Flight 953 from Munich to Heathrow was delayed - our plane was late in arriving so our outbound was late in leaving. Normally I wouldn't mind but as I was having trouble staying awake while waiting for the plane all I wanted to do was get on the plane and sleep. I could not believe my level of exhaustion.
The plane was relatively full but thankfully I had row 10A-C to myself. Ipromptly laid down and sleep through the flight, waking up about 10 minutes before we started our descent so I have no idea how the flight was in terms of smoothness or crew performance.
Going through London Heathrow Passport Control took a slight bit longer. The female passport control officer could not grasp the concept of traveling for the miles. I had to explain why the miles were a benefit - to maintain status etc. She looked through all the pages of my passport, asked more questions etc. Asked to see my entire itinerary - thankfully I was bring a copy of my confirmation, where I was staying etc. When she was finally convinced all was in order I was released.
I headed outside the terminal to catch the Hotel Hoppa to my hotel, the Sheraton Skyline. When the bus arrived the driver would not take my 5 pound note, stating that it was no longer in circulation. I was not happy - I had gone to Wells Fargo before I left to get some pounds so there shouldn't have been a problem with my currency. But he was rigid and since my other 5 pound note was exactly the same and he wouldn't take Euros or Dollars, no Hotel Hoppa for me.
I headed over to the local (free) bus section - and of course I had left the list of local (free) buses to the Sheraton Skyline on my desk so I didn't remember the number and there was no one around to ask. I waited about 20 minutes and decided to try the Hotel Hoppa again, maybe it would be a different driver.
When the next bus came, the new driver wouldn't take my 5 pound note either and again I had to go back to the local (free) bus area. Why didn't I just go inside and exchange my note at Travelex you may wonder. I didn't think they would accept the out of circulation note and didn't feel like paying a fee to get only 8 pounds.
After another 20 minutes waiting the local (free) bus that I needed # 423 arrived. The entire ride was about 15 minutes from airport to the Marriott. The local bus drops off in front of the Marriott and the Sheraton is next door so it was only about 50 yards away.
The local (free) bus was a very pleasant comfortable ride, nothing like the public buses in San Diego. The scenery from the airport was what I pictured England to look like - cottage and thatched homes etc. Had I not been so thoroughly exhausted I would have taken pictures along the way, next time. :)
Checkin at the Sheraton Skyline was relatively painless however despite a prepaid reservation they claimed the payment didn't go through. Since I couldn't remember if I had checked my cc statement to see if the charge went through I figured I would just pay the charge and deal with it later if I was double charged.
Not only that but I had paid for a Club level room and the girl at reception tried to give me a ground floor room. Granted the hotel only has 3 floors but floor 1 is not Club Level. I politely inquired if Floor 1 was Club level and then mentioned that I believed my reservation was for a Club level room. I had my printed confirmation showing my reservation and my room type. Funny how they had my reservation but tried to claim I had only booked a King room.
After she made a copy of my reservation she then gave me a Club Level Room. I was in 3015, the Club Lounge was in 3107. My room was very comfortable - pictures to follow after I get home. A well stocked amenity basket was waiting complete with shoe horn, loofa, shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, shoe shine kit, vanity kit, sewing kit, lotion and soap.
A wedding reception was being held in the Sky Bar and even though it was open to hotel guests I didn't want to be rude and enter plus I was not appropriately dressed.
The Club Lounge was decent sized for the hotel's size, could maybe hold 30 people; 2 computer terminals for internet access, reading material and a section for book exchange. Some hot and cold appetizers: Swedish meatballs, some type of breaded ring - nothing inside just a breaded spicy ring, cold canapes, chips, and tortilla chips. The bar was stocked with bottles of Heinekein, Budwesier, Corona and one other beer. Small bottles of Coke, Diet Coke, Ginger Ale, tonic water, mineral and sparkling water were the non alcoholic beverage choices.
I tried a Swedish meatball - kinda bland. The spicy breaded thing was ok, liked the spicy but since it was only fried bread it wasn't worth eating more so I opted for the tortilla chips along with flat Ginger Ale and Coke.
More later.
