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Marriott completely stops elite benefits on OTA bookings

As a member of a hotel loyalty program, you can earn points and enjoy certain benefits but only if booking directly via the official channels. Marriott has been more generous than its associates, making an exception for the Asia Pacific market until earlier this year.

At that point China was still left untouched, but it seems to be coming to an end as well:

Starting from January 1st 2024, hotels in China will no longer offer elite benefits on OTA bookings. This means that Marriott will finally have a adherent policy globally, although it’s not good news to its members.

It doesn’t mean that hotels would never go out of the way, but it will be much less likely and totally at their discretion. If you see a better price elsewhere, you could always try Marriott’s best rate guarantee.

My review of W Barcelona

Back from Cancun and I’m going straight to Barcelona to commence my first cruise trip with Virgin Voyages! For the peace of mind I arrived one day before, which gives me the chance to try out the W hotel as well.

Although its quality is debatable (its TripAdvisor rating is only 4), the W hotel is one of the most known and popular hotel in Barcelona, thanks to it being the only building standing out on the city centre’s beach.

The hotel is located at the southeast corner of the beach, making it not the easiest to reach by public transport or walk, but there are always cabs waiting outside. The beach is very nice though, and you are come down for a stroll anytime.

As I’m staying with a friend I booked a twin room. Although I still had a few suite night awards, the best room I could have ticked was some kind of studio so I decided against it – and it is a decision that bites me hard!

The front desk gentleman thanked me for being a Titanium member, and told me although they couldn’t upgrade me they’d put me in the best room in the same category. And to compensate they would offer me free breakfast instead.

It is very rare that I receive no upgrade at Marriott properties, and the hotel is definitely not full. Complimentary breakfast is a Titanium benefit at W hotels.

It is a pretty big hotel so they have multiple elevators, but half of them don’t go beyond the fourth floor, whereas there are 26 floors in total. Thanks to being on the lowly fourth floor, our room is reachable by all elevators which saves us from waiting, how thoughtful!

The hallway reminds me of old Hong Kong horror films.

The room is actually decent enough, if you ignore the mouldy smell.

This is the “bay view” from my room.

For comparison, this is the suite my friend received last year, using his suite night award.

Breakfast is served in the Fire restaurant, and Saturday morning is so busy!

The buffet:

An a-la-carte menu too. My Eggs Benedict is quite good.

There is a swimming pool outside the restaurant. All the spots are taken at 8am!

There is another larger pool upstairs, with a better view.

The gym:

The bar on the top floor is very busy, but disappointing to be honest. It is very small and there isn’t much of a view at night.

Can’t say I’m surprised at its average reviews on TripAdvisor and other booking platforms. If you’ve got a good deal however the prime location and some of its facilities are still worth it, but I highly recommend to use your suite night award to score a decent room.

My review of JW Marriott Cancun

Having spent three nights at the unusual Canopy hotel, I wanted to move to a proper resort – after all we are in Cancun right? I was very undecisive between JW Marriott, Westin Lagunamar and the Royalton Chic, and JW Marriott finally had the upper hand as it’s very close to the restaurants and snorkelling tour that I was interested in.

The JW Marriott hotel is located in the middle of the hotel strip, which is where many luxury hotels are. Although buses pass by, the hotel’s entrance is a good walk from the road, and there’s no immediate pedestrian cross.

We visited the Mayan site at the Westin Lagunamar in the morning and then took an Uber to the JW. We arrived at 1pm and the room wasn’t ready yet, so we headed to the Fred’s House for lunch first.

Unlike the Canopy, you can easily tell that the JW Marriott hotel is a massive resort, which is what most tourists expect to see in this destination.

The concierge offered us an ice lolly whilst we were waiting for checking in.

Many of the Marriott hotels in Cancun are part of the Vacation Club, implying minimum benefits for Bonvoy members, e.g. no breakfast or suite night award redemption. That’s exactly how the JW Marriott stands out – my suite night award cleared into the best suite of the hotel!

The hotel has a special club lounge, Club 91, and access isn’t complimentary to elite members. You can purchase at the daily price of $85 per person, but I wouldn’t recommend. If you intend to dine fully at the hotel, it’s better to choose an all-inclusive property instead.

My ocean view suite is located on the 11th floor.

Living room:

Bedroom:

Walk-in wardrobe and two bathrooms:

The design is simple and has got the chilled vibe, which suits a beach-side resort well. Coffee machine:

The living room and bedroom are connected to different balconies. It’s not a joy in Cancun’s summer though.

The ocean view however is impeccable, and you see people doing water sports, for example parasailing.

