Ein Bär auf Reisen

Vladivostok

Publiziert am 4. November 2012 von Dieter Rauscher

As already mentioned in the blog post about the Azimut Hotel, we spent a day in Vladivostok (Владивосток) end of September.

Vladivostok is a city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia, situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay, not far from Russia’s borders with China and North Korea. The population of the city, according to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, is 592,069, down from 594,701 recorded in the 2002 Census.

The city is the home port of the Russian Pacific Fleet and the largest Russian port on the Pacific Ocean.

Wikipedia (04.11.2012)

Honestly, I am very positive surprised about Vladivostok. And it was good for me to say yes to this trip. Not at least to get rid of some minor prejudices. Really liked it.

Just want to share some impressions with the following pictures.

Pretty new building across the Hotel.

Nice place with a water fountain.

Open Air cooking :-)

Shashlik with potatoes for 260 RUB (6,50€, $8,30). Delicious!

Pedestrian zone.

With a combination of English, some Russian words and signs we actually did not have any real issue getting around. All were very kind.

Sad, that we only had one day, but I’ll try to come back and explore more of Vladivostok and the surrounding area.

Regards,
Dieter

Veröffentlicht unter Russia, Travel Report | Kommentare deaktiviert

Hilton’s Flash Sale: The bad and dishonest things…

Publiziert am 15. Oktober 2012 von Dieter Rauscher

As posted on Friday Hilton Flash Sale for Europe, Middle East, and Africa there’s a flash sale going on on Hilton’s website until Wednesday.
As I am in Frankfurt on a weekend in January I thought let’s try the new Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt Airport. So I went to the flash sale website and looked up for my weekend.

The Hilton Garden Inn is listed as a participating Hotel with prices starting at 107€ for room only (no breakfast). Included breakfast is not important to me as I am a Diamond member with Hilton HHonors and get a free breakfast anyway.
To my big surprise, there is no availability on my weekend. Ok, can happen due to high demand or hotel fully booked.
The Hilton website allows to list available dates for the flash sale fare so I just clicked through all weeks from January 1st to December 30th. Wow. Not a single date available using the flash sale rate. What the ….?

That’s really bad and dishonest.
Just called the Hotel directly and got the first answer “everything is correct”. After I explained the issue in detail they promised me to investigate and call me back. I am curious.

Update 1 (15:33):
Just discovered that this applies to the Hilton Frankfurt Airport Hotel, too. No availability on any date in 2013.
As an example, the Hilton Frankfurt (downtown) does offer rooms at this rate:

Update 2: (16:13):
There are available dates at the Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt in 2012:

Update 3 (16:50):
Got an eMail from HHonors Guest Assistance (still no feedback from the hotel directly, of course):
„Hello Dieter Rauscher,

Thank you for the inquiry about the Flash Sale. This is what we have been notified.

Stay Period:
Valid for all weekends in the Fourth Quarter 2012 at European hotels and also midweek for hotels in Middle East and Africa; all hotels may open up midweek inventory as needed. Hotels may offer this rate for stays throughout 2013 as well.

So with this information, I am not sure what hotels will be participating after the New Year. I would suggest that you keep checking hotel inventory for the promotion. Thank you.“

Update 4 (17:55):
Had a long phone call with the Hilton/HGI Frankfurt Airport.
There is no error. Just all rooms with this sale are already taken. They had enough rooms available but they must have been booked within minutes for the whole year 2013.

Update 5 (20:20):
Just learend from the Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt, that HGI and Hamptons are NOT participating in this flash sale. I am still waiting for an answer why they appear on the promo website and are bookable in December 2012.

Update 6 (11:50, 16.10.):
The Hilton Garden Inn Frankfurt now participates in the flash sale and is bookable for 2013 (yes, it really is – just double-checked it). Special thanks to Mr S. (do not want to publish names without permission).

Regards,
Dieter

Veröffentlicht unter Hilton | Kommentare deaktiviert

Hilton Flash Sale for Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Publiziert am 12. Oktober 2012 von Dieter Rauscher

Hilton is currently offering a new flash sale across the EMEA region (Europa, Middle East and Africa). Rates needs to be booked by October 17th for stays between October 19th, 2012 and December 29, 2013!

There’s a weekend requirement for hotels in Europe and no restriction for Middle East and Africa.
And not every hotel does participate and even when, the flash sale rate is not available on all possible dates. But if you’re staying in this region it might be a bargain. But remember:

Full non-refundable prepayment required at time of booking. In the event of cancellation, refunds are limited to ten percent (10%) of the total prepayment (only for hotels in Germany).

