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My review of Andaz London Liverpool Street
I’ve never set foot in any Hyatt hotel in my life, largely due to their poor footprint in UK and Europe. However I spotted an awesome deal from the Andaz London hotel, and decided to have a staycation in east London for a few days!
The rate I booked was Hyatt Prive with complimentary third night. For three nights in a King Deluxe room I paid a more-than-reasonable £340, reduced further to £240 thanks to the Amex Hyatt cashback deal. The rate also comes with free breakfast, $100 dining credit and room upgrade, which is very useful since I obviously have no status with Hyatt.
Being the first Andaz hotel in the world, the property is formerly the Great Eastern hotel dated back to 1884. It is just around of the corner of the Liverpool Street station, so transport connection is not a problem. There are also many dining options and shopping outlets in proximity, although the location may be not ideal for tourist purposes.
At check-in I’m told that room upgrade is not included in the rate, which is definitely a lie but I don’t really bother that much. In the meantime they actually honour a credit of £100 instead of $100, which is to our advantage.
I’ve had great troubles with the rooms though. This is the first room I’m given:
The room is in perfect cubic shape, of a very decent size by London standard. It feels more business than leisure for sure, but not necessarily cold or monochrome. The floor lamp is very funky.
Mini-bar is free to all hotel guests. Its content include mineral water, juice and Coca-Cola.
But so much for the good things. Long story short, I had change room twice because:
- Many rooms have no drape, but only blinds. It’s impossible not to be waken up by the early sun.
- The air conditioning unit outside my first room has water leak which leads to noises that prevents me from sleeping
There are some other teething issues but I’m not going to dwell upon them.
This is a floor plan of the building:
As you can see, there are more rooms on the outer circle which also tend to be larger. However the noise level is also higher, plus due to design one wall inclines inward which can be a big nuisance if it’s next to your shower.
I finally got a room on the inner circle, which is larger than the original and features a sofa and a bathtub.
Let’ talk about food then. I was amazed to learn that the hotel has as many as five eating outlets, all of which have opened with the exception of Wine 1901. Average dining cost is about £20 to £25 per person, and during my stay I’ve got a chance to try them all.
Eastway Brasserie
It was the only open one on Sunday evening, which is a pub next to the hotel’s main hall. I ordered a Wagyu steak which has a surprisingly low price tag of £13, and it’s ok.
Lady Abercorn’s Pub & Kitchen
A smaller pub which specialises in drinks and nibbles, with exotic recipes from South Korea, Indonesia and India. My chorizo rolls and buffalo wings are very tasty, and I really like the service and vibes here.
Miyako
A Japanese restaurant, and I generally prefer Asian cuisine. Unfortunately my sushi and ramen are well below expectations, and Miyako has to be my least favourite on-site restaurants.
Rake’s Café Bar
I didn’t dine in this Italian restaurant, but had breakfast here every day. I have to say that breakfast is the biggest highlight of my entire stay.
It’s fully a-la-carte with an extensive menu, varying from Full English and its vegan version, Eggs Benedict, Shakshuka Eggs (very rarely seen in a UK hotel), pancakes and porridges etc. You could easily eat here for a week without repeating the same breakfast.
Both presentation and food quality are great.
There is a daily social hour between 7pm and 8pm. All hotel guests can enjoy a free glass of wine with some snacks from the Miyako restaurant.
I was given a bottle of red wine to say sorry about the troubles I had with my rooms. All hotel staff I interacted with after the incident were already informed about it, and I was made sure that the preferences had been added to my profile to prevent such things from happening should I stay in the future.
I can’t say it’s a great stay, and I will stick to IHG, Marriott and Hilton for my future stays unless there’s another great deal with Hyatt.
Enjoy room upgrade, breakfast, $25 credit and more with Visa Luxury Hotel Collection
As a frequent traveller I’m sure you have heard of Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Impresario and Hyatt Prive etc. They are all dedicated VIP hotel booking programs which provide special channels for you to book high-end hotels with additional benefits.
However, these programs are not open to everyone – Amex FHR requires you to have an Amex Platinum or Centurion card, and for the others you must book via a qualified travel agent which is a bit of a hassle. Also such hotels aren’t usually cheap.
There is actually an alternative provided by Visa, which is much more widely accessible. The program is called Visa Luxury Hotel Collection, and you could try it out here.
