tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23038773822041853902024-03-13T13:19:39.028-07:00The Points NinjaSneaking up on deals for maximum travel on a minimum budgetRichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-74246063177382651602022-04-10T16:09:00.001-07:002022-04-10T16:09:18.356-07:00The Points Ninja is Back - AGAIN - Covid Edition<p> A bit over two years ago, I excitedly announced my return to blogging to my adoring public <crickets>. Turns out it was a bit premature, because COVID. Alas. Well, anyhoo, let's try again, shall we? I'm back! And were going back to England! To Howtown Hotel! REALLY, I SWEAR! At least, I hope so. Just last week I received confirmation from the lovely Mrs. Baldry that Mrs. Pointsninja and I do indeed have a room booked for 5 nights in May! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqiYhd2P8jqVsI7MkTNPb5xUlplOAuLqBaxzT1ORDGMMt_yS2Jhbq8JPgwUy0HzissjHSTP48u2TLXxeq_oBqXRPqtf1l4M6wgH0hA23ekD3ggwoyW0Uk3B0oq9jZ6Cr9tiSLfr-c_YpiZTacE4yWYSZCiITOzHBPBT4ikANNs0AK8IctBj1bNI96/s2100/IMG_7976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1574" data-original-width="2100" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOqiYhd2P8jqVsI7MkTNPb5xUlplOAuLqBaxzT1ORDGMMt_yS2Jhbq8JPgwUy0HzissjHSTP48u2TLXxeq_oBqXRPqtf1l4M6wgH0hA23ekD3ggwoyW0Uk3B0oq9jZ6Cr9tiSLfr-c_YpiZTacE4yWYSZCiITOzHBPBT4ikANNs0AK8IctBj1bNI96/w640-h480/IMG_7976.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOePf7NQslTztSGcesAqrE2Bj5ftLX2NF6tSL6NIXF1N61k3wSsfijbf_nAyKvbfKaIDFvEalU7zfKQcdpTgRkR-fs31KdgNlD7-j9fU4I5C3EO4fXfpwJcAewRQq8zQ1et5ilO29oIjiA4wn0WMebGfLgZCWmubsxwf2YmBgxP9iQvF1Lk4jaVXMW/s2100/IMG_7977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1574" data-original-width="2100" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOePf7NQslTztSGcesAqrE2Bj5ftLX2NF6tSL6NIXF1N61k3wSsfijbf_nAyKvbfKaIDFvEalU7zfKQcdpTgRkR-fs31KdgNlD7-j9fU4I5C3EO4fXfpwJcAewRQq8zQ1et5ilO29oIjiA4wn0WMebGfLgZCWmubsxwf2YmBgxP9iQvF1Lk4jaVXMW/w640-h480/IMG_7977.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Yes, indeed, this is the delightful little hotel that I reviewed a few years back and I'm terribly excited to return to the only hotel that's even more old fashioned than I am. I mean, reservations are made by mail and confirmed by return post! So, God willing and COVID don't rise, the Mrs. and I will be enjoying days of hill walks and misty morning views of one of the loveliest little hotels in the world next month!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILe3Dllm603PdKjwi4a3YqohjUhvszeifFCh3G-g1k4vVQWla5dydyToLm1C_qdE8XqFd54Z5eHCwCwnvZV1McbUscQOtp1_OAHFMwuk5YeffBJhYO13haCpHwOz05ytgnMY99OPQvC90V_CD4DVoIdyyyRZ5e6uoj7C6QSqJ-t0NKOjuW9eYnI6r/s1600/IMG_7979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILe3Dllm603PdKjwi4a3YqohjUhvszeifFCh3G-g1k4vVQWla5dydyToLm1C_qdE8XqFd54Z5eHCwCwnvZV1McbUscQOtp1_OAHFMwuk5YeffBJhYO13haCpHwOz05ytgnMY99OPQvC90V_CD4DVoIdyyyRZ5e6uoj7C6QSqJ-t0NKOjuW9eYnI6r/w640-h360/IMG_7979.JPG" title="Howtown Hotel viewed from Halinn Fell" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Howtown Hotel as viewed from atop Halinn Fell</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-88368227852894190342020-03-06T19:32:00.000-08:002020-03-08T06:26:18.779-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I’m perfectly delighted to say that after a long absence, The Points Ninja is back! And with the anticipated return to what is, perhaps, my favorite hotel property ever. Mrs. Points Ninja and I are returning to the <a href="https://thepointsninja.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-howtown-hotel-off-beaten-track-but.html">Howtown Hotel</a>, the quintessential small English country hotel! More to come soon!</div>
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<br />Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-23473265806487396972017-07-21T17:25:00.003-07:002017-07-21T17:25:19.081-07:00An awesome (targeted?) offer from Amex Business PlatinumJust got this in my inbox:<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With the subject line: "Richard <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">, earn 50,000 extra points with your Business Platinum Card®" You can bet I'll be taking advantage of this offer!</span></span>Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-76598667647512424702017-06-14T14:31:00.001-07:002017-06-14T14:33:07.182-07:00Another visit to the Centurion Lounge at DFW - drink listsI (and many others) have <b><a href="http://thepointsninja.blogspot.com/2015/03/review-american-express-centurion.html">reviewed </a></b>the Centurion Lounge at DFW. It's a great, if often crowded, place to spend your DFW layover, and entry is free for Amex Platinum and Centurion cardmembers. I recently had a several hour layover in DFW and stopped into the Centurion for a couple of drinks, a massage, and a bite to eat. Since I've already covered the lounge, this post is simply to update the current wine and cocktail lists (important information for some!).<br />
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Here's the current coctail list:<br />
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I reccomend the Rum and 'Choke, which was quite tasty:<br />
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The current wine list:<br />
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The 'Belleruche' rose was quite nice:<br />
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And here's the beer list :<br />
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<br />Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-34086616695822437902017-04-30T18:57:00.001-07:002017-04-30T18:57:17.060-07:00IDB Auctions- Why not use a currency that travelers want?The recent United Involuntarily Denied Boarding debacle with Dr. Dao got me thinking about IDB auctions. In current practice, when an airline is overbooked or needs seats, they will conduct an "auction" in which increasing amounts of airline specific "currency" (Delta Dollars, or the like) are offered in the hopes that someone will voluntarily give up their seat. Plenty of folks have offered their suggestions about how to make the auctions function better, but I haven't yet seen anyone suggest what seems like the most obvious solution: an auction that's conducted in a currency that the average traveler actually wants.<br />
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You see, most airline passengers don't travel all that often. If you fly once a year (or less!) then the opportunity to obtain $X in airline specific currency (that usually carries an expiration date of one year), is hardly compelling. Thus, the value of an offer of, say, $400 in credit on a particular airline carries a <i>substantially</i> discounted value to the average flier. If you have no realistic plans to fly in the next year, the value of the offer is effectively $0. There's a sizeable chance that a majority of your customers are <i>automatically</i> out of the "bidding" when an auction is conducted in this manner.<br />
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So, why not conduct the auction in good old cash? I understand that airline-specific credit is heavily discounted from the airline's perspective, but surely it has <i>some</i> cash value. Why not start the auction at a meal voucher, a seat on the next flight, and $50 <i>cash.</i> Now <i>everyone</i> is interested. Personally, I've turned down offers of $600 in airline credit when I might have taken $200 in cold hard cash.<br />
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The more I think of it, the more sense my proposal makes. Which means there must be an FAA regulation that forbids it!Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-2702508115982689242017-02-19T05:34:00.000-08:002017-02-19T05:34:03.422-08:00Newcastle to London in Virgin East Coast Rail First ClassFor the next step in our journey we drove across the north of England, paying a flying visit to Housesteads Roman Fort on Hadrian's wall and to the Twice-Brewed Inn (in Once Brewed, Northumberland). We returned our rental car at Avis' Newcastle Airport office and headed into town to catch our train. Fortunately, there is light rail service from Newcastle Airport to the Newcastle Central Station where we'd be boarding our train.<br />
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Britain has a system of passenger rail companies that operate various regional routes, all of which operate under the <a href="http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/">National Rail</a> moniker. In our case, we were travelling with <a href="https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/">Virgin East Coast Rail</a>, in First Class.<br />
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Being in First Class we had use of the <a href="https://www.virgintrainseastcoast.com/the-east-coast-experience/first-class/first-class-lounges/">First Class Lounge</a> at Newcastle Station. This is no airline lounge, so there's not much to report here. It was a pretty basic space, but featured better seating than the platform:<br />
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An espresso machine and a cooler of drinks (water and juice):<br />
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And some shortbread biscuits:<br />
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There's also a private bathroom down the hall.<br />
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The train experience itself was pretty basic, but comfortable. First class seating was arranged in a 1-2 configuration with some seats facing forward and some back.<br />
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During the week, East Coast's First Class features hot meals with alcohol, but on the weekends the selections are much more limited. There was a choice of wraps and sandwiches with crisps, etc. They were surprisingly tasty:<br />
