I needed a place to stay in Vienna this weekend. I was holding a reservation at the Le Meridien but after a Suite Night Award award didn’t get processed I thought better of it and cancelled just before cancellation deadline. I ended up not too far away and a relatively affordable...
I’m currently laying low in the DoubleTree at Bratislava. It’s a bit out of town but given it’s a category 2, it provides cheap award redemptions and gives me a chance to catch up on some writing (this blog!). The hotel is otherwise modern albeit rather small and focused particularly...
After arriving from Madrid and sorting out my ticket problems with the industrial strikes tomorrow I finally made my way into Frankfurt. I had all my luggage so looked for a cheap private room in close proximity to Frankfurt Main Hauptbahnhof train station. Last time I was here I stayed in the...
I needed to stay overnight near Malaga Airport, with an early morning flight the following day. Although Malaga’s airport has a newly constructed terminal and appears to not be lacking for space there are no onsite hotels. The Holiday Inn Express is seen as the closest you can get to a...
I was arriving late into Madrid from Helsinki, only to depart early the following morning to Morocco. Although I potentially could have used the Iberia Velazquez Lounge overnight to rest, there was a question over whether I have the bags transferred. As such I figured it was easier to find a close...
Another day another side of Kuala Lumpur. Another last minute plan and booking. Cheras is a southeast suburb of KL and the plan was to catch up with an old friend living here but in central KL. Well a quick, simple search for cheap (<$50) 4 star KL hotels came up...
Arrived into Kuala Lumpur early in the morning from Johor. The plan was to probably stay around Sentral but we eventually decided to stay a little further out with little to do anyway. It seemed like a good opportunity to stay at the relatively new Four Points in Puchong.
Surabaya continues to be a hard city to crack, from a travelling perspective. After spending an initial at the opulent Sheraton, I opted to move to a relatively new Holiday Inn Express. It’s a little awkwardly placed without a vehicle however I found it to be a perfectly acceptable place to...
My cunning last minute, same-day booking out of New Zealand had a slight bend in it, which was an overnight stay in Brisbane. Not to worry, I had sort of planned for this. The Four Points in Brisbane was rather cheap and it wouldn’t hurt to get another night with...
We arrived at KL sentral with every intent on staying at one of the adjacent hotels. Unfortunately I had transferred points from my Amex to SPG for a couple nights only the night before and last minute rates were poor value. It usually takes around 24 hours so decided to wait the 30 mins and...
After the mess of the last few days it was best to lay low and catch up on a lot of sleep. Since the Sheraton KL has been reduced to SPG category 2 it is now quite a cheap reward and the lowest in KL that will give significant benefits...
After flying in from Frankfurt the next stop was a day in Copenhagen with a well coordinated transit on SAS. Trouble was where to stay. The idea was a brief visit around town and visit the Tivoli. Options around the main train station, which is adjacent to the Tivoli were overpriced and pretty...
Having arrived direct from Asia it was nice for once to not have a connecting flight but simply jump on the train and have a hotel a minute’s walk from the station. The Le Méridien Parkhotel Frankfurt is located 50 metres southeast of Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. To celebrate achieving SPG Platinum status in...
A brief stay here booked on points awaiting my American Airlines flight the following morning. Typical airport hotel, all a bit bland and transient. But the room was comfortable.
Transitting Dubai Emirates offer STPC called Dubai Connect. While there are some fine print on eligibility you effectively get a free hotel for a involuntarily long transit. Need to be ticketed on Emirates or Qantas. In my case I had quite a long transit, arriving in the evening from Stockholm and...
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