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My review of Hilton Bahrain
As Hilton had that “Stay once to keep Diamond” promotion, I’ve chosen to the Hilton Bahrain hotel to start my trip. It is a very new hotel, charging just over £120 per night, and somehow is even cheaper than the Hilton Garden Inn. I spent 82,000 points on two award nights as I have nowhere to spend my Hilton points.
I received a welcome email one day before my arrival that offered me an airport transfer for 10 dinars. It isn’t much more expensive than Uber (~6 dinars) and I took it.
The friendly chauffeur was already waiting for me at the arrival hall when I landed, and it was smooth 10-minute drive to the hotel. The occupancy seems low – the receptionist lady addressed me with my name immediately when she saw me.
The hotel has 45 floors and features an executive lounge. However it is still under constructions and not many facilities are available yet. In fact when I did the online check-in the highest floor presented to me was like 33. This might explain when the hotel’s rate is so low.
Daily drinks vouchers are offered in lieu of the executive lounge.
Hilton Bahrain is more of a residence than a hotel, as all guest rooms are actually (at least studio) apartments that feature a proper kitchen and washing machine etc. I received an upgrade to a one-bedroom apartment on the 27th floor.
Living room:
The apartment is indeed very well furnished, with refrigerator, dishwasher, hobs, washing machine, plus cutlery and plates. There’s even a water dispenser, which I haven’t seen since my childhood in China!
Bedroom and bathroom:
The TV set doesn’t support Chromecast. I managed to connect to Smart View with my phone but it’s not as convenient.
It is not the average hotel room you see elsewhere. In fact it doesn’t feel like a hotel at all, but rather an apartment you rent on Airbnb.
Both the living room and bedroom have access to the balcony:
The view isn’t particularly scenery here. There are multiple construction sites next to the hotel which is an eyesore.
That says something about the hotel’s location. The zone is under heavy construction and not much is happening around here. I crossed a few construction sites to finally reach the park by the sea but it’s very underwhelming. The Grand Mosque is not too far away though.
My welcome gift: a fruit plate and baklava.
Breakfast is served in the restaurant on the third floor. It’s the classic English breakfast buffet and some local delicacy such as foul medames and egg shakshuka.
There’s Asian cuisine as well, but hmm very fused. I was reaching out to the spring rolls, but then was put off by its cheese stuffing.
Menu for eggs:
The swimming pool is just outside the restaurant.
It’s February and just over 20 degrees in Bahrain. The pool isn’t heated and a bit too cold.
The jacuzzi is broken and can’t be turned on for safety reasons. There is an indoor spa though that offer more facilities.
The sauna room is terribly flawed. I think they chose the wrong material for floor and bench, and you don’t want to stay in unless you are not afraid of being burnt!
Gym:
I had no problem getting 3pm late check-out before I moved to the Westin. The service at Hilton Bahrain is good, and the room / facilities are okay too, especially if plan to stay for more than just a few days. However, for a five-star hotel in the Middle East it doesn’t quite meet the standard, but hopefully thing will pick up once the construction has completed.
Up to 55% conversion bonus from hotel points to Cathay Pacific miles
Cathay Pacific has launched a conversion bonus promotion for select hotel programs, and you can view the details here.
Until May 15th, you will earn a bonus when converting points from participating hotel programs to Asia Miles, including but not limited to:
- Shangri-la: 30% (1000 : 1300)
- IHG: 25% (10000 : 2500)
- Accor: 15% (4000 : 2300)
- Hilton: 15% (10000 : 1150)
- Hyatt: 15% (5000 : 2300)
If you have never converted any points between April 1, 2022 and April 11, 2023, you will earn an additional 25% bonus when converting Shangri-la and IHG points.
The bottom line is, even after factoring in the bonus the conversion still loses a lot of value in most cases. IHG may be the only outlier here, where you get 3,000 miles for 10,000 points if you meet the qualification criterion.
As you can buy IHG points at 0.5 cent during their sales, you are essentially paying 1.67c per mile under this promotion, which is not great but a lot cheaper than the official rate. If you have a stash of IHG points and need to top up your Asia miles account to redeem a flight, this offer may be useful.
Hyatt Lindner offer bonus points posted
Hyatt acquired Lindner – a German hospitality group – recently, and launched a bonus points offer intended for existing Lindner members.
After signing up to this offer, you earn 1,000 bonus points per night when staying at any Hyatt property in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. You can earn the bonus up to 10 times.
It might be to tricky to carry out the eligibility check without breaching European data privacy laws, which is why registration is actually open to everyone. I wasn’t sure if the bonus was going to post, but a friend has just shared his success after completing a stay in Cambridge:
Together with the Bonus Journeys global promotion you will earn 2,500 bonus points per night by the end of May, which is very impressive!
IHG Q2 offer: 3k points for two nights
IHG has sent a new round of targeted emails, which revealed the next bonus point promotion.
You can sign up to the offer here.
- Stay between April 15 and June 5
- Earn 3,000 bonus points when staying two paid nights
- You can earn the bonus three times
Note that only paid stays count, and in theory the nightly rate needs to exceed $30. It is a targeted offer so you may not be able to register, and there is unlikely going to be any global promotion until June 5.
Marriott 25% off app-exclusive flash sale
Marriott has launched a flash sale of 25% discount globally, which may come handy if you have travel plans in the next three weeks.
It is a targeted offer so there’s no landing page. Details are:
- Book by Sunday, April 2
- Stay by April 23
- Save 25% at participating hotels globally
- Prepay at time of booking
It can only by booked on the Marriott app, to search enter the promo code T2730. Although the offer is targeted, the offer seems to work for everyone.
