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Staycation? Hotels can open spa, pool & gym soon
For me, a relaxing staycation is often about the spa and the pool, so I will admit I have been holding off booking anything in the UK while those services remain closed. The good news is that the government announced today that all of these facilities will be available again in England. Even better news is that VAT is being reduced to 5% on accommodation and restaurants between 15 July 2020 and 12 January 2021 , so your stay should be 15% cheaper! (if they chose to pass it on).
The opening will happen in three phases in England:
- Outdoor pools from Saturday 11 July
- Beauty salons and spas can reopen from Monday 13 July (though no facial treatments)
- Gyms, indoor swimming pools and leisure centres from Saturday 25 July
Here are some of our staycation ideas that have a pool or spa:
- The Langley Hotel, Bucks
- Corinthia Hotel, London
- Langham Hotel, London
- Pennyhill Park, Surrey
- Limewood Hotel, New Forest
Aspire open lounges at Gatwick & Heathrow
As well as the British Airways lounges reopening at Heathrow T5, paid lounges are also starting to reopen. Aspire lounges announced that their Gatwick North Club Aspire and Heathrow T5 Club Aspire lounges will reopen on 11 July 2020.
The lounge will reopen with COVID-19 measures in place, including:
- Social distancing
- Self-service check in (where possible)
- Reduced capacity
- Table service instead of buffet style service
- A reduced, low contact menu
- Increased cleaning schedule
- 3 alcoholic drinks limit per person, per visit
- No physical newspapers or magazines in the lounge
Again we see alcohol being limited in the name of COVID. I understand that people may break social distancing when they have had a few too many but it smacks of cost-cutting rather than safety. On a three hour visit you would hard-pressed to get drunk on three drinks!
You can find more details of what expect in the lounges including the menus here.
App in the Air launches new feature to check country restrictions and navigate airports
App in the air is one of the apps I use to keep track of my travels. The award-winning personal travel assistant, App in the Air, a popular app for frequent fliers has added an easy to search country-to-country and airline restrictions guide. This provides insight on arrival health requirements & government restrictions, as well as airline policies. The app itself also provides further reassurance, with in-app first-hand accounts from users taking to the air.
The landing page which is updated regularly in line with official updates, provides an easy to use country-to-country or airline specific search options, which provides users with the latest detailed information on the countries they are departing and arriving from, including government restrictions (quarantine, health declarations etc), airline rules (current cancellation and refund policies, as well as onboard requirements) and everything fliers need to travel safely.
Those using the free version of the app will also receive first-hand information from other users. This user-sourced information offers the insider intel that frequent flyers rely upon – from last minute lounge closures to knowing if a favourite shop is open, as well as reviews on airlines and airports, providing travellers with more reassurance on what to expect.
This is in addition to the existing features that help people navigate the new airport norms: (Some features in italics are only available for Premium users which is £29.49 for a year with a 14-day free trial, or free to Medical workers):
- Realtime notifications – traffic getting to airport, security and passport estimates, gate changes, plane delays. Can notify users via text messages (SMS), which is particularly important when you’re abroad with no internet connection.
- Friends & Family Alerts – Enables family and friends to receive real-time departure and arrival updates via text message (SMS)
- Automated online check-in – Enables travellers to check-in and choose their favourite zone prior to the airline’s official check-in window
- History of Flights – All users flights are stored in the app. They are displayed on a map along with detailed statistics, an #AvGeek essential
- Wallet – Accumulate miles from a range of loyalty programmes in one convenient place (airlines, hotels, cars)
- Badges – Collect badges from the various locations associated with flights taken across the globe
- Delay Compensation – When a flight is delayed, users may receive compensation
The App can be downloaded for free here: https://www.appintheair.mobi
To celebrate the new features and the resumption of travel, App in the Air will also provide medical workers (NHS ID required) with a free lifetime premium subscription to the service (including real-time flight alerts, offline access (SMS), family notifications and auto check-in).
Medical workers can download the app and then verify their premium subscription here.
