England and Brussels

This is the second part of a two part trip that begin with a transatlantic cruise. 

• Part 1: Cruising from Miami to England
• Part 2: Dover, London and Brussels by Train

In this part, I traveled from Dover to London and on to Brussels before flying back to the United States.

London is astronomically expensive, but Dover is actually quite affordable. I think being there in early June put us there before the start of the British tourist season. I ended up booking 3 nights in Hiltons's Marina Hotel which is part of their Tapestry collection.

The booking was creative. The hotel averaged $103 per night for a tiny solo traveler room on a prepaid non-refundable rate bringing the total to around $310. At checkin, the room was upgraded to a nice full sized queen room with a balcony overlooking the sea due to my Diamond status.

I saved ~$90 using two Hilton credits linked to my Amex cards.

• $50 quarterly credit from an Amex Business Platinum.
  Arguably only a $25 savings since this credit is funded via the annual fee.
• $40 off $200 in spend from another Amex.

I also earned roughly $30 in value in the form of 8,200 Hilton points from the stay.

• 2,600 base points from $260 in eligible spend.
• 2,600 bonus points from the usual 100% bonus for Diamond status.
• 2,000 bonus points per stay as part of a Hilton promotion.
• 1,000 Diamond+ Myway Bonus (not sure I was supposed to get this).

Finally, I earned roughly $20 in airline miles by using the United and American Airlines shopping portals to earn points on top of the bookings.

So the final transaction came down to $220 for three nights and $50 worth of points, which had to be booked as two prepaid stays to get the best rates and use two different credit cards. This was a lot of hassle and uncertainty for not a lot of savings.

I also looked at booking these rooms on points, initially for a single night, but they were asking 30k-39k Hilton points per night for a $103 room and I just couldn't do it. To book the night I needed on points, I would have needed to redeem at 0.28 cents per point, when I have historically tried to get over 0.5 cents per point from Hilton. The degree to which Hilton has devalued their currency over the past two years is truly shocking.

But hey, at the end of the day, I still got a very nice room for around $70-80/night. 

Overall, I'd say the hotel was great and a fantastic deal. My only complaint is that they were overwhelmed by having a cruise ship in port with a hundreds of people checking out and hundreds trying to checkin all at the same time. I wasn't able to get into my room until 3pm and they effectively ran out of space to take all the luggage.

As a Diamond member, breakfast at "Mr White's" was included. This is a nice place operating under the brand of Gordon Ramsay's former mentor Marco Pierre White. At the front of the restaurant, there is a 6 foot portrait of White with the caption "The Chef that Made Gordon Ramsay Cry". Breakfast was good and had all the British Breakfast essentials like mushrooms (yum).

On my first day in Dover, I was fighting a cold and it was raining, so I passed out. But on the second day, I rallied and hiked up the Cliffs of Dover all the way to the lighthouse. In a meandering round trip it is a 7+ mile trek with a 500+ foot elevation gain plus some ups and downs. Hiking the cliffs was probably the highlight of the trip.

The main path is all through rolling pasture land, back a short ways from the cliffs edge and there were cows wandering around in some places. You can see the castle off in the distance and walk by a bunker that was once the continuity shelter for the UK government in the event of nuclear war. Throughout most of the trek, you have spectacular views of ferries entering and exiting Dover harbor.

I stopped and saw the old St James' Church ruins. It was built in the 11th century and restored in the 19th century, but then largely destroyed during WW2.

I originally planned on going to the White Horse Tavern for Sunday dinner but I think their kitchen closed around 3pm. Instead, I found my way to Blake's Pub and had myself some beef and mushroom pie with a pint.

Blake's felt like a proper pub experience. One of the bartenders was an older man who the regulars all knew and might have worked there for decades. A few of the patrons were just local guys in for a pint, talking football. Every inch of the pub was decorated with old beer signs and bills hanging from the ceiling. Food was good. I can back for dinner on another day as well.

To get to London, I took the Southeastern train from Dover Priory to London St. Pancras. It costs about $30 in the afternoon, travels about 70 miles and takes about an hour. If you choose an off peak time, you can probably go for about half that price.

