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My review of Oneworld Business Lounge, Los Angeles
In my last post I briefly reviewed the Alaska Air Lounge, which as I had suspected had nothing to write home about. In just three minutes I started making my way to the Oneworld Business Lounge, and I’m really excited!
The Oneworld Business Lounge is located inside the Tom Bradley International Terminal. It’s connected to all other terminals airside though so it’s possible to visit it no matter which terminal you fly from. But from Terminal 2 or 3 you need to take a shuttle.
Alaska is based in Terminal 6, and it took me, a fast-walker a good ten minutes to reach the lounge. Terminal 4 is right next to Tom Bradley but all other terminals require a long connection.
It’s the first time I see a lounge named after the Oneworld alliance. You can see the names of Qantas, Cathay Pacific and British Airways inscribed on the wall which presumably are the main sponsors of the lounge. I’m surprised that American Airlines isn’t one of them.
As a reminder, you cannot access the lounge by being an elite member or flying business / first class with American or Alaska, with the exception of select long-haul flights. However, if you are a Sapphire or Emerald member with any other Oneworld airlines (in my case BA), you can enter the lounge as long as you are on a Oneworld flight.
A very long sofa is behind the entrance. On the left-hand side there’s a business area, with armchairs, hot desks and a printer.
The bar shares the same design with the one in Qantas Lounge at Heathrow. You can help yourself to the wines and beers, but champagne is not offered.
A nice, warm circular bar lounge is further down the aisle.
In the dining area there are many dining tables and buffet counters.
It’s about 10am so breakfast is served. In addition to the traditional English breakfast there are some unusual options such as noodles with cheese, red bean curry and ratatouille.
The biggest impression on me is how huge the lounge is. There are a lot of atrium-facing seats available if you fancy more light.
The best Oneworld airline lounge I’ve visited is the Al Mourjan Lounge at Doha, without any doubt. The Oneworld Business Lounge at LAX is probably the (not-so-close) second, beating Cathay’s The Wing at HKG and BA’s Galleries First at LHR.
If you depart from LAX and have sufficient time, skip the Alaska Lounge and Admirals Club and come straight to the Qantas lounge, as it’s at a totally different level!
My review of W Hollywood
After a one-night transition at Courtyard Santa Monica I’m continuing my journey at the W Hollywood hotel. Although my friends recommend me to stay at the Beverley Hills / West Hollywood area, hotel rates there are extortionate and it’s hard to find reward availability, so I’m taking a compromise.
The W is very conveniently located on the Walk of Fame, and about 20 minutes walk to the Chinese Theatre. It’s built above a metro station, and with public transport you could visit places of interest like LACMA, Griffith Observatory and Beverley Hills rather easily.
If you arrive in car you’ll enter the hotel through its car park and back door. The logo is as flamboyant as the W brand usually implicates. The reception and lobby bar look very nice too.
My suite night award was declined… again! I’m upgraded to a corner room with Hollywood Hills view instead. However my room key suggests it’s located on the fourth floor, and I doubt I could anticipate any view from that height.
The room is just white and cold. I’m not saying it’s bad, but it’s totally the opposite of the standard W vibe which should be radiating passion and lust from every corner of the room.
The bed is unusually low, and comfortable enough. There is another… bed? on the windowsill which I assume is for kids.
As I suspected the room hardly has any view to sell, although higher floors (the hotel has 12 in total) should have a better chance of seeing the hill. The room doesn’t proof sound very well, but most of the time there aren’t many noises.
There’s no bathroom. The shower’s knob was stuck and I had to get someone to fix it.
They don’t have the most attentive cleaning team either. I had a coffee from the espresso machine, and neither was the paper cup replaced or capsule refilled the next day.
The rooftop pool and viewing deck is named WET.
Facilities are great – there are chaise lounges, cabanas and even beds, take your pick! You need to pre-book (not sure if for free) in peak seasons, but it’s getting cold in November already so not a lot of guests are around.
View is awesome. To my disappoint they don’t have a jacuzzi – I should have enjoyed my time back in the Courtyard!
By the way, the hotel charges a $29 daily destination fee, a notorious U.S. custom that you have to put up with. It includes $29 credit to spend at the WET bar so feel free to order a drink here. Other potentially useful perks include tickets for the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and Big Bus (red line only).
