My review of InterContinental Porto, Palacio Das Cardosas
When Six Senses Douro Valley had an intern rate, I splashed 180,000 points on their Vineyard Garden Suite for two nights. It ended up fitting nicely into my two-week break before starting the new job, so I planned a one-week trip to Porto and Douro Valley.
There isn’t a great deal of hotels to choose from in Porto’s city centre from the major hotel chains. The InterContinental happened to be running a 3-for-2 sale via their Luxury & Lifestyle program which I happily went on board. The rate comes with free breakfast, room upgrade and $100 dining credit etc.
The location can’t be any better, banging in the centre with the Sao Bento station just next door. Basically all the tourist attractions are within easy reach.
The hotel was once a palace, as you can probably tell from its name.
Spire Ambassadors are usually upgrade two-level to their Junior Suite. The hotel is very busy at the moment though, and the entire 4-th floor is under renovation. I’m upgraded just one level to an Executive Room.
It’s pretty much what you can usually expect from an old-fashioned luxury hotel in Europe. It’s a corner room with two aspects.
The room also features a mini-balcony on which you an go out and enjoy some view.
As I said, it’s location is super central, meanwhile the soundproofing isn’t great given the hotel’s age. This is very problematic during the night, especially an ambulance or police car passes through.
As a consequence I voluntarily asked for a downgrade to a Deluxe room with courtyard view instead. It’s more or less of the same size, with the same furnishings but much quieter.
Some desserts, including a couple of pasteis de natas are offered as the welcome gift.
Breakfast buffet’s quality is pretty good. Many hotels just totally mess up with scrambled eggs by presenting them overly dry or soggy, but they do a good job here.
There are also some items for you to order, including pancakes, waffles, eggs benedict and omelettes etc.
There’s a pretty good spread of desserts and pastries too. Even champagne is available!
On the other hand I wasn’t very impressed by the dinner menu. The octopus I got for €38 was a tiny portion:
The $100 credit cannot be applied on drinks, but can be used in conjunction with the €15 Ambassador credit. I don’t recommend eating at the restaurant unless you have the credit, as Porto has a lot of good and cheap food to offer.
The hotel features a gym and sauna room, but no spa facilities.
The hotel’s location is unbeatable, but other than that it was slightly below my expectations. If the price is right however, it’s not a bad idea to stay here.
Enjoy 15% off at Hyatt hotels if you own a business
It’s not a secret that all hotel chains offer discounted corporate rates to large companies like Google and Siemens etc. What you may not know is that Hyatt actually has a very public corporate program, in which every business owner can take part.
The program is called Hyatt Leverage, the homepage of which is here. If you own a business, simply sign in and then enter some details about your company and it’s done. You’ll receive one confirmation email containing your corporate code which should be used when you book hotels on hyatt.com.
- Any company opened in any country qualifies
- Only company employees (i.e. not clients) can use the rate
- In theory you need to stay at least 50 nights per year, otherwise your enrolment may be terminated
The discount is up to 15% off, which isn’t substantial and doesn’t include breakfast. However it’s flexible in that cancellation is allowed one day in advance, so it could well be useful when there’s no better rate plans available, especially when you book at a short notice.
Save 20% on IHG hotel bookings with Railcard
IHG has partnered up with Railcard to offer cardholders a decent discount when staying at their hotels.
- Must book on the dedicated offer page
- Stay must include one Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday night
- Save at least 20% compared to the Best Flexible Rate
- Book at least five days in advance
- Cancel free of charge up to 3 days in advance
- One-night deposit required at the time of booking
You’ll need to present your railcard when requested upon check-in. In form the promotion is quite similar to what IHG used to have with Mastercard and Avis etc.
On the hotel list page you may see messages saying rooms are not available for the Railcard Partner Rate. Ignore them though and just click through, then you should be able to see special rate highlighted on the rate details page:
Here are some hotel rates I find for your reference (Partner Rate / BFR):
- Hotel Indigo London Leicester Square £191 / £239
- Crowne Plaza London Albert Embankment £160 / £201
- Holiday Inn London Kensington Forum £95 / £119
- Hotel Indigo Manchester Victoria Station £127 / £159
- Holiday Inn Birmingham City Centre £87 / £109
- Voco Grand Central Glasgow £103 / £129
From what I am seeing, the Partner Rate is in general cheaper than the Advance Saver and less restricted, which means it’s genuinely a good rate.
