Ancien Maestro

A note.. I would go in October for the reno special as the adult pool and the main pool would have been finished by then.. they'll be working on the upper pool, and the waterslide will be closed. But for the screamin' deals to be had, to put up with the inconvenience, I think it would be worth it to go.. I'd just stay two or three weeks to take it all in.. and build in supplementary activities for the reno thats' happening.

jujubean71

Do you know how long the waterslide will be closed?

Ancien Maestro

They are working on the big pool Sept, and the upper pool Oct. Obviously with the waterslide connecting both pools, the slide will not be operating for September and October.. for your reservation in December, the renovations will be done by then.^

quank

I'm thinking of heading there either end of Dec or early Jan for about 5 nights. Does anyone know what the blackout dates for free nights are (either Premier 3for2 or Plat free night)?

Jasper2009

Interestingly the Kea Lani doesn´t seem to have black-out dates over NYE while the Orchid does: FPC website

Good luck!

Ancien Maestro

I noticed this anomaly too, and pointed it out earlier on this thread (I think.. or is it another Kea Lani thread?). I would call and make sure that there are no exclusions or black out dates, as I've travelled Kea Lani numerous times in the past, and they've always blacked out Christmas Vacations til just after New Years. Right now Standard Fairmont is like around $800 per night for that time period.. Someone booked around $400 per night.. and when I checked it out, the rate got jacked up during this time period. It would have been a total score to book a Fairmont Suite for around $400 during Christmas holidays.. and have no restrictions to the certificates.

Quank, report back to us to see if we can use certs during this time period.. maybe an update on rate too.. as I was bantering about going down to Kea Lani during this time period as well (rates bit too high to digest right now.. looking for the can lol)..

quank

I called and it's not blacked out. HOWEVER, they are sold out before Dec31 of Fairmont rooms which is the room you need to book free nights in. I checked Dec31 for 5 nights and the rates were between $539-799++/night. That is way too much for what we were hoping would be an affordable post Christmas trip.

Ancien Maestro

They actually must have dropped the prices because Fairmont Suites were running $799 when I checked last month.. Believe it or not at $539 to $799 is actually a deal for this time period.

Which is why the free nights are so valuable, you save a ton.. but you pay a ton for the nights paid for too.. not for the faint of heart.. but its' the highest season of the year, so they'll charge for it.

jkc22

I'm soliciting comments on the state/condition of the villas from those who have stayed there recently. My last stay in them was a good 8 years ago.

Seeing someone commented that the Kilohana Suites are in dire need of refurb, are the villas in better condition? I'm going in October and the renovation deals are too good to pass up, considering the villas also include a rental car worth $150/day......, on top of that I get AMEX FHR benefits.....

FA_COR_YYZ

The Virtual Tours of the Villas that appear on Fairmont.com were shot in Dec 2008. Although that's a year and a half ago they give you a very accurate feel on the decor and condition of the Villas.

2 Bedroom:
http://mediaserver.vrxstudios.com/fl...72&height=680#

Ancien Maestro

I heard that they will begin rolling out the renovated rooms around that time. You can request a renovated Villa, and see how it goes.. Being a repeat visitor, platinum member, Amex platinum, etc.. you're probably going to get one if its available.

Other side of the coin.. That's why a renovation sale is going on.. They're renovating rooms so that it will be updated for future visits.

cowtippler

Hello! I wanted to see if anyone has had any luck with adding their AMEX Platinum package to an existing Fairmont reservation? I booked at the Kea Lani a couple of months ago (my second stay this year) and just got my AMEX platinum card -- but the rate I booked at (Fairmont Savers) is a non-cancelable, so not sure if I can have both that rate code and my AMEX rate code attached to the same reservation since I originated this through Fairmont.

Any thoughts on this? Thanks!

Jasper2009

If your talking about the extra benefits like breakfast, comp. upgrade etc. when booking through AMEX, the answer is unfortunately no. You can´t combine any rate with the benefits, you would have had to book the more expensive rate through AMEX to get the benefits.

Ancien Maestro

I would call up reservations and/or AMEX.. and they may be able to work out an exception for you. There have been stories circulating that other advertised rates are honored with AMEX amenities, simply because AMEX can match it and provide the amenities over and above.

jkc22

I second that. I had a reservation for a two-bedroom villa booked, called the hotel, and they were able to switch me to the FHR rate plan. The key is that the room rate between the rate plans must not change.