Starwood’s all suites hotels can cost a small fortune whether you use cash or points. They aren’t subject to the normal point rates, so rooms can cost double, triple, or quadruple the regular rates, and dates can be blacked out. Plus you need to call or chat with SPG to book rooms at these hotels.
Last year I posted a deal that made overwater villas at the brand new S. Regis Maldives available for just 32.5K points per night or 26K points per night on a 5 night stay. That deal only lasted about a week before rates went up to 90K points per night or 72K points per night on a 5 night stay. But not before I booked 16 stays of 5 nights at that rate in order to make sure that at least 1 of the dates worked…
Luckily SPG makes staying at these resorts easier by running 35% off promotions like this that bring down the points cost.
This recurring promotion is back and is now valid for stays through 3/5/18. There is no booking deadline, so you should be able to book through 3/5/18, unless a hotel decides to opt out of the promotion early.
I haven’t been able to find a landing page with the current eligible resorts for this year. However I chatted with SPG about the hotels on last year’s 35% off promo landing page and only found the discount to automatically work for 2 hotels from that list, the W Maldives and the Le Meridien Bora Bora.
I also found the discount to work at the S. Regis Maldives, which was not on last year’s list as it hadn’t opened yet. It’s possible that the discount for last year’s hotels have not been loaded yet or that other hotels are also part of this 35% off promotion.
The discounted rate is applied automatically when you ask for a Starpoints quote. You’ll need to call or chat with SPG to book these rooms.
–The Le Meridien Bora Bora offers an overwater bungalow, beach bungalow, or classic bungalow as their base rooms. They’re normally 60K Starpoints/night. With this promotion you can stay for 39K Starpoints/night or 31,200 Starpoints/night if you stay for 5 nights. Rates here range from $800-$1,250/night after tax for an overwater bungalow, so that’s a value of up to 4 cents per Starpoint.
–The S. Regis Maldives offers an overwater villa with a private plunge pool as their base room. It’s normally 90K Starpoints/night. With this promotion you can stay for 58,500 Starpoints/night or 46,800 Starpoints/night if you stay for 5 nights. Rates here range from $1,500-$3,250/night after tax for an overwater bungalow, so that’s a value of up to 7 cents per Starpoint.
–The W Retreat and Spa Maldives offers a Beach Oasis with a private plunge pool as their base room. It’s normally 90K Starpoints/night. With this promotion you can stay for 58,500 Starpoints/night or 46,800 Starpoints/night if you stay for 5 nights. Rates here range from $1,000-$2,000/night after tax for an overwater bungalow, so that’s a value of up to 4.3 cents per Starpoint. You can read more about the overwater bungalow at the absolutely incredible W Retreat Maldives in my trip report here.
W Maldives:
Bear in mind that the discounted rates are for the base room only, you’ll have to call/email the hotel directly if you want to arrange for upgrades. When I last checked the prices for a confirmed upgrade to an overwater bungalow with a private plunge pool the W Maldives wanted $180/night, but that number will range based on the season.
I confirmed that the Le Meridien Bora Bora and the S. Regis Maldives do book into overwater bungalows at these sale rates by booking discounted stays at both hotels via SPG chat 🙂
Bora Bora or the Maldives?
-Papeete, Tahiti is an 8 hour flight nonstop from Los Angeles. From Papeete it’s a 45 minute hop to Bora Bora, but that short flight will set you back some $400 and you can’t use airline miles for it.
Papeete, Tahiti is served by:
-Air France (a SkyTeam/Delta partner) via Los Angeles
-Air New Zealand (a Star Alliance/United partner) via Auckland
-Air Tahiti Nui (an American/OneWorld partner, but not bookable on AA.com) via Auckland, Los Angeles, or Tokyo
-Hawaiian (a JetBlue/Korean/Virgin Atlantic partner) on Saturdays only, via Honolulu
-LATAM (a OneWorld/American partner, but not bookable on AA.com) on Monday/Tuesday only via Easter Island
For example a flight from the US to Papeete would cost 80K AA miles in coach or 160K AA miles in business class to fly on Air Tahiti Nui. You can transfer Starpoints to American at a 20,000:31,250 ratio with the current transfer bonus. You must call AA to book this award.
One big advantage of Bora Bora are the views of Mount Otemanu on Bora Bora Island, which adds to the serene setting. Unfortunately I have not yet made it to Bora Bora, so I can’t give my personal opinion on which way to go, though there has been some debate on DDF.
