jbar91

For a few years I have been dreaming of a soccer (football) weekend in London where I go to a bunch of matches. Finally found some dates that work so excited to make it a reality!

This report will cover:

• IAD Polaris Lounge
• UA IAD-LHR in J
• UA LHR Arrivals Lounge
• Park Plaza Waterloo
• Brentford Matchday Experience
• Reading Matchday Experience
• Southampton Matchday Experience
• Hub London Kings Cross
• Eurostar to Brussels
• UA BRU-IAD in J/Y+/Y (Plus Points pending)

Initially when going to book this I was intrigued by some decent ex-Europe J fares I saw on United. So, I started pricing out a “double trip” in the from of two nested roundtrips:

Ticket 1
IAD-Europe (Oct 2022)
Europe-IAD (March 2022)

Ticket 2
Europe-IAD (Oct 2022)
IAD-Europe (March 2022)

I got a decent fare and threw United $20 for a fare lock but in the end noticed something better: unlimited PZ ex-BRU in March. Given I had a ton of PlusPoints expiring in 2023 this seemed like a good opportunity to burn some and save money instead of buying J. This led me to pricing out a round trip Economy IAD-LHR-IAD-BRU-IAD. However, I realized if my ex-LHR upgrade cleared I would have to pay an extra ~$150 in APD taxes (before the Pound collapsed) so I booked a $75 6am Eurostar to Brussels and will have 3 hours of transiting there on my way back to IAD. I am flying to London for a long weekend so it is silly to pearl clutch over an extra $150 in taxes but I am young and overconfident in my ability to put myself through grueling travel days so I decided to give the train a chance.

The the double trip ended up saving about $400 relative to booking two normal round trips so I was happy to commit to another European adventure in March 2023.

In the end what I booked was:

Ticket 1
IAD-LHR (10/13/22)
BRU-IAD (March 2023)
$650

Ticket 2
BRU-IAD (10/17/22)
IAD-BRU (March 2023)
$800

Eurostar St Pancreas - Brussels
$75

BRU-IAD in March instantly confirmed into J and about a month out I switched IAD-LHR flights to snag a confirmed J seat. Hoping my Plus Point luck continues! Hotel wise, I got a deal on the Park Plaza Waterloo and went cheap with the Hub so total hotel cost £350.

I look forward to sharing once my trip gets underway!

CosmosHuman

I stayed three times at the Hub Kings X. Had a very good price and experience. It is what I expected and a very accessible area.

jbar91

IAD Polaris lounge

Decided to take a half day to be able to fully enjoy the Polaris lounge because last time I was a little rushed. My cat was rather displeased to see the suitcase.



No traffic as usual and a 20 min Uber later I was at a pretty packed IAD. That being said, Clear and PreCheck did the trick and I was through in 5 min.


Made it to the Polaris lounge where they check passports and the Lounge Dragon didn’t believe it was me based on the picture, but we both ended up laughing. First sat down and had a glass of water.


Then a nicer seat opened up so I moved over and downloaded some in flight entertainment.


Checked out the buffet and the bread looked pretty good so I had a piece, before realizing I was hungry and should go over to the dining room.


Fake candle lit dinner for one!


Whiskey to go with dinner.


Overheard one of the lounge attendants say it was the first day of a new menu.


Nice to see they still have individual menus!

Started with the honey crisp apple salad with no blue cheese.

Went with the duck for my main, it was good and well rendered but some of the pieces seemed pretty rare. I grew up in China eating Peking duck but have only occasionally had pan-seared duck and was a little sketched out by how rare one piece was.


Realized as I was googling “what does undercooked duck look like” if you have to ask don’t eat it! Also I am particularly sensitive given my recent flight with food poisoning (Double Decker Planes and Wine in Wien)!

Got to the gate at the scheduled boarding time only to see there was a double whammy of a slight delay and gate lice. However, a smooth 1k boarding got me on the jet bridge away from the crowds! FWIW UA was using facial recognition boarding .

jbar91

United Polaris IAD-LHR
UA 918
Seat 11A
Departure: 5:49pm (scheduled 5:35pm)
Arrival: 6:04am (scheduled 5:55am)
Flight time: 6:30

I was happy to have escaped the gate area and was guided to my seat by the purser. Classic United Polaris setup, although I immediately noticed the panel by the aisle was loose. These days it’s best not to look too closely at a Polaris seat!

My goodies.

Is this picture necessary? Ehhh not really but I took it and decided to stick it in here… why not?

Feels like the Away Amenity kit has changed since it was first rolled out but not entirely sure.

Like the Polaris Lounge, seemed it was a new menu. I don’t really like mushrooms so ended up being tempted by the vegetarian option.