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 Hyatt Regency Birmingham
Before I start my new job, I decided to visit a friend in Birmingham for a few days. Hyatt Regency Birmingham happens to be offering complimentary 3rd night which makes its price very reasonable, and I’m attempting to fulfil my Globalist challenge, so it became my choice of accommodation.
The hotel is a modern high-rise near the city centre.
I booked a Club room as its premium over a Standard room was only £14 a night, so basically a no-brainer given the inclusive breakfast and access to Regency Club. They wouldn’t upgrade me further to a suite although it’s available – Explorist status isn’t much useful…
My room is located on the 22th floor. Its configuration is the same with a Standard King, apart from being on one of the top floors.
The decoration is a bit too plain to be honest, if not also dated. I understand it’s a business hotel which is why they don’t make a lot of effort.
You can overlook the city through the floor-to-ceiling window.
Breakfast is self-service in the main restaurant.
Spread isn’t great. I asked for a cup of Cappuccino and was told the coffee machine was broken…
The Regency Club is also located on the 22th floor. It’s a fairly spacious duplex, with some tasteful furnishings and a nice view.
Refreshment is available throughout the day.
During the evening Happy Hour, some canapes and desserts are served. There is one kind of beer, red, white and rose each available.
Three hot plates:
- Carrot coriander soup
- Stuffed goat cheese mushrooms
- Duck mushroom terrine
It’s still not a proper meal, but the offering in general is quite decent.
The thing I enjoyed most from this stay was the spa centre.
As I got a pretty good deal for the Club room, the stay was mostly enjoyable. I’ve also stayed once in the Crowne Plaza nearby a few years ago but I don’t think it’s as good as the Hyatt. I’d like to try one of the Marriott hotels as well, but their locations are not very desirable.
$150 daily credit at Waldorf Astoria, LXR and Conrad hotels
Hilton has started a new campaign with its luxury hotel brands – Waldorf Astoria, LXR and Conrad. By booking the specific rate you can take advantage of $150 daily credit throughout your stay.
- Book at least three days in advance
- Two-night minimum stay required
- Book via the page or use promo code PBEXC1
- $150 / £100 / €150 credit per night in respective regions, or $150 local currency equivalent in other regions
Looks too good to be true? Well you are right – you must book the specific rate plan to benefit, which is more expensive than the Best Flexible Rate.
Here are some of the hotels, with a comparison of BFR and exclusive credit rate:
- Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh £490 / £558
- Conrad Dublin €269 / €333
- Waldorf Astoria Berlin €336 / €414
- Waldorf Astoria Rome €357 / €436
- Conrad Istanbul Bosphorus €173 / €233
Remember that Honors Discount and Advance Purchase rates are also available, which are even cheaper than the BFR. As you’ll find out, in many or most scenarios the credit is largely offset by the rate difference, especially if you are booking in advance.
However that’s just the case in Europe. If you visit Istanbul or Asia, the rate difference is much smaller and this rate plan can actually be a very good deal, providing that you don’t mind eating at the hotel.
Hyatt triple dining points, new hotels 500 bonus
Hyatt has kicked off a new promotion that offers triple points on hotel dining. You can access the offer here.
Now through February 20th, 2022, you will earn triple points, i.e. 15 points / $1 when you eat at the restaurants of participating Hyatt hotels. The following UK hotels are participating:
- Great Scotland Yard
- Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill
- Andaz London Liverpool Street
- Hyatt Place London City East
- Hyatt Place West London Hayes
- Hyatt Regency Birmingham
- Hyatt Regency Manchester
If you are staying at the hotel, DO NOT bill to your room. You must pay at the spot and give them your World of Hyatt membership number instead, otherwise charges settled with the room bill will not earn any bonus points. The maximum bonus you can earn per transaction is 100,000, although it’s very unlike to be a problem.
