Need input planning a RTW
 

So I'm looking at possibly doing a RTW this April. I have a few questions and would appreciate FTer input. Right now I have not decided on which alliance to go with, but probably leaning towards Star Alliance.

1. I have never visited Asia (outside of India). I am looking at Japan for a few days and either Singapore or Hong Kong for 3 or 4 days. Of the two, which is likely to be a more enjoyable experience for a middle aged male traveling alone? I know that is a very open ended question. Generally speaking, I will plan on using public transportation for all in-city travel.

2. Hotels in Asia: Although the concept of the capsule hotel is very interesting to me, I don't think I would actually want to sleep in one. What is the Asian equivalent to Mercure / Ibis hotels? I don't need or want lots of space or personal attention. All I need is a comfy bed, bathroom with shower and some quiet.

3. Although the price difference is not as extreme as I thought to upgrade to Business class, is it worth it for westbound travel? I'm not really planning to sleep on the plane, and only foresee three really long flight segments (Europe to the US east coast, US west coast to Japan and Asia to Europe). On the other hand, the club access at the airports, priority lines and extra miles earned are probably worth it. I guess I need some moral support in spending the extra roughly $4500 or so.

4. Start point is probably either MUC or CDG. Do any European countries generally offer better deals for start points on RTW trips?

5. I'm planning on one night in London just to stay at a Yotel. I know that this is weird (I like weird hotels). Has anyone stayed at one of these and had a horrible experience that would make it not worth the trip? I love the UK but due to the exchange rate, have a hard time justifying a longer stop.

6. What are the VISA requirements for Hong Kong for US citizens? Does that allow travel into mainland China and/or Macau, or does Hong Kong have its own requirements and limitations if I were to remain in Hong Kong proper?

Thanks for any input.

Haven't done a RTW yet, but I can answer some of the questions.

There are Accor hotels in various places in Asia. I've stayed at the HK Ibis for about €35 per night and, for the money, it was great. Have a look at the accor website. Or, for specific destination info, you can try the destination: the world forum here at FT.

Absolutely. Even if you weren't interested in the lounge access (after all, you can buy that with priority pass), onboard comfort and miles, there's normally more availability for RTWs in business class, so you can change your dates more easily if you want to stay more/less in a place.


$4500 extra? Don't think so. See below.

Absolutely. Last time I checked, you could start a 29000 mile Skyteam business class RTW from Croatia for a little over $5000. It's more like €6000 from the Eurozone and UK.

LHR is a horrible experience. Even if you were going to London, I'd advise against going to Heathrow. Incidentally, if you love the UK, you can visit lots of interesting places in Central/Northern England and pay less than you used to pay in London when the dollar was 140 cents to the pound.

AFAIK, you won't need a visa for HK or Macau. But you need one for mainland China. Again, the HK/China fora on FT are a great source of such information.

Thanks for the tip on Croatia and Skyteam. Skyteams downloadable RTW tool does not give price estimates, so I didn't know where I stood with them. I will certainly take that into consideration. OneWorlds fare went down quite a bit starting from Croatia for their business fare.

As for LHR, I know what kind of madhouse it is, having stayed at the Hilton LHR a time or two for the convenience. I wanted to try the Yotel out and see what the fuss was about. I know that is a silly reason for visiting Britain for a short time, but if nothing else it gives me a chance to run down to London and grab a real hand pulled ale (always a highlight in my trips to Britain). I am still weighing whether or not it is worth the hassle of LHR and UK Immigrations (actually Immigrations is not that much of a hassle). As I said in my OP, I've got a fascination for strange hotels.

The Ibis in HK wasn't showing up on the Accor website. It showed a few Novotel properties. I'll check again, though. In all fairness, I was only looking at about two nights in HK and the Conrad pricing, while much higher than the Ibis, was less than I thought it would be (gotta try to keep Hilton Gold, as it really pays off for the European properties :)).

The date change option will be paramount, as I don't have hard dates yet. I'm assuming with a RTW ticket issued by say AF, any AF ticket agent can change the entire itinerary for me at the airport without further charges?