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Marriott dining benefits in Asia Pacific
Marriott has a special dining scheme in Asia Pacific, which you should know if you are a resident or plan to visit the region.
Unlike Accor Plus, you don’t need to join a separate membership plan to take advantage of it. In a way it works quite similar to Shangri-La. Before I go into any details, all of the following benefits apply even if you not a hotel guest, and this makes a big difference.
[Dining Discount]
All Marriott Bonvoy members enjoy a dining discount at participating hotels, and the actual percentage depends on the membership tier plus the country. In general:
- Member & Silver: 10%
- Gold: 15%
- Platinum, Titanium & Ambassador: 20%
In Greater China the percentages are higher, at 10%, 20% and 30% respectively.
[Earn Points]
In addition to the discount you also earn points, at the regular rate of 10 points per USD.
[Redeem Points]
This is a new feature they introduced recently. Instead of paying cash and earning points, you can now redeem your points. The rate is the same as Instant Redemption, i.e. 10,000 points for $40.
The discount above can be applied in conjunction with the redemption.
The redeeming option doesn’t look very attractive, however the discount is significant (up to 30% off) and earning points on top is even better. In fact Hilton and IHG have similar programs in China / Asia Pacific, not sure why nobody has introduced them to Europe or Americas.
My review of Hyatt Place London East
Hyatt just opened this new hotel in London very recently, and has been offering the 500 points per night new hotel bonus. Bored enough, and as I have registered to their Globalist fast track, I decided to give the hotel a try.
The hotel is located at Whitechapel, and I don’t think it’s a secret why they don’t want “Whitechapel” in the hotel’s name. I mean, the area is definitely not as dangerous as its old reputation goes, however it still feels rough and not many would choose to live or stay here. If you need easy access to the City, London Bridge and Canary Wharf are much better and not necessarily more expensive.
Lobby and reception are at the -1 floor. It’s definitely got the correct business look for “London East”. There’s a small business centre for hotel guests to print.
As an Explorist I’m upgraded one-level to a King Bed High Floor room, although I personally wouldn’t classify it as an upgrade.
Weirdly the room reminds me of Accor’s Ibis brand probably due to its colours, but admittedly it’s more complete. The room is actually surprisingly homey which some of my friends really like, and it’s not what I would expect from a business hotel.
One of the room’s selling points is “Stunning Views” as described on their website. But seriously who are we kidding here…
As an Explorist I’m not entitled to free breakfast, and I didn’t eat anything at the hotel so cannot comment. To be honest I’m a bit confused what Hyatt is trying to do here – I’m not a Hyatt fan but as far as I understand they are much more upmarket than the other hotel groups, and although Hyatt Place is understandably more mid-range, I don’t think this hotel adds any value to their portfolio!
Free Deliveroo Plus for Amazon Prime customers
Interesting new development from Amazon Prime – you can now enjoy free Deliveroo Plus membership.
For details and activation please visit this page. To be clear, the complimentary subscription offered is Deliveroo Plus Silver (previously called Family), which means you have to spend £25 on an order for free delivery. It’s usually charged at £3.49 per month.
Moreover, the subscription is valid for up to 12 months, subject to you continuously being an Amazon Prime member. So if you are only an occasional Deliveroo user don’t rush to activate, do it right before you want to place an order instead.
If you are not yet an Amazon Prime member, you can start you 30-day free trial here which should give you the Deliveroo benefit too. Remember to cancel the renewal though if you don’t want to pay, however your Deliveroo benefit will terminate if you opt to do so. Meanwhile, new Deliveroo customers can enjoy four £2.5 off discounts if signing up using my referral link here (thanks!).
My review of Tempelhof Lounge, Brandenburg Airport Berlin
After a nine-year delay, the Berlin Brandenburg Airport finally opened in October 2020, and this is where I fly from to get back to London after my one-week trip in Germany.
Most of the flights depart from Terminal 1, and there are two lounge options here: Lufthansa Business Lounge for Star Alliance customers, and Tempelhof Lounge for everyone else. If you are in economy class, have no status and rely on Priority Pass then you are out of luck, as the Tempelhof doesn’t accept Priority Pass or LoungeKey. If you have DragonPass though, you can get access to the Tempelhof AND the Lufthansa Business Lounge!
I’m flying British Airways so entitled to the Tempelhof Lounge. It is located near A20 which is quite a trek after security.
The Lounge is big and bright.
At 11am, there are potato soup, meatballs with rice and scrambled eggs served in sealed jars. I applaud their effort to make hot food available 🙂
One of the best features of this lounge is a dedicated passport control service. After exiting the lounge there are two border control desks which are reserved for lounge guests only, and you’ll be entering Zone B/C immediately for non-Schengen departures. This saves you around 20 minutes’ time!
In general I find it a very pleasant lounge and definitely much better than the previous options at Tegel. It’s worth spending some time here before your flight the next time you travel from Brandenburg.
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!
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.