Dover Priory is about a mile from the marina and easily walkable. That said, it's probably closer to three miles from the cruise terminal which is probably a wee bit too far to drag your luggage for most people.

Hotel prices in London were astronomical. For my three nights, I hotel hopped every night, using a free night certificate each night. This was highly inconvenient but allowed me to use up two certs with less than a month remaining before expiration.

The Park Hyatt London Thames was my first stay. I booked it using a category 1-7 free night certificate hours before the hotel changed to a category 8. This is by far, the most expensive Hyatt I've ever stayed in and, as a Globalist, expectations were high.

The check-in process was one of the nicest I've experienced, perhaps second only to the Grand Hyatt in Bangkok. In particular, the woman that showed me to my room did an excellent job of explaining how everything at the hotel and in the room worked.

I was upgraded to a river view king. I suspect this is one of those hotels that doesn't have too many standard suites available for Globalists. The view was nice, as was the bathroom, especially for a non-suite.

As a Globalist, I got to enjoy free breakfast and it was certainly nice. They offered both a small menu and a full buffet with lots of fresh fruit and cheese plus some of the nicest desserts I've seen on a buffet. The self serve options were mostly limited to Western European cuisine with a few more international options on the menu.

So what did I think of the Park Hyatt, now a category 8? It has fantastic service, but I think the hard product falls short of the price for my tastes. It's honestly a little surprising that Hyatt's signature luxury brand in a city like London doesn't have a club lounge. The breakfast was as good as any I've had in the United States, but it lacked the variety I've enjoyed in other parts of the world, even from far cheaper hotels. Unless you really value service, or that location, there are probably better and cheaper Hyatt options within London.

The Great Scotland Yard Hotel (category 6) is a crowd favorite with a more desirable location. The Hyatt Regency Churchill (category 7) has a Globalist lounge and is probably far more likely to upgrade you to a suite. The Park Hyatt's location is not ideal for a tourist stay and if you're willing to accept that compromise, London's excellent mass transit system means you can find far cheaper hotels with similar proximity.

My first night in London, I walked to Battersea Power Station, a decommissioned coal plant on the Thames converted into a very cool mall and mixed use space. In addition to seeing some of the old machinery in the main halls, one of the old control rooms has been converted into a bar and you can take an elevator up a smoke stack.

While there, I decided to have dinner at Duck and Rice. It was a bit pricey, but had some very tasty dim sum.

The next day, I had a 4pm checkout from the Park Hyatt, so I spent the day walking down the river to see Big Ben and Parliament.

The United Kingdom's National Covid Memorial along the Thames is probably one of the best memorials I've seen anywhere in the world. When I first stumbled across it, I only saw the first segment, which focused on children. Then I looked to the left and saw it stretching on as far as the eye can see, roughly half a kilometer.

There is one heart for each person in the UK that died from Covid. Friends and families have been encouraged to claim a heart for their loved one, making it all deeply personal.

After my river walk, I checked out of the Park Hyatt and moved on to the Moxy London Piccadilly Circus, just a short subway ride away.

The Moxy was one of the cheapest mainstream hotels in London, and also one of the worst reviewed. I really liked it. Even though the room was small and had no windows, it was delightfully quirky and I thought sleeping in the top bunk was fun. I just wish there were some kind of bedside stand or drink holder or somewhere to put things in the top bunk.

After spending all afternoon walking, I settled into my Moxy and watched one of my favorite episodes of classic Doctor Who, the Pyramids of Mars. The windowless hotel room and quirky buck bed reminded me a little of watching the original series in the basement, hiding under the blankets from the mummy robots. Apparently, the film location for the show is only about 90 minutes west of London by mass transit.

The next morning, I moved to the W for my final night, using an 85k certificate topped up to near 100k.

This room was kind of crazy, which I appreciate. I don't particularly love half the walls being covered with mirrors, but it was certainly different and that I do like. The sink island in the middle of the room, the shower and toilet hidden seamlessly behind the mirrors, it just felt really well done, and fun. I also think it was a really creative way to shrink the room without making it feel quite so small. 