Here is an example of participating hotels in Germany (first price row is “room only”, second row “Room with Bed & Breakfast”):

And here’s the London area:

Abbreviated Terms and Conditions Offer is subject to availability at participating hotels within the Hilton Worldwide portfolio of brands in the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Book between October 15, 2012 and October 17, 2012 (offer closes midnight GMT +1). For participating hotels in Europe, stay on weekends between October 19, 2012 and December 29, 2013 except as otherwise indicated. For purposes of this offer, “weekend” is defined as Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights in Europe. For all other participating hotels, stay between October 15, 2012 and December 31, 2013. Full non-refundable prepayment required at time of booking In the event of cancellation, refunds are limited to ten percent (10%) of the total prepayment (only for hotels in Germany). Discounts vary and range from 15% to 40% off select rates. Offer not available for stays on 31 December 2012. Other blackout dates may apply based upon which day of the week a stay is consumed, geographical location of hotel and/or by brand. Additional restrictions apply. Before booking, please click here to see full offer terms and conditions.

Regards,
Dieter

Veröffentlicht unter Hilton | Kommentare deaktiviert

Asiana First Class

Publiziert am 10. Oktober 2012 von Dieter Rauscher

Recently, I had the chance to enjoy Asiana’s First Class on a day flight from Seoul to Frankfurt with a Boeing 747. I had a bunch of short haul flights in Business Class as well as some domestic Economy flights. So it was my first First experience.

We checked in at Incheon Airport at approximately 11:00 am at the OZ First Class Counter and were escorted through security control. We then went to the Asiana First Class Lounge just across our designated gate so we could see our aircraft from the lounge. During check in we were shown the actual seatmap of our 747-combi and were asked if we wanted to take the only double seat in the First Class cabin which we agreed. OZ has 10 seats in the 747 First Class. All but 4E/F are single seats and they cannot be reserved in advance – only at check in.

The lounge (I did not take pictures to not disturb other guests) offers some drinks and a limited food selection but offers comfortable seating. Not to be compared to an Thai Airways Royal Orchid First Class Lounge or a Lufthansa First Class Lounge. Btw, speaking of food selection, I still haven’t found anything better than the Lufthansa FCLs in Munich or Frankfurt. OZ does not offer a PA to take care of the guests and boarding process.

As soon as we saw people boarding our aircraft we left the lounge and walked the short way to our gate. On board we were friendly welcomed and guided to our seats.

The seat is very comfortable and spacious with plenty of legroom and stowage. The middle seats do have less stowage however but I had no issue with that.

We were a total of 4 passengers on this flight with at least three flight attendants taking care of us. I must admit, service and attentiveness is not comparable to any western airline. On the same level as Thai or Singapore. We really enjoyed it.

Here some pictures of the western style menu on our flight.

It’s almost unbelievable, that this menu was served during a single flight. And every single item was delicious (disclaimer: I did not eat any fish, so I can’t judge this part but I learned from my travel mate that it was delicious, too).

We enjoyed this flight. Outstanding crew, great service!

Regards,
Dieter

Veröffentlicht unter Asiana | Kommentare deaktiviert

Hilton HHonors Promotion for November and December 2012: Give yourself 1,000 reasons to love Hilton HHonors

Publiziert am 7. Oktober 2012 von Dieter Rauscher

Actually, this should be a fourth quarter promotion, but as it is only valid from November 1 through December 31, 2012 I don’t call it a Q4 promotion. But – as always with this kind of promotions: better than nothing.

Give yourself 1,000 reasons to love Hilton HHonors Earn up to 5,000 bonus points on your next trip. Pile on the points with the 1,000 Reasons promotion from Hilton HHonors™. Sign up to earn 1,000 Bonus Points per night for every Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday night you stay. Simply sign up and stay from November 1 through December 31, 2012, at participating hotels and resorts in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio. If you’re not a member, join today and make your weekend count for more with HHonors.

