I’ve stayed at the Grand Hyatt Berlin several time – previous review and here.

However, this weekend they excelled themselves.

Backgound

I had wanted to use one of my 4 Annual Diamond Gold Passport Suite upgrades, but the hotel had no availability. But, they were nice enough to offer me an extra upgrade, to a Grand Executive Suite. I was very excited to see what they had given me, and how these rooms were different to the normal suite upgrade.

A few days before my stay the hotel contacted me and asked if there was anything special I would like in my suite. I asked for some extra coffee capsules and some fresh milk. I am sure I could have been more imaginative, but I never like to be greedy.

Check-in

I arrived at the hotel quite late but everything was ready for me, and I declined the offer of the staff to take me up to the suite – I was sure I could sort out how it worked.

The Room (520)

Whow!

That’s the impact of walking along the corridor and seeing this:

The entry to the room is a little odd, with a corridor to the left, and the bedroom opposite the door:

Corridor to Living Room

At the end of the corridor is the living area – couch, chairs, dining table and desk all nicely laid out:

The dining table had a very interesting light fitting above it, made from bulb with their filaments exposed. Very interesting, and arty!

The bedroom was fairly normal but there was a huge closet on one side:

Bedroom

Closet

The bathroom was off the bedroom and was almost as large as the sitting room. Large tub, double basin and a shower/steam room/sauna, plus almost full height windows made the space inviting. I later found that the marble floor had underfloor heating – luxury

Bathtub with shower to right

Basins

There was a separate toilet near the main entrance for visitors.

The room had fruit and strawberries which they refreshed each day. The free mini-bar and alcohol was provided as this hotel does in suites:

My request for some additional coffee capsules was met with a tray which contained dozens, all in different flavours. I was impressed.

Views from the room

Daytime

Evening

My room was on the 5th floor

Check-out

There was a little panic at check-out when the hotel had not set up the Suite Upgrade Certificate and presented me with a bill for EUR1,340 and not the EUR340 I was expecting. This was fixed right away, but they appear to have held the higher amount as a pre-approval on the card. Will see if this reverses when the charge posts.

Summary

Another great visit to this property, where the young, willing and helpful staff really do make me feel a valued guest, even when staying in a wonderful suite at a cheap rate. Really classy.

Quite a delay from June 2012 - New story here

“It looks like March 2013,” government sources told Reuters, requesting
anonymity.

The opening of what will be Germany’s third largest airport after Frankfurt
and Munich has been postponed once already.

Confirmation awaited!

Hyatt are running a Free Time promo – details

Details:

Hotels and resorts within the US, Canada and the Caribbean:

• Receive 1 free night during your stay through December 30. Minimum length of stay required, varies by property.
• Free daily breakfast for 2
• 2 p.m. late checkout*

Hotels and resorts outside the US, Canada and the Caribbean:

• Receive 1 free night during your stay through September 8. Minimum length of stay required, varies by property.
• 2 p.m. late checkout

A simple check of some properties in Europe did indeed show that the offer working on the Best Available Rate at the (limited) list of properties in the offer.

Notable properties – Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Mainz, Milan, Goa, Tokyo, Shanghai, Maldives….and lots more, although not that many in the USA and no US resorts which is a shame as I need three night in Waikiki in August.

Example from Grand Hyatt Berlin

Rate Rules

During my short trip to Nice, I stayed overnight at the Novotel airport hotel.

The pre-paid rate was EUR83, and included Breakfast.

The hotel is located directly opposite Terminal 1, and whilst it runs a shuttle bus to and from the airport, if you have only a little luggage you can walk, crossing the main road to the hotel.

Shuttle bus

Hotel outside view

View of airport terminal

Three steps up to the double doors that lead to the large lobby. To the left is Reception, and the right is the bar and restaurant.

Lobby

I was given a room on the second floor on the back of the hotel, which was nice as there was no noise. The room is laid out with the toilet off the main hall as you enter, a second door, and then the bathroom (shower and basin) off the main bedroom.

Bathroom

Bedroom

There was free Wifi (higher speeds at a fee), and the reception gave me a drink from the bar or mini-bar for the A-Club Platinum status. The door visible in the picture above creates a nice sound-proof lobby between the bedroom and the corridor. I was pretty pleased as I slept well. The view from the room was uninspiring, but meant it was quiet.

View from room

The hotel offers several breakfast options, which I thought was great. Including availability from 5am which I think is great for an airport hotel, where often guests would like something to eat before they get their early flight.