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All that, along with lovely weather for travel, made for a nice trip from the North to the South of England:<br />
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<span id="goog_571597347"></span><span id="goog_571597348"><br /></span>Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-91262847598110586412016-12-07T09:14:00.000-08:002016-12-07T09:14:04.307-08:00The Club at ATL - A Priority Pass Club and Bottled Water Inside Security!On a recent trip, I had longish layover in Atlanta and decided to take the opportunity to visit <a href="http://www.theclubairportlounges.com/club-ATL.html">The Club at ATL</a>, one of the many lounges that you have access to if one of your credit cards (such as Platinum Amex, Chase Ink, Citi Prestige, etc.) offers a Priority Pass Membership. Thanks to a tip from Lucky at One Mile at a Time, <b><a href="http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2015/10/15/priority-pass-app/">I knew that I could use the Priority Pass App to access their lounges</a></b>, provided I set things up ahead of time.<br />
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The Club at ATL is located on the mezzanine in the International Terminal, and you can spot it pretty easily as you come up the escalators from the tram.<br />
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I headed up the elevators and walked up to the front desk, where the agent scanned the Priority Pass card on my app with no problems:<br />
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This is, by no means, a swanky lounge. In fact, the food offerings when I visited where markedly inferior to those at the nearby Delta Skyclub. However, it does cover the basics.<br />
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There's a bar, with a decent selection:<br />
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A buffet (that was pretty picked over when I was there around 10:30):<br />
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Seating with a view of the tarmac:<br />
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And a small business center:<br />
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The one area in which this lounge stands out is that it is the only place that I know of that you can get complimentary bottled water inside the Atlanta Airport. That's no small thing, particularly if you are getting ready to head out on an international flight where staying hydrated can be a challenge. The Club has two fridges, the one below had 500ml bottles of spring water:<br />
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And there was another fridge towards the front that had smaller bottles. This is a nice feature, and I'll probably returning to the Club for this reason alone!Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-26358507436438001632016-10-24T06:16:00.001-07:002016-10-24T19:39:07.577-07:00The Cubs win the Pennant! The Cubs win the Pennant! - And Starwood is there!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Just in case you've been living under a rock, or are a Sox fan (which might be worse than living under a rock), the Lovable Losers just won the National League Pennant. If you're a Cubs fan who's travel plans are more flexible than mine (and if you have a heckuva lot of Starpoints) you might want to check out Starwood Moments TODAY. Starwood is<a href="https://auction.starwoodhotels.com/moments/collection/480"> auctioning off seats in their Luxury Box</a> at Wrigley for Games 3, 4, and 5 of the World Series. For game three, they will have Andre "Awesome" Dawson on hand to sign autographs.<br />
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The Luxury Box is pretty nice and you will definitely have a great view of the game.<br />
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I took my dad for a game a few years ago and reviewed the Luxury Box experience <b><a href="http://thepointsninja.blogspot.com/2013/08/moments-by-spg-seeing-cubs-from.html">HERE</a>. </b>As of press time, all of the auctions are north of 250,000 Starpoints. But, good heavens man, this is the Cubs in the Series. This isn't just a once-in-a-lifetime event, it's a once-in-<i>several-lifetimes</i> event!<br />
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If your Starwood balance isn't that healthy, there are also some other <a href="https://auction.starwoodhotels.com/moments/collection/476">Series-related auctions</a>.Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-14488141882688649262016-10-06T07:10:00.003-07:002016-10-06T07:10:39.845-07:00Booking Awards- A Useful Post from View from the WingThe ur-points-and-miles blogger is Gary Leff over at View from the Wing, at least in my book. That's why his blog is always on my sidebar, it's a great source of information. This morning's <b><a href="http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2016/10/06/find-frequent-flyer-award-availability/">post on award booking</a></b> is no exception, since it offers some useful guidance for using all those miles you've saved up. It's worth a read and a bookmark.Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-60624317913863639282016-09-20T12:31:00.001-07:002016-09-22T13:14:59.877-07:00Bumbershoot 2016: The Rock Emerald VIP Experience with Starwood Moments<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Blind Boys of Alabama at the Starbucks' Stage with a Seattle icon in the background.</td></tr>
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I've written about Starwood's excellent "Moments" program before. In 2013 I was able to take my Dad to <a href="http://thepointsninja.blogspot.com/2013/08/moments-by-spg-seeing-cubs-from.html"><b>see the Cubs in Starwood's luxury box at Wrigley</b></a>. While there have been some fantastic auctions on the <b><a href="https://auction.starwoodhotels.com/moments">Moments website</a></b>, none have them have fit in with our schedule. That changed earlier this summer when I saw an auction offering two "<a href="https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:EYFYDKHrfe8J:https://auction.starwoodhotels.com/moments/momentdetails/10690+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us">Rock Emerald VIP</a>" passes to Seattle's Bumbershoot festival, one of the longest running arts and music festivals in the country. We'd never been to Seattle before, so I was intrigued.<br />
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I looked into the festival a bit more and learned that a couple of bands that we liked were playing, after checking our calendar and talking with Mrs. Points Ninja, I pulled the trigger and started bidding. I'd set a bid ceiling for myself, and ended up getting the package for around 25,500 Starwood Starpoints. I value Starpoints at around 1.5 cents per point (CPP), so, by Points Ninja Math, I paid $382 for a pair of tickets that retailed at a minimum of $1,400. Not bad!</div>
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Well, now that I had the tickets I wanted to figure out exactly what I'd gotten. For the first three decades of its existence, Bumbershoot was run by either Seattle citizens or the city government. Then, a couple of years ago, AEG Live events took over the management. Among the changes that they made, in addition to raising prices (and the ire of Seattleites), was to introduce a VIP option. The description of just what "Rock Emerald VIP" meant was pretty sparse:</div>
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One of the more amusing items on the list is the invitation to the Mayor's Arts Awards Ceremony, because, as the Seattle Mayor's website makes clear, that event is <i>open to the public</i>. Well, as we later learned, there was a nice reception at the Seattle Science Center after the Arts Awards at around 1:30 on Friday afternoon, and our tickets got us on the guest list.<br />
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There was music, a pretty decent buffet:<br />
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and several local beers on offer. It was a nice little event, and I got to ride the death-defying, pendulum bicycle:<br />
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Video to come, I promise!<br />
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The VIP lounge was open-air, and located on the rooftop just behind the Fisher Green Stage, but that didn't matter on what turned out to be a pretty nice weekend:<br />
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There were a number of seating options, including some sort of air-filled bean bag thing (that had a tendency to blow away every time the wind blew).<br />
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There was an open bar all-weekend that had a variety of offerings, from mixed drinks to some classic Northwest beers:<br />
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The Emerald Lounge also featured food at various times throughout the weekend. Top Pot Donuts where typically available in the early afternoon, along with breakfast tacos (a bit strange, but, presumably, some guests had just rolled out of bed). Later in the day there was Sizzle Pie pizza and a variety of Chipotle burritos. Snacks of various kinds were always available.<br />
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There was a second, smaller, lounge at Memorial Stadium, that offered massages, food, sodas, and a few other attractions.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadly, I never got around to having a massage.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Commemorative t-shirts, screen printed while you wait!</td></tr>
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But, of course, getting close to the bands is what music festivals are all about, and event organizers did a good job of providing un-crowded VIP areas, at least on Friday and Saturday.<br />