-Male, Maldives ranges from a travel time of 19-29 hours from NYC. From Male you’ll have to pay some $500-$700 for a seaplane to get from Male to most resort islands.
Male, Maldives is served by:
-Aeroflot (a SkyTeam/Delta partner) via Moscow
-Air France (a SkyTeam/Delta partner) via Paris
-Air India (a Star Alliance/United partner) via Bangalore
-Alitalia (a SkyTeam/Delta partner) via Rome
-Austrian (a Star Alliance/United partner) via Vienna
-British Airways (a OneWorld/American partner) via London/Gatwick
-Cathay Pacific (a OneWorld/American partner, but not bookable on AA.com) via Hong Kong
-China Eastern (a SkyTeam/Delta partner) via Shanghai
-China Southern (a SkyTeam/Delta partner) via Guangzhou
-Edelweiss/Swiss (a Star Alliance/United partner, but not bookable on United.com) via Zurich
-Emirates (an Alaska, JAL, and Korean partner) via Colombo or Dubai
-Etihad (an American partner, but not bookable on AA.com) via Abu Dhabi
-Korean (a SkyTeam/Delta partner) via Colombo and Seoul
-Lufthansa (a Star Alliance/United partner) via Frankfurt
-Singapore (a Star Alliance/United partner, but not bookable on United.com) via Singapore
-Turkish (a Star Alliance/United partner) via Istanbul
-Qatar (a OneWorld/American partner, but not bookable on AA.com) via Doha
For example:
-A flight from the US to Male on Emirates would cost 60K JAL miles in coach, 100K in business, or 155K in first “shower” class round-trip. You can transfer Starpoints to JAL at a 20K:25K ratio. You must call JAL to book this award.
-A flight from the US to Male on Etihad or Qatar would cost 80K AA miles in coach, 140K in business, or 210K in Etihad first “shower” class round-trip. You can transfer Starpoints to American at a 20,000:31,250 ratio with the current transfer bonus. You must call AA to book these awards.
-A flight from the US to Male on Cathay Pacific would cost 100K Alaska miles in coach, 125K in business, or 140K in first class round-trip. You can transfer Starpoints to Alaska at a 20K:25K ratio. You must call Alaska to book this award.
-A flight from the US to Male on any Star Alliance airline would cost 85K United miles in coach, 160K in business, or 280K in first class round-trip. You can transfer Starpoints to United via Marriott at a 18,667:25,000 ratio.
As you can see, there are many more flight options (and better business/first class cabins) to get to the Maldives, but the flight is farther and there are no nonstops from the US.
Tahiti is part of French Polynesia and has no food import restrictions. The Maldives is a Muslim country and strictly bans the import of alcohol. The locals mostly live in Male, while the resorts are typically located on their own private island. The resorts do offer alcoholic beverages, but expect to pay dearly for them.
Once you get to your resort in Bora Bora or the Maldives it will feel like you’re in true paradise. You really can’t go wrong with either destination.
But even if you fly and stay there with points, be aware that activities and drinks/food purchased there will set you back a pretty penny. In Bora Bora you can take a shuttle to other hotels and shop around for lower activity rates, while in the Maldives you’ll be at the mercy of the rates charged by your hotel.
It’s also worth noting that the best weather in Bora Bora is during the US summer and the best weather in the Maldives is during the US winter.
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50 Comments On "Stay In An Overwater Bungalow In Bora Bora Or The Maldives From Just 31K Starpoints/Night! Plus: Which Miles To Use To Get There"
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Can anyone fill in with details about these locations in terms of shuls nearby and availability of kosher food? Thanks
@Vacationer:
-No shuls in Bora Bora or Maldives, though there is one in Papeete.
-Bring your own food.
Can I transfer the equivalent of Marriott to you for one of the stays you aren’t going to use? I’ll throw in some extra
@Bobby:
I’ve already cancelled all but 2. Haven’t decided what I’m doing with those yet.
Still, these deals are very good and won’t require jumping through hoops like that.
Will chase UR points get me there too?
@Eli:
Sure, you can use Air France/SkyTeam, BA/OneWorld, Korean/SkyTeam, Singapore/Star Alliance, or United/Star Alliance miles to get there.
Ahem…. you forgot what is the best flight option to either of those airports.