I’m only here for one night, so no poking around and let’s go down to the swimming pool! The outdoor pool is not so much “swimming” to be honest, more of a pretty venue to sunbathe and relax.

More photos of the pool:

You can walk down to the public beach, but remember to bring your key card as you need it to come back.

The sea is beautiful, and you can go down tens of metres yet the water is still quite shallow. The waves are not to be taken lightly though so swimming is not practical.

The indoor pool on the other hand, is absolutely empty.

The gyms:

My research suggests that elite members are entitled to free continental breakfast only, which is fine by me. When I’m in the restaurant however – what kind of continental breakfast is this?!

You can find everything you expect from an English breakfast buffet, with the addition of paella and some local specialties. There are also eggs cooked to order.

In honesty the quality is not great, and I definitely prefer the breakfast at the Canopy. But the spread is very impressive, and the only thing missing is the a-la-carte menu for the paying guests.

The hotel has many restaurants but we didn’t visit any except the pizza shop.

We requested 4.30pm late check-out, which was granted without any hassle. However as the suite was unavailable we were moved to the standard room instead.

Having a view of a construction site isn’t fun for regular guests, but we just need a room to rest so no complaints at all. I am very satisfied with the stay, and it was definitely a great decision to use my suite night award here!

My review of Buenos Aires Marriott Hotel

After three nights at Palacio Duhau I’m spending my last night Argentina at the Marriott hotel. Comparatively its rate is about a-third to half of the Park Hyatt so I wasn’t expecting much, but the stay turns out to be a blessing in disguise.

First of all you can’t get more central in Buenos Aires than the Marriott, as you are only about two hundred metres away from the Obelisco. It’s a great base to explore Buenos Aires – most attractions are within walking distance and there are all sorts of restaurants in the neighbourhood.

I had no problem checking in at just after noon, they also voluntarily offered me 4pm checkout which is a good start.

The hotel building is made of two “towers”. The taller tower (23 floors) has a rooftop bar, swimming pool and viewing terrace. The lower tower (18 floors) has the M Club.

They have very generously upgraded my reservation to an Upper Suite on the 20th floor of the taller tower. Upon entering the room you see a large bedroom with a working desk.

A separate living room:

Bathroom:

The layout is unorthodox and the whole furnishing is a bit rudimentary. My room has the “wrong” aspect and you can’t see the Obelisco from here.

For the M Club there’s a dedicated elevator for access. The interior is nice and the lounge is manned throughout the day.

Happy hour is every evening from 7pm to 9pm, and two hot dishes were served when I was there. I definitely don’t recommend mistreating your stomach on the lounge food though in Buenos Aires!

Breakfast buffet in the main restaurant:

The quality is very poor. I don’t know how the offering in M Club is like but hopefully it’s better.

Enough complaints and let’s head to the rooftop!

I was stunned when I stepped out of the elevator, wow!!

Unlike the rather boring design of the hotel rooms, this rooftop greenhouse is stunning. The pool is thoughtfully heated, and it’s connected to a smaller outdoor pool if you want a better view.

And finally, the Obelisco:

There’s a gym upstairs.

The food here might be underwhelming but that’s the least of my concerns in Buenos Aires. The Marriott has a great location and a beautiful rooftop swimming pool, and I recommend it if you are visiting.

Earn United miles on every Marriott stay, and vice versa

Marriott and United has had a long-term partnership which allows members to receive reciprocal benefits when staying at a hotel or taking a flight. They have taken a step further and launched a Dual Currency promotion.

It appears that the following members are eligible for the offer:

  • Marriott Titanium Elite and Ambassador Elite
  • United Premier Gold, Platinum and 1K

You need to link your Marriott and United accounts first if you haven’t done so yet. Once completed you can register to the offer, and:

  • Earn 500 United miles for every Marriott stay
  • Earn 750 Marriott points for every United flight

The flight and stay must be taken by December 9th. Only paid stays and flights count. You don’t need to change your earning preference, as the bonus is on top of what you normally accrue.

It is a great offer, even though for us who live outside the U.S. only the first offer is likely to be useful. Remember that you earn 1,500 bonus points for each stay as well in the current Marriott promotion.

In the United program it costs only 6K – 9K miles to redeem a short-haul flight in Europe and Asia, which is quite good especially since BA is constantly devaluing its partner redemptions. There is an ongoing offer to transfer Marriott points into United miles too.

My review of Westin Palace Madrid

My flight to Buenos Aires departs at Madrid, as it saves me £££ compared to flying BA from London. I booked the Westin Palace Madrid hotel for one night as a transit.