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By Sunday, the VIP areas where packed as organizers began letting vendors, artists' hangers-on, and various others into the VIP area.<br />
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It was a good event, though the VIP operation felt a bit disjointed at times. I wouldn't be happy if I'd paid $1,400+ for the tickets, but I expect they'll get the hang of it in future.<br />
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Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-66514576376511039202016-09-19T14:49:00.002-07:002016-10-06T07:29:27.135-07:00Always Check Your Amex "Offers" - Up to 25,000 Membership Rewards Point Bonus for Amex Business GoldI was looking at my Amex Business Gold account page to check the Amex "Offers" when I saw an offer that mentioned the possibility of earning an extra 25K MR points. I was intrigued and followed the link that led me to the landing page for the offer:<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wUhZ4BrFwbA/V-BccUhrVpI/AAAAAAAABUY/E01mccMWbvsSUoVob3SAT-HPgZcAJoWfQCLcB/s1600/Chiptopia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wUhZ4BrFwbA/V-BccUhrVpI/AAAAAAAABUY/E01mccMWbvsSUoVob3SAT-HPgZcAJoWfQCLcB/s640/Chiptopia.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
5,000 bonus Membership Rewards Points for each $5,000+ purchase (up to 25,000 ) from now until December 15. Now, this offer is only valuable to folks who can make large purchases like this, but fortunately, I just happen to know <a href="http://thepointsninja.blogspot.com/2013/05/manufactured-spending.html"><b>a way to make that happen</b></a>.<br />
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UPDATE: Just looked at the Ts&Cs:<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rK4h2XkqhQc/V-E3lHVMdsI/AAAAAAAABVE/qmfqtmdz4EI5VG3zLvDsEBsy8KqOOzBnQCLcB/s1600/Ts.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rK4h2XkqhQc/V-E3lHVMdsI/AAAAAAAABVE/qmfqtmdz4EI5VG3zLvDsEBsy8KqOOzBnQCLcB/s400/Ts.png" width="351" /></a></div>
Since this offer appears to be restricted to the Business Gold Rewards card, it might be worth delaying any plans to take advantage of the an offer of 50K MR points to upgrade from BGR to Business Plat.<br />
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UPDATE: While the full Ts&Cs indicate that gift card purchases don't count, I'm aware of some data points showing that they do actually count.Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-71772277038726948502016-08-25T08:00:00.001-07:002016-08-25T08:00:16.804-07:00Seeing Jon Snow in London: Review of the Duke of York Theatre Box Seats<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">During our visit to London, Mrs. Points Ninja and I had the chance to see Jon Snow... er, Kit Harrington, doing his take on <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/doctor-faustus-duke-of-yorks-theatre-review-kit-harington-fails/"><b>Dr. Faustus</b></a>. Discount theatre tickets are fairly easy to come by in London; but, since we were there for only a short time, I decided to plan ahead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dr. Faustus was playing at the <a href="http://www.dukeofyorkstheatre.co.uk/"><b>Duke of York Theatre</b></a>, a smallish house in the West End that was an easy walk from the Conrad St. James. I wanted to make sure that we had good seats and a good experience, so I agonized over seat selection. Fortunately, there's at least one decent resource for figuring out which seats are "good" in various London Theatres. <b><a href="http://www.theatremonkey.com/BuyorAvoidIndex.htm">Theatremonke</a>y</b>, for instance, is a great resource. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the end, I chose Box C in the Royal Circle at <span style="background-color: white; text-align: -webkit-right;">£60.00 each, which included "the Ambassador experience</span>." The Duke of York's has two boxes on each level, each with two movable chairs. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our box, circled in red.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apologies for the poor photo!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boxes E, F, H, and O.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">The benefit of "the Ambassador experience," is that you will find in your box a champagne bucket with two splits of cava, a ramekin of nuts, a ramekin of chips, and a small box of (quite good) Belgian chocolates. Having a nice glass of bubbles was definitely a good way to get ready for the show.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs. Points Ninja enjoying her cava.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our view was unobstructed, but at an angle. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To my mind, the chief benefit of booking a box was that there was absolutely no concern about having our view blocked by other theatre-goers. It wasn't cheap, by any means, but including a little booze in the price dulled the pain somewhat!</span>Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-55739309910390737922016-08-10T14:13:00.001-07:002016-08-30T07:03:04.252-07:00The Howtown Hotel - Review: Off the Beaten Track, but Perhaps my Favorite Small Hotel ... Ever.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-benyMM7eMQ4/V6uRLZhOGSI/AAAAAAAABQM/ptPfYKFeBEQrYFsnnoEaRn5P2IhMYWZXgCLcB/s1600/unnamed%2B%252846%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;">Earlier in the spring, I wrote a post regarding the booking process for the Howtown Hotel, in Howtown, Cumbria: </span><a href="http://thepointsninja.blogspot.com/2016/05/booking-old-fashioned-way.html" style="font-family: georgia, "times new roman", serif; text-align: justify;">Booking the Old Fashioned Way</a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: justify;">. This was the first time I'd booked by mail, and I hoped that the hotel itself would live up to it's retro booking process.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Let me say that I was definitely not disappointed. The Howtown Hotel easily ranks near the top of my list of the favorite places I've ever stayed. The accommodations were quite old-fashioned, but then so am I in many ways! So let's get on with the review.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Howtown is a hamlet (not even a village!) on the eastern shore of Ullswater in the Lake District. There are two ways to get there: 1) down a very narrow B road that runs along the Ullswater, or 2) via the <a href="http://www.ullswater-steamers.co.uk/">Ullswater "Steamers"</a>, a boat service that runs between Pooley Bridge, Glennridding, Aira Force (a National Park), and Howtown.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Since we were in a rental car, we took the road after being stuck behind a very <i>unlovely</i> truck for a couple of miles:</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yh3esxYIeyA/V6TpMt5JqtI/AAAAAAAABI8/zPdrALrvGyo06nSxyZkuxeFgagVEYYQRQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0970.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yh3esxYIeyA/V6TpMt5JqtI/AAAAAAAABI8/zPdrALrvGyo06nSxyZkuxeFgagVEYYQRQCLcB/s400/IMG_0970.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: left;">Frankly, if I'm going to get stuck behind a truck in England, I'd much rather it be one like this:</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The most wonderful lorry in England, found at the Chelsea Flower Show... but more on that later.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Still, we were rewarded for our patience by arriving at the <i>very, very lovely</i> Howtown Hotel:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is a long review, I'm afraid, as I found little clear information about the hotel online. Accordingly, I wanted my review to be <i>very</i> thorough. A full review follows after the break...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The Howtown Hotel is run by the Baldry family, as it has been for many decades. Mrs. Baldry is still active in the management, though she has lately given up doing all of cooking. (UPDATE: Since writing this review, I've learned that the new chef is Colin Akrigg, formerly of the Sharrow Bay Hotel, just up the road from Howtown.) The clientele is mostly, shall we say, of a distinguished vintage. My wife and I were the youngest guests by far (Ed: I'm in my forties, I have absolutely no idea how old Mrs. Points Ninja is, 29 perhaps?). If it's nightlife or a late night crowd you're looking for, this isn't the place for you. But if a lovely little country hotel with good food, friendly service, and an unsurpassed setting sounds good, be sure to consider a trip to Howtown.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The hotel sits in a little dell near the shore and is surrounded by the fells. The views in every direction are absolutely stunning.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Looking from the Hause towards the Howtown Hotel in the foreground, with Pooley Bridge to the North.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Once you arrive, you'll step in the front door:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Our room, Room 2, is the half-open window just above the front door.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And register at the desk just outside the bar:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Note the gong in the photo above. Every evening, at the chap of seven, the gong sounds for dinner, summoning everyone into the dining room. The stairs to the left lead up to the guest rooms, which are situated along a single hall. All of the guest rooms in the main building are situated on the lake side of the hall.