BA Holidays recommended locations

[YFP]

Hi all,

Currently in Heathrow T5 south lounge on the way back from a BAH trip to Athens to make the most of the double TP offer, and it has been one of the most pleasant holidays I’ve had in a long time. OH and I are normally a get there as cheap as you can, stay in Premier Inns and the like, and just maximise activities in the destination. This holiday is making me rethink that, as it was just so pleasant! We stayed at the Electra Metropolis, and the service was just so good that I’m keen to redo another holiday through BAH soon!

Wanted to find out if there are any particular locations where BAH in CE is similarly good value? For the athens trip, worked out at about £800pp for 5 nights, so looking for similar locations where that kind of budget will work and hotel quality will hopefully be as good!

[NorthernLass]

It’s probably more about when you go than where – off peak there are always good prices. Also BA Holidays gives you lots of hotels to choose from in popular destinations, as you’ve probably noticed, so there’s usually something to suit a range of budgets (not Premier Inn but, say, Hilton Garden Inn can be a good option, some of them recognize HH status as well). I did a very reasonable BA Holiday in CE to Rome about 3 years ago (even with Easter prices) and stayed at the HGI in the Embassy district. You might want to look at further out CE destinations for more tier points as well.

[masaccio]

We did a fabulous 4 day break to Istanbul a couple years back. Partly because it was good value and partLy because I wanted the tier points

[PMG]

Agreed with everything on BAH.
Did our first one to Dubrovnik last summer and stayed at the “More” Hotel; that was a great 10 days.

Then immediately booked our next two.
One was a four night stay in Lisbon at the Corinthia in February for which we paid £250 each (flights plus hotel); again was really nice!
Next one is over Easter to New York where our six day stay is costing us just over £1,100 each travelling in WT+ which we are looking forward to 🙂

[Cranzle]

I’m not sure BA holidays presents exceptional value compared with booking separately and getting, for example, $100 through Emyr or Amex FHR. But I’m not an expert and haven’t thoroughly analysed this.

You are right about how pleasant some short European breaks can be. I have been particularly impressed by the cleanliness of Athens and the quality of food is exceptional. Especially the cafes and bistros.

Has anyone successfully collected hotel scheme points when booking through BAH, and if so, which property?

[NorthernLass]

Emyr’s range of hotels doesn’t suit all budgets though. I tend to pick lower end hotels with BA Holidays as it’s generally only for one or two nights but you still get the package benefits.
The general rule is that you don’t get status benefits when you don’t book direct. I’ve found that Hilton will give upgrades and free breakfast, but not points. That said, you should get a much cheaper room rate via a holiday package, though of course you won’t know exactly what it is!
E.g. I have a CW flight and one night hotel to GCM this summer. Holiday price was £2800 – it’s an expensive place to get to as BA has the only direct service from Europe. Currently the flight alone is £3200 and the hotel would be another $418 (and that’s for a Hampton Inn!!), if booked direct.

[jj]

@YFP, welcome to the world of travel that, while not perfect, is definitely a cut above the low cost carriers’ offferings.

Your question is really hard to answer as travel preferences are individual. I could wax lyrical about the joys of cities like Salzburg, Bologna and Mahon, but that’s no use if you prefer a big metropolis like New York or a beach escape like Cannes. You are right that BA Holidays can sometimes offer great value, but you should always check alternative ways of booking the same hotel, as prices sometimes vary very significantly.

My approach to finding a dream getaway is:

1. Scan the ‘Find our cheapest flights’ page of ba.com, and look for a place that I want to visit that has a price that I am prepared to pay on dates when I’m able to travel.

2. Shortlist a few hotels that meet my mood. I find the hotel reviews on the Daily Telegraph to be a good starting point for this: it has a vast database, and I have never stayed in a hotel where I have materially disagreed with its ranking. All of my favourite hotels were discovered through the Telegraph but, of course, your tastes may not align with mine. It is a particularly good way of discovering high quality boutique hotels with a strong local identity, as these hotels rarely have deep-enough pockets pay the premium needed to rank highly on price comparison sites.

3. Expand the hotel shortlist by looking at other mainstream sources such as hotels.com, hotels.google.com and oyster.com, but regard the review ratings with very considerable scepticism as they are so easily gamed. Also google for ‘best hotels in xxx’ to find articles in good quality sources such as the Times or the Guardian that can highlight quirky or unusual options.

4. Price up the shortlisted hotel via BA Holidays, Avios Hotels, the hotel’s own website, a smattering of respectable comparison sites, and, where appropriate, Emyr. A spreadsheet is essential at this point.

