My review of the United Polaris Lounge, San Francisco
At the end of the U.S. west coast trip, I’m heading back to London from San Francisco. In sheer contrast to the abundance of lounges at LAX, SFO is almost barren. United is the only Star Alliance airline that has any lounge here, and the same awkwardness applies to Skyteam and Oneworld too.
I arrived at the airport three hours ahead to make sure I have enough time to review the United Polaris Lounge. As it is the only decent Star Alliance lounge at SFO, the entry rules are quite strict: only business and first class passengers on a long-haul Star Alliance flight are allowed.
If you are a Star Gold member but flying economy, sadly you can only visit the United Club, which is like an average dull lounge that you expect in this country. Interestingly, anecdotes from my readers suggest that you may be invited to the Polaris Lounge if you are under 21, as you cannot enter the United Club due to alcohol restrictions.
The lounge is huge, occupying two floors and measuring about 2,600 square metres. The ground floor is a very nice area itself, but usually pretty quiet as the main food offerings are on the upper floor.
The armchairs are probably one of, if not he best I’ve ever seen in any airline lounge. it is very wide, with a small side table and sockets included.
The views are nice.
Shower rooms, and the Quiet Suites for resting are also on the ground floor. However, make sure you reserve enough time to explore the upper floor!
Turn left for the business zone, which offers private booths for phone calls and video calls.
And there are more desks and sofas inside.
If you turn right, you will pass the very beautiful bar first. There’s no self-service so you have to order your drinks instead, just like a regular bar 🙂
And then you’ll enter the dining area.
The buffet options are:
- Lobster corn bisque
- Ginger lemongrass ramen bowl
- Roasted broccoli and cauliflower
- Dakjjim Korean chicken braised chicken
- Miso glazed cod
- Brown basmati rice
I’m impressed that they offer lobster soup! You may also notice that the majority of the cuisine are Asian, which I quite enjoy. There are even tofu and shitake mushrooms in the salad area.
I’m not particularly hungry, so just had a taste of a couple of dishes but they are nice. Don’t miss out on the Dining Room though, which gives you a full dining experience!
I came around at about 5 o’clock and was told of a waiting time of 30 minutes. Fortunately an empty table became available in just five minutes.
Here’s the menu:
I ordered a small plate (octopus) and a glass of cocktail.
To be honest, the octopus is not to my liking. But the food looks posh enough to be served in a fancy restaurant.
Finally, a picture of the bathroom:
When I was leaving for my flight, the upper floor started to become really crowded. As most flights to Europe depart in the evening, it’s hardly a surprise.
The United Polaris Lounge at SFO is the best Star Alliance lounge that I’ve ever been to, and it is definitely worth visiting when you have the chance.
Hotel redemption guide on London New Year’s Eve
London New Year’s Eve, thanks to the famous fireworks show, attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. If you are looking for a hotel on that night, you should act as soon as possible, especially if you want to burn some points.
[Marriott]
Marriott London County Hall is the best hotel for watching the fireworks show, and redeemable with points. The redemption price has gone up a little bit this year, from 100K to 106K, but it’s still great value compared to the £1,500 NYE package rate.
Award availability is temporarily blocked right now, but my friend did manage to grab a room a few days ago. I believe more availability will be released in the future – in fact last year it was even bookable on the day.
Marriott London County Hall is inside the Fireworks Zone. The hotel will send you the wristbands a couple of days ahead by courier, which you’ll need to travel in and out of the zone freely. You can chill in your hotel room until the firework starts, and then walk to the White Zone, which is one minute away, to enjoy the show. Fireworks can be seen from rooms with London Eye view too, but don’t expect any upgrade on that day.
I have a couple of friends who stayed here on the 2023 NYE. To be honest the viewing angle from the White Zone is far from ideal, but it is an experience nonetheless.