This is Dan’s Deals after all, so I’m surprised any option other than the once a week LAN flight from IPC to PPT (on a 787!) is even being discussed
@Rob:
True, thanks.
Maybe I’ll take that routing one day. Should have done it before kids when we had the time 🙂
Thank you Dan, very helpful information
@DA@Dan:
It’s definitely not a kid-friendly routing, but obviously is as fascinating a routing as one can conjure.
The best part was during the short-lived US Airways/OneWorld days, I booked a trip from US–>IPC with them treating IPC as South America, then called up 5 minutes later and booked IPC–>PPT with them treating IPC as South Pacific (I believe it was 25K round trip in business for a 2300+ mile flight!)
Back to the point at hand, you should definitely do a ___-SCL-IPC-HNL-___ routing on your trip 🙂
How much. Would it be for an infant on singapore suites?
@Rob:
Gosh I miss those US agents. Also BMI agents for that matter. Could tell them that your destination was in any country you wanted to 😀
Will definitely have to do that routing. One day…
@sam:
Honestly, bringing an infant JFK-FRA-SIN-MLE-Seaplane-Resort is likely a form of child abuse.
And then what will you do with the infant in an overwater bungalow?
Wait until the infant is old enough to stay home with Bubby.
@Dan:
Not that you couldn’t find an agent who wouldn’t be able to locate London on a map, but you can imagine how easy it was with IPC and PPT considering they spent most of their careers booking *A awards.
Added bonus: I believe the Hawaiian flight from PPT–>HNL is Shabbas-friendly (almost all longhaul flights from PPT leave late at night)
@dan lol. But in general how does it work?
@Rob:
Good example of USAir geography:
https://twitter.com/mkonikov/status/293026197615550464
A DDFer flew TAM F class from MIA-MEX-GRU and he was charged as if GRU was in Mexico 😀
But yes, I recall IPC was a gold mine with them.
I have looked into that PPT-HNL redeye flight and while it would work, it would require spending Shabbos in Papeete as there were no after-dark BOB-PPT flights.
Then again it might be interesting to spend a Shabbos with the local PPT community, but I didn’t get too far into researching that option.
@sam:
Most airlines (though there are notable exceptions like Air Canada and BA) charge 10% of the full fare for a lap child on an international flight.
That would be a small fortune in Suites class.
@Dan:
Pretty sure Sao Paolo is the name of the cartel that El Chapo ran, right?
I didn’t get a chance to stop by the shul in PPT, and aside from a few (fascinating) articles about them online, there is little available info, but I do know that:
1) It is an Orthodox shul
2) It is not within walking distance of any notable hotel
Also Dan, you could potentially spend Shabbas in MOZ. It’s just a short ferry ride from Tahiti. I don’t know when the last ferry is, but can’t imagine there wouldn’t be an evening one
Please explain what you mean by booking via “SPG chat.”
@Rob:
LOL.
Looks like there some “unnotable” hotels (Hotel Tiare Tahiti, etc) within a mile though, so it is theoretically doable.
@Rob:
Another thing to research 🙂
When was the last time you saw award availability from IPC-PPT or vice versa? I haven’t seen it in years.
@Dan:
Right. Truth is none of the hotels in PPT are notable, including the points ones, if you’re going to be spending time in BOB and MOZ. Assuming you will spend no more than a day on either end of your trip, just book an Airbnb near the shul and/or airport. As you might imagine, the locals are exceedingly friendly (think Hawaii) so you shouldn’t have too much trouble getting a 1 day rental that allows you to say, check in 4PM on a Friday and check out 7PM on a Saturday
Even with the multiple SPG/Marriott credit cards out there, this would require an astonishing number of SPG points to gin up. How would you realistically propose anyone do that, keeping in mind that most of your readers — or at least most of your readers who would ever contemplate such a trip — have probably had some of these credit cards before. A five night stay would require 155,000 SPG points. Without making it their life’s work, how does a person generate $155,000 points? That would require a massive amount of credit card spending, even if you were just buying gift cards! And you’d still need to get yourself to the Pacific. So the deal seems theoretically possible, but completely unrealistic.
Thanks dan for this great article
What about JFK-PPT on coach with hybrid points? to wich airline​ should transfer?
Does it work for the SR Bora Bora?
@Jonathan:
I tested dozens of dates and it did not appear to work for it.
Dan
Is August a good time to go to Maldives? Found one round trip ticket from Turkey to Maldives in August for 70,000 United points on business class.