I don't typically stay in a lot of high end Marriotts, but I would say this hotel is now my second favorite Marriott, after the W in Brisbane. If I were staying in London again, I would consider this a good use for an 85k certificate. That said, at half the price, I'd take the Moxy over the W any day. 

After getting settled into my room at the W, I spent the rest of the afternoon walking to St Paul's Cathedral, walking across the Millennium Bridge, the Tower Bridge and by the Tower of London before heading back to the hotel for a break.

St Paul's has a special cultural significance to the Brits. During the height of the London Blitz, Churchill gave a speech saying that St Paul's must be saved "at all costs." It became a symbol of hope and perseverance.

There are two famous sci-fi books by Connie Willis, Blackout and All Clear, that are set in England and London specifically during the Blitz. They follow a few time traveling historians who end up stuck in the past, living every day English lives through the wartimes they meant to study. Together the books won the Nebula, Locust and Hugo awards. The climatic scene takes place fighting fires on the roof of St Paul's Cathedral.

Anyways, I really enjoyed the books, and so St Paul's was on my short list of places to visit.

Inside, St Paul's looks much like other famous chapels, maybe a little less impressive than taller cathedral's like Liverpool's.

The sometimes precarious 500+ step climb up to the roof is where St. Paul's really distinguishes itself. You get spectacular views of the city including the Millennium Bridge and Shakespeare's Globe. It also gives you an almost unimaginable appreciation for how difficult it would have been to be fighting fires up there during air raids.

The crypt in the basement is occupied by the graves and memorials of many famous Englishmen, Horatio Nelson, Duke Wellington, as well as a variety of lesser known military leaders. Churchill is not entombed there, but his funeral was held within the cathedral. They also have monuments to Florence Nightingale and other figures.

It's a straight line walk from St Paul's across the Millennium Bridge directly to Shakespeare's Globe. From there, I walked by the ruins of Winchester Palace and a few shopping areas, and the site of the original London Bridge (now in Arizona).

There were tons of people out and about taking pictures of the Tower Bridge, not to be confused with the London Bridge. 

Leadenhall Market in the City of London was used as the filming location for Diagon Alley and the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. I thought it would make a cool stop, though it was a little smaller than I expected and clearly He Who Shall Not Be Named was still at large as some sinister force had closed all the cheese shoppes.

I walked back through Chinatown, took a break in the hotel, and then went back out in the evening for dumplings. Let me just tell you Chinatown at 1am can be an interesting place. Dumpling Legend was hopping and they packed people in close. I found myself eating about 8 inches from the most awkward date in the world and an in-progress breakup. In the two block journey back to the hotel, I saw multiple people in tears, police seemingly taking a statement, and I'm pretty sure I was propositioned twice. The dumplings were good though.

I arrived in the afternoon and checked into my hotel, "The Standard", around 3pm. This is a trendy Hyatt brand kind of like a counterpart to the W. 

It's one of very few hotels in Chase's "The Edit" collection meaning I was able to use a $250 hotel credit which brought the total out of pocket expense to $415 - $250 = $165, and that included a $100 property credit. In these bookings, you also have the option to apply points to cover the remainder, and I think the rate was around 1.65cpp.

I don't know what to say about this hotel. I liked the room design, though parts of it felt a little old which is surprising because the hotel is only a year old. 

However, I encountered some kind of problem with nearly every single interaction. I don't want to go into the details of all the problems, so I'll just list them briefly.

• Check-in refused to honor elite benefits despite it explicitly being a benefit eligible stay. This is a $100-$200 value swing.
• Their restaurants were closed or "booked solid" (I expect an event) and so I had to use my property credit on room service one night. 
• The room service menu said their burger came with tomato. It did not.
• The room service menu said the cheese plate came with a "basket of bread". It came with 1.5 slices of toast.
• When I ordered room service, they only delivered half the order and I had to tell them what was missing.
• Breakfast started at 7am, but one morning they didn't have serving utensils out everywhere until 715am.
• At the rooftop bar, I ordered a $23 cocktail (to use my property credit) and they forgot it, eventually bringing my food out without it, and I had to remind them.
• At checkout, the front desk gave me a total that did not include my $100 property credit until I reminded her of it. Maybe she would have caught herself before charging me, but I doubt it.

