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ed_fly wrote:

Does anyone know if there is an online resource with visualised airline route maps? Primarily thinking about a BA route map, like they previously had in the back of their inflight magazines.

This is probably the closest for BA that they host

https://www.britishairways.com/travel/where-we-fly/public/en_gb/map

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Upgrades at most Six Senses are rare as they are smallresorts; So far only Fiji & Bali have upgraded me in 6 stays – though Yao Noi in May gave me the best in category version of my room .

The amenity can be good value on a stay, but won’t cover the cost on its own. Most resorts now offer a 1 hour massage each for 2 guests; or a 100usd room credit to Ambassadors.

At Laamu you get IHG reward points if your stay was booked direct; so the the Platinum points bonus aren’t to be scoffed at – when I went my total bill was ±14k (I had a very big beach villa.) That adds up to a decent amount of bonus points you can use to book rewards rooms later.

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davedent wrote:

Still the best hotel in BKK IMO. Lunch at the riverside restaurant and then the MO boat back to the skytrain one of my favourite things to do in BKK.

You should give cappella a go. Had a weekend at the Cappella in May, rooms are huge and comfortable, the balcony had a plunge pool come spa bath with a view over the river to a construction site (can’t have it all.) It’s in a quieter area than the shangri la/ mandarin oriental. Nearest bts is 1km away though the hotel has its own ferry service to the icon siam. It might not have the famous guest list; it does have excellent food and facilities. Quiet to get away from the hustle but easy to get there when you want it.

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There is another thread on Oman that suggests that getting arrival assistance is worth it to get through the airport quicker; im only going to be there for 13 hours but would rather wake up looking at the sea than a departure hall (also its another night on my route to 40 ihg this year to renew my lounge pass. I’m going through in the middle of October; going to get the arrival service and visa and see how it goes and will report back

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Its more about the time; wondering if its quicker to get the evisa before arrival.

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If you do travel a lot Ambassador is a great money saving program. It works for me and it works for IHG. It works for IHG as I stay at IC’s more often than I do at Ritz Carltons or Park Hyatts. Even if I ignore the room upgrades and weekend certificate the dining credit alone pays for my membership every 3-4 months.

The best ihg perk isn’t in ambassador it is in the rewards program; the club lounge access at 40 nights.

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Entry rooms at Park Hyatt can be at the 200 pound mark, havent stayed anywhere else in the city. If you have Amex Plat can get the upgrade and dining credit or book via the luxury booking link on the right hand side for similar benefits

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The Mandarin Oriental is very good and doesn’t have an in house casino. Was calm and the restaurant was excellent. Room had a good view of fireworks event (if they still do that I would try and be in Macau when the competition is on), even from the bathtub. Roof top Infiniti Pool was great.

Sofitel is very blingy, one of the entrances is all golden. Club lounge was good, and staff in it were excellent, I stayed in one of the “Mansions” which had a large pool for 19 or so rooms with views into mainland china. Room was very over the top but was fun for a few days.

MO & Sofitel are walkable to the cultural sites so a bus or taxi over the bridge if you want to go to the main casino strip.

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I think you get breakfast at six senses on all cash rates. Never not seen it included in the room; only fair when rooms are usually north of 1000£ a night. As someone that doest like massages I do like the get 100$ back on bill though its bad news for FHR / Virtuoso as the benefits are basically better on SS direct.

At Koh Yao Noi the wellness platter was a different selection of nuts and cookies in sealed jars, and a bottle of local whiskey. Taking wellness in a different direction 🙂

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JDB wrote:

@Toppcat – to echo @LadyLondon , thank you for such a detailed review; if only all non-professional reviewers added as much value as you have. The bottom line, as I read it, is that the hotel just isn’t good enough in its category/price bracket and this is in a worrying trend as hotels have spotted just how many guests don’t know better. You should share your views with Neil Jacobs, CEO of Six Senses. He was a seriously brilliant hotelier and pioneer, but I fear he has succumbed to the IHG shilling. He will personally respond and he definitely needs to know the many crucial points you have made, good and bad.