Basically, you can earn additional 1000 HHonors points per night in participating hotels up to 5000 points per week (as Tuesday and Wednesday does not qualify). It is truely not such an overwhelming promotion compared to last couple of years. You will need 25 nights to get one free night at a moderate Hilton Family Hotel. And for a free one night stay at the Hilton Berlin you will need 40 stays. Well…. If you want to participate (and there is no reason to not do so) simply register as soon as possible. More details:

Regards,
Dieter

Veröffentlicht unter Hilton | Kommentare deaktiviert

Azimut Amur Bay Hotel Vladivostok

Publiziert am 6. Oktober 2012 von Dieter Rauscher

During a recent trip to the south-eastern part of Russia we decided to stay two nights in Vladivostok (Владивосток). I will probably write a separate blog post about the City of Vladivostok later.
In preparation of this trip we tried to find information about the area’s hotels which was quiet challenging. We found a few hotels via TripAdvisor or Google but the Azimut was the only one with an English language website which responded to our inquiry via email in a timely manner. As our flight into VVO (Vladivostok Airport) arrived around midnight we favored a hotel-arranged pick up for the 1 hour ride.
Actual flight was on time and the driver already waited outside. After about 1 hour driving time, partly through Vladivostok, we arrived at the hotel just to find out, that we were at the wrong building part. The Azimut has two different buildings and we got a description for a 10 minutes walk. Fortunately it was really not that far and we reached the entrance.

(All Picture taken next day.)
The Lobby was modern and looked nice but noise from nearby (night) clubs could be heard. Check-in was friendly and English was not a problem.
We got our room key and took the lift downstairs. The lobby is at the 7th floor, our guest room was on the 4th floor. The room key was worth its own picture:

The room itself was very basic BUT it was ok for the purpose of our stay.

Despite the advertisement on the hotel’s website, there’s unfortunately no WiFi in the guest rooms. Only the lobby area has WiFi. But don’t expect too much.
The hotel is in walking distance to the pedestrian area, old town, Vladivostok Railway Station and seafront.
We did not have time to enjoy the (in our rate included) breakfast.
We paid 4300 RUB per night plus 1800/1500 RUB for the taxi from/to the airport.

Regards,
Dieter

Veröffentlicht unter Hotel, Russia | Kommentare deaktiviert

British Airways First Class

Publiziert am 3. Oktober 2012 von Dieter Rauscher

Since my very first flight back in 2002 (yes, only 10 years ago) I was a very loyal customer of Lufthansa and its partners from the Star Alliance. Miles & More Frequent Traveller Status in 2003, Senator 2008 and since 2010 HON Circle Member (till 2015), British Midlands Diamond Club Silver and Gold. Until 2011 I was very happy and felt comfortable with almost 95% of Star Alliance flights.

But then Lufthansa started with its insane “Kundenmonolog” (sorry, there’s no corresponding English term for such a ridiculous behavior). Insider note: I do not really complain about the monthly “enhancements” – almost only about the treatment by the HON Circle Customer Service.

I had to change my travel pattern and started to look at other Airlines, too. As I pay 90% of my flights from my own dime – as they are leisure flights – I’ve to take care about my budget.

Luckily, British Airways bought “British Midlands” from Lufthansa this year and offered BMI customers a status match. As I still was BD*G at that time, BA matched it to British Airways Executive Club Gold. I am still thankful for that move. As I did not have a lot of experience with BA I decided to do a “OneWorld welcome trip” in August in paid Business Class – even as I did not need the Tier Points….

At the boarding gate in London Heathrow Terminal 5C for my flight to Los Angeles in a Boeing 777 I suddenly got a new boarding pass :) Because Business Class was oversold, BA upgraded me to the First Class. That made my day.

While I really like the Business Class seat and cabin, I enjoyed my trip even more, of course. My first flight in BA First. And Conrad’s, too ;-)

For me, the seat is very comfortable and spacious. I had a windows seat. Middle seats do have more width for the legroom but I’d absolutely no reason to complain. There’s a jog dial to adjust the seat between fully flat and upright. Very easy.

While sleeping I’d plenty of legroom (especially length) and I did not feel cramped.

There’s a large shade which covers both windows for a seat.

Inflight entertainment system also featured movies in German language.

As I enjoyed sleeping (even as it was a day flight) I only took advantage of the tea and a sandwich.

Service was very attentive and lovely.

Looking forward to my next flight with British Airways.

My current rating of First Class products (I know, it’s very individual and everyone has his own favorite):

Lufthansa (new)
British Airways
Swiss (new)
Lufthansa (old)
Swiss (old)
Thai Airways
Asiana

Still curious to be flown:

Singapore Airlines
United
Asiana First Suites

Regards,
Dieter

Veröffentlicht unter British Airways | Kommentare deaktiviert

New Lufthansa Miles & More iPhone App

Publiziert am 9. August 2012 von Dieter Rauscher

Just a couple of weeks ago, Miles & More published a new App for the iPhone.