My overall impression is that this hotel is struggling and cutting corners. It may be a good option for The Edit stays, due to it's price and the limited options for The Edit credits. Just, be careful.

They have a truly spectacular rooftop restaurant, bar and patio, and there is a garden across the entire roof where you can walk around. I wasn't particularly impressed with the food or service, but it was a spectacular view.

I really had just one full day in Belgium so I decided to split it by visiting the Atomium in the afternoon and the historic city center in the evening.

The Atomium is a futuristic, modernist landmark in Brussels, Belgium. Originally built as the centerpiece for the 1958 World's Fair, it stands 102 meters (335 feet) tall and features nine interconnected stainless-steel spheres that represent a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times. You can go into five of the spheres, each of which has a theme, exhibits, or AV presentations. 

It is very cool inside. Seeing the Atomium was the highlight of my short stay in Brussels.

Here are just a few examples from two of the cooler spheres. 

After the Atomium, I took mass transit to the historic downtown area and explored Parc de Bruxelles, the Grand-Palace square and checked out Delirium.

The Grand-Palace square is a very photogenic square surrounded by palace like buildings including city hall. It's a world UNESCO heritage site and there is a lot of tourist stuff all around, Belgian Chocolates, Waffles, Beer, high end shopping. It felt a little overrun.

Belgium is famous for its beer and I was trying to find the place to go for the Delirium Brewery and ended up settling on Delirium Cafe which is part of "Delirium Village". While still a famous Delirium location, they are apparently not directly related to the Huyghe family brewery (which makes Delirium) other than being officially licensed to use all the Delirium name and imagery.

The next day, i had to leave early in the morning to catch a train to the airport. I'd checked out the train station the day before and found it to be largely indecipherable, tons of platforms, nothing in English, and with scammers operating openly.

So I'd downloaded the app and booked a ticket the night before. The app is very nice in that it tells you exactly where to go, which platform and when. That said, I thought I followed it's instructions and somehow still ended up on the wrong train. 

To make matters worse, my cellular signal and GPS died the moment I got onto the train so I couldn't tell I was going the wrong way, but I quickly suspected and asked another rider before we got to the next stop.

These are intercity trains and so the next stop could easily have been 50 miles away, but fortunately, it was just in the northwest suburbs. I was able to get off there, catch a very expensive Uber, and then barely make my flight. Had I just taken an uber to start with, it probably would have cost 40% as much.

It's interesting to see how the flight options shaped the last legs of the trip, and why I ended up in Brussels for two nights.

Fees out of LHR on business class award tickets are often around $900. My main options for getting home had been:

• Aer Lingus via Dublin, sometimes all the way to CMH.
• Brussels Airlines via Brussels to IAD and then a separate ticket to CMH.

I like to avoid flying short haul in Europe because it's almost all economy seats (even in business class). So this meant there would be two trains and a ferry to get to Dublin or just the Eurostar through the Chunnel to get to Brussels. Due to a Chase "The Edit" credit, it was going to be much cheaper to stay in Brussels and I had a few tricks to book the last ticket to CMH.

Originally, the United flight was around $270 but I had a lot of trouble booking it on the cruise ship because the credit cards I needed to use all required 2FA SMS verification on the transaction which didn't work aboard the ship. 

After waiting a day or two, I ended up booking it all with United TravelBank credit. Several cards have or had ways to apply their credits to United TravelBank and I always reserve it for short flights like this that don't make sense on points. I typically think of it as being roughly half price since the cards with the credits all have annual fees.

So was this trip worth it? Probably not, but I enjoyed it. 

The cruise was a bit expensive for my taste and finding affordable places to stay in London was extremely difficult, but I was able to use a large number of annoying and in some cases expiring credits and certificates. It just meant I was constantly hotel hopping which is never fun.

Dover was really the highlight and I would like to have stayed in London longer if not for the prices. I enjoyed the Atomium in Brussels but had mixed feelings about the city overall. I'd probably go back, but maybe next time I'd do a little more research than I did for my single day there.

This is the second part of a two part trip that begin with a transatlantic cruise. 

• Part 1: Cruising from Miami to England
• Part 2: Dover, London and Brussels by Train