While we were on the ground, the FA working my section came by to offer a PDB of water or Champagne. Decided a glass of UA bubbly isn’t worth the risk of impacting sleep.

We had some incredible sunset views on takeoff, really couldn’t resist including two in here!



The seatbelt sign stayed in for a bit due to some turbulence, but 35min after takeoff they came by with the drink cart and some nuts. I went with the Spanish red (they also had a California Pinot and a French red). It was drinkable but that’s about it.

55 min after takeoff my meal was served. The entree was pretty good and definitely don’t regret going vegetarian on this flight, although the salad really confused me. It’s a cold bowl of unseasoned quinoa with a few pieces of lettuce… what am I supposed to do, dump balsamic on this? Ended up eating a few bites but decided I don’t need to go out of my way to eat flavorless food. The roll was warm and delicious.

After my tray was removed I ran to the bathroom to change into pajamas (I brought my own) and when I got back the FA offered dessert. I try and avoid dairy so was going to pass on dessert but asked the FA if I could get one of the Milk bars from economy. He said he would check after their service finished, but then due to some turbulence the pilots turned the seatbelt sign on and asked FAs to take a seat. Luckily I didn’t have a tray and could make my bed and start to sleep.

I slept off and on for about 4 hours, but got a solid 1 hour of deep sleep according to my Apple Watch. There weren’t individual air vents in this 777-200 but thankfully they kept the cabin cool. I woke up to a surprise: the FA had placed one of the Milk bars I requested on my seat while I was sleeping. Side note yes there is irony to avoid dairy I ate something called a milk bar — it isn’t lactose free but figured it’s a small enough amount it wouldn’t be an issue.

Once I woke up freshened up, and got changed out of my pajamas we were about 50 minutes out of Heathrow and the FA offered me breakfast which I accepted. I picked the crepes which were edible.

Some nice views on approach.

As service was concluding, the FA came by to offer me another milk bar to which I said sure. He then came back again and said he had a huge stack that would otherwise go to waste so offered to send me home with them. I figured I might snack on them throughout my trip…. But if anyone in London wants one let me know I have plenty

We landed at about 6:00am and a quick taxi got us to the gate 10 minutes late.

I have alluded to it above but the London based crew on this flight were simply phenomenal. Probably the best United flight I have had in years. The FAs greeted people by name, and the purser came by at the end to personally thank everyone for flying United and thanked me for being a 1K. Silly as it may be, the way the FAs responded to my request for a Milk bar by going above and beyond reminded me of flying ANA and SQ. Sure it wasn’t a significant gesture, but being proactive and working to serve passengers isn’t something all US airline FAs would do so cudos to this crew!

kevincrumbs

Looks like you picked a good Brentford match to attend! Not sure what would compel someone to go watch Reading, though

jbar91

UA LHR Arrivals Lounge

Immigration was smooth given it was 6am and I was at the lounge about 15 min after deplaning. It appeared I was the first to arrive at the lounge. However, as I was there people started to trickle in.

I started out on a couch before moving over to a table to eat.


Nothing at the buffet looked particularly appetizing.

I was tempted by the coffee but figured I could hold out for something better in London.

The cucumber water was great for a post red eye refresh.

A nice collection of smoothies.

the a la carte breakfast menu

Once I had some bacon in me I decided to hustle a bit to make the next Elizabeth line service. The train was clean and empty. Only took about 10 minutes more than HEX and left before the next express train. Highly recommend saving some $ and taking it over the HEX.

After successfully navigating Paddington I made it to Lambeth North, right next to my hotel, about 2 hours after touchdown in Heathrow.

chongsss

Looking forward to the football matches!

jbar91

Park Plaza Waterloo


I arrived the hotel at around 8am and was cautiously optimistic I would be able to check in early. Unfortunately it became apparent based on how hectic the hotel was that it wouldn’t be possible. The front desk workers were clearly coming off a night shift and not exactly in the best spirits so I left my luggage and went on a hours long walk of London.

First and foremost my favorite drink: Lucozade!

Then equally important an oat cappuccino outside of Westminster while I did my Wordle (I have a group chat with my parents where we do it everyday).

More scenes from my walk.


Made it back to the hotel around 10:30 and noticed there had been a change of front desk staff who were happy to get me checked in. Just needed to wait about 30 min for the room to finish being cleaned.

Rather unremarkable room.

Unfortunately the AC wasn’t great but it kept the room close to cool enough.

Bathroom which came with Elmis toiletries.

Afternoon walk around Canary Wharf.

jbar91

Brentford Matchday

Made the ten minute walk over to Waterloo and caught one of the many SWR trains that stopped in Brentford. Being in Europe has converted me to a man-bag boy. It’s really nice to be able to take a portable charger and your wallet without using pocket space.