Personally, I don’t think brands like Six Senses or Regent sit at all well in a global chain and the mess that is Intercontinental speaks volume about the priorities and standards of IHG plc.

Agree wholeheartedly with this; but voted with my wallet. After a terrible Christmas at “Six Senses” uluwatu – another post IHG resort with no GEM’s and hotel room blocks. In Uluwatu I didn’t eat on Christmas Day as restaurant was booked out – no gem so no warning, no one answered room service line; my villa started to fall apart in rain and had broken tiles in the shower. Since then Aman has bene getting my money most vacations. Though I gave SS Koh Yao Noi a go in May; its a classic Six Senses, peaceful quiet low density hotel with GEMs, very wooden room and epic view. Though it desperately need refurbishing and the resort needed fogging; comparing mosquitos bytes was a topic of conversation in the bar most nights.

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Fullerton or Swissotel should be in your budgets and give the view, Swissotel will give better views as its very tall and has balconies whilst Fullerton is historic and the balcony rooms tend not to have views; though transport is easy so you could stay near an MRT or bus route and get in. There is also a park royal but never stayed and can’t comment on the views.

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I used mine at the 1 attico (Top of Orchard Ion) fire restaurant in may; view is excellent, steak was above average. There are a few choices up there; though I think Fire has the best view as it faces south

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I think you can uber from Dubai to Muscat for about 250gbp. Likely can get regular taxi to do it too

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If you want Avios you may be better staying with Accor and crediting points to Qatar

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I blew mine last week at the Fire restaurant on the top of the Orchard Ion. The steak was very good; and being 55 floors up the view was too. Though the route to get there is a bit convoluted (its via an art gallery.)

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ringingup wrote:

Both in Atacama and Easter Island we stayed in hotels where all the excursions and experiences were included. It was fantastic.

I had had the same experience when I went; stayed at https://nayarahangaroa.com/; my room was like a little cave with only one power sockets. But it’s right by the water and you can walk into town easily when you aren’t in the park. It was pretty much all inclusive; the food was fine, drinks with dinner. The tour guides were fine; and they had short go and see the statues; or long hike across the island style trips depending on what you wanted to do.

I privately did a night sky/ sunrise/ star watching/ photo tour with https://rapanuistargazing.com which was fantastic. https://www.flickr.com/photos/u07ch/albums/72157697030324065/

I went in may and it was almost empty https://www.flickr.com/photos/u07ch/albums/72157691061460520/with/28238314488

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Thanks for the update and great ship report. Had been wondering where the Pitcairn trips had gone next year; and you answered that for me too 🙂

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Lufthansa have a sub £700 flight out of Manchester; https://www.google.com/travel/flights/s/ZX9jRvnRRvg8gFSK6 leaving on the 20th returning on 3rd

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The Micronesian islands are all slightly different all have nice hikes in rainforests with a number of waterfalls on some of them, beaches and degrees of sea life. They are all essentially chunks of coral in the middle of the ocean though; Nan Modal and Chuuk are the big exceptions on the history front. Google Gemini/ GPT can likely give hikes or an itinerary along the chain – if you are going to stop and dive at each you might want 10-15 days. You almost certainly can’t get off on Kwajalein. The reason to go to these places of me was to get lost and away from work; rather than the hikes and dives. Chance to just be alone with the waves and sunrises/sets.

My personal preference in Oceania is New Caledonia which has everything that ticks my boxes; great French inspired food; stunning natural scenery, incredible diving, reefs all over for snorkelling across its islands and inside the lagoon and finally the idea of natural swimming pools like the one on the isle of pins, where a coral rock blocks the ocean to create a natural pool filled with fish and some coral.

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Is the united island hopper flight on your plans https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_Hopper. Might not give you Avios but it’s a unique flight. Easiest way through Micronesia and will hook up.with your HNL start point. It’s worth going to Pohnpei to see the ruins of nan modol. Qantas gives Avios /tp on their partner flights so you can get some milage there. Diving and surfing are big drawer but flying will mean you need to put in days to let your blood gasses normalise for diving. You can snorkel at ch/truuk but the ships are best seen from below.

