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@leggyblonde – Yes, you are correct.
@JDB, we are currently keeping cool in the Prado! Proper art! Temperatures in Galicia & Portugal next week should be more pleasant.
Good evening from a very pleasant Hilton Hua Hin Resort.
Upgraded (as Gold and Team Member) from a basic king deluxe
to a fabulous one-bedroom ocean view suite inc. lounge access.Just finishing off our drinks and heading to the night market.
@NorthernLass, hope you’re enjoying being back. For bravas with
a difference, Rosi La Loca!Hi all, a couple of things I wanted to give a long overdue update on:
Firstly, the visit to the American bar, booked on IHG trip extras, to reset the expiry date on both my Accor points and my IHG points.
As it turns out, neither worked! I contacted both Accor and IHG CS, and IHG were great and comped me the points. Accor told me that not all of their hotel bars do this anymore, but said to check a certain page of their website, to see which hotel bars & restaurants do offer F&B points to non-guests, then to contact the hotel directly to double check. I contacted the Sofitel St James, they confirmed that they can do this, so I paid their St James Bar a visit, and after much confusion from the barman, he spoke to his boss, and then confirmed that apparently he could put the points from my cocktail on the system, and he would do so at shift end.
After a week, when the points still hadn’t appeared, I emailed the Sofitel St James, when I got no response, I tried again, and then after my third email, I finally got a response, stating that they no longer give points to non-guests at their bar, just their restaurant (and would Madam care to make a reservation?). I emailed back, explaining the situation with the American bar, and all the emails I had sent prior to my visit, and that I was now in Costa Rica, where there isn’t a single Accor hotel in the country, and where I would be remaining until after my points are due to expire.
At that point they took pity on me, and put the points on my account!
So, it sort of worked, but I don’t think either route to keeping your points alive can be considered to be reliably working, unless you especially enjoy lengthy email correspondence over tiny amounts of points!
Also, I’m back in Yatama Ecolodge for the first time since I wrote my review (https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/07/25/review-yatama-ecolodge-costa-rica/ for those of you who discovered the site post-pandemic), and Pedro has been upgrading. My brand-spanking-new casita has two floors, and the upper one has a balcony, and a hammock with a fabulous view! It also has solar power all day, and sockets to charge electronics (no razors or hairdryers, though), which is new. My bathroom is open air, with a view, and so far no IOUS’ have opted to share my shower, thankfully. The food has also had a significant upgrade, and last night’s dinner was incredible, much fancier than the standard soda fare from my last visit. Oh, and there’s WiFi (in the games room)!
Last night, when we arrived we saw a pair of keel-billed toucans and a hawk by the entrance, before we even got out of the car, and a common bird-catcher snake while I did check-in. Right now I’m listening to a dawn chorus of red-lored Amazon parrots, great tinnamou and howler monkeys doing their thing in the distance.
Anyway, I’m as happy as a pig in poop here right now.
Greetings to all, and sorry I didn’t update you sooner!
And buenos días from the IC Madrid on an excellent 3 for 2 deal courtesy of Emyr, plus a 4th night for 41k points which you don’t often see these days. We were upgraded to a King Premium room which could do with a refurb, but the bed is supremely comfortable and the Club Lounge just delightful.
It’s predicted to be 38 C so air conditioned galleries will probably be in order for the middle of the day!
Am I the only one that wants to go and lie in the shade in the Jardin del Capricho (ideally with an ice cream) in the blazing heat?
@janed9388 They can get away with it because Dalaman airport is ridiculously expensive for food. Coffee, small roll and bag of crisps, £23 at Starbucks.
Has always been thus. I was last through there in 2015 and a basic KFC meal was over £12.
Turkish inflation plus Dalaman pricing is scary.
@Cat, it sounds wonderful apart from the open-air bathroom, given how attractive I am to blood-sucking insects!
I’m lying down before dinner but it was a bit warm even in the shade 🥵😂.
I was also very pleased to find a branch of Turrons Vicens (a lovely turrón and chocolate shop I know from Málaga), across the road from the Prado.
Has anyone been to Yellowstone before? Hoping to plan a trip next year and assuming Seattle probably the best place I can fly to with BA/Virgin?
Any tips/advice welcome.
@davefl is probably your best man on that one. I flew to Denver, which is closer to Yellowstone than Seattle, and looped up via Rapid City and the parks there plus Mount Rushmore, then down through Salt Lake to Cortez.
