u/alex_travels — reddlx

PSA: if traveling to Europe in the next few weeks, expect extremely slow customs

Flew into Nice today and was a complete cluster. The kiosks for the biometrics aren’t working so everything has to be done through the customs officials (photos and fingerprints) and it’s taking multiple minutes per person. At Nice airport there was at least 400 people in line with only ~2 people passing through every 2-3 minutes or so

From other posts on socials, it looks to be bad in other airports as well. Just be prepared for long wait times and I HIGHLY recommend paying for VIP meet and greet service right now because it’ll put you in the front of the line. Without it, you could be looking at hours in the line on arrival.

It does appear some properties are disabling EES for the next 90 days while some fixes go out. But others aren’t. So just make sure to stay informed and plan ahead. Nothing is worse than arriving for vacation and standing in a line for 3 hrs.

u/alex_travels — 4 hours ago

▲ 11 r/chubbytravel

Exterior and grounds of COMO Le Beauvallon

I posted my video of my room this morning, which got a lot of feedback. Love the discussion. What do you think about the exterior and grounds?

u/alex_travels — 9 hours ago

▲ 16 r/chubbytravel

Opening of COMO Le Beauvallon | blending the historic elegance of the Côte d’Azur with a distinct modern flair

Hi from St Tropez (Grimaud, specifically)!

Here for the next bit while I learn more about the brand new COMO Le Beauvallon. This is COMO’s newest property, located in Grimaud - right across the water from St Tropez (8 min boat ride, much longer drive depending on traffic). I’ll be sharing a full review with more detail but want to drop a teaser for now.

This property, while new to COMO, has a storied past. Opened in 1914, it quickly became a world famous hotel for its incredible location, views and vibes. It was beloved by the rich and famous of the day, F Scott Fitzgerald was supposedly inspired to write Tender Is The Night after his months long stay here. During the war it was converted into a hospital. Years later it nearly became a Disney theme park - seriously. It was purchased by Disney with then intent of opening a theme park. Then it was purchased 20 years ago by a Taiwanese billionaire who used it as a guest home. She renovated it extensively, converted the 100 room hotel to a mere 42 rooms and kept it for friends and family for years. She recently decided to relaunch it as a hotel and went with COMO as the flag. She maintains ownership and her unique and bold style remains a fixture of the property.

The hotel officially opens April 23.

Be back with more soon!!

Alex

u/alex_travels — 17 hours ago

🔥 Hot ▲ 117 r/chubbytravel

Need a pulse check: what are you guys doing with these 20% service charges? Are you tipping on top or letting it ride?

Ok I need a pulse check from the community because these service fees are getting out of control in my opinion and I need to know what y'all think.

So we know there's the hotel rate, plus taxes, plus resort fee and service fee - that initial service fee is on the room cost. But it's baked in a lot of places so it's like 10% of the base room rate and you're charged it on your total room bill. Which is fine. I treat it like part of the room rate.

But more and more I'm seeing line item service fees attached to spa and meals that can be as low as 10% but as high as 20%.

I generally aim to tip my servers 20% - def at resort destinations, maybe more like 10% in Europe (where I don't see this happen anyway really). But in my personal opinion, if there's a preset 20% already added on as a line item to my specific meal or spa service, I'm not tipping another 20% am I?

I ask because I just brought this up with another TA friend and they looked at me like I had two heads. As in, they are routinely tipping 40% for services.

Am I insane? Feedback requested!

reddit.com

u/alex_travels — 5 days ago