[Rhys]

My fave is always T5B. So much quieter, and a good opportunity to stretch your legs on the underground walkway.

[Rhys]

Why not just cancel the return now?

[Rhys]

aseftel wrote:

Rhys Jones wrote:

Thanks everyone! Lots of non-chain hotels. What about Marriott/Hilton/IHG options too?

Obviously in the wrong part of the country, but since you specifically asked, I had a good stay at the JW Marriott Khao Lak. You’ll recognise it – it gets used a lot in Bonvoy marketing materials.

The whole place is connected by a network of swimming pool canals (and half the rooms are swim-up), which gives it a really fun vibe. Now and then there’s a canoe that goes round selling beers and ice cream. You can swim from the bar to your room.

The property is sat on a gorgeous beach, public but dead quiet given the location. On-property dining was nothing remarkable, but there were a few options set up by locals around the property set back from the beach that were very good and inexpensive. We ate out every night after we discovered them – follow the other guests disappearing into the treeline with phone torches after dark!

Thanks! Was thinking of staying in Krabi but this could be a good option too!

[Rhys]

We have an article tomorrow 🙂

[Rhys]

Jacob wrote:

That’s not correct. For arrivals it only applies to UK/EU airlines. All airlines for departures from UK/EU.

I stand corrected! I mistakenly thought it was all flights that arrive in UK/EU.

[Rhys]

Mirp wrote:

Opt for BA on the way back to retain your EU261 rights.

Those are valid regardless, as long as you are flying to a UK or EU airport.

[Rhys]

I’ve got a review coming in the next few days too!

I wasn’t a huge fan of the dan dan noodles – no protein and a bit too rich and syruppy for my liking.

[Rhys]

Hbommie wrote:

What’s the deal with Vietnam?

Love Vietnam and went with HfP in 2019 (and would definitely go back) but won’t go this time round!

[Rhys]

Thanks everyone! Lots of non-chain hotels. What about Marriott/Hilton/IHG options too?

Aston100 wrote:

When are you going Rhys?

End of Feb!

aseftel wrote:

I’ve stayed at the Conrad twice. Perfectly decent city hotel but wouldn’t suggest going out of your way for it.

I would however strongly recommend making a day trip up to Ayutthaya. It’s a truly impressive collection of historical sites and hardly any tourists as soon as you’re a bit off the beaten track.

Have you considered taking the train up to Chiang Mai?

Thanks – Ayutthaya definitely on the itinerary, and yes, did consider taking the train up. Worth it you think? I don’t mind reading a book trundling along beautiful scenery.

Michael C wrote:

Rhys, my beloved Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit!

Of course!

[Rhys]

The end of March is when the summer schedules begin, so it might just be seasonal.

[Rhys]

Highly likely it will have Club Suite, as BA is seriously ramping up the refurbishment and all 777s will have them by end of the year. Our Club Suite guide has more info on how to spot.

[Rhys]

Lady London wrote:

I can tell you the BA breakfast in the lounge in T3 is an excellent whisky and a soggy bacon roll.

I think I’d give the Centurion a try. I thought the CX First Loungw food options at any hour before the noodle bar opened were poor. So I’d finish there as my last lounge of the day. I can’t remember being particularly impressed by the QF lounge breakfast options either. They were pedestrian but still heaps better than BA.

Don’t they do noodles for breakfast?

[Rhys]

I’ll try my best!

[Rhys]

In practice, it has never worked that way. It has always been possible to cancel the card and retain the voucher in your BA account. You just need to make sure you have an Amex (any Amex, doesn’t even have to be yours) to pay when you want to redeem the voucher. There is a (very small, I would argue) risk that this changes.

Note that it takes a couple of days for the voucher to hit your BA account but when it does you should be fine.

• This reply was modified 53 years, 3 months ago by .

[Rhys]

Benilyn wrote:

@Rhys let us know if you paid on the payment terminal on the left or right side. I paid on the left one, another customer was having issues paying on the one on the right, I wonder if it’s any different.

Left, I think.
Funny though – the transaction isn’t even listed on my recent transactions on Amex!…

Upper Crust worked fine a couple of days before, however (I got the email too).

[Rhys]

Is the volcano still erupting? That would be exciting.

[Rhys]

SamG wrote:

One piece of advice with this type of situation is don’t panic and jump into a non-optimal scenario, especially if you’ve got a little bit of flexibility in your plans. You only get one shot at the change and flight availability is very fluid at the moment as airline/peoples plans change. If Qatar has an optimal timing that is currently sold out, either check back or pay for a months Expertflyer subscription and sent an alert on the top fare bucket (J for Biz – Y or economy). It’ll likely open up and then you can call in and get what you want

Quite. I haven’t rebooked at all yet – am waiting to see what happens with Thai borders.

[Rhys]

Hi Peter. If you create a new account then I can merge your old one into that and delete it.

[Rhys]

If you put more than 2 links it automatically gets flagged.

[Rhys]

We have elastic search installed on the main site which returns decent results but we haven’t done the same for the forums (yet). We may/may not do that in the future.

[Rhys]

tiriavpo wrote:

Is there a way of showing that a post has gone to moderation?

I’ve just hit submit, over on the BA forum, and it all just disappeared – so I don’t know if it is a problem at my end and re-submit, or in moderation.

Yes, we’re aware. It’s very odd – if a topic goes into moderation there is a message, but not if a reply does.

We are hoping to fix this soon.

[Rhys]

Yes, there is no difference, although they will be treated as individual bookings so if eg. BA cancels the outbound you would have to cancel the return off your own back (and pay the associated change fee).

By the way, the £1 redemption offer is not the most cost effective – unless you are Avios rich: https://www.headforpoints.com/2020/07/13/avios-1-taxes-more-points/

• This reply was modified 53 years, 3 months ago by .

[Rhys]

Targetted, annoyingly.

[Rhys]

Thanks for all the recommendations (and some from an Austrian friend) I ended up doing the following:
– climbing St Stephan’s tower (wanted to do this on my interrail after A Levels but my friends refused – not hugely special by itself but not expensive and thought I would do it regardless!)
– walked around a bit, towards the Hundertwasser house. To be honest, it is in need of a repaint and the pub on the first floor has installed some hideously tacky little statues. There are better Hundertwasser houses elsewhere
– Went to Cafe Sperl on recommendation of the hotel – quieter, less touristy cafe absolutely delightful
– Went into the Sisi Museum and Imperial apartments. Imperial apartments are fine but the Sisi museum I thought was a bit crap – I really struggled to get a single thread about her life, was a bit of an overload – whilst the gigantic collection of silverware is also a bit dull
– Went to Schonebrunn – this I think is definitely worth it, and you can avoid the Hofburg. I went inside and up to the Gloriette – gardens are a bit barren in winter but still beautiful on a sunny day
– Went to Rheinthaler’s Beisl, which was a fantastic, authentic sort of gasthof. Basic but delightful

I also made prolific use of the Park Hyatt’s phenomenal spa…

[Rhys]

The majority of A350s currently are the version with 44 Upper Class seats. At some point, the leisure A350s will mainly (or exclusively, as was planned pre pandemic) operate out of non-Heathrow airports.

The leisure A350s also feature ‘The Booth’ instead of ‘The Loft’: https://www.headforpoints.com/2021/09/02/virgin-atlantic-the-booth-a350/

• This reply was modified 53 years, 3 months ago by .