Meanwhile it’s the time of the month when Hyatt updates its list for new hotel bonus. The only UK hotel on the list is Hyatt Centric Cambridge – if you stay there by the end of 2021 you will earn 500 bonus points per night.
My review of InterContinental O2, London
The InterContinental O2 hotel was closed last year when the pandemic started, and then bid to become a quarantine hotel for LCY passengers arriving from Red-List countries. On September 18th, the hotel finally re-opened its door after more than a year’s break.
As a “new” hotel, it came with a perk – the award night pricing was relatively low at around 37,000 points compared to £200+ cash rate, at least on some dates. I happened to have an 40k Ambassador Free Night voucher from a recent promotion, and I thought it would be a perfect occasion to redeem it.
The hotel is located near the North Greenwich tube station, however directions are a bit confusing. Coming out of the station you should take the exit for the bus stop, and then you’ll see the signs leading you to the hotel. An alternative is to walk in and out of the O2 centre.
The location is not great for tourists, or anything to be honest unless you are attending an event at O2. Food and drink options are decent though in the shopping centre, and if you are a fan of Chinese hotpot Haidilao is a great venue.
Built in 2016, InterContinental O2 is possibly one of the youngest five-star hotels in London.
I saw in the app that I was pre-upgraded one level to a deluxe room, which isn’t quite generous given my recent experiences at InterContinentals and Kimptons. Upon my enquiry regarding further upgrade possibilities, they assigned me a club room on the 13th floor – with no club benefits of course.
The room is okay, nothing particular to pick on however I’d expect more from a new hotel. On the other hand it’s already showing age – many stains on the carpet, and the bath knob just dropped when I tried to turn it…
The view however, is absolutely stunning. Be sure to book or ask for a river-view room if you stay here.
Gym and spa are fully open now, and no prior reservation is needed.
Again, they are functional but I expect better facilities given it’s a new hotel (see Waldorf Astoria Berlin).
If you pre-book breakfast at check-in you can enjoy a special price of £20pp (as opposed to £25+12.5%), which should be further reduced to £5 thanks to the £15 Ambassador credit. I happily took the offer.
Unfortunately, it is the worst breakfast I’ve ever had at a hotel. There’s no cook-to-order menu and everything is self service except for a few egg-based items (they weren’t able to name them specifically). Variety and quality are appalling.
The bacon is extremely over-salted and barely eatable, which is also used as an ingredient of my omelette. There isn’t a single item in the entire breakfast spread that was acceptable to me. I’m not sure if things are ill-prepared due to the very recent reopening, or if it’s their usual standard.
Hotel staff are very friendly throughout my stay, but also unprofessional. It appears that the Ambassador credit cannot be used in conjunction with the breakfast offer but no one mentioned it to me at check-in, and they agreed to make an exception. I had to point out multiple times that I was the only guest and guess what, they still charged me for two breakfast in the end which took me an email to sort it out.
I believe the hotel has been generally receiving good reviews, but my experience this time was mostly a let-down unfortunately. If you have the 40k Ambassador as well which will expire in a couple of months, it’s not a bad idea to burn it here, but in terms of spending actual cash I’ll think twice.
12 “The Spectator” issues and £20 Amazon voucher for £12
“The Spectator” is a British weekly magazine on politics. I know them through an Avios promotion which ran last year – in fact by doing a Google search I think there’s another Avios promotion ongoing, however I don’t think it’s as attractive as the deal that I’m taking about today.
You can access the offer here.
- Pay £12 for a 12-week trial (12 issues)
- Plus get a £20 Amazon gift voucher for free
- After the trial it costs £39.99 per 13 weeks
I have never read The Spectator and I’m not a fan of politics myself so I cannot comment on the quality of the magazine. However even if you are not interested in the read at all, you are just paying £12 for the £20 Amazon voucher, which is a 40% discount.
Remember to cancel your subscription before renewal if you don’t want to pay for the magazine.