The new App allows you to access your mileage account, find a nearby Lounge or Miles & More partner shop. You can also read the latest news which are usually displayed in your online profile.

Apart from the nice look all information is also available in the standard Lufthansa App.

Also included is the MemberScout. This used to be a separate app but it is now integrated.

So if I’m correct, there are now these Apps available for iPhone from/about Lufthansa and Miles & More (with direct links to the Apple AppStore):

Miles & More (Account information, Lounge finder, Member Scout)
Lufthansa (Book flights, Timetable, Flight Status, Mobile Boarding Pass etc)
Lufthansa for iPad
Lufthansa Quartett (Game)
Lufthansa Magazine (iPad version of the board magazine – now part of the iOS Newsstand)

Regards,
Dieter

Veröffentlicht unter Lufthansa | Kommentare deaktiviert

Hilton Petaling Jaya Kuala Lumpur

Publiziert am 1. Juli 2012 von Dieter Rauscher

During my last trip to Kuala Lumpur I also stayed one night at the Hilton Petaling Jaya. It was a new Hotel for me so I did not really know what to expect. After my stay at the Doubletree and my visit of the Petronas Twin Towers I took the Kelena Jaya Line from Ampang Park to KL Sentral where I switches to a ‘Budget Taxi’ to the Hilton Hotel. The taxi had almost 1000000km on the odometer, but had air condition and was cheap: 16 RM (equals to $5 or 4€) and took 25 minutes. Ok, train would’ve been 2.30 RM…. I’d to pre-buy a taxi voucher at the Taxi counter in KL Sentral station first.

I arrived in the late afternoon at the reception but my room was not yet ready. After less than a minute wait I was asked to wait in the Executive Lounge and have a drink until my room is ready to move in. The EL has comfortable chairs and plenty of soft drinks. And very friendly staff. Was impressed, really. Just a couple of minutes later I was able to go to my room.

Someone was thinking ahead here!

Sweet!

Comfortable bed!

To be fair, it was a refurbished room. Really liked it! The property is undergoing a major refurbishment.

Staff at the Hotel was really friendly and attentive.

Hilton HHonors Gold/Diamond members however do only get free breakfast at the Executive Lounge. BUT I was offered – unlike at the Doubletree – cooked-to-order items like eggs sunny side up or an omelet.

For my way back to KLIA airport I took the Kelena Jaya Line to KL Sentral and than the KLIA Ekspres train.

Kuala Lumpur is not a frequent destination for me and I only know three different Hilton Hotels there. If I’d to choose two Hilton properties to stay again, number one would be Hilton Kuala Lumpur (conveniently located at the KL Sentral station). Second choice Hilton Petaling Jaya, no doubt!

Regards,
Dieter

Veröffentlicht unter Hilton, Malaysia | Kommentare deaktiviert

Doubletree Kuala Lumpur

Publiziert am 30. Juni 2012 von Dieter Rauscher

Last year I already spent one night at the Doubletree by Hilton Kuala Lumpur. As I already mentioned in my last post about the Petronas Twin Towers there was a need for me to travel to Kuala Lumpur again. The Doubletree is somewhat located close to the Towers, so I decided to stay there again. Actually it is just across the street of the Kelana Jaya Line station Ampang Park. Ampang Park is one station to KLCC, where the Towers and a large Mall is located.

CheckIn at the Executive Lounge was easy and fast and I got a decent room:

For Hilton HHonors Gold and Diamond members breakfast is available at the Executive Lounge. Breakfast is nothing to write home about, almost everything was empty during my lounge stay and did not get refilled. For sure, that’s not typical for Hilton hotels in the Asian region. Maybe just a bad timing. The Doubletree is still a reasonable place to stay.

Regards,
Dieter

Veröffentlicht unter Hilton, Malaysia | Kommentare deaktiviert

Ein Bär auf Reisen

Vladivostok

Hilton’s Flash Sale: The bad and dishonest things…

Hilton Flash Sale for Europe, Middle East, and Africa

Asiana First Class

Hilton HHonors Promotion for November and December 2012: Give yourself 1,000 reasons to love Hilton HHonors

Azimut Amur Bay Hotel Vladivostok

British Airways First Class

New Lufthansa Miles & More iPhone App

Hilton Petaling Jaya Kuala Lumpur

Doubletree Kuala Lumpur

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