Tablet Plus
July 27, 2008
Tablet Hotels, the fantastic hotel booking site which specialises in small, mostly independent, luxury hotels, recently launched an excellent member’s programme called Tablet Plus.
For just $195, you get the following, at over 200 participating hotels:
• Complimentary upgrade at check-in (subject to availability) and best available rate at the time of booking.
You will also receive any three of the following amenities as selected by each property:
• Complimentary continental breakfast for two
• Guaranteed 4pm check-out
• One complimentary glass of champagne or one cocktail, per guest, upon arrival
• Spa voucher worth $50 US
• Complimentary airport transfer
• Complimentary internet access (only for hotels that do not already offer this free to all guests)
• Complimentary gym access for two for the length of your stay
I recently signed up, and have used my status twice now, for my last two trips to NYC, at the Tribecca Grand and my fave NY hotel: The Hotel on Rivington (the pic is from one of their Corner King rooms). They even upgraded my colleague, which was a nice touch.
Even if you only use it 3 times a year the room upgrade easily pays for itself, the late check-out and free internet access bonus’ are the icing on the cake.
What’s In Your Bag?
June 4, 2008
Always looking to downsize the kit I travel with, I recently deconstructed the ingredients of my ‘Hand Luggage Only’ armoury. Here they are:
Click through to Flickr and rollover for more details.
Travel Tip: IRIS Eye Scanner
April 17, 2008
If you frequently travel through Heathrow and want to beat the Immigration queues when you arrive then sign up for IRIS on your next outbound. It’s an eye-scanning technology that effectively replaces the Immigration officer and passport check, by scanning your iris and checking the data stored on their database. It only takes 5 minutes to sign up, and once you’re in the system you’ll clear immigration in no time on your return leg, you don’t even need to rummage through your bag for your passport. It’s all a bit ‘Minority Report’, but if you can get past the THX1138ness of it all it’ll radically transform your arrival, as you skip past the queues and collect your bags in a matter of minutes.
Travel Tip: Perfume
April 17, 2008
One of my favourite, but slightly weird, travel tips is to buy new aftershave or perfume at the airport before you go on holiday, and using it exclusively whilst you are away. Smell is the most memorable of all the senses and, when revisited, can be a powerful reminder of your vacation. Here’s a more scientific view. Go on, try it next time you’re away.