Breakfast options

The breakfast spread had plenty of fruit, pastries, bread, cereal as well as scrambled eggs, mushrooms and sauage

Breakfast Room/Restaurant

Summary: All the staff spoke excellent English and took the time to explain how the hotel worked. The coped with my schoolboy French without making me feel an idiot. The breakfast was pleasant, the room quiet and the location very good for late arrivals or early departures.

Many years ago, back in the 1980′s that is, I remember bmi starting to fly from Heathrow to Amsterdam. I used to visit the city often then, and bmi always had better fares, a nicer service and better planes. My first flights, I recall, had boarding cards that they took from a model of the plane located behind check-in. No computer generated (or home printed) card then, but a proper one. Never had seat dupes that way.

On board they did a great afternoon tea, with scones, cream and jam. I still remember how special I felt.

Fast forward a few years, and I remember arguments with agents at the gate about the size of my carry-on, and taking away all catering. I stopped flying. You really bribe me with a nice plate of food!

A few years ago I used to go back and forth to Brussels a few times a year and had somehow matched to Gold Status, meaning I had upgrade certs which I used. The food was nice and the service was OK.

Still, bmi were stuck with a weird route network, their passing love affair with Manchester to the US routes was oh! so brief. Then they ended up going to places where I didn’t want to go.

Fast forward to the last month when, just as their sale was happening, they did some nice electronic discount coupons, and some good ‘Try Business for Economy” fares. So I’ve taken 6 bmi flights in the last month. Some have been great – typically the shorter, domestic ones oddly. So, as these will be my last flights before bmi becomes BA, I have a few pictures you might like from these last trips.

bmi Lounge at Edinburgh

bmi regional from bmi lounge at LHR

LOT anniversary aircraft from bmi lounge

My last flight A320 with the 'big' seats and only 3 Economy Flex passengers

A320 Row 1 Leg Room

bmi domestic lounge at LHR

So it’s goodbye to bmi, and a huge thanks for the trips.

Some bmi flights receiving BA flight numbers:

These BA flights will continue to operate to and from the same airports and terminals, and will depart and arrive at the same times.

Customers who are booked to travel on a bmi service will be communicated with when their flights move over to British Airways.

It could take until Thursday 17 May to completely process all affected bookings.

Fast Track

Passengers travelling in business class will be able to take advantage of Fast Track through security at Terminal 1.

Will my flight be operated by bmi or British Airways?

From 23 May 2012, these BA flights will be operated by bmi (British Midland) aircraft and crew.

However, in the coming months the exterior and interior design of bmi’s aircraft, as well as the onboard experience will gradually transform into British Airways’ style.

You can check which airline will be operating your flight up to 14 days prior to departure. Please check ba.com Flight Status for the most up to date information.

Business Class Handbaggage reduced

If you bought a ticket for a bmi (BD) flight on one of the nine routes before 10 May 2012, certain BA policies now apply, including – If you are travelling in business class on a British Airways flight you are entitled to carry one piece of hand baggage plus a laptop or hand bag. There are size and weight limits that apply.

Full list of changes by route at special ba.com web page

The Chief Inspector of the Borders Agency has finally published a report explaining why there were queues at Heathrow between August and November, at Terminal 3. Drum roll please…..

TOO FEW STAFF

Well goodness me, I am so surprised. Not.

BBC report link

Highlights:

Inspectors said new team structures, rotas and shift patterns had come as border
staff numbers at Terminal 3 fell by 15% from 322 to 277 in the 12 months to last
August

“Resources were not matched to demand, management oversight and assurance was
lacking in many areas and staff were not always properly trained to undertake
their duties

I went from the Hilton Dockside to City Airport. On public transport this is fairly easy. Bus to Canada Water, Jubilee Line to Canning Town and then the DLR to City Airport. The DLR (Dockland Light Railway) trips right in to the City Airport. City Airport is the smallest London airport, and is based in the east of the city and is aimed at the business traveller. It handles European flights and has the famous BA flight to JFK (via Shannon) as its only long haul service.

Pick the correct platform

Driverless DLR Train

The airport prides itself on its short queues, comfortable departure lounge and nice places to eat.

The queue was quite long when I arrived and it took 15 minutes or so to get through security. It was fairly early on a Saturday morning but was disappointing. The free WiFi in the lounge area was down as well. There are a selection of shops and eateries – including a very nice watch shop.

There are good views from the waiting area of the runways:

There are no jet bridges at LCY and so you walk to your gate and then walk out on the tarmac, and up the stairs to board the plane. On the way there the flight was full, except for three seats. On Saturdays BA fly a number of flights to Edinburgh – in fact 3 before 10am. When I asked about this I was told that they park the planes in EDI and sometimes use them for charters from EDI. London City closes from lunchtime Saturday to lunchtime Sunday and so I suppose BA make (or save) money by shipping them to EDI. The seating is 2-2 and the lockers take a wheelie, even though you have to put it long-side parallel with the aisle. There were no problems with bags.

