and white leather everywhere. Never found them too hot, too crowded or uncomfortable in dozens of trips.

      Private taxis are always an option, too. If you can afford the San Clemente, you can afford a couple of taxi journeys to get home after a good night out.

      Reply
      • Thywillbedone says:
        9 Sep9 September 09:12

        Venice in the summer is one of the most humid destinations you can find. Private taxis are quicker and thus you have a breeze (which the enclosed larger vaporetti don’t offer) but hard disagree that just because you can afford the hotel, you will want to spend on private taxis when a free and frequent shuttle is available – just install a damn fan already! (incidentally, I took private transfer from the airport which was great, but made the mistake of trying the public ferry back to the airport – had to do a complete change of clothes including underwear when I got to the lounge)

        The staff on the rooftop restaurant at the JW Marriott were complaining about working in the heat – any sensible operator would install large fans/misting fans in the same situation. But I understand there is widespread nonsensical anti-energy use/anti-aircon attitudes across much of Europe …

        Reply
        • jj says:
          9 Sep9 September 11:45

          @Thywillbedone, I was really only suggesting private taxis when the end destination doesn’t match the free shuttle: airport transfers, for example, or returning home from a night out in maybe Dorsoduro or Mazzorbo (both have some great restaurants).

          No point spending big on a hotel then skimping on the peripheral experiences.

          Reply
    • Pb says:
      9 Sep9 September 13:36

      The San Clemente boat was a pleasure, rarely packed , never recall it being overly hot . Additionally they would provide a private transfer to some of the other islands and of course obligatory tour round glass works or similar. on your own .
      I hope someone decent picks it up .

      Reply
  • Novice says:
    9 Sep9 September 07:04

    It’s the first time I might get pet insurance so can someone help. In terms and conditions, it’s doesn’t say which type of insurance wouldn’t be acceptable so if I were to get cheapest ‘accident only’ then would I get the bonus clubcard points? Some of you have done this a lot of times so can you please give some tips as to how to get the best possible option for my moggie.

    Reply
  • JDB says:
    9 Sep9 September 07:07

    Mandarin seems to be going the way of Four Seasons – greed, over rapid expansion, insufficient oversight, lowering of standards and lots of owner disputes leading to closures, rebadging etc. Certainly quite a change of pecking order amongst the all luxury brands.

    Reply
  • Matt says:
    9 Sep9 September 07:26

    Perhaps the books had been cooked to suggest a more profitable hotel than it was in reality!

    Reply
    • Richie says:
      9 Sep9 September 07:54

      Perhaps they cooked longer than al dente.

      Reply
    • JDB says:
      9 Sep9 September 08:53

      This was only a management contract. Sounds like MO fell out with the Turkish owners over most things and the market isn’t that easy.

      Reply
      • Rob says:
        9 Sep9 September 09:00

        It’s not as if the hotel doesn’t have multiple years of trading behind it though. The numbers can’t have been a surprise.

        Shame Park Hyatt won’t do seasonal hotels because it would be a good addition. Not impossible IHG tries it after the (now Radisson) InterContinental project fell through.

        Reply
        • BSI1978 says:
          9 Sep9 September 09:58

          The Hyatt Centric on Murano Island has only been branded as such for a few years I believe. Can’t see Hyatt choosing to acquire / badge a Park that close given their existing modest footprint (relatively speaking).

          Reply
        • Erico1875 says:
          9 Sep9 September 11:23

          Why does it have to be seasonal?
          With the correct marketing/pricing they could do off season packages.

          Reply
          • jj says:
            9 Sep9 September 11:48

            They tried one winter about 15 years ago. The problem is that the island’s jetties are quite exposed and can’t operate safely during storms, trapping guests on the island until the weather improves.

          • Rob says:
            9 Sep9 September 11:55

            I imagine there are issues getting the shuttle boats across the lagoon in the winter storms.

      • jj says:
        9 Sep9 September 11:36

        @JDB, the same owners reportedly fell out with Regis in 2014 over the extent of renovations required to align the hotel with brand standards – which it was a Kempinski until this year.

        Quite right, too, in my view. The hard product in the hotel hasn’t changed since it first opened in, I think, 2005, and it remains stunningly beautiful. It’s not at the cutting-edge of contemporary hotel design, and it’s all the better for it, being distinctly Venetian and full of original artwork rather than a me-too aesthetic that could be anywhere in the world.

        From a consumer perspective, the good news is that the hotel has cut prices in response to the MO fallout.

        Reply
  • Hostime says:
    9 Sep9 September 08:46

    I stayed at the San Clemente Palace when it was a Kempinski property, and it is stunningly beautiful. But it must have been extraordinarily expensive to maintain. I was wondering what its source of electricity was. I stayed there in the middle of summer and the room was boiling hot — management refused to turn the air con on, implying it was for environmental reasons, but I thought it may have been to save money.

    Reply
    • Thywillbedone says:
      9 Sep9 September 14:12

      Italians live in almost constant fear of catching a cold through their neck (you read that correctly) …which is why they wear a scarf at the slightest cool breeze. Also why aircon is so rarely available or if it is, has all the power of a mouse’s cough. Bizarre.

      Reply
  • daveinitalia says:
    9 Sep9 September 11:01

    One odditiy of the formation of ITA was that the EU did not allow them to buy the Alitalia loyalty scheme MilleMiglia, so ITA had to set up Volare from scratch. One of the reasons they had the generous status matches at the beginning was so they could get all the Alitalia status holders into ITA but they had to make it look like they were not giving favour to MilleMiglia members so the match was open to all.

    Surprisingly, MilleMiglia continued to exist after Alitalia ceased, operating as a small loyalty scheme with the remaining partners. Presumably at some point the Italian government hoped someone would buy it.

    Now it’s been announced it will definitely cease at the end of the year https://www.mymiglia.com/en-GB/pages/chiusura-programma-millemiglia-dettagli?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Enews&utm_id=41106

    Just like bmi’s Diamond Club, the loyalty scheme hung on a few years after the airline closed.

    Reply
  • Angus says:
    9 Sep9 September 14:02

    30% bonus on Avios transfer to Bonvoy, think it’s much the same offer as last year

    Reply

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