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">To start, let me emphasize that there is nothing "modern" about this little place. There is precisely one television, in a downstairs sitting room. I don't believe I ever saw it on during our stay:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There is also one telephone (cell phone service is iffy, at best) in a call box next to reception:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The hotel also boasts some delightful anachronisms, like the functioning bells in each room that trigger a <i>slightly</i>-updated version of Downton Abbey's famous "bell board."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Unfortunately, Carson was not available at Howtown.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qBU9bdh_-M4/V6uHT29__BI/AAAAAAAABNE/fW2mYwPzmZgpf9EkCg3ZfjuV4RKLdLmEQCLcB/s1600/downtonblog4500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qBU9bdh_-M4/V6uHT29__BI/AAAAAAAABNE/fW2mYwPzmZgpf9EkCg3ZfjuV4RKLdLmEQCLcB/s320/downtonblog4500.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What the hotel is, though, is relentlessly cozy. The rooms themselves are quite comfortable, in the style of your well-to-do English grandmother's guest room. What? You don't have a well-to-do English grandmother? Well, then you should visit Howtown and pretend. We had room 2, which is located just above the entrance and next door to the upstairs lounge. In researching the Howtown Hotel, I found very little in the way of interior pictures of the rooms. I always like to have some idea of what I'm getting into before booking a hotel, but we were flying blind on this one. Not to leave you in the same boat, dear reader, here are some pictures of our rooms at the Howtown Hotel:</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Room 2 at the Howtown Hotel</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from Room 2.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> Room 2 is not en-suite, though there is spacious a private bath across the hall:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Over the years, I've become used to seeing very high-end amenities in hotels: Agraria, Penhaligons, Gilchrist & Soames, Shanghai Tang, etc. Let's see what the Howtown Hotel has to offer, shall we?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Look closer:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yes, that's good, old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Leather">Imperial Leather</a>, a British bar soap that dates back to the 30's. For what it's worth, it was perfectly good soap, but don't count on finding fripperies like shampoo or conditioner at the Howtown Hotel! Instead, you'll find that even your bathroom has a nice view of the garden:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If you do need a shower (and the hand-held shower nozzle isn't sufficient), there's a shared shower room down the hall:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">We had family along for the trip, and they stayed in Room 8, which is one of the en-suite bedrooms:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Room 8 at the Howtown Hotel</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The private, if a bit cramped, bath.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking out at Hallin Fell from Room 8.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The hotel's public spaces are also quite charming. There are four sitting rooms, one upstairs and three down.The upstairs room was a nice place for a quiet drink after dinner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I should also note that the hotel is pet friendly and that several (very well behaved) small dogs seemed to have the run of the place. On our first evening, one of them joined me in the upstairs lounge shortly after I sat down to enjoy a glass of whiskey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There are also three sitting rooms downstairs, including the TV lounge pictured earlier:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">All bookings are "half-board," meaning that breakfast and dinner are included in the room price. Each evening, around 6:30, menus are distributed to the guests, most of whom are very sensibly enjoying a cocktail on the spacious and well-kept lawn:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">For a sample, here's our first evening's menu:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Some of the reviews I read before staying indicated that the food was a bit stodgy, I found it to anything but. Perhaps that's due to the fact that the kitchen is now being run by a professional chef, where formerly it was all up to Mrs. Baldry. In any regard, I found the food to be well presented and delicious. All meals are served in the hotel dining room:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And you'll never find yourself without the right knife or fork to use:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The meals themselves? Here are a few examples:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-miP8duy-X7U/V6uPLDtqYrI/AAAAAAAABPg/vb9eHPe0BWAzcreoKBy-BUEbNsEoQZQEgCLcB/s1600/unnamed%2B%252842%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-miP8duy-X7U/V6uPLDtqYrI/AAAAAAAABPg/vb9eHPe0BWAzcreoKBy-BUEbNsEoQZQEgCLcB/s320/unnamed%2B%252842%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An excellent scallop and asparagus starter.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v086Qux3pNw/V6uPLppgWbI/AAAAAAAABPk/RZoMx47CczsrtEK01yCNl_EEAK4Ht-6KQCEw/s1600/unnamed%2B%252839%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v086Qux3pNw/V6uPLppgWbI/AAAAAAAABPk/RZoMx47CczsrtEK01yCNl_EEAK4Ht-6KQCEw/s320/unnamed%2B%252839%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The saddle of venison</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-benyMM7eMQ4/V6uRLZhOGSI/AAAAAAAABQM/EW9qVnR9ZzEsMZRmsT4prRIKuS5p8OzagCEw/s1600/unnamed%2B%252846%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-benyMM7eMQ4/V6uRLZhOGSI/AAAAAAAABQM/EW9qVnR9ZzEsMZRmsT4prRIKuS5p8OzagCEw/s320/unnamed%2B%252846%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The braised pork cheek starter</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nkOX1285-nM/V6uRMII32SI/AAAAAAAABQQ/7LfPLw1QVhg48RrfLObl9oN1zTS8Cfd9wCEw/s1600/unnamed%2B%252847%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nkOX1285-nM/V6uRMII32SI/AAAAAAAABQQ/7LfPLw1QVhg48RrfLObl9oN1zTS8Cfd9wCEw/s320/unnamed%2B%252847%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Stilton souffle.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E63aLjFLHVY/V6uPMI2TigI/AAAAAAAABPo/Kv6xWwTVwGgUkgFQjC74Cp2wAtoUCY0uwCEw/s1600/unnamed%2B%252838%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E63aLjFLHVY/V6uPMI2TigI/AAAAAAAABPo/Kv6xWwTVwGgUkgFQjC74Cp2wAtoUCY0uwCEw/s320/unnamed%2B%252838%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fillet steak.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The desserts are also quite nice, particularly the trifle:</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vA1-x77wWsE/V6uQQLnNGuI/AAAAAAAABP8/pAC8_0zf5d8meE7BKk8eR-KVugal_fqzwCLcB/s1600/unnamed%2B%252840%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vA1-x77wWsE/V6uQQLnNGuI/AAAAAAAABP8/pAC8_0zf5d8meE7BKk8eR-KVugal_fqzwCLcB/s320/unnamed%2B%252840%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mrs. Baldry's sherry trifle - delicious!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3nkNv574CiY/V6uQR73bCRI/AAAAAAAABQA/Dd52f56dbxYEcW1uaxmEi69IrroOxOQ8gCLcB/s1600/unnamed%2B%252841%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3nkNv574CiY/V6uQR73bCRI/AAAAAAAABQA/Dd52f56dbxYEcW1uaxmEi69IrroOxOQ8gCLcB/s320/unnamed%2B%252841%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bread and butter pudding</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">There's also a reasonably priced wine list (that spanned several pages not pictured):</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In the morning, breakfast is served in the dining room at 9:00. That's a bit late for me, and I'd prefer an earlier option. There's a spread of fruits, cereal, yogurt, etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">You can also order a cooked breakfast:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The hotel does offer an earlier tea service, that I opted for one morning, but it's hardly substantial:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">and at </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 22.4px;">£8.80, it's not particularly economical, either.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">If your plans for the day include a ramble amongst the hills, the hotel will prepare a packed lunch for m</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">odest</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 22.4px;">£8.50. Lunches are ordered at breakfast, and left by the front door to pick up when you head out for the day. The packed lunch includes some simple, but tasty, sandwiches (with the crusts cut of, natch), an apple, and a few other treats:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; line-height: 22.4px;">I could go on, and on about this lovely little hotel, but I think I've covered the high points. At a fairly reasonable rate of </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #252525; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; line-height: 22.4px;">£98 per person, per night, I'll definitely return to this little slice of paradise:</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking down on the Howtown Hotel from Hallin Fell on a misty morning.</td></tr>
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Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-50660990986631878692016-07-29T13:38:00.000-07:002016-07-29T13:38:01.330-07:00The Horse & Groom, Bourton-on-the-Hill: Review of a Non-Chain Hotel option in the CotswoldsIn late May Mrs. Points Ninja stayed for a few days in the Cotswolds, one of our favorite places on earth. While there, we made our second visit to the <a href="http://horseandgroom.info/">Horse & Groom</a> in Bourton-on-the-Hill (The Good Pub Guide <a href="http://www.thegoodpubguide.co.uk/Awards/The-Good-Pub-Guide-Awards-2016">Pub of the Year for 2016</a>), and this charming little inn remains one of my favorite places to stay:<br />