Got off at Brentford (station after where the new ground is) in order to walk around before heading to the pub.

Met a group for drinks at a pub about a 10 minute walk from the ground. After a few rounds we headed over. I made it to my entrance about 5 min before kickoff but unfortunately had to go to the ticket office to pickup another copy.

Was in my seat with a Balti pie about 10 min after kickoff. I was sat by the away end so there was a great atmosphere.

Similar picture, just a different pie-pitch ratio.

The match was really a great way to start my weekend. Toney scored a spectacular penalty in front of me and the Brentford supporters had a delirious dance off at full time celebrating their 2-0 win.
The line for a train back to London.

nequine

Who were Brentford playing? Looks like you have a decent enough seat/view for the match.

jbar91

They were playing Brighton! The new stadium was phenomenal from a view perspective, believe it or not I had the cheapest seats for the match and was relatively high up.

jbar91

Reading Match Day Experience

Started my day with a workout then breakfast at the Park Plaza. I am glad my breakfast was included in my rate, because it was very uninspiring.

Started walking around Hyde Park on a glorious London morning.

Wandered across a cool garden, sure it's a memorial or other site of note but no clue what it is.

Ended my walk at Paddington to take the 25ish minute train to Reading. Safe to say I wasn't the only football supporter on the coach.

Reading was bustling and had a good energy to it.

About an hour before Kick-off I took the bus from Reading train station to the Madejski (Select Leasing Car) Stadium

Once I picked up my ticket had a sausage from a street vendor. Definitely need to step up my food photography game.

Post-sausage I headed through the turnstiles into the away-end.

After seeing my team win 2-0 it was time to meet some friends for a post-match beer by the stadium. Unfortunately i lost track of time and missed the last bus. Oops. A ten minute sunset walk around Reading later I made it to a bus headed to the train station.

One of my closest friends had just moved to a new flat in Hackney so I took the train over there to go to his flat warming party (house warming >>>>> flat warming)

Given I hadn't eaten since my sausage 8 hours ago I stopped at a Greek place for a wrap. Definitely making my food look (not) appetizing.

Around midnight in a moment of weakness I took an Uber back to the hotel. I really try to use black cabs when in London but the wine I was drinking caused me to temporarily lose my sensibilities.

nequine

Drinking on an almost empty stomach not good either when making decisions! LOL

That offering as a breakfast is offensive - you'd get a better quality of food at McDonalds!

jbar91

Southampton Matchday Experience

After an eventful Saturday, I woke up, went to the gym to sweat out the beer/wine from the night before and packed up. At this point I left my luggage at the Park Plaza and checked out. I forgot I booked a train at a specific time so I ended up having to jog to Waterloo but made my train. Another classic drinks + train picture.

Due to track work being done the train wasn't stopping at Southampton Central so I got off at Eastleigh and took a £25 Uber to Southampton and started to walk around.

I noticed a lot more American accents in Southampton, which made sense once I realized they were all there for a cruise.

I had spent my time on the train researching pubs and restaurants in Southampton. However, in my Uber I realized I had been in the UK for 48 hours and hadn't had a vegetable..... So I decided to grab a salad and sandwich at Pret. Not very imaginative but it was delicious and probably for the best.

About 45 min before Kick-off started the walk from downtown to St Mary's.
Past the park the crowd started to thicken.

Made it to the ground about twenty minutes before 2:00 so I decided to take my seat and witness the Saints band -- which I thought was amazing.

Today's view. Not pictured my seat mates interesting theories and admiration for the politics of Matt Le Tissier (iykyk)

Half time pint, I accidentally ordered a cider but still hit the spot.

At full-time I walked about 15 minutes away from the ground before ordering an Uber back to Eastleigh. I made it back to London in a little over an hour and went to the Park Plaza, checked out, then took the Tube to King's Cross for my stay at the Hub.

Hub London Kings Cross

After initially going to the wrong hotel (the Premier Inn across the street) I made it to the Hub and used the check-in kiosk to get my key. My room was pretty much as advertised. I was surprised to see the bed did not come made.

The less said the better!

Tiny bathroom.

I walked about twenty minutes to get a Sunday Roast at the well regarded pub The Pig and Butcher. I had to wait for a table at the bar, but it was worth it! First, a delicious South African red.

The main event, my Sunday Roast. Absolutely delicious and a great way to cap off my weekend.

I hopped on a bus and sat at the front of the top floor and soaked in the bustling Sunday night atmosphere knowing it was my last night in London and a 4:45am wake-up awaited me. I actually went to St. Pancreas to trace the walk I would be doing in the morning. Coming soon: the Eurostar and a long day in Brussels!

nequine

At your next game, you need to sample the traditional matchday food and drink - a pie and a Bovril!