-
@Aston100 November.
Me too. Chiang Mai, Singapore & Bali. First time to all of them. Kayon Resort in Bali, looking forward to it, November doesn’t look too busy a time either
@davefl, certainly there’s still value to be had outside of expensive cities. We’re quite happy to stay somewhere like Homewood/Staybridge Suites and prepare simple meals with local ingredients on a longer trip (and not have to dress for dinner). Life’s certainly too short to be pressured into going somewhere or not by what other people think!
I do think Manhattan is a different animal. When I was in Oregon/california last month I didn’t think prices were that bad. Homewood was less than £90 a night with points back inc a decent breakfast. Supermarket prices are ok for some stuff but I do think that the UK is catching them up with some of what I see in the supermarkets here.
Still plan on going 2-3 times a year. So many states, not enough time!
Good evening from beachside IC Bali Sanur. The mad Easter crowds have gone (mainly back to Oz) and peace and tranquility prevails. Current temperature is 27c with a very gentle breeze. Food is lovely and inexpensive and the Balinese culture a world away from all that the orange one is creating westward of the UK.
I fully endorse the observations/comments of @strickers and @JDB. The world is much more than the USA!!
Could I ask if you’ve seen many kids/kids’ activities around? I was just looking at
the IC this morning, and the Hyatt Regency as well. We have a sociable 11-yr old, and it would just be 2-3 nights.
Last summer was the Grand Hyatt Nusa Dua: the Club part was great, as were the pools,
but had an awful sleep due to people sitting outside their rooms talking loudly
right through the night. And of course little around in ND, but that wasn’t such a biggie
for such a short time.I’m not sure the IC Sanur has much in the way of of kids activities but I wasn’t looking. On Sanur generally there are small boats to hire to go out snorkelling or fishing on the reef.
Between the IC and the Hyatt Regency I would definitely pick the latter as the gardens are magnificent.
@NorthernLass Ditch it and switch to Wise.
@Jim_Utd I wouldn’t personally go 2-3 times a year (but wouldn’t criticise anyone that did) because I’ve still got loads of other countries to visit but I have elderly friends there that I want to see and there’s the draw yet again of the world’s largest free Blues festival. I don’t see many other countries or cities putting on a 4 day free festival that draws a quarter of a million people.
As for the states I need to re-tick off, I’m pissed at VS yet again this morning. I was replanning my trip to last longer and they’ve screwed me yet again by increasing the price from 33k to 57k and doubling the tax for the new flight I was planning around 🙁
@qc our paths must’ve crossed as we’ve been here for over a week. Got to agree the rooms here at IC Sanur are enormous. The reasons recently been updated and the food and staff are lovely. I can understand what you say about IC jimbaran. We have friends who live in Oz who regularly stay at IC Jimbaran whose say the same as you re the gardens, the lounge and the facilities generally. We are going over there tomorrow for a look round as we hope to rendezvous with our friends there later this year.
We were here in Sanur last year and are saddened by the fact that a proposed development (nothing yet happening on the ground) has literally wiped out at least 8 beachside cafe/restaurants on the boardwalk between The IC and the Hyatt. That said, this is still a lovely chilled place where you can take all the time you want and there’s still loads of places to eat at stupidly low prices!!When ICs and Mariotts in BA are charging 500 USD a night for a basic room and the Argentinian national park service is charging 30 USD per day to visit a hiking trail, the US looks really cheap for what I want to see and do
@JDB would never stay in an IC or Marriott!I would certainly avoid if possible and/or it’s the least bad option. Long before @davefl’s comments, I had remarked just how expensive many big chains have become vs smaller luxury chains or independents. Less good quality/less well rated hotels pricier than their better neighbours, presumably driven by those on the points treadmill. The $500 Buenos Aires IC/Marriott base room story bears this out.
@davefl – plenty of other countries have sights that you can’t find anywhere else. I detect you didn’t care for Argentina much! Only 12 of 39 national parks are paying and provincial/regional parks rarely are.Re: “You’re like a stuck record on the subject. Other people have completely different priorities.” to you.” I would have thought a lot of people care about cost and value as I do!
Good evening from beachside IC Bali Sanur. The mad Easter crowds have gone (mainly back to Oz) and peace and tranquility prevails. Current temperature is 27c with a very gentle breeze. Food is lovely and inexpensive and the Balinese culture a world away from all that the orange one is creating westward of the UK.
I fully endorse the observations/comments of @strickers and @JDB. The world is much more than the USA!!