5. Book the cheapest option, not forgetting to consider cancellation policies, breakfast and the value of points in the appraisal. If possible, book through the BA eStore to get extra Avios, but beware as hotels.com is often more expensive if accessed via the eStore. If the hotel is listed, I find that the cheapest all-in price will usually be BA Holidays or Avios Hotels.

6. Sit back and happily anticipate your own slice of bliss.

[ChrisC]

Cranzle wrote:

I’m not sure BA holidays presents exceptional value compared with booking separately and getting, for example, $100 through Emyr or Amex FHR. But I’m not an expert and haven’t thoroughly analysed this.

Before booking a BA Holiday I check the holiday price and then the cost of the separate elements.

I booked some BA hols trips to Berlin. In every case the BA Hols price was cheaper than the separate elements. On one of them (I still have my notes) the hotel cost was significantly more than the combined price. The Holiday price also included breakfast. the separate booking didn’t.

But when it comes to my Amsterdam trips BA Hols has never been cheaper than booking the flight and my chosen hotel separatly.

I’m not sure your comment re Emyr bookings is valid though as his bookings are priced in the higher Flexible booking rates whereas a BA holiday is going to be in a much cheaper rate.

People need to do the research first to see if a BA Hol is the best value or not (and in that ‘value’ I include the ability to pay a deposit)

[YFP]

jj wrote:

@YFP, welcome to the world of travel that, while not perfect, is definitely a cut above the low cost carriers’ offferings.

Your question is really hard to answer as travel preferences are individual. I could wax lyrical about the joys of cities like Salzburg, Bologna and Mahon, but that’s no use if you prefer a big metropolis like New York or a beach escape like Cannes. You are right that BA Holidays can sometimes offer great value, but you should always check alternative ways of booking the same hotel, as prices sometimes vary very significantly.

My approach to finding a dream getaway is:

1. Scan the ‘Find our cheapest flights’ page of ba.com, and look for a place that I want to visit that has a price that I am prepared to pay on dates when I’m able to travel.

2. Shortlist a few hotels that meet my mood. I find the hotel reviews on the Daily Telegraph to be a good starting point for this: it has a vast database, and I have never stayed in a hotel where I have materially disagreed with its ranking. All of my favourite hotels were discovered through the Telegraph but, of course, your tastes may not align with mine. It is a particularly good way of discovering high quality boutique hotels with a strong local identity, as these hotels rarely have deep-enough pockets pay the premium needed to rank highly on price comparison sites.

3. Expand the hotel shortlist by looking at other mainstream sources such as hotels.com, hotels.google.com and oyster.com, but regard the review ratings with very considerable scepticism as they are so easily gamed. Also google for ‘best hotels in xxx’ to find articles in good quality sources such as the Times or the Guardian that can highlight quirky or unusual options.

4. Price up the shortlisted hotel via BA Holidays, Avios Hotels, the hotel’s own website, a smattering of respectable comparison sites, and, where appropriate, Emyr. A spreadsheet is essential at this point.

5. Book the cheapest option, not forgetting to consider cancellation policies, breakfast and the value of points in the appraisal. If possible, book through the BA eStore to get extra Avios, but beware as hotels.com is often more expensive if accessed via the eStore. If the hotel is listed, I find that the cheapest all-in price will usually be BA Holidays or Avios Hotels.

6. Sit back and happily anticipate your own slice of bliss.

Thanks for the hints @jj, yeah, i agree it’s a total step up to what we’ve been used to so far! Also helped that it was in club europe! I think the cheapest flights on ba is the place to start, and to be honest happy with varying experiences, so keen to travel to as many places as possible. This site makes you realise what’s possible (and achievable!) P.S the spreadsheet even makes it more fun!

[YFP]

PMG wrote:

Agreed with everything on BAH.
Did our first one to Dubrovnik last summer and stayed at the “More” Hotel; that was a great 10 days.

Then immediately booked our next two.
One was a four night stay in Lisbon at the Corinthia in February for which we paid £250 each (flights plus hotel); again was really nice!
Next one is over Easter to New York where our six day stay is costing us just over £1,100 each travelling in WT+ which we are looking forward to 🙂

Lisbon and Dubrovnik are good shouts, might have to jump on that. Nothing like a Friday night spent planning your next trips!

[AJA]

I definitely like the BAH option. In Aug 2019 I did a Last minute 4 night bed and breakfast deal to Venice staying at the 5 star Excelsior on the Lido, flying CE. It cost £420 each for 2 of us. That compared to hotel alone which would have cost £900, let alone the cost of airfares in CE.

Then in Feb 2020 did a 3 night break in Rome again in CE for £250 each. The hotel was a much cheaper option this time but again it was basically a free hotel since the airfare alone would have been £245.