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InterContinental London O2 bookable again!
InterContinental O2 was temporarily shut at the beginning of the pandemic, and then used as a quarantine hotel so the reopening date has kept being postponed. Finally, It is now bookable again!
The first bookable date is September 18th, which is less than two weeks away:
As you can see, reward night for that Saturday costs 38,000 points which I think is quite reasonable. Even more importantly, if you have acquired an Ambassador Reward Night certificate which is capped at 40,000 points, this is probably your best shot to use it for a domestic staycation.
I have already tried InterContinental Park Lane and all three Kimptons in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow so O2 is the only one missing from the UK’s IHG luxury collection. I have redeemed my certificate for the 19th, and hopefully the reopening doesn’t get delayed again this time!
My review of Waldorf Astoria Berlin
Thanks to the Impresario 3-for-2 offer, I managed to grab three nights at the Waldorf Astoria for my Berlin trip at a more than reasonable price. This is the second WA hotel I’ve stayed with after Edinburgh, which was quite good, although to be honest nothing spectacular.
The WA is right next to the Zoologischer Garten station with excellent connections to both the Hauptbanhof and Brandenburg Airport. Ku’damm street and the Tiergarten Park are both within reach so I find here a nice balance between nature and busy city life. I stayed at the Westin Grand last time and definitely prefer the location of the Waldorf Astoria (West Berlin).
You won’t miss the hotel’s iconic building.
Check-in experience is prompt and smooth. Unlike Hyatt Regency Cologne, I only need to show my vaccination proof once and never again for breakfast and dinner throughout the stay.
My room is upgraded to a Junior Suite on the 6th floor. From what I understand this is what Diamond members are usually upgraded to, so there’s no special advantage for booking Impresario unfortunately.
The Junior Suite measures around 50m2 which is fairly big – actually even the entry-level rooms at the WA are 36m2 which is decent enough by all standards.
Despite being called a “suite”, there isn’t really a well-separated living space apart from this small corner:
There is also a walk-in wardrobe.
The all-marble bathroom feels lavish:
Bathrobe is super comfy!
There is a small platform outside the window but I can’t really go out. Due to being on a low-ish floor I don’t have much of a view at all. You should be able to overlook the Zoo and Tiergarten on floor ten and above, if the aspect is right of course.
In terms of breakfast, Diamond members used to receive the continental buffet for free only until 2019. This has changed since and the entire cook-to-order menu is comped for Gold and Diamond guests.
The menu is very extensive, covering all egg variants including Shakshuka, Eggs Royale, Eggs Benefits and a WA special. You can also indulge yourself with American Pancakes and Belgian Waffles etc.
The only dining option at the moment is ROCA on the ground floor. I used my $100 credit here. Food is okay, nothing to write home about.
There is a Library Lounge at the 15th floor which is usually used for private events. It’s now open as a bar from Wednesday to Sunday. I didn’t have my phone with me and here are some stock photos from the hotel’s website:
It’s got a nice view over the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church and I recommend having a couple of drinks here if you’ve got time. The setup is similar to an Executive Lounge which intrigued me, but then I was told the drinks were not complimentary :p (many hotels in China have a complimentary happy-hour alternative if no Executive Lounge is available to elite guests)
One big pleasant surprise is the Guerlain Spa, which is very big, bright and modern.
I thoroughly enjoy the swimming pool (although I don’t really swim) and the jacuzzi. The sauna and steam rooms (with fragrance) are very nice too.
There’s also an outdoor terrace attached to the Spa.
There’s a gym too.
It’s probably down to personal preference, but to me WA Berlin is one of the most luxurious hotels I’ve ever stayed at in Europe for sure and I would not hesitate to return. Compared to my most recent “luxury” experience at the Langley, WA Berlin has larger and more functional rooms, and better Spa facilities – not to mention it’s also much cheaper!
New Marriott promotion – earn 1,500 points per stay
Marriott has finally launched a new global promotion, although not a very tempting one.
You can sign up to the offer here.
- Register by November 28
- Stay between September 14 and December 12
- Earn 1,500 bonus points per stay
- And 3,000 bonus points in addition when staying at All Inclusive by Marriott
All Inclusive is a Marriott hotel collection in Mexico and the Caribbean, therefore irrelevant to most of us who cannot travel freely at the moment. 1,500 bonus points is quite unattractive unless for one-night stays, but still better than nothing I guess.