You can expect the following benefits when booking via VLHC:
- Free breakfast daily
- $25 in hotel credit per stay
- Free wi-fi
- Room upgrade subject to availability
- 3pm late checkout subject to availability
They are not as good as FHR, since the credit is only $25 (v.s. $100), and late checkout is not guaranteed. VLHC also offers Best Rate Guarantee which is currently suspended – the rate usually is just the Best Flexible Rate though so I doubt you’ll need it.
First of all, as long as you have a Visa card you should be able to book, unlike Amex FHR. Although VLHC is supposed to be reserved for Visa premium cardholders, I tried my pleb Barclays debit card and it worked.
Secondly, VLHC covers many hotels that are relatively cheaper. Have a look at some hotels in London:
- The May Fair / £217
- The Stratford Hotel / £135
- Andaz London Liverpool Street / £199
- Conrad London St James / £225
You don’t typically see London FHR hotels going for under £300. You should always check all portals though as the hotel may offer significantly lower rate for booking direct (albeit without breakfast and $25 credit).
The main sweet spots are in Asia. Some Conrad / InterContinental / Hyatt hotels in China can be had for sub-£100, and if you head to Indonesia and Thailand, even under £50. These hotels are way too cheap to be placed in FHR, Impresario, LuxLife or Prive, thus booking a one-night stay with VLHC represents true value especially if you don’t have elite status with the hotel chain.
Similar to FHR, VLHC also runs complimentary-night offers. Some the current offers include:
- Shangri-la the Shard, London / Complimentary 4th night
- Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona / Complimentary 3rd night
- Park Hyatt, New York / Complimentary 3rd night
- Shangri-la, Singapore / Complimentary 3rd night
Compared to FHR, VLHC doesn’t provide as substantial benefits if you already hold elite status with the hotel chain. However, if you don’t have the elite status, have no access to FHR or are travelling in Asia, it can still provide you with some good value.
Has IHG Ambassador’s reward night rebate benefit come back?
If you have only joined IHG Ambassador’s program within the last two years, you may not know that it used to have a less-known perk: if you choose the cash option to renew your Ambassador membership, you’ll earn 10% rebate on all your reward night redemptions in the next 12 months, capped at 100k.
Unfortunately this benefit was quietly terminated by IHG last year, as was confirmed by their customer representative when I inquired via email. The actual situation has been quite weird though – albeit belated all the rebate still posted at some point for me, and I think it happened to at least some other people too.
Reader Jon has just got in touch with his new findings. When he was booking an InterContinental hotel earlier he was presented with an option to renew his Ambassador membership – this is a known feature and not new.
However, when he proceeded to renew, he noticed a paragraph below the two usual options:
Interestingly, description about the 10% rebate is seemingly back. I have no idea whether the text is a recent thing or has been there forever. I renewed my membership last week by going through the normal link, and I didn’t notice anything like this in the process.
Has the 10% rebate benefit officially made its way back, has it never gone, or is the text simply an IT glitch? I really have no idea. However, if you are about to renewing your Ambassador membership, I’d recommend do it the way Jon suggested and take a screenshot. If the rebate doesn’t post you have evidence to make a solid case with IHG.
My review of InterContinental London Park Lane
IHG made a welcoming announcement last year regarding the free night certificate earned via the Creation credit card – instead of extending it, a new one valid through the end of 2022 was issued as a replacement, which means you could have still used the old one as long as you booked by the end of 2021. Bearing in mind that I may not be able to travel abroad, I booked a Saturday night at the InterContinental Park Lane in June.
And fortunately my gamble paid out as the hospitality sector has reopened since May. Some people aren’t as lucky though, as they’ve booked the InterContinental at O2 instead, which is now being used as a quarantine hotel.
To be honest I had very low expectations beforehand as everything I’ve heard about the hotel is bad. To start with, their standard rooms measure a pathetic 18m2 (or 194 sqft) – how on earth are people paying £300+ for a room so tiny is totally beyond me.
The hotel is located near the Hyde Park Corner station, next to Four Seasons and the Peninsula being built. Although I like a bit of nature, its location isn’t great for exploring central London – there’s no shops or restaurants nearby, and it takes 20-30 minutes to walk to Soho or Oxford Street.
I was able to score early-in at 12:30pm. My Spire Ambassador status is recognised and 4pm late check-out request granted with no questions asked. I choose the drinks voucher as welcome amenity, although the 600 points also hit my account right after.
The receptionist isn’t very familiar with the $20 benefit though and I end up confirming with someone else later. At checkout I also had to remind her to get the $20 deducted from my bill.