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The Horse and Groom, owned by Tom & Will Greenstock, is a "restaurant with rooms," situated at the top of the hill and looking down across the village towards the larger town of Moreton-in-Marsh. I'll get to the restaurant part later, but the rooms (all of which are ensuite) are tastefully decorated and comfortable.<br />
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The Large Double:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo courtesy of the Horse & Groom</td></tr>
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The Deluxe Double:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photo courtesy of the Horse & Groom</span></td></tr>
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Two Double Rooms:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ko8uVLjU7Gg/V5D-oOkaG1I/AAAAAAAABEw/IW7wfY476vkSCbrlfXLaF6VlmowoujQTwCLcB/s1600/bedroom3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ko8uVLjU7Gg/V5D-oOkaG1I/AAAAAAAABEw/IW7wfY476vkSCbrlfXLaF6VlmowoujQTwCLcB/s320/bedroom3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photos courtesy of the Horse & Groom</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NkQAG63Xg5Y/V5D-oiJrvWI/AAAAAAAABE0/UL65nEpdUVUKCMtehAXDaSe08bc5P1UNwCLcB/s1600/Bedroom-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NkQAG63Xg5Y/V5D-oiJrvWI/AAAAAAAABE0/UL65nEpdUVUKCMtehAXDaSe08bc5P1UNwCLcB/s320/Bedroom-4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No, the view from Room 4 is not photoshopped! It really is that fantastic.</td></tr>
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And the "Garden Double:"<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Photo courtesy of the Horse & Groom</span></td></tr>
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All of the rooms feature flat-screen televisions, lovely H&G branded toiletries, in-room tea kettles, and (best of all) a packet of "June's Scrummy Flapjacks." Lest you be confused, these aren't "flapjacks" in the American sense. Rather, they're a scrumptious, buttery, bar cookie that goes perfectly with coffee or a nice cuppa. And "June" herself isn't the product of some branding campaign, she's the wife of the H&G's affable barman, Des.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Truth in advertising.</td></tr>
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The cozy window-seat in Room 4 (in which we stayed on our previous visit) offers a perfect view down the village lane towards Moreton and across the valley. The rooms at the front (including Room 4) do get a bit of road noise, so if you're a light sleeper, you may want to consider one of the rear rooms, like the Garden Double, which we picked for our latest stay.<br />
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As you can see from the picture above, the garden double opens up onto the back lawn, a pleasant, grassy expanse with picnic tables and a bit of a view. That made it simple to slip out for a drink in the afternoon or for a stroll around the village in the evenings.<br />
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After one such walk, the lights of the H&G were a welcome sight at the top of the hill:<br />
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The room features a very comfortable bed that would likely classify as a queen-size in the US.<br />
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The bath was nicely appointed, with a shower/tub combination:<br />
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Water pressure and temperature control are good, which isn't always a given with small inns. The H&Gs house-branded toiletries are also quite nice.<br />
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The H&G offers a reduced room rate if you dine with them, and you'd be a fool not to take them up on it. Did I mention that they're the Good Pub Guide's pub of the year? It's no surprise, what with real ale on the handpumps,<br />
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a cozy pub,<br />
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and friendly service. As for food, I'd note that they're also the Good Pub Guide's Gloucestershire Dining Pub of the Year. I'm afraid that their reputation is borne out by how irresistible I found the bunless Dexter burger, since I clearly tucked in before remembering to take a photo:<br />
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Bourton-on-the-Hill is a pretty village, with one main street and side streets choc-a-block full of cozy cottages:<br />
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It has won Gloucestershire village of the year at least twice. And apparently both times the prize money was used to repair an (admittedly pretty) spring-fed horse trough:<br />
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Aside from the Horse and Groom, the only other establishment of note in the village is <a href="http://www.bourtonhouse.com/">Bourton House</a>, which is now open for tours of the garden and features a small tea shop:<br />
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The Bourton House garden isn't so expansive or enchanting as the nearby Hidcote or Kiftsgate, but its a nice spot for garden lovers.Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-1429518167539523702016-06-29T08:00:00.000-07:002016-06-29T08:08:28.783-07:00How a Points Ninja's mind works: Chipotle "Chiptopia" editionOver at <a href="http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2016/06/29/chipotle-loyalty-program/">One Mile at a Time</a>, Lucky posted on the unnecessarily complicated Chipotle "Chiptopia" rewards program. I'm not a huge Chipotle fan, but I am a fan of gameable loyalty programs in general. Where Lucky saw complication, I saw opportunity. As a thought experiment, I wanted to determine how good of a deal this program was. Here's how Chipotle explains the program:<br />
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The simple version is that making a minimum purchase of $6 before tax earns one "burritopia" point towards completing the promotion. If you make 11 purchases per month (which includes your "free" entrees), you would receive a total of 9 free entrees, and catering for 20. Let's say you wanted to treat (Ed: treat?) your office to a Chipotle lunch in the fall. You would have two options: 1) you could pay $240 like a sane person, or 2) you could figure out what it would cost to max out this promo. Guess which one I'm picking?<br />
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So, let's dig into this deal. If there's a catch, it's going to be in the terms and conditions. As Chipotle puts it in the Ts&Cs:<br />
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As usual, "some exclusions apply":<br />
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So, the purchase has to equal $6 at minimum, but <b>does not</b> have to be an entree. Off to my friendly local Chipotle online menu:<br />
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Look at that! Three drinks come to an exact total of $6 before tax, which <i>should</i> be a qualifying purchase. Adding tax would take my cost up to $6.60. Doing that 9 times in July would cost me exactly $59.40. Doing it again in August and September would bring my total up to $178.20. Which is (drumroll please) $61.80 cheaper than purchasing catering for 20 outright. That's setting aside the value of the free burritos and all the drinks you paid for.<br />
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So, would I actually go through with this in reality? Maybe if I had a Chipotle nearby... or if I could pay for online orders and never actually pick them up (something I briefly considered) but, alas:<br />
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But still, the payout for maximizing this promotion (and thereby your waistline) is impressively large.<br />
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<br />Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-78150796074422785072016-06-14T14:32:00.001-07:002016-06-14T14:32:45.467-07:00Conrad London St. James - Executive Lounge Review/Blue Boar BreakfastThanks to my Diamond status we had access to the Conrad St. James' Executive Lounge during our recent stay, and it really improved our experience. Having a place to relax and have a drink before dinner or going out makes a stay much more pleasant and, particularly with London prices, more affordable.<br />
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First, we arrived at the Conrad early and our room wasn't yet ready. After an overnight flight, I'm generally ready to take a shower and change clothes, so not having a room ready can be a real inconvenience. In this case that was mitigated by the fact that the Conrad's lounge has two shower rooms available. We left our checked luggage at the front desk and proceeded up to the lounge where we were able to shower.<br />
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Throughout the day, soft drinks and water were available:<br />
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We returned to the lounge in the evening for some pre-theatre drinks and nibbles. Canapes, snacks, and alcohol were complimentary:<br />
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Havana Club 7 Anos is a personal favorite!</div>
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Diamond guests can choose to have breakfast either in the lounge or in the Hotel's restaurant The Blue Boar. We tried both and, on the whole, I found the lounge more convenient. The selection didn't materially differ between them. </div>
