[markymarc2000]

HampshireHog wrote:

NorthernLass wrote:

On my only UC flight to date, we were changed at the last minute from coffin to brand new/neo (?) seats, a bit like Club Suite but looked nicer, IMO. Obviously that was fabulous for us and really seemed to buck recent trends in terms of equipment swaps.

While hanging out briefly in the loft/lounge bit, I got chatting to a man from Leeds on a golfing trip who was clearly a high-status, frequent VS flyer. He (somewhat enviously, given the circs) told me he’d deliberately booked PE rather than UC for this trip as he found the coffins so underwhelming for the price (and MAN-MCO in UC can easily hit £3k). He was very tall and broad, however, which would have had a bearing on his comfort levels.

How did the PE fella access the onboard lounge? I thought it was only for Upper?

Probably because he was very tall, broad and Northern, an easy way-in on any Virgin flight 😉

[markymarc2000]

JenT wrote:

Have flown on all of the Virgin Upper Class seats and although the others offer something different, I have no issues with the 787. For working during a day flight, I find the cabin much brighter and more airy, and enjoy the view out of multiple windows. The sleeping mattress is comfy and making up the bed isn’t a hassle for me. If I can lie down and sleep on a night flight, everything is fine and that’s why I choose Upper Class etc over Premium Economy or Economy.

Row A certainty preferred but ended up on the other side last time and it really wasn’t the end of the world.

Interesting, I’m coming round to the idea nicely now… Our flight is with points/reward voucher and forms the last leg of our round-the-world trip starting at the end of next January through to March. We’ve deliberately chosen different airlines for each leg and without a bottomless pot of money, with different cabins too – sometimes it seems as if the stops in between are just a bonus!

[markymarc2000]

Froggee wrote:

It’s flat.

I mean – I agree there are many business class seats that are a decent bit better than it but it is all fairly marginal.

If you were to rate comfort out of 10 it would be something like:

1-2 – economy
3-4 – premium economy
5 – old style cradle business class
6-8 – lie flat business class
9 – proper suite
10 – residence

You can argue about the exact ratings but there is not a premium economy product I would prefer to fly overnight rather than a Virgin coffin seat – rating 6. And indeed if you offered me a choice of the best business class product (rated 8) but a too hot cabin vs a coffin seat and an appropriate temperature to sleep I would choose the coffin seat.

So yeah it’s not great but it is so much better than not flying in business class, I can’t get too worked up about it.

I would also choose it vs an aisle seat in old club world but would choose a window in old club world over a coffin seat. I am 6’1” and always get bashed in an aisle seat in old club world but am capable of keeping my feet out of harm’s way in the coffin seat.

But as Mrs Froggee keeps telling me – everyone is different. You may hate it more than flying in economy with a screaming baby next to you and a toddler playing the drums behind you!

Quote

Thank you Froggee, that’s a more level headed opinion. My sister who is a regular cross Atlantic traveller suggested I chose row A and near the front as there are no toilets up there so really there should be few passers by excepting the crew who usually sound excellent. Thank you.

[markymarc2000]

Swiss Jim wrote:

@markymarc2000, glad you’re having such an amazing time. We love Oman – you remind me that we need to get back there. Stayed at IC – not tried the Indigo. I’ll add it to my list…

The Indigo should no be missed, as it was Ramadan and therefore much quieter we used points and were upgraded to a pool suite with a canyon view, truly spectacular. The one downside to the trip – and it’s a big one for us – has been the litter on beaches, it’s horrendous. The bloggers, vloggers and most guide books all seem to be oblivious to the problem, hundreds of plastic bottles strewn along the shoreline, mostly left by fishermen and visitors. So sad…

[markymarc2000]

My husband and I are in Oman now, mid March and have had no problems with being a gay couple, just the usual advice on modesty that applies to any couple. The only stares we’ve had have been during the day wearing shorts from local men, it’s more discreet to wear long trousers when out and about.
As far as travel preparation is concerned you won’t need a visa for up to 14 days but any longer and you will, it’s easily applied for online from the Royal Oman Police and was approved within the hour and is essential, we’re here from 25 days and had it checked by Qatar staff before we were issued with boarding passes.
We bought some Omani Rials OMR from the Post office before we flew out, handily it’s almost exactly 1 OMR = £2.
We flew from Manchester as Oman Air no longer fly direct so we flew Qatar via Doha, early morning flight, quick change arriving in Muscat 20.15. The airport is stunning, calm and quiet but slow. There’s no Uber as such but OTAXI is the same thing with an app and was about a tenth of the price of the hotel pick up. We spent the first
3 nights at the IC, built in 1977 and from the outside looks it, inside is very smart and as a diamond member we bagged a Club room. Again I’d booked a king bed but reception didn’t bat an eyelid that we were two men.
After 3 nights we rented a 4×4 and headed up to the mountains around Nizwah, well worth a trip over to get a feel of the real Oman, then 2 nights at the incredible and unique Indigo Hotel. We’d booked a standard room on points but were upgraded to a private pool suite with canyon view, incredible views 6,200ft up!
We’re now planning on driving down along the coast towards Salalah with a roof tent to mix some camping with hotels, not exactly HfP territory but it’s a great way to seeing the true country.
The main takeaway so for us is that this is not Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha, personally we can’t stand them, basically Singapore with sand but for a real Arabian feel then Oman us the place to come. The people are genuinely so kind, warm, helpful and friendly, it’s quite humbling.
Another point is that it’s Ramadan and in Oman it’s more observed than other Middle Eastern destinations – excepting big western hotels all restaurants and cafes are closed during daylight hours including Muscat so we just had a big breakfast and snacked in our room or in the car until sunset when it’s back to normal. Alcohol is only sold in hotel bars and restaurants in any case so it’s no big deal for us. The upside is well worth it though with hotel prices very low and generous upgrades available, just the free lounge access at the IC saved us a fortune. The other plus is there’s almost nobody here… at the Indigo we had the entire pool to ourselves (including 2 lifeguards!) the National Museum and the Royal Opera House empty, there are no queues anywhere, it’s just so pleasant.
If you fancy the Middle East that isn’t Dubai then I’d seriously consider Oman, it will become more popular eventually so catch it now.