On board the crew did a good job serving a hot breakfast to the nearly full plane – baked beans, hash brown, sausage, tomato and bacon. Plus a hot and/or cold drink.

We arrived on time, but at a remote stand which meant a delay of about 25 minutes whilst everyone got in to the one bus and then we were driven across the airfield to the domestic arrivals area.

Summary – a pleasant, on time flight from an airport that usually performs better than it did on this day.

There are two Hilton properties near Canary Wharf in London. One on the North and the other on the South side of the river. The Hilton Docklands Riverside is on the South. Whilst it does not operate a bus service, access to and from Canary Wharf is by boat – a free ticket is given at Check-in – or via the C10 bus to Canada Water and then the Jubilee Line. The C10 is fairly frequent Monday-Friday and whilst it takes a bit of a windy route, the stop of the Hilton is announced and the hotel is right across from the bus stop.

The other end of the bus is Victoria, and whilst it might take a while, you could in theory enjoy a tour of South London on the way if you boarded at Victoria.

From the roadway the property looks unassuming, but once up the ramp it has a very interesting new and old world feel.

Entrance

The staff at check-in were helpful, acknowledging that the rate was pre-paid and that my breakfast was included. The indicated that I had a room in the older of the two wings.

Converted wharf houses rooms

The arrangement is a little odd with walkways over old slipways, linking the rooms to Reception.

Walkway

Slipway

Once in the older building, it is divided by a central walkway, as you can see here. You must choose the correct lift to get to your room, as apart from the ground floor there is no interconnection between the back and front of the building. The building is four stories high and I had a room on the third floor.

Central Walkway, Lifts and Spiral Staircase

The rooms are joined together by little lobbies which typically lead to 3 or 4 rooms. I was allocated 1324

Room 1324

Upon entering the room, I was impressed. Great views of the river, a large and well converted space with lots of light from two large windows:

The windows opened and the brickwork is from the original building and so added character to the room. A HUGE marble bathroom was off the room, and could clearly have accepted a shower area as there was lots of empty space:

Bathroom

The TV was HD and had HD and non-HD channels over a good range of stations.

The view of Canary Wharf was super, both a dusk and dawn:

Canary Wharf from the room

Canary Wharf at dawn

I ordered room service, which came very quickly and was tasty:

The staff were really friendly and the bill was correct on check-out. I had paid about £85 (incl VAT) in a Hilton spot sale and felt it very good value for money.

The pier from where the boat goes to Canary Wharf is just off Reception:

Pier with Canary Wharf in background

In the morning there are a number of cab drivers hanging around in Reception, but as I wanted to get to London City Airport I was determined to get the C10 back to Canada Water. The bus stop back to the station is 1 minute walk from the hotel on the main road

Bus Stops

My bus was about 10 minutes early, and as they only run twice an hour on Saturdays, it was good that I had go to the bus stop in plenty of time. Check out times on the stop:

Timetable

Summary – A good (but not great) location, but the novelty for a Londoner of having somewhere quiet, yet central was great. The rate was too good to miss and I would return if they had another sale at this price. (Keep your eyes out, rumour has it that one is due)

http://www.hhonorssponsorships.com/promotions/britishGP/

Hilton HHonors™ and the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula One Team are delighted to offer you the opportunity to win an ultimate McLaren VIP Grand Prix experience at the British Grand Prix.

Even better, you can earn an extra entry for every stay at any of the 3,800 hotels in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio now through to 31^st May 2012 following registration. Now, every stay you have with us could bring you one step closer to enjoying an exclusive Grand Prix experience!

The (“Sweepstakes”) is open to legal residents of the United Kingdom, Turkey, France, Nederland’s & Italy 18 years of age and older

As we know bmi was sold lock, stock and barrell to BA (or rather International Airlines Group as they prefer to be known). They had to take bmibaby – the low cost version of bmi – with the bathwater, the bmi slots at Heathrow.

Now comes news from the BBC that bmibaby will stop all flights from Belfast on 11 June.

bmibaby fly Belfast to:

• Alicante
• Amsterdam
• Birmingham
• East Midlands
• Faro
• Ibiza
• Mahon in Menorca
• Malaga
• Palma
• Stansted

The telling paragraph is:

Peter Simpson, bmi interim managing director, said the company had lost £100m in in the last four years and would have to be “realistic” about its options.
the last four years and would have to be “realistic” about its options.