Sections
Our impression of the Keraton started long before we stepped foot in the hotel. Admittedly a bit wary about spending the next few days in Jakarta (thanks to our friendly hotel owner in Bali!), I was a bit on edge as we arrived at the airport — where we were the only tourists around. My thoughts of dread quickly turned around, though, when we were met with a hotel representative at baggage claim with our name and the Keraton logo on an iPad. He grabbed our luggage and escorted us out of the airport.
Fleet of Mercedes
We came upon a huge fleet of Mercedes Kompressors and we jumped in one with chilled towels (with [...]
….but they also got less valuable at 168 properties. Starwood just released a list of properties that will be changing categories for award redemption purposes. The changes go into effect on March 1, 2016, meaning that you have about 10 days to either book at the current rate or 10 days to wait until booking at the new rate.
Here’s a map of all of the properties that are changing in value:
For those based in North America, the most interesting ones might be the properties in the US, Mexico and Canada that are decreasing in value:
COUNTRYSTATECITYPROPERTY2015 CATEGORY2016 CATEGORYChange MexicoCoahuilaSaltilloFour Points by Sheraton [...]Don’t miss out on Starwood’s Winter 2015 promo, “SPG Double Play”:
The Deal
From January 5 – April 15, 2015, you’ll earn:
2x Starpoints on all stays of 2+ nights (for a total of 4x points/$ spent for normal member, 5x points/$ spent for SPG Gold and Platinum, and 6x points/$ spent for SPG Platinum-75) 1,000 bonus Starpoints for every five nights, up to 4,000 Starpoints total (essentially 200 bonus Starpoints per stay)How to Get It
Register here: SPG Promos: “SPG Double Play” by March 31, 2015. Book your SPG stays, remembering only stays of 2 or more nights will get you the 2x Starpoints [...]Stop One on our honeymoon was Bali, Indonesia and stop one of our Bali trip was a few days’ stay at the W Retreat & Spa Bali Seminyak. Prior to our arrival, we had flown from Charleston – NYC, NYC – Frankfurt, Germany, Frankfurt-Bangkok, then finally Bangkok-Denpasar, Bali — arriving in Bali two days after departure. Tired doesn’t even begin to describe us.
But, upon arrival at the W, our excitement quickly took over and we couldn’t wait to explore the grounds and get to our private pool villa (say what?!) ASAP. I have always loved the fun, quirky atmosphere at W Hotels, but this W blew the others away by a long shot. Everything was done [...]
Once we arrived in Santiago, we took a cab from the airport straight to our hotel — the W Santiago in the Las Condes area. Like all W hotels, the best word to describe the hotel was “glamorous.” Like, it seems like Kim K is going to be staying in the suite next door to yours. All W’s, although decorated differently with their own motif, all share the same party atmosphere and glam decor. The W even has a signature scent… to go along with their signature house music. When you’re at the W, you know you’re not going to sleep before 4am.
CHECK-IN
We arrived at the hotel after one 10-hour, nearly sleepless flight [...]
Don’t miss out on Starwood’s Fall 2014 promo, “More For You”:
The Deal
From September 15 – December 15, 2014 you’ll earn:
2x Starpoints on all stays of 2+ nights (for a total of 4x points/$ spent) 3x Starpoints on all stays that include a Friday or Saturday night (total of 6x points/$ spent)How to Get It
Register here: SPG Promos: “More For You” by October 31. Book your SPG stays, remembering that Friday or Saturday nights will get you 3x Starpoints. Bonus points will post to your account within 2-4 weeks. AnalysisHere’s what you stand to gain on a typical $250 stay:
The [...]
Starwood is running a mini-promo during September 2014. Since this is more of an instant win game, no hotel stays are necessary; you just need to log in to website every day for a chance to win.
The Deal
Until September 30, 2014, you can enter 2x per day to win one of the following instant prizes:
One of 195 Free Night Awards: Valid at at a Category 1-5 Starwood property One of 390 Starpoints Awards: Either 500 Starpoints, 1,000 Starpoints, or 5,000 Starpoint One of 156 iTunes gift cards: Value of $50 One of 975 Ticketmaster Cash Code certificates: $50 valueAdditionally, every time you play, you are given 1 entry to the grand prize:
1 Grand Prize winner [...]Booking
I had a conference here and booked a 3 night stay about 4.5 months in advance. I was able to get a corporate rate of $125 per night.
Check-in
I booked a 2 Queen room and, despite there being a large conference for the next few nights and the Coachella music festival starting on the weekend, rooms were still available for for the length of my stay. The agent said that they were able to give me an “upgrade” to a Deluxe golf course view room (Deluxe golf, non-smoking: 2 Queen Beds, 525 sq ft / 49 m²) but, after I asked, said that a suite upgrade wouldn’t be possible due to the high occupancy. I confirmed this on the Starwood app: a [...]
While in the Lufthansa First Class lounge in New York-JFK, we had to scurry and find a place to stay in Frankfurt the following night. Since we had just switched our flights hours before take off, we didn’t have very much notice but were very glad to have an opportunity to visit Frankfurt–a new city!
Booking
Because I have Diamond status with Hyatt and Platinum status with Starwood, I preferred to book a property at either one of those chains. When I jumped online, I found that my only Hyatt option for “Frank…” would be Franklin, Tennessee:
The good news is that Starwood has a few more options:
After burning lots of miles and points over the past few months (read: All about our Honeymoon trip: Bali, Jakarta, Singapore and the Maldives), it was time to start racking up them again for the next trip. Here was our haul:
Our Haul
McCown:
AAdvantage World MasterCard / Citi Platinum Select = 50,000 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles + $0 annual fee 1st year US Airways Premier World MasterCard = 40,000 US Airways Dividend miles + $89 annual fee Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express = 30,000 Starpoints + $0 annual fee 1st yearJeffrey:
AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard / Citi Executive = 100,000 American Airlines AAdvantage Miles + [...]