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In the lounge there were breads and pastries:</div>
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Meats and cheeses:</div>
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Hot options:</div>
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A coffee set-up, including an espresso machine:</div>
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And cold cereals, fruit, and yogurt:</div>
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And a toaster!</div>
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We also had breakfast at the Blue Boar one morning and I found that the selection was virtually identical to the lounge. The major difference was more hot items in the restaurant:</div>
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And a better selection of fruit:</div>
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<br />Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-18168145140522813872016-06-09T12:54:00.000-07:002016-06-09T12:54:32.855-07:00Conrad St. James, London - Review<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm a Hilton Diamond, thanks to the Amex Hilton Surpass card, so I tend to seek out Hilton when I'm travelling. Hilton's Diamond benefits aren't as good as those I use to enjoy as an Intercontinental Royal Ambassador, but they really do add value to any stay. In this case we booked (using points of course) at the Conrad St. James, and my Diamond status was good for lounge access, an upgrade, and breakfast each day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Conrad St. James <i>used</i> to be an Intercontinental, but switched to the Conrad brand last year. I was interested to see how they'd handled the transition, and it appears to have gone quite smoothly. Booking the room was quite a hurdle, as I discussed in <b><a href="http://thepointsninja.blogspot.com/2015/08/hiltons-no-blackout-dates-promise-whats.html">this post</a></b>. Eventually, I was able to book into a King Superior Room for 80,000 points a night:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The best flexible rate for a King Superior is £319. At that rate, I was getting .6 CPP value for my Hilton points. Not an outsized value, by any means, but well within my comfort level. The above shot, by the way is from the Conrad's "3D Floor Plan" page, which has floor plans for almost all of the room types. I like knowing pretty much what to expect when booking and the availability of floor plans helps.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hilton also offers Premium Room Rewards that allow you to pay more points for a better room. Sometimes the additional points are reasonable, and sometimes they're astronomical. In this case, I decided to check what was available. I discovered that for 26K HH points a night, I could upgrade from the King Superior to a King Grand Deluxe. The Grand Deluxe was priced about </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">£</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">54 above the Superior, so that meant I'd only get about .3cpp of value out of each additional point. .3cpp is my par value for HH points, but I was interested in seeing how the "Premium Room" booking would affect my upgrade chances.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We ended up being upgraded to a Junior Suite, which runs around </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">£479 per night. I had hoped for a better upgrade, but the hotel was quite full. I'd been told that it was beforehand, and, when I checked online that proved to be the case. (Ed: Trust, but verify.) The room itself was quite nice and was spacious (for London). From the corridor, the room opened into a small sitting area facing the back side of a (reversible) television.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just inside the front door is a closet, the minibar (water from the minibar was complimentary for Diamonds), and a coffee machine:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Since this trip was partly in celebration of my wife's birthday, the hotel had left a nice little treat for us:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beyond the mid-room television is the bed, which was quite comfortable and offered useful reading lights (a pet peeve of mine is reading lights that don't operate separately from the rooms main lighting, a problem we encountered at the Paddington). Bottles of spring water were left by the bed each evening.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Beyond a sliding door from the bedroom is the bath, with a separate tub and shower, and a private room for the WC.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The rainfall shower was very good, though it had a tendency to leak onto the bathroom floor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I had it all to do over again, I probably would not have gone for the Premium Room reward. My Diamond status would likely have meant an upgrade out of the entry-level room, and for a short two-night stay, getting the slightly larger Junior Suite wasn't vital. This is particularly true given that Hilton Diamond gives lounge access no matter which room you book into. As you'll see in the next phase of this review, lounge access at this hotel is no small thing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A final note about the hotel: the basement gym features a mini-fridge with very handy plastic bottles of spring water. These are complimentary and are nice to have when walking about London.</span><br />
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<br />Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-66240927621191694832016-06-07T08:07:00.000-07:002016-06-09T06:43:50.060-07:00Virgin Atlantic Upper Class on an A330 - ATL-LHR: ReviewMrs. Points Ninja and I just returned from a trip to Old Blighty for the Chelsea Flower Show. What a great time! I highly recommend the show and will be doing a review of it as well. <br />
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One of the reasons I was particularly looking forward to this trip was that we were flying on Virgin Atlantic in Upper Class from Atlanta to London, a first for me. I booked using the last of my Delta Skymiles stash (courtesy of the Suntrust Delta Debit card), at 125,000 Skymiles per ticket. Taxes and fees were around $300 each.<br />
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Our Upper Class ticket allowed us to use Delta's Lounge in ATL's Terminal F. The Lounge was quite crowded, but with decent snacks and Sweetwater 420 on tap, it was better than sitting at the gate.<br />
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Just before boarding was scheduled to start, we headed over to the gate. After a short wait, we boarded and headed up to our seats, 5K and 6K. Virgin runs an A330 on this flight, and our plane had the (<a href="https://www.runwaygirlnetwork.com/2015/10/18/virgin-atlantic-scraps-a330-upper-class-dream-suite/">soon to be replaced</a>) Upper Class "Dream" Suite. Our crew was friendly and efficient, but nothing really stood out on that score.<br />
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All in all, I'm not a fan of these seats. The herringbone pattern means that "window" seats don't have a view out of the window (unless you twist around) and the seats are a bit too open to the aisle to have any sense of privacy. Generally, I prefer window seats. However, in this cabin I'd recommend seats G and K for a couple travelling together. If both are in K seats, it's quite difficult to have a conversation.<br />
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Waiting at our seats was an amenity kit:<br />
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The kit came in a nice little Herschel Supply Co. bag, but I preferred the kit on our return flight, which came in a fold-out toiletry bag. The contents of both kits were the same, though: socks, an eyeshade, earplugs, toothbrush, toothpaste, VA pen,and Rituals handcream/facecream/lipbalm. No comb, or hairbrush, though, so bring your own!<br />
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During boarding, champagne was served:<br />
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And pajamas were handed out. On some airlines, the pajamas run a bit small, but, at 5'10", 180lbs, VA's XL fit me nicely.<br />
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Menus were already at our seats, so I had a look at what was on offer:<br />
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Before dinner, drinks and crisps were served. I tried the cranberry martini, which was nothing special:<br />
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I selected the smoked salmon for my starter. It was quite tasty and fairly well presented:<br />
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I do like Virgin's airplane-themed salt and pepper shakers, along with the fact that the "pinched from Virgin Atlantic" label shows that they know how irresistible they are as souvenirs. Since it was an overnight flight, I tried to be good and picked the nicoise salad for my main. It was surprising good, and I'd definitely pick it again.<br />
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For pudding, I tried the raspberry cheesecake. As you can see, it looked good enough that I forgot to take a picture before starting!<br />
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Of course, my distractedness may have been due to the fact that was watching Deadpool by this point.<br />
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I found VA's "Vera" entertainment system to be quite clunky, though the selection was good. There were 60 movies and a large number of TV shows (with a heavy British influence, natch) available. Vera's touchscreen is less than useless. Fortunately, the inseat remote works pretty well for controlling the entertainment system.<br />