Could I ask if you’ve seen many kids/kids’ activities around? I was just looking at
the IC this morning, and the Hyatt Regency as well. We have a sociable 11-yr old, and it would just be 2-3 nights.
Last summer was the Grand Hyatt Nusa Dua: the Club part was great, as were the pools,
but had an awful sleep due to people sitting outside their rooms talking loudly
right through the night. And of course little around in ND, but that wasn’t such a biggie
for such a short time.I had typed a reply but it hasn’t posted! I didn’t notice facilities for kids but I wasn’t looking. On Sanur there are small boats that can be hired by the hour to go out to the reef for snorkelling or fishing.
Of the hotels you mention I would choose the Hyatt Regency as the gardens are bigger and are beautiful. It also has a club which the IC does not. It is Luxury Escapes at the moment – may be a better deal that booking direct. https://luxuryescapes.com/gb/partner/hyatt-regency-bali/ce1a9d45-e915-4134-920e-ca73a9042ff3?checkIn=2025-06-15&checkOut=2025-06-17&adults=2&children=none – I can give you my referral code which will give both of us a credit if you want.
@Michael C. It doesn’t seem to me that there is much at the IC Sanur to amuse a sociable 11 year old. I popped into the Hyatt last week for a look around and that seemed more ‘kid-friendly’. It is busier and larger than the IC. The boardwalk here offers very safe cycling and walking. There may well be more activities to keep your sociable 11 yr old happy at the Hyatt. Aside from that it is quite peaceful here and I doubt that you’d have the problems you experienced at Nusa Dua.
If it helps, I can recommend baliholidaysecrets.com as their website provides excellent tips and guides on just about everything you need to enjoy a holiday here. Sorry I can’t be of more help.@Jim Utd – Been to all three, and I would recommend them, just be aware, Chiang Mai can get very polluted/Smoggy at times, especially the burning season, but that’s January to March, so you should be ok in November, just planning for a grand tour of SEA in 2026!
I’d especially recommend the Grand Hyatt in Nusa Dua, sea view club room, the club lounge over the lake is loverly, and Alila Ubud in Ubud.
@Aston100 Currently have 8 nights at the IC Jimbaran, 4-12 Nov on points. Average is now less than 25k.
@Aston100 & @strickers, if it helps, the website
wwww.baliholidaysecrets.com is worth looking at. I used their hyperlinks for the forms you need to submit within 48 hours of arrival. I had previously obtained my visas through Sherpa who were very efficient. Make sure you have your visa before you travel. The evisa lets you use the egates and thus avoids the awful visa queue in the arrivals hall that can take hours to get through (we were caught in it last year and it wasn’t pleasant!!)!! On this occasion, we were through immigration and customs within 30 mins of touching down. This website contains superb practical information on all sorts of issues. I’m using them for a private car tour tomorrow (Wednesday) and will let you know how it goes.The BA twitter team don’t seem to think it is possible to use a companion voucher for Madrid to San Jose with the return Bogotá to London via Madrid. Is this just a case of bad training or have I missed something?
I booked the exact same route back in February and even then had to really preserve to add the MAD-LHR leg. I think I was on my 3rd BA agent who eventually sorted it out for an additional 6400 Avios plus £36.60 tax for 2xJ-class seats (with a companion voucher).
Got back from Japan and the contrast is incredible.
Bakerloo line carriage covered in graffiti; feral young adults swearing loudly and looking for a fight; people pushing and shoving on & off the train; no manners no courtesy no patience.I’m reminded of a thread on this forum a year or two ago where several hfp Londoners were in complete denial of how shit London is these days.
The BA twitter team don’t seem to think it is possible to use a companion voucher for Madrid to San Jose with the return Bogotá to London via Madrid. Is this just a case of bad training or have I missed something?
As others have mentioned, there has been an update. This thread will give more details:
https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/calling-ba-to-book-an-iberia-flight/Are the mixed iberia out, BA back redemptions also affected?
@qc / @ToonFlyer – both your comments were
really useful to put things into perspective, thanks!I think as it stands we may actually go for IC Jimbaran –
interesting stuff for kids and walkable to warungs.
I haven’t been there since the year it opened (early 90s),
so even that will be kind of fun!@ToonFlyer Thanks for that, I have the issue of having to apply twice I think. Once for arrival by cruise ship where we probably won’t get off but I’m certain they won’t let me board without it. Then once more for when we fly in a few days later, it’s something I need to look into more.
Hi – does anyone know who to approach to get a BA gold upgrade voucher for two extended ? The last person I spoke to on the Gold line just didn’t have a clue. Do you usually get 6 or 12 months (there’s talk on flyer talk of 12mths).