Titanium members get breakfast vouchers to use at the Daphne restaurant.
According to the voucher you must choose from a certain set menu. However you could also order anything from the “normal” menu instead, and have a $30 credit per person.
The eggs benedict and croissant are very good quality.
The hotel is located conveniently in Hollywood for tourists, and has a beautiful lobby, bar and swimming pool. The guest room may let you down though, but in general I keep my expectations low when staying at U.S. hotels.
My review of Courtyard Santa Monica
My US trip begins with Los Angeles and I’m gonna stay here for three nights. I’ve chosen Courtyard Santa Monica to spend my first night, reasons being:
- Santa Monica is an area recommended by my friends
- My flight arrives late, and Santa Monica is relatively close to the airport
- As it’s just a short transition before I head into the city, I don’t need a full-service hotel
It’s a quick 20-minute’s drive from the LAX-IT ride pick-up site. The hotel isn’t at the forefront of the waterside, but is only about 15 minutes to the beach and it’s easy to navigate on foot. Bus and metro can bring you to downtown LA and Beverley Hills easily.
The hotel has got a pretty big lobby and a business centre for browsing the Internet and printing.
I didn’t receive an upgrade this time. I could have used my suite night upgrade voucher for the Partial Sea View Suite, but redeeming it at a Courtyard seems to be a waste.
The room is simple but spacious. The corner sofa is a nice touch.
A Rest and Recharge kit is provided, containing a tea bag and some earplugs.
The Hampton Inn across the street appears to be a nicer property, as the exterior looks smarter and many rooms feature a balcony.
There is an outdoor swimming pool and jacuzzi. I didn’t get to try them out but they look decent enough.
Also a small gym.
There is a small Starbucks outlet inside the hotel which serves breakfast. I chose $10 as my welcome amenity and paid $13 in addition for this:
How stupid I am! I should have just accepted the points instead…
My 4pm late checkout was granted when I checked in, however the cleaner and manager still came to knock on my door twice knowing when I was going to depart. Anyway, if you are looking for just a room in Santa Monica, this hotel does its job.
My review of Air Serbia Premium Lounge, Belgrade
My flight back to London departs at 10.20am, but I wanna review the Air Serbia Premium Lounge so got in quite early.
As you can imagine, Belgrade airport is fairly small and it has only two lounges: the Business Club which is used by the majority of the airlines except Air Serbia, and accepts Priority Pass.
The Air Serbia Premium Lounge is about 10 metres away. admitting the following passengers:
- Business class
- Etihad Guest elites
- Priority Pass
- Economy Comfort, under a current promotion
Economy class booked using miles falls into the Comfort category and thus is eligible for complimentary access to the lounge. As they accept Priority Pass however, gaining access shouldn’t be a problem anyway.
The lounge is separated by a wall with the business area on the left:
And dining area on the right:
There’s a fancy VIP room which is by reservation only.
In terms of food options there’s a decent breakfast spread:
There’s only bottled water in the fridge though. For anything else including soft drinks you’ll need to request it from the bar.
The bathroom is posher than the rest of the lounge. There is a shower room you could use to refresh yourself.
As it’s the flagship (and only) lounge of Serbia’s national carrier, I had high expectations and can’t lie about being disappointed. It’s so tiny to start with and has no natural light, and I’ve been to many independent airport lounges (especially the Plaza Premium lounges) that are better. Anyhow the food is decent and they’ve got a shower room, so feel free to stop by for a bit before your flight but it’s not worth too much of your time.
Buy one get one free – Expedia £30 Black Friday offer for a hotel booking
Expedia used to run ludicrous Black Friday offers, for example 50% off and $500 coupon discount etc. The good old days are gone, but Expedia UK still has an interesting promotion for this year.
- Book by November 28
- Stay by March 31
- Earn £30 in bonus points for a hotel booking
Remember that you must be an Expedia member and activate the promotion first. Terms are opaque, but you will see the 3,000 bonus points on the checkout page if your booking is eligible:
From what I see, you need to spend minimum £31 to earn the bonus. It can be any hotel in any country across the Expedia UK website.
Expedia Rewards points can be easily redeemed against your future hotel or flight booking, so it’s almost like cash if you don’t mind using them. For a cheap hotel booking you are paying £30-ish to get £30 back in points, which is almost buy-one-get-one-free.