Hotels may have different cancellation policies – the one that I saw offers free cancellation up to 72 hours before arrival although prepayment is required.
The usual and frequent Marriott Bonvoy Escapes sale gives you 20% off, and there’s an additional 5% on top this time, but the stay window is kind of short. I happen to have some travel plans coming up next week, and I can tell the discount is genuine, although 25% is hardly something to get very excited about.
Rocketmiles promotion: earn 5,000 United miles after the first stay
If you haven’t heard of Rocketmiles, they are an online travel agency for hotel bookings. Unlike its rivals they don’t really have a membership program, instead you earn miles or other reward currencies with airlines and loyalty programs that they’ve partnered with.
They also run lucrative promotions from time to time, especially to new customers. If you are a collector of United miles, here’s an opportunity for you: book your first stay by June 30 and earn 5,000 bonus United miles. This is in addition to the standard miles you earn, starting from 500.
The cheapest night you can find in London is just under £50, for 5,500 United miles:
Whereas it’s closer to the £20 mark in many Asian countries:
It is a brilliant way to purchase cheap United miles, although valid once only. I wouldn’t recommend booking via Rocketmiles in general, as they tend to be more expensive and you are not entitled to elite benefits or points as they are a travel agency.
United miles are very powerful and hard to come by for UK residents, so the deal is worth considering if you are already a collector.
My review of Le Meridien Dubai Hotel & Conference Centre
Disrupted by the layoff, my five-night beach holiday in Dubai turned into a short airport layover of two days. There are quite a few hotel options near the Dubai airport, such as the Holiday Inn Express, Aloft and Element. However I didn’t want to “downgrade” that much, so went for Le Meridien in the end.
The hotel is about three minutes’ drive from the airport, and you can actually walk if not carrying too many bags. Despite of its remoteness, the hotel is right next to a metro station so connection to downtown Dubai is easy.
Don’t confuse it with Le Meridien Fairway, which is further away from the airport and much smaller.
A Christmas tree is ready for the festive period.
Interestingly, Le Meridien is actually composed of two hotels, which is very unusual. The hotel has one building named the Royal Wing, which has its own reception, parking space, pools and club lounge, so it’s pretty much an independent hotel.
Marriott Platinum members receive an upgrade to the Royal Club Room by default.
You need to cross the main building to see the Royal Wing block.
Upon entering the building the first facility you see is the Royal Club, which is an exclusive club lounge. However, it is basically a lobby bar so feels quite different to an ordinary lounge you see elsewhere.
Royal Wing has a very different style of interior design compared to the main building. Darker colours are used everywhere to the Royal theme.
You can’t fault the service in Dubai. A porter came to pick up my luggage at the first sight and accompanied me all the way to my room. Moments after I’ve settled down, someone else brought me a huge fruit platter.
There is only one room type at the Royal Wing. The room to be honest, is a bit worn.
You can see the Aloft through the window.
The jet tub is a nice addition to the bathroom.
The best feature however, has to be the massage chair, which is total surprise. I couldn’t wait to try it out after my 10-hour flight, and it works pretty well, as the pressure is probably deeper than what some masseurs can do. If I remember correctly only Royal Club rooms have the massage chair.
The swimming pool is located on the fifth floor. It’s a small one, but being on the rooftop adds some bonus points. Someone told me you can actually see the New Year fireworks from here.
Royal Wing’s benefits are listed as follows:
Royal Wing offers complimentary one-way airport transfer if you book directly, but that doesn’t include complimentary upgrades. The charge is only 30 AED though so I opted in, and somehow they ended up not charging me.
Titanium members can choose restaurant breakfast as a welcome amenity, and I didn’t want to walk all the way so didn’t bother and decided to dine at the lounge instead.
The buffet is way below par, so go to the restaurant if breakfast is important to you.
Flyertalk’s reviews don’t speak highly of their afternoon tea so I didn’t check it out. I’m here for the happy hour though, and appetisers is limited one portion per person. You can drink as much as you want though (prices are just for reference in case you invite someone else).
If you don’t mind paying for your food, the hotel has 16 restaurants to choose from! I tried the Spanish restaurant which is quite decent and not overpriced.
As a Titanium member I get 15% discount on my bill. I don’t think it’s a regional dining benefit (like the one in Asia Pacific), so probably a nice gesture from the hotel itself.
Royal Wing guests are free to use any facility at the main building as well. There’s another lounge – Le Meridien Club Lounge, which is open to Club Room guests staying at the main building. As Elite members are usually upgraded to the Royal Wing, it tends to be quiet.
According to the staff, the catering here is identical to the Royal Wing. In fact it feels much more like a proper club lounge, and I’d rather sit here to enjoy the light if I want a change of scenery.
Besides having 16 restaurants, the hotel also has four swimming pools! You’ve already seem the Royal Club Pool, and there’s Le Meridien Club Pool which is exclusive to Club Room guests.
There are a few guest rooms with direct pool access, but privacy may not be that good.
Fitness Pool is ideal for some proper swimming training.
And finally there’s the Courtyard Pool, which is the most family and kids friendly and has a bar.
The hotel feels a bit old, and definitely not on the luxury level by Dubai’s standard. However I’ve fallen in love with the massage chair, and the restaurants and pools have impressed me. If you need to stay close to the airport, Le Meridien Dubai is not a bad choice at all.
New IHG offer: 10K points for two stays
IHG has brought back its reactivation offer for members who haven’t stayed with them for a while, and you may want to try your luck.
You can sign up to the offer here. Stay twice within 60 days of registration and you’ll earn 5,000 bonus points each time. They must be paid stays.
Note that it’s a targeted offer, so not everyone is eligible. I was able to enrol when it came around last time, but could no more 🙁