The US is getting expensive – but then there are those of us who still remember when it was $2 = £1. Those were the days!
We had an Ambassador weekend certificate expiring end of April, which we used recently at the IC San Diego. Fortunately we had renewed Diamond status, so took the buffet breakfast which, if we had to pay, was $49+tax+tips and a dish off the menu was $20+.
We’re now retired. We have friends and family we visit regularly and there are areas we still want to see. We will continue to go the US, but not quite so often. Fortunately we have money in a US bank account, so to some extent the exchange rate doesn’t make a difference.
Are the mixed iberia out, BA back redemptions also affected?
This isn’t certain! The zone/band rule is seemingly an Iberia issue as BA abandoned those rules for CV redemptions some years ago. It’s easier to book a BA return online at the release date and claiming back 50% of the Avios might work, whereas for Iberia one needs to call on the first release.
Good evening from beachside IC Bali Sanur. The mad Easter crowds have gone (mainly back to Oz) and peace and tranquility prevails. Current temperature is 27c with a very gentle breeze. Food is lovely and inexpensive and the Balinese culture a world away from all that the orange one is creating westward of the UK.
Would genuinely like to hear your opinion of the condition of that hotel.
I’ve got a few nights booked there for August but recent reviews suggest the place is in much need of refurbishment.
Coincidentally, the prices at the other IC over in Jimbaran have dropped quite a bit for my dates so I am thinking of switching.
However, I believe the Sanur location would suit me more than Jimbaran, but the condition of the hotel and the range of services would be deciding factors.EDIT: wrote this before reading the rest of the comments.
Sounds like several of you have got experience with one or both of the ICs in Bali.
Would be happy to hear reasons for choosing one over the other.
I think the area around Sanur is more suited to my lifestyle.I fully endorse the observations/comments of @strickers and @JDB. The world is much more than the USA!!
I would never say otherwise having visited 5 continents and 68 countries so far.
A little OT, but do you use an app to log countries visited? I’ve been using an app called Mark O’Travel which does a reasonable job of tracking countries, regions, heritage site visited, etc., but keen to see if there’s anything better out there.
Got back from Japan and the contrast is incredible.
Bakerloo line carriage covered in graffiti; feral young adults swearing loudly and looking for a fight; people pushing and shoving on & off the train; no manners no courtesy no patience.I’m reminded of a thread on this forum a year or two ago where several hfp Londoners were in complete denial of how shit London is these days.
That might be so, but to put it all into some European perspective: the London underground is a place of virtue, elegance and grace compared to, say, the Berlin metro. The race to the bottom hasn’t quite been brought to completion.
The US is getting expensive – but then there are those of us who still remember when it was $2 = £1. Those were the days!
Some of remember $2.40 – £1 🙁
And the Euro at 1.50+
I fully endorse the observations/comments of @strickers and @JDB. The world is much more than the USA!!
I would never say otherwise having visited 5 continents and 68 countries so far.
A little OT, but do you use an app to log countries visited? I’ve been using an app called Mark O’Travel which does a reasonable job of tracking countries, regions, heritage site visited, etc., but keen to see if there’s anything better out there.
I’ve always just recorded them in my Onenote along with all my other travel notes, and a world scratch map. Recently started using an app called “been” which is quite cool although not amazing in terms of functionality but it does the job and it’s free.
Openflights.org for my flight record which imports from Tripit.
When ICs and Mariotts in BA are charging 500 USD a night for a basic room and the Argentinian national park service is charging 30 USD per day to visit a hiking trail, the US looks really cheap for what I want to see and do
@JDB would never stay in an IC or Marriott!I would certainly avoid if possible and/or it’s the least bad option. Long before @davefl’s comments, I had remarked just how expensive many big chains have become vs smaller luxury chains or independents. Less good quality/less well rated hotels pricier than their better neighbours, presumably driven by those on the points treadmill. The $500 Buenos Aires IC/Marriott base room story bears this out.
@davefl – plenty of other countries have sights that you can’t find anywhere else. I detect you didn’t care for Argentina much! Only 12 of 39 national parks are paying and provincial/regional parks rarely are.Re: “You’re like a stuck record on the subject. Other people have completely different priorities.” to you.” I would have thought a lot of people care about cost and value as I do!
We spent 11 days in BA last month staying in 2 gorgeous Airbnbs in Recoleta and Belgrano. Total cost around $500. Absolutely no need to waste money on chain hotels there.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