Save an additional 20% at UK Kimpton hotels
This year’s Black Friday is a bit of a lacklustre and nothing got me really excited. However, if you live in the UK and is an IHG fan, there is a Kimpton deal that could be useful.
Three Kimpton hotels in the UK are promoting their gift vouchers:
- Kimpton London Fitzroy promo code KFL20
- Kimpton Manchester Clocktower promo code KCT20
- Kimpton Edinburgh Charlotte Square promo code KCL20
You get 20% discount on all vouchers. What I recommend is to buy the Monetary Gift Vouchers, which can be redeemed for accommodation or dining at the respective hotel. If you book via IHG you should still be able to use the voucher, as long as it’s a pay-at-hotel rate, not prepaid.
It should work in addition to whatever discount rate you book on ihg.com, for example the BOGOF voucher via InterContinental Ambassador. Also IHG has an exciting offer coming up this Cyber Monday.
Note that the voucher is valid for 12 months, and must be redeemed in full so choose the value carefully.
My review of Hotel Indigo Belgrade
Having stayed two nights at the very tired Metropol Palace, I needed some fresh air and thus moved to the Hotel Indigo, which opened in October 2021. It is very centrally located in the shopping district, neighbouring a Courtyard and a Radisson Individual hotel.
Unlike most hotels it’s not at the storefront. There is a small entrance that leads to an alley, where there’s an elevator that takes you to the lobby of the hotel. This is a very unique feature, and kind of isolating the hotel from the busy crowd outside.
The art pieces, paintings and other decorations are so beautiful. It feels more like a Kimpton than an Indigo in my opinion.
You can have a drink at the rooftop terrace.
My reservation was upgraded to Premium the second day, then to Queen Suite one week before but then downgraded to Premium again before my arrival. The hotel has only one suite, so not sure if it was booked or upgraded for someone else.
However, my Premium room more than does its job already. Unfortunately I can already see some wear and tear, but overall it’s a very clean, comfy and functioning room.
Unlike the Indigos that I’ve visited in the UK, minibar here isn’t free (or cheap). There’s a supermarket right in front of the hotel so I suggest to top up there.
The hotel restaurant, on the other hand, is very reasonably priced and I had a simple dinner here.
Breakfast is free for Diamond members, which otherwise would cost €15 per person. The spread may not be the richest, but it’s carefully curated and food quality is excellent.
You can order one item from the menu for free too.
The hotel is pretty small but still has a gym.
They also reserved a taxi to the airport for me, which cost only 1800 dinars by metre. I am very satisfied with my two-night stay and can highly recommend Hotel Indigo Belgrade if you visit the city. From what I learned the Courtyard has a similar vibe, but obviously if club lounge and swimming pool are important to you, you need to look elsewhere.
Book St Regis Marsa Arabia Island Doha’s premium suite for 31,000 points
World Cup is happening in Qatar, and although I don’t follow football at all some interesting articles have surfaced recently about what new hotels have opened, and which hotel each team is staying etc. I did a bit research myself, and it turns out that Doha has become a great location for a bargain holiday in luxury hotels, by using points of course.
The outstanding property is the new St Regis Marsa Arabia Island, The Pearl Qatar.
It is a brand new hotel set to open its doors in December. It occupies a private island, owns a private beach and has seven restaurants for dining. Most importantly, it’s an all-suite hotel which means you never need to worry about being trapped in a small room even if no upgrade is provided.
Ready for some even better news? Premium Suite, which is two-level above the entry-level suite, is available for redemption for the same price.
The suite measures 122 sqm, with sea view and a terrace. It’s retail price is roughly 3,600 QAR (£837) a night, whereas for the Christmas period redemption costs only 37,000 points. It gets to as low as 31,000 points on some January dates. It is no doubt one of the best Marriott redemptions in the world – at least for now, as with Marriott’s dynamic redemption system the price could shoot up drastically any time.
There are a couple of more Marriott hotels worth mentioning:
- Le Royal Meridien Doha – new hotel in the West Bay, costing only 20,000 points a night or lower
- Ritz Carlton Doha – all room types including suite are available for redemption. Club Room (with lounge access) costs 44,000 points or 28,000 points + 300 QAR, great value if you are looking for an all-inclusive stay