My review of Hyatt Regency Cologne
After one year I’m finally comfortable travelling abroad again, and my first stop is Cologne in Germany. In fact I’m desperate to make use of the Amex Hyatt cashback offer, which plays a big part in me deciding where to go 😉
Cologne has its own airport albert quite small and only Ryanair flies here from Stansted. Instead I choose to fly into Dusseldorf on BA and Cologne is just 30-60 minutes away from its airport, depending on the train you take. The Hyatt Regency is only 5 minutes’ walk from Köln Messe/Deutz station.
The hotel is located on the “wrong” side of the river, which reminds me of the Hilton in Newcastle. All the attractions, shops and restaurants are on the west riverbank so it’s not very convenient for tourists, however it has the advantage of being much quieter, and owning the amazing view of the city centre including the Cologne Cathedral.
I booked a Hyatt Prive rate, which comes with room upgrade, free breakfast and $100 credit. Unfortunately the current 3-for-2 sale only includes suites, and I can’t really justify the extra cost.
Being a measly Explorist, I’m granted a one-level upgrade to a King Room with River View.
The room is okay, although lacking in any innovation or spirit.
Some chocolate as a welcome gift:
The river view is impressive, and I’m thankful to my free Explorist status.
The Hyatt has four restaurants open at the moment. One Italian and one fast-food in the cubic houses in front of the hotel:
A lobby bar on the ground floor, and the main Glashaus restaurant where breakfast is served.
If you don’t have a river view room, the Glashaus is worth visiting.
The breakfast spread is good with a few cook-to-order options. Sunday morning is very busy though and service is bit chaotic.
I had dinner here to use my €85 credit. I ordered Pluma Iberica which turned out to be excellent – in fact it’s one of the best pork I’ve ever had in my life!
Hotel residents can book to use the spa. There’s no sauna or steam room, but the swimming pool and jacuzzi are decent enough.
I read good things about the Regency Club but unfortunately I don’t have access to it. Overall the hotel is fine, although for a five-star I’d expect more elements in the room. If you prefer to stay in the city centre and don’t mind the view, Hilton Cologne might be a better choice.
Free night voucher and 50% dining discount for joining Hyatt Gourmet Club in Germany
For some unknown reason, many of the mainstream hotel groups have dedicated dining schemes in Asia Pacific that offer great discounts, but not in other continents. Whilst staying at Hyatt Regency Cologne I found out that it exists for Hyatt hotels in Germany as well.
You can visit the Gourmet Club homepage here. There are six participating hotels:
- Grand Hyatt Berlin
- Hyatt Regency Cologne
- Hyatt Regency Mainz
- Park Hyatt Hamburg
- Hyatt Regency Dusseldorf
- Hyatt Place Frankfurt Airport
For €299 a year you enjoy the following benefits:
One Free Night Voucher
You get a complimentary night voucher for the hotel from whom you purchase the membership.
Dining Discount
When at least two people dine in participating restaurants, one complimentary meal is offered, which means 50% off for two, 33.3% off for three and 25% off for four etc. This works quite similarly to Accor Plus in Asia Pacific.
The discount can be redeemed up to 12 times in the membership year.
Room Discount
10% off at participating Hyatt hotels.
Free Bottle of Champagne
One SPA Day Pass
The free night voucher itself can be quite valuable already, as it costs typically €200+ to stay one night at Park Hyatt Hamburg or Grand Hyatt Berlin. If you plan to stay at any of these hotels and dine, the Gourmet Club could make sense even if it’s just for one-time use.
It’s also specified in the terms that all benefits are transferable. So in theory you can share the membership with your friends and family when they visit Germany.
IHG Europe offer: 10% off, £80 credit and room upgrade with Mastercard
IHG has historically teamed up with Mastercard to offer rate discounts in the EMEA region. A new offer has just turned up, in a new form though which may interest a different audience group.
You can access the offer page here. It’s basically Mastercard’s version of FHR for high-end IHG hotels – you need to be a Mastercard World / World Elite / Platinum / Black Edition cardholder, although I doubt IHG has a way to verify that. That said, in theory you do need to pay with a Mastercard.
The following benefits apply when you book a two-night minimum stay at participating hotel in UK and Europe:
- 10% off best flexible rate
- Room upgrade, subject to availability
- 10am check-in and 4pm checkout, subject to availability
- $100 credit per stay at Regent, InterContinental and Kimpton hotels
- $50 credit per stay at Hotel Indigo
One-night deposit is required however you can cancel free of charge up to 7 days in advance. Book and stay by June 30, 2022.