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After dinner, I had the FA convert my seat to a bed (which involves flipping the seat over and adding a pad and duvet) and tried to get some sleep. This is where the Dream Suite really failed me. It's true "lie flat," but because the seat is flipped over rather than reclined into bed mode, there's no way to adjust your recline or to sit up in bed. In most business and first cabins, the beds remain adjustable and it's easy to sit up to read or watch TV before going to sleep. No such luck with VA. #firstworldproblems.<br />
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After some fitful sleep, I woke to tea and a bacon sandwich. The tea was good (as it should be on a British airline!) but the sandwich was so so.<br />
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While it's difficult to look out of the windows, the left side of the plane does have some good views of London on approach:<br />
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A final slip up by VA was the failure to hand out "fast track" immigration vouchers to Upper Class, which hadn't been loaded. We were instructed to just use our boarding card, but this didn't make the lady guarding the fast track queue very happy at all. It took some persuasion to get her to let us through, but it was worth it to avoid a moderately crowded immigration queue. <br />
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All in all, the VA experience wasn't bad, but I prefer Delta's Business Elite (now "DeltaOne") service for TATL travel.Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-41742867184384474142016-06-07T07:40:00.000-07:002016-06-09T10:00:33.766-07:00Spring Trip to England for the Chelsea Flower ShowMrs. Points Ninja and I just returned from a trip to England. We went to the Chelsea Flower Show for the first time and visited a number of gardens in the Cotswolds and Lake District. I'll be reviewing our flights, along with our hotels and the Show itself.<br />
<a href="http://thepointsninja.blogspot.com/2016/06/virgin-atlantic-upper-class-on-a330-atl.html">Virgin Atlantic, Upper Class, ATL-LHR</a><br />
Conrad St. James Hotel, London<br />
Duke of York Theatre, Box Seats, "Ambassador Experience"<br />
The Horse & Groom, Bourton-on-the-Hill<br />
The Howtown Hotel, Howtown, Cumbria, UK<br />
Virgin East Coast Trains, 1st, NCL-LON<br />
The Paddington Hilton, London<br />
Virgin Atlantic, Upper Class, LHR-ATLRichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-68071045653929408442016-06-01T08:56:00.001-07:002016-06-01T08:56:46.268-07:00The First Ever Points Ninja Prize Drawing! Win some Virgin Atlantic swag.Hello all. Mrs. Points Ninja and I just returned from a trip to England in Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class. I'll post a full review of the trip and the places we stayed later, but first I want to announce this Blog's first ever prize drawing!<br />
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I brought back two unopened Virgin Atlantic Upper Class amenity kits. These are the Herschel Supply Co. bags that fold open and are actually useful as toiletry bags.<br />
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The contents are the same as the zip open pouches pictured here:<br />
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Also included in this prize pack are a set of VA's "Pinched from Virgin Atlantic" (yes, they really say that on the bottom) airplane-themed salt and pepper shakers.<br />
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How to win this <i><b>incredible</b></i> prize? Just enter a comment on this post by noon CST on June 8, 2016. Since this blog's readership is teensy-tiny, the odds are in your favor. I'll use Random.org to pick the winning post number and contact the winner for a mailing address and ship out your prize! Maximum of five entries per person, please.Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-42139079111319385042016-05-12T07:15:00.000-07:002016-05-12T07:15:27.142-07:00Steaks on a Train!- An Amtrak Crescent Trip ReviewI recently had the opportunity to ride the Amtrak Crescent from Birmingham, Alabama up to Washington, DC with a great group of guys for a trip to Gettysburg. My dad and I traveled in a sleeper car and had a great time, even if Amtrak travel isn't exactly the height of luxury. <br />
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The trip started out at the post-apocalyptic Birmingham train station.<br />
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This is a grim place, and not one you want to hang around in long. Though I understand that Birmingham is currently building a new multi-million-dollar-federally-funded intermodal transport hub that will house Amtrak also (to replace the old multi-million-dollar-federally-funded intermodal transport hub built in 1998).<br />
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Things improved marginally when we climbed aboard our car, and met Claude, our charming steward. Our bedroom, configured in day mode, was comfortable, if a bit tight.<br />
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Amtrak Bedrooms feature a "full" bath that's much like something you might find in a 1980s-era RV.<br />
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And they feature some really distinctive toiletries!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just like being on the beach at Waikiki</td></tr>
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Though it was 2 o'clock, we learned that lunch was still being served, so we moseyed down to the dining car to check out the bill of fare:<br />
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I went with a bacon cheeseburger. It definitely wasn't the worst I've ever had, and service was very friendly:<br />
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Some of the other guys in our group had adjoining cabins, so we opened up the door between them and enjoyed a bourbon or two while talking and watching rural Alabama and Georgia roll by our windows. After a stop in Atlanta, it was time to return to the diner car for dinner. The obvious choice was the Amtrak "Signature" steak. <br />
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Well, it was the obvious choice, but maybe not the <i>best</i> choice. The vegetables were truly terrible, and the steak was just fair. That said, the house red wine (the only red wine) was decent:<br />
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Dessert, though, was pretty good:<br />
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While at dinner, Claude converted our bedroom to night mode:<br />
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It is nearly impossible to move about the cabin when the beds are down, and you need to be pretty spry to make it into the top bunk (where I slept... you're welcome, Dad.) The beds themselves, though, were surprisingly comfortable, if you like a firm bed.<br />
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The next morning, it was back to the dining car for breakfast, where I had the "continental." It was more of a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=st21dIMaGMs">Jordan Peele "continental"</a> than a Intercontinental Le Grand "continental," but it got the job done:<br />
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Then it was off the train at Union Station and off for the rest of our trip!<br />
<br />Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-88781128660095956982016-05-09T14:38:00.000-07:002016-05-10T06:41:31.037-07:00Booking the Old Fashioned Way- The Howtown Hotel, CumbriaMr. Pointsninja and I have a visit to England upcoming. We'll be staying in the Lake District for a couple of days where chain hotels are thin on the ground. I kind of like going places like that because it forces me out of my rut and makes me do some research to find the right place. I ended up picking the <a href="http://www.howtown-hotel.co.uk/"><b>Howtown Hotel</b></a>, the furthest thing from a chain that I could find. As you can see, it has a website, but that's about where its connection with the modern world ends. You can't book online. You can't even pay with a credit card. But what you can do is call to get a spot in "the book." Then you write them a letter (kids, that's the paper thing that goes in a envelope) setting out your reservation request. What you'll get back is this:<br />
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A lovely note from Mrs. Baldry, the Howtown Hotel's proprietress, confirming your reservation. Beats an e-mail any day! I'm really looking forward to this review. Stay tuned!</div>
Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-39019497322814869962016-04-26T11:38:00.000-07:002016-04-26T11:40:17.501-07:00What's In My WalletI recently read a couple of "what's in my wallet" posts by two of the bloggers on my sidebar, Gary @ <a href="http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea.com/2016/04/25/revealed-whats-wallet-strategy-behind-earn-rich-points-perks/">View from the Wing</a> and Lucky at <a href="http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2016/04/22/which-credit-cards-i-have/">One Mile at at Time</a>. Both posts discuss the credit cards, etc. that they carry around every day. Because Gary and Lucky both recommend cards <i>and </i>earn money from referral links (and I don't), I thought it might be interesting to look at what I carry around on a daily basis and to explain why. So, here it is:<br />