I’ve got a double upgrade to a Deluxe room, which is basically a larger corner room.
The room is nothing to write home about, although I did say that I had had minimum expectation so it actually turns out okay. I find it larger than the 22m2 as advertised on their website.
The bathroom is very small though but is equipped with a tub which is bonus. The bathrobe is very comfy, probably the best I’ve ever seen in a hotel.
Best part of the room is its dual-aspect, and thus extended views of Hyde Park corner.
Breakfast is charged at £26 pp, a discounted offer to Ambassadors from the original £30+. As I’m here on my own for just one night, I decide to accept the offer and use the $20 (£15) credit.
I quite like the restaurant’s decor:
There’s a continental buffet section, including salad, fruits and cold cuts etc which is served by the chefs. Hot items are a-la-carte and you could order by scanning the bar code.
The Eggs Benedict I ordered are quite good. At £11 I think I’ve got a good deal here, although there’s no way I pay £26 for it!
The fitness centre is spacious and well equipped. There is no pool or spa though which from my point of view is a deal-breaker for a luxury hotel in Mayfair.
Is my stay acceptable? I guess yes, but for a 5-star InterContinental hotel I believe most people are looking for more than just “acceptable”, and I’d say the Hilton next door is overall a better hotel albeit being usually 30% cheaper. If you have an expiring free night voucher, or a big stash of IHG points you may consider coming here for a one-time experience, but otherwise I wouldn’t recommend it.
Targeted: stay once and earn 5,000 bonus IHG points
A friend of mine has just received an offer email from IHG:
Which says that he could earn 5,000 bonus points for simply completing one paid night at any hotel by July 29.
You could try your luck by registering here. Note that these offers are always targeted though, and you’ll unlikely qualify unless you’ve received the invitation email.
My review of Hilton Newcastle Gateshead
For my bank holiday trip to Newcastle, I was tossing between the Hilton and the Indigo. After I saw the amazing deal Hilton was offering though, for £65 a night I decided to grab the deal quickly which turned out to be wise.
The hotel is great for its location and view over River Tyne.
It becomes a problem for me after a couple of days though. Newcastle is quite hilly, and the hotel itself is on a hill, and I just don’t want to get out of my room anymore after a day of ups and downs!
The lobby is nice for a drink or two, while you admire the views:
I get upgraded from the basic double room to an King Exec Plus room.
Albeit a bit basic, the room is fairly specious and spotless. Furniture arrangement is a bit weird due to the unusual room plan, however I like the separate workspace which feels like a mini office.
Again, impressive view from the room:
The executive lounge is still closed unfortunately and there’s no alternative offered to Diamond members. The hotel is fully occupied during my stay, and the breakfast gets so busy that they opened the ballroom for use as well:
Food quality is a bit meh though.
Overall I quite like the hotel, and I even think it has the potential to become a Curio or Conrad, but with substantial refurbishment and rebranding of course.
IHG launches free night voucher promotion for UK and US new members
IHG has just launched a ludicrous offer for new members residing in the UK and US.
You can access and register here.
- New member only (or signed up within the last 30 days)
- Register by July 31
- Make two qualifying stays by September 6
- A free night voucher is awarded (up to 40,000 points value), which is valid for 120 days
The two stays must be paid (i.e. not award stays), and can be done at any brand except Mr & Mrs Smith.
It is genuinely a very good offer, and if you have a frequent travel companion who isn’t an IHG member yet you should consider signing them up for the next stay. Don’t forget that IHG is also running a free night voucher offer for its Ambassador program as well. If you sign up to both, purchase the Ambassador membership and stay twice (including an InterContinental/Regent/Kimpton stay) then you’ll get two free night vouchers!
IHG buy points 100% bonus sale
The (frequent) sale of IHG points is back, with the same 100% bonus offer.
You can access the offer page here.
- The offer runs until June 10
- You need to buy an minimum amount to qualify for the bonus, ranging from 15,000 to 30,000
- The annual limit has also been doubled to 250,000 points (pre-bonus)
To get the best price, you need to buy at least 26,000 points. It works out as $50 per 10,000 points, or £35. GBP staying strong recently has done us a favour!
IHG has been aggressively experimenting with its dynamic pricing system in the last year, and we’ve observed multiple fluctuations (or devaluations) since. That said, It’s still very easy to make great use of points purchased at £35 per 10K, in the UK and abroad.