Mind you that was the trip I put 2,500 miles on a brand new hire car! Everything is a lot further apart than you think.
@davefl is probably your best man on that one. I flew to Denver, which is closer to Yellowstone than Seattle, and looped up via Rapid City and the parks there plus Mount Rushmore, then down through Salt Lake to Cortez.
Mind you that was the trip I put 2,500 miles on a brand new hire car! Everything is a lot further apart than you think.
Ah that sounds excellent! We were hoping to do Yellowstone/Grand Teton/Salt Lake City/Zion/Vegas. But I do know the Mrs would love to see Mt Rushmore so might try and work that in.
I’ve been looking at the distances and the 3/4 hour drives all seem fine it’s just getting to Yellowstone in the first place that looks to be a killer!
Urgently need about 60 Flying Blue XP points to retain Gold status. Anybody have any ideas on cheap routings from LHR via AMS? Are there any short haul routes similar to the old BA routes of 80 TP vs 40?
We did it from LAX, but it was part of a 26 day road trip that took in Lake Havasu, Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Arches National Park (Moab), Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, San Francisco, and the Pacific Highway.
Unless you can get flights to Denver, then anywhere on the West Coast (from Vancouver down to San Diego) or Vegas is doable.
Stay in the park, and book early.
Yellowstone is amazing and ticks all the boxes for me – wildlife and geothermal activity.
How much time do you have?
@JakeWS Honestly any of the major gateways will get you thre via a connecting flight to either Jackson Hole or Bozeman Yellowstone airports. Depends on what else you want to do/see/how much driving you want to do. There are so many options It’s difficult to advise.
Be aware though that Yellowstone is in the top 5 most visited so you’ll need to book accomodation well in advance. Jackson Hole is millionaires paradise with prices to boot.
You’ll also need to reserve/get lucky with timed entry tickets 6 months in advance https://www.nps.gov/places/timed-entry-tickets.htm
Ok @JakeWS Try this – https://maps.app.goo.gl/BMeaVmwYd1uoW3vbA Inbound via MSP, connect to Rapid City then fly home from Vegas or vice versa. 1500 miles, 24 hours of driving. Added a couple more stops that I think you should do on the way.
@Davefl that timed entry link is for Arches. I don’t think timed entry applies to Yellowstone.
@Davefl that timed entry link is for Arches. I don’t think timed entry applies to Yellowstone.
Yes apologies, I spotted that after the edit timed out. Zion will though
@JakeWS we did the following trip back in 2010: –
Flew to SFO from London
SFO to Bozeman then stayed at 320 Guest Ranch in Big Sky for Yellowstone and Grand Teton
Cody – Buffalo Bill Historic Centre
Sheridan – Little Bighorn Battlefield
Rapid City via Devils Tower (Close Encounters) – Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse, Badlands, Minuteman Missile Base
Flew back to SFO via Denver as we wanted to explore there furtherAbout, 3 weeks in all. Check when you are going as some parts of Yellowstone stay closed for long periods due to snow (we visited in September).
Good evening from a very pleasant Hilton Hua Hin Resort.
Upgraded (as Gold and Team Member) from a basic king deluxe
to a fabulous one-bedroom ocean view suite inc. lounge access.Just finishing off our drinks and heading to the night market.
@NorthernLass, hope you’re enjoying being back. For bravas with
a difference, Rosi La Loca!Make sure to get some good massages whilst there at the market. Went there back in 2015 and there was a massage training school which would do full body ones for a good price. None of them spoke a word of English, so we just hoped that we were going to get what we asked for, which luckily we did – having someone walk all over your back and legs definitely gives you a spring in your step afterwards.
Oh, and if you walk along the beach be careful – the tide comes in pretty quickly. We got caught out walking along from where the ibis is and before we knew it, we had water up to our knees and were struggling to clamber out into the gardens of the more upmarket hotel gardens that line that part of the beach. about 30 mins later it was over 2m deep.
Good afternoon from American Airlines AA2509 DCA-MCO 34,000ft going down the East Coast. Got the whole of the front row which is nice. Much nicer domestic business seats (AA call it First) than what we are all used to in Club Europe. 2-2 layout with much larger, comfy and private seats. Still don’t know why we put up with such poor tangible domestic business class in Europe/UK 🙁
Thanks all appreciate all the tips, I’m definitely going to try and work Mt Rushmore in! We’re planning to go Sept 26 for 18 Nights. 10th-28th will be the target dates but flexible depending on our late night success with BA. We have a Barclays 2-4-1 and some Virgin points + Voucher so hoping to do BA out and Virgin home. Preferably Vegas-Manchester home but may end up doing Los Angeles-Heathrow looking at the point costs!