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<b>Citi Thank You Premier</b>: This is my first year with the card, so I haven't paid any annual fee on this card. I completed the required spending for a 50K sign-up bonus, but I'm still carrying the card to use for restaurant spending, where it earns two Thank You points per dollar. Transferable points are the gold standard in the points and miles world and I'm always looking for ways to diversify my points portfolio. Thank You Points are what I consider a "second-tier" transferable currency since they only <a href="https://www.thankyou.com/partnerProgramsListing.jspx">transfer to a limited number of airlines</a>. I should note that this card also earns 3 points per dollar on gas, but I use a different card (that earns "first-tier" transferable points) for that.<br />
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<b>Hilton HHonors Surpass</b>: I've had this card for a number of years, primarily because it has a pretty good earning structure and awards Hilton Diamond status with $40,000 in annual spending. I use it for all of my grocery store spending, where it earns 6 points per dollar. Because I'm able to do some manufactured spending at grocery stores, I can pretty easily hit that $40K mark each year. Depending on my Hilton balance, I may pull this card out of my wallet when I hit it this year. If I do, I'll likely start using the next card for grocery store spend.<br />
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<b>Fidelity Investment Rewards Amex</b>: This card is my touchstone for all other cards. No annual fee and a flat 2% cashback everywhere, all the time. By "touchstone", I mean it sets the valuation benchmark for determining whether to use another card for bonus categories. For instance, the Surpass card earns 6PPD at grocery stores. By using the Surpass instead of the Fidelity card, I'm paying an opportunity cost of 2 cents for 6 Hilton Points. Because I value Hilton points at around .4 CPP, I get 2.4 cents worth of value for every dollar spent, making the Surpass a slightly better choice at the grocery store.<br />
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<b>Barclay Arrival+ Mastercard</b>: This is an $89 annual fee card. I use this card to do some grocery store MSing. It earns an effective rate of 2.05% cashback towards travel everywhere. As a Mastercard, I've been able to link it to my Fuel Rewards card and I earn an additional 3 cents in Fuel Reward per $100 spent at Winn-Dixie. I also use this card for car rentals because it is a World Elite Mastercard and carries primary rental car coverage (which means I can waive the CDW without sweating). I may or may not keep this card when my next annual fee comes due, as I plan on depleting my award balance to pay for much of an upcoming trip to England.<br />
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<b>Suntrust Delta Debit Card</b>: This is a legacy card that I probably won't renew when the $75 annual fee comes due in June. Suntrust was an incredible source of Skymiles for years when this card earned 1MPD on <i>debit</i> purchases. That meant that I could use MS techniques to effectively purchase Skymiles at .07 CPM, an <i>incredible</i> bargain. But, as with all incredible bargains, it couldn't last. The card is now throttled to 2,000 miles in a month at a .5MPD rate. I carry it solely for MSing purposes.<br />
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<b>American Express Business Gold</b>: This is another annual fee card, I picked it up for the huge sign-up bonus, but I haven't paid a fee on it yet. At $175, the fee probably exceeds the card's value and if I'm not offered any sort of retention bonus, I may not keep it. But for now, I use it for gas purchases where it earns 3 Membership Rewards points per dollar. Membership Reward points are very flexible and transfer to a number of useful airlines, including Delta.<br />
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<b>Winn-Dixie Customer Rewards Card</b>: Okay, so this is not a credit card, but I needed something to cover up the personal info on my bottom card! Still, it is important in my current MS cycle. For a couple of years, I've earned Fuel Rewards points by swiping this card whenever I was doing any MSing at WD. Points were only earned on the load fees for purchasing Visa gift cards, but every little bit helped.<br />
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I have other cards (ED: Lots!), but most of them I hold for specific purposes and not everyday spending. I'll cover those in a separate post.<br />
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PS: Oh, and Lucky's credit score is higher than mine... but not by much!Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-44766985851445529002016-04-01T12:21:00.000-07:002016-04-01T13:18:38.435-07:00The MINT IS BACK!One of my favorite deals ever was the United State's Mint's "Direct Ship" program. It allowed you to purchase presidential dollar coins at face value with a miles earning credit card - and the Mint would even ship them to you for free! There was no effective limit to the amount of coins that you could purchase, and many people purchased hundreds of thousands of coins.<br />
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Well, I'm happy to announce that you can, once more, buy golden dollar coins at face value! With free shipping! Happy days are here again!<br />
<img alt="100th Anniversary of Women's Right to Vote Coin Pack. A Turning Point In Our History" src="http://www.mint.ca/store/dyn/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/148545_hero-570.png" /><br />
There's just one teensy-tiny hitch. They're Canadian dollars. And you can only buy five of them. And you have to have a Canadian Address. Still interested? Visit <a href="http://www.mint.ca/store/product/rcmcoins.jsp?campaignName=CCCP_WomensRightToVote&pId=4800016&lang=en_CA&rcmiid=TF|Upsell|148545|CCCPWRTV|UncSet">HERE</a>.<br />
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By the way, I found this amazing deal after reading a <a href="http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/manufactured-spending/1755035-free-shipping-face-value-canadian-mint-2.html">thread on Flyertalk.</a> Its about the Canadian Mint's $20 for $20 program that sells <b>non-circulating </b>silver coins at "face value." The program is a terrible deal for several reasons that are explained in the thread. Happy April Fool's Day, everyone!<br />
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UPDATE: I'll be very disappointed if some Canadian MSer doesn't try ordering one set of these to his home address + "Unit 1A, Unit 1B... Unit 99Z," etc.Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2303877382204185390.post-41184627870992720012016-03-29T08:00:00.000-07:002016-03-29T07:47:08.768-07:00Lismacue House, Tipperrary, Ireland- A Hidden Ireland Property [UPDATE: Property is no longer with Hidden Ireland]After our stay at the Ritz-Carlton Powerscourt, we drove down the back roads to Cahir and from there back up into County Tipperrary; where we were due to stay the night at Lismacue just outside of Bansha. I'd booked the property through <a href="http://www.hiddenireland.com/lismacuehouse-tipperary">Hidden Ireland</a> and had seen some favorable reviews on <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g551576-d3612197-Reviews-Lismacue_House-Bansha_County_Tipperary.html">Tripadvisor</a>. The drive turns directly off of the N24 just on the southern outskirts of Bansha. It's easy to miss (we did), just keep your eyes open for the white stones marking the turnout and gates. After making our way up the lovely lime allee', we were not disappointed by our first glimpse of the property.<br />
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Lismacue is a lovely old country house, dating back to 1813, that is still occupied by the original owner's family.<br />
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The house has five rooms in the guest wing (pictured above), though one was under repair during our stay. We were the only guests that night and were warmly greeted by our hostess, Kate Nicholson. Well, technically, we were first greeted by our hostess' very friendly dog, Luther.<br />
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Kate showed us to our room, with a double bed and a twin bed on the second floor. <br />
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The room featured lovely views of the surrounding countryside and an ensuite bath. After leaving our bags in the room, we went out for a stroll around the grounds. Lismacue sits out in the fields, with a horse paddock out front and a cow pasture just beyond the ha-ha at the edge of the lawn.<br />
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Around the bend in the drive is the lime allee and a quaint little stone bridge across the River Ara'.<br />
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Luther, the house dog, accompanied us on our walk.<br />
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Kate can provide dinner to guests if arranged in advance, and we had wisely chosen to to do. We were invited to relax in the library where drinks were served and a nice fire was burning.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>How very civilized.</b></td></tr>
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Dinner was quite good, and we were joined by Kate's husband, Jim Nicholson. He proved a convivial host, and we enjoyed our dinner. While we only stayed the one night, I think that Lismacue would be a good base for exploring County Tipperary and the environs. Both Cahir and Cashel are quite close by and the countryside is beautiful.<br />
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UPDATE: It appears that Lismacue is no longer with Hidden Ireland. However, the house can still be booked through their website at : <a href="http://www.lismacue.com/">www.lismacue.com</a>. Interestingly, the entire house is also bookable through <a href="https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5001388"><b>Airbnb</b></a>.Richhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17731476165046034620noreply@blogger.com0