[markymarc2000]

BA Flyer IHG Stayer wrote:

Status tends to update at the same time the stay posts to your account – so two days after checking out

That sounds hopeful, maybe be worth a phone call to customer services to help things along.

[markymarc2000]

Received the 8 night challenge and for me it’s just about doable. With one but – how long will it take for the upgraded status to show up on my account? We’ve a big trip planned for Oman mid-March and would be great to have Diamond for that.
Any thoughts.,,

[markymarc2000]

phantomchickenz wrote:

Is there reward availability, and have you got enough Avios just to book a business class seat?

Yes on both counts at the moment.

[markymarc2000]

Swiss Jim wrote:

Different pricing for different people doesn’t seem very smart to me. It’ll leave a sour taste in people’s mouths whether they go for this or not. Rob, not sure if you have any ears into which you can have a word.

Very true, it’s one thing to have small discrepencies in offers, maybe some people have stayed more nights than I have but when an offer is more than double others it really does leave a sour taste. Maybe if I keep trying on a daily basis, I also have a few more stays this coming week so that may help [?]

[markymarc2000]

I received the offer of 115,000 for $1180, considerably more than anyone elses despite having a fair number of stays this year so I’m not sure.
As with other posters here I’ve been Diamond, Sprire before for years and really will miss it, I have Platinum thanks to Ambassador but it’s not quite the same.
So many offers come and go and some are just no brainers, it’s when it’s 50/50 or thereabouts that the problem lies…

[markymarc2000]

Thanks Northern Lass, it seems theat it was mostly me who was wrong, it only works for the basic room and not other room options…although I would have expected the Marriott staff to figure that one out and suggest I try that, a bit odd.
And yes, always trust the people of Manchester to get straight to the point and sort any problem out!

[markymarc2000]

Thanks meta, that was it, it was offering me a selection of rooms, its the standard room that works, thanks!

[markymarc2000]

The target hotel was less than the value of the FNA by a long shot, 26,000 as opposed to 35,000 cap for the voucher. I’m more gob smacked by the attitude of the Marriott ‘helpline’…I’ve been devoted to IHG for many years, maybe I should stick with them.

[markymarc2000]

I’m in a similar position, I’m Diamond and will drop to bottom level at the end of March so I tried calling HH and tried to obtain a years extension, they too offered me a fast track option which won’t work for me at present. Resigned to being bottom from April 1st but now it seems I’m Diamond for another year, it’s not clear either way but I read it as such. I’ll see ironically on April 1st..
Maybe as a Cheshire man it works too!

[markymarc2000]

Nice looking building and handy for the station, there’s a huge amount going on around the area but it’s still a bit of a work in progress (as most of Mnachester seems to be at the moment). It’s been neglected for far too long, it can only be improved.
It was originally built in the late 70’s with British Gas as the anchor tenant and was famous for the huge exterior ‘To let’ sign having an ‘i’ inserted almost imperceptibly…

[markymarc2000]

I only stayed at Hamptons to collect the necessary number of nights in three months back in 2022, I’ve since used the Diamond status for Hilton, Waldorf and Canopy stays for all those great benefits.

[markymarc2000]

Successfully booked, the best suite in the hotel so very happy!

[markymarc2000]

markymarc2000 wrote:

I’ve just hit the target of 12 nights and almost immediately received an email from Hilton upgraded status to Diamond, great.
But, the upgrade is until March 2023, the original offer was until 2024 so I’m not sure if I’ve missed something here. I’ve been very impressed with the speed and accuracy of Hilto Honors so far, far better than IHG. Any otheres seen this?

markymarc2000 wrote:

I’ve just hit the target of 12 nights and almost immediately received an email from Hilton upgraded status to Diamond, great.
But, the upgrade is until March 2023, the original offer was until 2024 so I’m not sure if I’ve missed something here. I’ve been very impressed with the speed and accuracy of Hilton Honors so far, far better than IHG. Any others seen this?

[markymarc2000]

I’ve just hit the target of 12 nights and almost immediately received an email from Hilton upgraded status to Diamond, great.
But, the upgrade is until March 2023, the original offer was until 2024 so I’m not sure if I’ve missed something here. I’ve been very impressed with the speed and accuracy of Hilto Honors so far, far better than IHG. Any otheres seen this?

[markymarc2000]

Have tried several times, just get the whirling roundabout, really annoying. I too have a stay next week and need to register asap…