Here are some participating hotels with nightly rate examples:
- InterContinental London Park Lane £332
- Kimpton Fitzroy £219
- Hotel Indigo Kensington £126
- Hotel Indigo Birmingham £156
- Kimpton Manchester Clocktower £175
- InterContinental Edinburgh the George £235
- Hotel Indigo Berlin Centre Alexanderplatz €99
- Hotel Indigo Paris Opera €250
- Kimpton De Witt Amsterdam €189
- Hotel Indigo Madrid Princesa €103
- InterContinental Lisbon €211
The benefits look quite similar to IHG’s Luxury and Lifestyle program, with some pros and cons:
+ 10% discount
+ Greater range of hotels included, especially mid-level Hotel Indigos
– Minimum 2-night stay requirement
– No breakfast included
– Less generous cancellation policy
With room upgrade and early check-in / late check-out thrown in, I think it can be good value if you have no IHG status. In terms of the $100 / $50 credit, make sure you compare the Advance Saver or other promo rates to understand what value they really have.
Other IHG offers:
- Save 20% on IHG hotel bookings with Railcard
- IHG Europe offer: 10% off, £80 credit and room upgrade with Mastercard
- IHG Luxury & Lifestyle: 3-for-2, $100 credit, breakfast, room upgrade and more
My review of Kimpton Fitzroy, London
In a bid to use up my IHG offers on Amex, I needed to book another hotel stay by end of August. The only hotel on the list that I hadn’t tried yet was Kimpton Fitzroy, so it became the obviously choice although I didn’t think I would be a fan.
The hotel is located right next to the Russell Square station, within proximity of the British Museum and University College London. I like its location – with a park around the corner, quiet-ish but in the meantime a lot of things to explore nearby.
The hotel opened its door in 1900 and is a Grade-II listed building. It was a Principal Hotel before the group was acquired by IHG in 2018.
I booked a LuxLife 3-for-2 rate, which includes free breakfast, $100 in-hotel credit and room upgrade subject to availability. Even though I booked the cheapest single room under the 3-for-2 promotion, it still set me back £478. Needless to say £160 a night is quite expensive for a 120-sqft room!
Looking at recent reports this hotel has been very stingy when it comes to room upgrade and it’s near impossible to fare one above the standard double room, which is why I didn’t bother to pay more for a better room. Just like how I expected, I received a one-level upgrade from standard single to standard double, which is anything but generous considering my Spire Elite status and the LuxLife rate plan.
Fortunately, some of the standard rooms are much larger than the others, and mine is one of them.
The room’s size is not great, but at least there’s plenty of space to move around, unlike what my friend and some other people have suggested. The bathroom is big enough, nicely furnished with a brand new bathtub.
In general it’s got the Kimpton feel although is slightly lacking in decorations. There’s also a small balcony although you can’t go outside.
The windows don’t appear to be double-glazed though, and being on the first-floor means you can expect some road noises. TV is broken as well, so on the second day they moved me to a different room on the seventh floor.
It’s quite similar so I didn’t take more photos, but has a more conventional rectangular shape. It’s atrium facing so much quieter.
In addition to the LuxLife benefit, IHG members are also entitled to £15 food and beverage credit, so in total I have £90 to spare during my stay. There are a cocktail bar and afternoon tea restaurant on site, however for proper dining you should visit the Burr & Co.
For my first dinner I ordered the Salt & Pepper Squid and King Prawn Curry:
Both taste EXCELLENT and I’m genuinely impressed. My only complaint is the portion – I can easily have three portions of the curry in a meal 🙂
Breakfast is also served here. Again decent quality but the menu doesn’t have a big range.
There’s a social hour daily between 5pm and 6pm, where complimentary wine and beer are served in the restaurant. Service at the Burr & Co is top-notch, hotel-wise just so-so.
At the end of the day, the hotel room’s condition is a lot better than I had imagined, and the restaurant has definitely been the highlight of my stay. However I still cannot justify paying £250+ a night for it considering all the alternatives in London, but if you have a free night voucher or some points to burn it may be worth a try.
6K IHG bonus points for staying 4 nights (targeted)
A new IHG offer has just landed in my mailbox.
You can access the offer here.
- Stay between August 19 and September 30
- Stay two nights and earn 3,000 bonus points
- Stay another two nights and earn 3,000 more bonus points
Basically you earn a total of 6,000 bonus points after completing four qualifying (paid) nights. They can be four separate one-night stays, or a stay of four consecutive nights.
I asked around and not all of my friends could sign up successfully so it appears to be targeted. It’s far from a strong offer to be honest, so let’s see if IHG can bring up something more exciting later.