35% Off Select Starwood Redemptions Through Paradise is Closer Promotion
Starwood announced that several of their exclusive resort properties will be offering a 35% discount off a free night redemption for stays now through March 1, 2014. The resorts that are participating in this offer are: W Retreat and Spa Maldives, Le Meridien Bora Bora, Mystique, Santorini Greece, Al Maha, Dubai, UAE, W Retreat Koh Samui, Pine Cliffs Residence, Portugal and Vana Belle, Koh Samui, Thailand.
According to this Milepoint post:
"We are excited to announce that seven of our most luxurious resorts can now be redeemed for 35% fewer Starpoints. From bookings made now until March 1, 2014, the seven resorts listed below will offer Free Night redemption for 35% less. Due to the type of rooms these resorts have, they must be redeemed by calling one of our SPG customer contact centers and cannot be booked online. The redemption savings are taken at the time of booking and no registration is required. Furthermore, our 5th Night Free benefit applies to these lower redemption rates. More information at complete terms are at spg.com/paradiseiscloser."
All these resorts are considered to have limited participation in the Starwood Preferred Guest program since these hotels only have suites or villas and therefore, Starpoint Award reservations must be booked at a higher Starpoint rate.
W Retreat and Spa Maldives - Now 58,500 Starpoints a night (previous 90,000)
Le Meridien Bora Bora - Now 39,000 Starpoints a night (previous 60,000)
Mystique, Santorini Greece - Now 39,000 Starpoints a night (previous 60,000)
Al Maha, Dubai, UAE - Now 39,000 Starpoints a night (previous 60,000)
W Retreat Koh Samui, Thailand - Now 26,000 Starpoints a night (previous 40,000)
Pine Cliffs Residence, Portugal - Now 26,000 Starpoints a night (previous 40,000)
Vana Belle, Koh Samui, Thailand - Now 26,000 Starpoints a night (previous 40,000)
These discounted rates are combinable with Starwood's 5th night free award redemption promotion, so to really maximize on this offer consider booking one of these for 5 nights.
I wanted to see what type of value I would be getting out of my Starpoints if I were to book one of these. I looked at the Le Meridien Bora Bora which was running 79,900 XPF ($900) per night or XPF 399,500.00 ($4,500) for 5 nights. If I were to take advantage of this offer, I would be redeeming 39,000 per night or or 156,000 for 5 nights, since the 5th night would be free. That would give me a 2.3 cents per point value if I was to stay less than 5 nights, or a 2.88 cents per point value if I was to do the 5 nights. While these are decent redemption rates, they are nothing spectacular. I try to get at least 2.5 cents out of my Starpoints, but valuation is always a difficult thing because I wouldn't necessary pay $900 a night to stay at Le Meridien Bora Bora. That being said, if you already have a stay booked, you might as well call and see if you can rebook at the lower rates.
As a reminder, one of the options for the SPG Platinum gift this year is a 35% discount on one award stay, which can be used at any Category 1-6 hotels for stays up to a five-night stay, and since those properties require less Starpoints to begin with, you would be more likely to get a better redemption value that way if you are a Platinum member.
I wish the list of properties was more extensive, but considering how quiet hotel promotions have been this year, I'll take some discounted stays at nice properties. I haven't been to any of these resorts, but feel free to share your experience if you have!
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