[Hyatt]
Hyatt “poached” two Crowne Plazas last year, which happens to be the only two London IHG hotels that I liked. The former Crowne Plaza Albert Embankment, to be re-opened as Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment, is already bookable for NYE.
It costs 20,000 points which isn’t cheap, but acceptable for a special occasion. Interestingly, Twin Room with River View (priced at £500+) is available for the same amount of points, although I don’t think you can see any fireworks from the room.
Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars has a better location, but it’s not bookable yet and we don’t know its redemption category.
[Hilton and IHG]
Somehow most Hilton hotels in central London have already sold out. The only sensible redemption right now is the Westminster, a Curio hotel. It’s a newly-renovated hotel, converted from a Doubletree, but at 60,000 points it feels a bit steep.
In terms of IHG, the only economical option left in central London is Holiday Inn Oxford Circus at 32,000 points. There were many more better options when I checked last week:
- Staybridge Suites London Vauxhall – 34,000 points
- Holiday Inn Express London Victoria – 19,000 points
- Hotel Indigo Tower Hill – 25,000 points
But the availability has gone now. Keep checking as they might come back, but I’m most certain that it’s just going to get more and more expensive.
Marriott Q1 promotion: 1,000 points per night and double elite night credit
Following IHG, Marriott has unveiled its first global promotion of year 2023.
You can register to the offer here.
- Register by April 7th
- Stay between February 7th and April 23rd
- Earn 1,000 bonus points and one additional elite night credit for every paid night stayed
Certain brands such as Marriott Executive Apartments and Homes & Villas are excluded. The offer is great if you are aiming for elite status this year – the offer period covers 75 days, so reaching Platinum or Titanium status is quite doable.
Marriott ceased benefits on third-party bookings
Hotel groups have different interpretations when it comes to elite benefits on third-party bookings. Marriott for example, has made it clear in their terms and conditions that elite benefits only apply to qualifying stays.
4.1.c. Benefits of Elite membership apply to stays on Qualifying Rates (as described in Section 2.1.e.) and are reserved for Members only and apply solely to the one guest room in which the Elite Member stays.
There has been one exclusion though, although not written in the terms and conditions but it has been communicated to individual hotels through the loyal program guide: hotels in Asia Pacific should honour elite benefits even on third-party bookings.
Unfortunately, that perk has also come to an end. As shared by my friend on a Wechat post, someone obtained a copy of a recent communication from a Bangkok Marriott hotel lately.
Staring from January 16, 2023, Asia Pacific excluding Greater China will adhere to the global policy as listed on page 57 of the Loyalty Program Guide. Member benefits will only be available to members who book qualifying rates. Reservations made though third parties, including OTAs and wholesalers, would no longer be eligible for member benefits, regardless of member status. We believe this will create greater consistency with hotels globally.
If you book a Marriott hotel in Greater China via any OTA, count yourself lucky as it is now the only region in the world where your elite benefits are guaranteed. Otherwise, just hope for the best but prepare for the worst!
2023 Tier Last Call – Stay once to maintain your Hilton Diamond / Gold status (live)
Hilton quietly released their 2023 Tier Last Call promotion one week ago, which makes it super easy to maintain your Hilton status for another year. I’m still waiting for more details to come through, but in the meantime it’s worth sharing what I already know.
First of all, the offer is by-invitation only. It was made crystal clear at the beginning that only residents of Greater China could participate (based on your account address on 01/01/2023), however such wording no longer appears on the official FAQ.
I’m not sure if the eligibility criterion has changed, but it’s possible. I changed my account address to China last year, hoping that there might be special extension policies for their residents, but then changed it back to the UK in December thinking that all dust had settled. When I learned of the news last week I changed it back to China again (!!), which should have been too late per the original terms.
However, I can see the promotion in My Offers now:
Which means that they’ve automatically enrolled me, yay!