@Dan: isn’t it better to transfer CSR and Amex points to AF or any airline miles, assuming that a paid flight would cost at least 80k and an award can be much less
@Ryan:
It’s low season and there could be some rain, but anytime you can get there is a good time to go 🙂
@Dansfan:
You always need to compare award space/price and the cost of a ticket.
@Dan: Thanks, based on online research, it looks like you have to pay over 100$ to get to the hotel from the airport, is there a way you can avoid that? Please share your experience since you have been there 🙂
@Ryan:
Way more than $100 for a seaplane in the Maldives, read the post again.
@Ryan: It’s actually closer to the $500 range. The operators know you have no other options, so of course they’re going to gouge you. You should be able to offset that cost if you have any Arrival points.
would totally do bora bora it didnt seem to be impossible for find award availability on airfrance.
@beastieb:
Use AMEX Biz Plat/Chase Sapphire points?
@Dan:
Total forgot about the amex biz plat option. gonna look into that.
Is it possible to use Chase points for this deal? Would it be worth converting them? Thanks in advance
According to 2 agents chat, 35% promo is only on cash paid rate and not on points. Did any one was able to book. I tried for Le Meridian BOB
Is there a way to rent a condominium for 3 weeks in Kissimmee FL using Chase UR ?
is there a way to fly to Israel in a shower class/suite? (even with 2 stop overs) and how many starpoints would it cost?
@Dan
Can I book a ticket for a friend using jal miles?
How do I book Latam using AA?
I have been to Bora Bora and I can definitely say that it is definitely worth it. I have never been to Maldives, but by the pictures I have seen, Bora Bora looks way better with beautiful mountain views and aqua green water.
@Lizzy:
You can convert Chase into Marriott at a 1:1 ratio and Marriott into Starwood at a 1:3 ratio.
@singh:
The agents didn’t know anything about the 35% promo, the rated are embedded into the system.
Did you get a quote different than what I posted?
@Aaron:
No.
@shower to israel:
Yes.
Emirates shower: JFK-DXB-AMM-TLV
Etihad shower: JFK-AUH-AMM-TLV
Singapore suites: JFK-FRA-TLV
@Mike:
Officially needs to be related.
@Moana:
Read the post.
@Maury:
The Maldives has aqua green water. But as the post says, the mountain is a Bora Bora advantage.
@Dan:
I’ve never been to MLE so can’t compare, but as far as Mt. Otemanu is concerned…. it’s really not that special.
I mean, all things being equal, I guess go for a room facing the mountain as opposed to one not facing it. But on a list of things to take into account where you want to go, the existence of Mt. Otemanu probably shouldn’t even be in the top 30.
It was a nice view for about 5 minutes. After that, it was just any other mountain (not to say the view in BOB isn’t fantastic – just that the mountain only adds marginally to that)
I’ve been to Bora Bora. So incredibly beautiful. Never would I have counted Mt. Otemanu as a selling point of the place though. Nothing bad about it, it’s just that when I raved about my vacation, I didn’t mention the mountain at all. The sea life, being able to see the ocean break out on the horizon, the night sky, the peace and calm, snorkeling under our room, so much more to go on about other than a mountain.
@Deb:
Couldn’t agree more. When doing a BOB vs. Maldives decision, this is the general order how you should come about it:
1) Does the IC BOB have points availability on the dates you want
2) If “yes” to 1, then does any airline have award availability for said dates.
If 1 and 2 are yes, then stop there and book that since you will not find a better bang-for-your-buck aspiration award than that in PPT, MLE or anywhere else in the world. Even this award sale doesn’t come close
If no, then it should come down what matters more to you on a trip, most of which should be unrelated to the islands of BOB and Maldives themselves, and none of which involves a mountain
@Dan: thanx. any idea how many points that would be?
when you say how many points in a shower class or shower suite does it mean for one person or you can put two people in the same suite for the same price?
hi dan,
how do i check the schedule of sea plane From Male to resort islands?
What’s the best way to book EK one-way JFK-DXB-MLE? Wanna do EY/SQ/CX on the return.
Hi Dan, trying to book for my honeymoon but don’t have enough points between the two of us. Any advice on how to get SPG points? I’ve heard there’s a limit of 30k SPG points you can buy/get gifted to you per calendar year. Is that true? And would that also count for transfers from Delta miles or Amex MR points?