The name Westin sounded very posh to me at the beginning, right until I stayed at the brand for the first time at Zagreb. Then I realised it’s at the same tier with Sheraton and Marriott – the Westin Excelsior Rome I visited recently was disappointing.

The Madrid hotel however, is indeed a bit different as indicated by the “Palace” in its name. Construction of the hotel was the idea of King Alfonso XIII. It was completed in 1911 and then the largest hotel in Europe. It was also the second hotel in the world that had a bathroom in each guestroom.

The Westin Palace Madrid hotel has a prime location in the city, within walking distance to the many museums and galleries. Recoletos station is just 10 minutes away, which brings you to the airport for just over two euro.

The exterior of the the building sets my mind at peace – at least it doesn’t seem in desperate need of renovation.

In fact the hotel is very well maintained. The marble floor is immaculate, the walls neatly painted and the finish of everything is fresh. I would believe it if someone told me it’s a new hotel.

My reservation is upgraded by one level to a Premium room. The building is massive with a weird triangular shape, so it takes age from the lift to certain rooms!

Room doors are surrounded by a layer of marble, which is classy but also a bit strange in the meantime.

The room on the other hand, looks pretty standard for a five-star hotel. Nothing specially draws my attention, except the signature Heavenly Bed which is very comfortable!

It comes with a very small balcony.

There are a terrace, a gym and sauna / steam rooms. There’s no pool however.

The restaurant is very beautiful and it reminds me of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Both hotels share Palace in their names for a reason!

The buffet breakfast is average.

Westin Palace Madrid is a decent hotel that’s got a lot of history and well preserved at the same time. The location is also ideal for tourists.

Great offer preview: Marriott to United 30% conversion bonus

United MileagePlus are about to launching a great incentive for converting points in October, so hold on if you need some United miles!

The offer page is here. As it hasn’t started yet you will be redirected to a placeholder instead, however in Terms and Conditions you can see all the details already.

  • Registration: To qualify for this offer, members must register for the promotion between October 1, 2023 and 11:59pm EST on October 31, 2023 (“Promotional Period”).
  • Qualifying activity: A member must earn award miles as a result of one or more points to miles conversion transactions from any combination of MileagePlus hotel partner programs that offer a points to miles transfer program that are conducted during the Promotional Period (“Qualifying Activity”) in order to qualify for MileagePlus Hotel Points-to-Miles bonus miles (“Bonus Miles”). Qualifying Activity must be completed by 11:59pm EST on October 31, 2023.
  • Posting of Promotional Miles: At the conclusion of the promotion, all miles earned by each member from Qualifying Activity will be multiplied by 30% to determine the eligible bonus up to a maximum of 25,000 bonus miles. Bonus miles will be credited into the member’s account on or before January 31, 2024. The maximum bonus miles that can be earned by a member under this promotion is 25,000. MileagePlus will not be responsible for technical problems with partner miles postings, or failures or delays in miles postings by hotel partners, that would render any points to miles converted as ineligible under this promotion.

Basically you’ll earn 30% bonus when any hotel points into United miles in whole October, after you’ve registered to the offer. The bonus is capped at 25,000 miles under this promotion.

Although a few hotel programs will be participating, the true value lies only in converting Marriott Bonvoy points.

3 Marriott points converts into 1 United mile, and as a permanent offer you are awarded 10,000 bonus miles when converting 60,000 Marriott points. With this new promotion on top, you earn 39,000 United miles when converting 60,000 Marriott points, which is an excellent deal. If you convert 180,000 Marriott points, you’ll get 115,000 United miles in total.

Unfortunately United devalued their U.S. – Europe redemption recently, and now a one-way flight in business costs at least 80,000 miles.

Good news is however, there’s no carrier-imposed surcharges. For the same route BA wants 80,000 Avios + £175, and 47,500 points +$977 from Virgin Atlantic!

Two-bedroom villa in Danang for 40K Marriott points only!

Marriott is to open a new villa-only hotel in Danang, Vietnam. Like the Singapore Edition hotel we mentioned a few days ago, there’s a pricing oddity which creates a very good deal.

The entry-level room type, 2 Bedroom Garden Villa, is priced at around $600 per night. If you pay by Marriott points however, as few as 40,000 points are needed.

Even more oddly, the Cash & Points option is even better as you save 20,500 points by paying $75.

Such redemption sweet spots are commonly seen when a new hotel is loaded into the system, and it’s not unique to Marriott Bonvoy. The redemption price might be adjusted soon to reflect the cash price (in fact it was only 30,000 points yesterday), so act fast if you may need it.