Eligible members need to stay once, twice or three times by March 31 to maintain their Diamond or Gold status through Feb 2024. The registration links are as follows:
- One stay to maintain Gold
- Two stays to maintain Gold
- Three stays to maintain Gold
- One stay to maintain Diamond
- Two stays to maintain Diamond
- Three stays to maintain Diamond
In theory the more you have stayed in 2022, the less you need to stay in this challenge. An email has just sent out clarifying how many nights are required from each individual:
Remember that you have until March 31st to complete the challenge, and reward nights should count.
My review of InterContinental San Francisco
Having been a software engineer for almost ten years, it’s weird that I’ve never been to San Francisco or the bay area. Now that I got laid off I finally have time to go on a pilgrimage 😛
Compared to LA, hotels in San Francisco are much more friendly priced, and you can find a pretty decent hotel for around $200. I decided to redeem my IHG BOGO voucher here, and there are two InterContinentals in the city – one in downtown for which I’m going, and the Mark Hopkins hotel at a less convenient location for tourists.
The hotel is about eight-minute walk from the Powell Street metro station, which takes you directly to the airport.
At 33 floors high, the hotel stands out in the immediate neighbourhood.
The entrance is small but elegant. The ground floor is a big open space with reception, bar and restaurant.
Like many other InterContinental hotels, or hotels in general in the States, the hotel has so many different rooms types that I lost count. I ended up booking Premium West Side View as it’s price difference from the entry-level room isn’t much. I was upgraded one-level to the corner room.
The receptionist greeted me warmly, and I didn’t have to ask about the Diamond breakfast benefit or 4pm late check-out.
Before I was let go, he went to the back office and returned with a bag of welcome gift. To my slight disappoint it’s only two bottles of water 😛 They also sent me a bottle of Evian the next day.
The corner room is quite impressive at first glance. The hues and finishes are soothing.
The highlight of course, is the 180-degree floor-to-ceiling windows and the views that come from it.
You don’t normally get a chance to be so up high in Europe. It’s a shame that San Francisco doesn’t have so much of a skyline, and the hotel isn’t close enough to the coast.
The curtains are electric and you only need to give it a pull for it to open or close by itself.
There is also a view from the bathroom. But beware of the construction workers on the crane!
One motivation for me to pick this hotel was its swimming pool and jacuzzi.
They are fine. But the hall is quite old and so small that no loungers can fit in. It’s weird that there’s not even any place to sit in!
The gym:
The club lounge:
I was given a voucher which entitles me to the breakfast buffet.
The whole buffet well, is spread across one single table.
There aren’t many choices as you can imagine, but they do offer congee which is a nice touch.
There is an a-la-carte menu but payable. According to the voucher taxes are not included, but I didn’t have to pay anything when I checked out.
InterContinental San Francisco isn’t the best hotel you can find in town, but I love the corner room and don’t miss out if you admire a view.
IHG Q1 offer: 2,000 points for every two nights
IHG has an ongoing targeted offer until the end of January. Just as expected, a global promotion will follow suit in February.
The promotion page isn’t live yet, but you can already sign up via this page. The offer details are:
- Stay between February 9th and April 14th
- Earn 2,000 bonus points for every two nights
- The nightly rate need to exceed $30
It is a bit… boring, especially when compared to the extremely rewarding offer they had at the end of last year. Don’t forget to sign up however, if you have any paid stays with IHG coming up.
500 miles and prize draw for Cathay Pacific new sign-ups
Cathay Pacific ran a campaign that gave away 1,500 miles for new sign-ups recently. If you missed it, there’s now a new initiative which isn’t bad either.
- Sign up as a new Cathay Pacific member by January 31st
- During registration, enter your referrer’s membership number on the referral page
- Both the referrer and referee will earn 500 miles, plus one entry into the prize draw
If lucky enough, you will win between 5,000 and 500,000 miles and the result is announced on February 15th. Nonetheless you are guaranteed 500 miles which isn’t too bad. For your information, my membership number is 1683490941 😉