My worry with taking a domestic flight to one of the smaller airports was worrying if a one way rental would be a bit harder/pricier. Will have to do some dummy bookings once they start to become available. Very happy to drive distance, sometimes actually quite enjoy it! Makes a trip feel very American, when we got on the freeway driving Big Bend to San Antonio it was just follow the road ahead for 300 miles.
I’ll start to pick out some accommodations and find out when they release to make sure we can get decent in park options. Would people recommend different properties each night in Yellowstone, or better to get a base and just drive? I know the park is absolutely huge.
@bibby135, when you get a newer aircraft, yes! We did MIA-BOS in F in a brand new 737 MAX (I know, I know 🤦🏻♀️) some years ago and it was fabulous. But then we got an upgrade to F on American Eagle DCA to Key West a couple of years ago and it was a relic from the dark ages, battered old seats with the stuffing coming out, people dressed in PJs and no shoes (in December 😱😂) or carrying cats, surly crew. So glad we hadn’t paid for that!
Good afternoon from American Airlines AA2509 DCA-MCO 34,000ft going down the East Coast. Got the whole of the front row which is nice. Much nicer domestic business seats (AA call it First) than what we are all used to in Club Europe. 2-2 layout with much larger, comfy and private seats. Still don’t know why we put up with such poor tangible domestic business class in Europe/UK 🙁
Because fixed domestic first seating with 4/5 rows and aircraft variants is far too inflexible, adds complexity which equals cost and would be a fiasco in the cut throat European market. The US domestic market is an oligopoly and there’s nothing like the level of LCCs – even Southwest can price up to majors. Fares are very high in the US vs Europe – would you really be willing to pay more for your business ticket to get that US style seat? The CE food on BA is a lot better than AA domestic first!
Check when you are going as some parts of Yellowstone stay closed for long periods due to snow (we visited in September).
Good point. I went in mid-May, and the road in to Yellowstone from Cody had only opened the week before. The lake was still frozen solid for many miles. I have a photo of my car on the edge of the road, with the adjacent pile of recently cleared snow towering over it!
@JakeWS. Our Yellowstone trip started in Denver, headed north to Cheyenne, then on to Hill City for Mt Rushmore. We went to an evening ceremony with lighting up of the Presidents.
Lots to do in the area. Onwards to Days of 76 museum , surprising good. Also hit Sundance , then on to Devils Tower before hitting Sheridan and on to Custer’slast Stand. Volunteer rangers were excellent in relating the tales. We entered Yellowstone from the east over the Bear tooth highway and stayed in Yellowstone in a Holiday Inn booked a year in advance! We had 3 nights there…. The whole experience was great ( although Old Faithful was a bit of a damp squib!). We then headed north via Earthquake lake down the back of the Tetons to Teton National Park and stayed in a lovely B&B in Victor ( Dreamcatcher) . We took in a place called Vernal and Dinosaur land ..I’m still blown away by all the fossils . We also returned to Moab for The fabulous scenery of Arches and Dead Horse state Park and canyon lands before returning to Denver. Clocked up 3500 miles. Over 3+ weeks. It was a fabulous trip in september 2018My worry with taking a domestic flight to one of the smaller airports was worrying if a one way rental would be a bit harder/pricier.
One ways are almost always fine. Rapid City to Vegas should be a breeze. 90% of my US rentals are one ways.
I’ve only really had trouble with SLC to LAS (Avis did rent a car but when I got there they were out of everything and the rental pricing was bizarre, use a BA code and one way was denied, use no code and it worked). The other was Bismark ND to Rapid City, nobody would rent a one way, but Fargo to Rapid City was fine.
Avis tend to have the lowest one way drop charges.
Rushmore is meh, there’s a great view from/through a tunnel on the way to Custer. Crazy Horse even more meh.
Good luck with Vegas-Man on VS. I’ve managed to get UC once but it’s like rocking horse droppings.
@AndrewT I went in mid may as well. 85F, sun shining but 4 feet deep in snow. Similar to when I went to Mount Rainer last June, stupidly went hiking in the snow (7 feet of snow pack above the trail) got lost, got very wet, nearly ended up losing some toes due to frostbite. Not one of my more sensible decisions, broke every rule in the book.
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