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You could do a split stay; book a night or two at ss on Amex FHR or via Emyr.

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Six senses Samui is outstanding; the rooms are airy and wooden with good views. The food and staff are excellent; and it doesn’t have 100s of rooms so it is also quiet. That said I’m also a fan of the IC and have stayed several times now. Kimpton I had lunch in last may I haven’t ever stayed in it; public areas feels small compared to IC and SS if that matters to you.

The IC beach villas are huge; had one with an indoor and outdoor jacuzzi and a separate plunge pool last year. IC has a club lounge though its outside and insects attack you during happy hour. The beach at IC is quieter than other Samui beaches thanks to its more remote location. It is far more of a beach than you will get at the Six Senses (which face sunrise too); though there is a good pool at both if you want to sunbathe.

Six Senses is in the classic SS style; unlike say Bali (where my room leaked and started falling apart when it rained), you get a gem who makes decent reccomendations and that quiet easy luxury. It’s MUCH closer to the airport and more of the life of Samui than IC so you see/hear the odd plane during the day. IC is a way away from the heart of Samui; biggest sign of life is watching the ferry back to the mainland edge across the horizon its a much quieter area; food isn’t as good as SS; the clifftop bar however is a great place to watch the sunset if you aren’t in the lounge. Eating out is more of a trek than SS, nearest decent restaurant is at the conrad. Location of IC is excellent for peace and quiet though. It is a split hotel; you can walk up and down over their suspension bridge on the way; or use the buggy service up and down the hotel or to the car park. I mixed both last year SS and IC; rented a car to get around.

Kevin the flipflop traveller is a fan of the ss too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iIpUNNYstA

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On Tahiti rent a car and explore; much easier than public transport, driving is easy and main roads are well sealed. I have done several slow drives around; there are plenty of things to stop at from beaches, restaurants, botanical gardens etc. I have enjoyed driving around and just stopping along the way. Also a trip to the supermarket will reduce your costs and let you get explore better wines and cheese to keep you fuelled. If your timing works it will be cheaper to go whale watching from Tahiti than the others. Tahiti is great (if it’s wet) for waterfalls and hikes up the towering rocks. Vaihi Waterfalls is easy from the road; there are others that are great hikes and take up high up over the island. If you want to explore keep driving up the hills as far as you can for some amazing views. Go to point Venus and think about James cook sailing there to watch Venus transit the sun (there is a model of the clock they took to time it in the British museum). Find a quiet black sand beach is fun. I took a trip on Viator that takes you down the coastline of the smaller island. The surfing at teahupoo is fun to watch; you can get a boat from the town or nearby port easily enough.

Bora Bora; snorkelling snorkelling diving snorkelling maybe night sky watching. Most people go to Bloody Mary;s for lunch or dinner; burgers the sand. Did a round the island jetski twice its interesting. Also rented electric Renault twiggy – which is a slow inline 2 seat electric plastic better than a buggy thing. Solar charged so better than a petrol car- struggles up the hills a little. Definately a fun way to explore; easy to park at side of road and climb up to see the cannons etc. (or just get supplies from town.) On plane sit on left on the way there right on way out. Try and get a hotel to watch the sunset; or get to Matira Beach and get your Gaugin Sunset.

Rangiroa you have to dive (or at least snorkel) the Tiputa pass best reason to go; float with the current past mantas and sharks; its awesome experience and you just need to adjust your buoyancy and flow with the current. Recommend you take snacks to rangi it may have developed in 10 years I was last there; but it is an end of the world place.

New Zealand would suggest missing it and going to New Caledonia and the Isle of Pines instead. Which is what I’m doing in May 🙂

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If you aren’t big on big breakfast spreads; bear in mind the Bugis IC is attached to a mall with Starbucks, macdonalds a supermarket and various other food stalls. The breakfast is good; lounge breakfast is good; but if you are on points to save money you have close by options that will get you to your chilli crab lunch.

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I can’t speak for Adelaide; but in Sydney you might try the Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour; right on circular quay for trains, trams and ferries; good view of harbour or park and rooms have laundry facilities. They also have two bedroom suites if that is on your list.