Marriott Bonvoy hotels in GREECE [Master Thread]
Apr 6, 2010, 7:38 pm
#46
Join Date: Sep 2009
Programs: SPG Platinum, Amex Platinum
Posts: 85
Starwood Recommendations for Greece
The wife and I are going to Greece in August. I figure I'll have about 120K SPG points by then.
Any recommendations on where to stay and what to avoid. Going to Athens, Santorini, and Myknos.
Thanks in advance.
Any recommendations on where to stay and what to avoid. Going to Athens, Santorini, and Myknos.
Thanks in advance.
Apr 6, 2010, 8:32 pm
#48
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 1999
Location: Seat 1A, Juice pretty much everywhere, Mucci des Coins Exotiques
Posts: 34,339
Crete is my favorite Greek destination and the Blue Palace is one of my favorite Starwood's world-wide. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...er-thread.html
Apr 6, 2010, 9:36 pm
#49
Join Date: Apr 2004
Programs: Marriott LT Titanium, AA 1MM, UA 1MM
Posts: 369
I absolutely second this. Get a room on the butler floor, the help is incredible without being remotely snobbish. Probably my favorite hotel service after the George V in Paris (which is the platonic ideal of service).
Apr 6, 2010, 10:13 pm
#51
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Lafayette, CO, USA
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Posts: 9,096
Your points won't last long if you spend them for the Cat7 Mystique on Santorini. We got a great room at Vedema, but some folks complain about how Vedema is so remote compared to Mystique and most other hotels on the island. We ate most of our meals at restaurants just a block or two outside of the resort. And just tonight, I was looking at a bottle of Vinsanto wine that we brought back from the Gavalas winery just past those restaurants.
We stayed at Vedema and had a very nice dinner one night at Mystique.
Here's a summary of our itinerary from our trip last year.
We would recommend all of the hotels that we stayed at. Each was unique. Service was great at all of them. Watch for Cash & Points availability which may stretch your points. If you anticipate spending 4 nights at a particular hotel on a regular award, consider the possibility to stay 1 more night for 5th night free.
If you've never been to Athens before, plan for a full day to see sights there. 2 days max. The Grand Bretagne is in a great location for seeing the downtown sights.
The Arion and Westin have a free and very nice airport shuttle. Their shuttle to/from downtown Athens only operates on a very limited schedule, though. Taxis are the better way for most people to return to the Astir Palace hotels at the end of a day. Athens' subway system does not reach to Astir Palace. We loved our suite upgrade at Arion!
We were glad to have had a night in Athens at the beginning of our trip since one of our bags didn't arrive on our flight. Had we continued directly to an island that same day, getting reconnected with our bag might have been difficult.
Vedema has a shuttle to their private beach restaurant (lunch only) and black sand (pebble) beach. Their shuttle can also take you into town and can sometimes take you all the way to Oia. They picked us and another couple up after dinner at Mystique, though they don't usually do so. (The other couple got engaged there that night, so it was a special request.) We loved our suite upgrade at Vedema, and it suited us to be away from the more crowded towns for a few days. Vedema is not along the edge of the caldera and does not have a view of the caldera.
Blue Palace is new and modern. It's a huge place. I recommend a rental car on Crete unless you intend to remain at the resort the entire time. There is lots of discussion about this resort in its Master Thread.
We did not go to Mykonos, and the Santa Marina is currently a Cat7 property. Read up about this a bit before spending points there. It is not very clear why this former Cat4 property is a Cat7 today. I suspect that its categorization is skewed by its expensive suites and villas. If you are not interested in Mykonos' party atmosphere, make sure that this is really where you want to go.
Also remember that breakfast may be included with most paid rates at many of the hotels but is probably not included with award reservations.
There's a great book called "Greek Island Hopping" that I would recommend. It's especially good if you are considering any ferries between islands, but it is also good just as a tour guide for each island and Athens.
For summer 2010, there are also some new options such as The Romanos, Costa Navarino and the Sheraton Rhodes. Bonus is that these new properties do not demand as many points as many of the others.
We stayed at Vedema and had a very nice dinner one night at Mystique.
Here's a summary of our itinerary from our trip last year.
We would recommend all of the hotels that we stayed at. Each was unique. Service was great at all of them. Watch for Cash & Points availability which may stretch your points. If you anticipate spending 4 nights at a particular hotel on a regular award, consider the possibility to stay 1 more night for 5th night free.
If you've never been to Athens before, plan for a full day to see sights there. 2 days max. The Grand Bretagne is in a great location for seeing the downtown sights.
The Arion and Westin have a free and very nice airport shuttle. Their shuttle to/from downtown Athens only operates on a very limited schedule, though. Taxis are the better way for most people to return to the Astir Palace hotels at the end of a day. Athens' subway system does not reach to Astir Palace. We loved our suite upgrade at Arion!
We were glad to have had a night in Athens at the beginning of our trip since one of our bags didn't arrive on our flight. Had we continued directly to an island that same day, getting reconnected with our bag might have been difficult.
Vedema has a shuttle to their private beach restaurant (lunch only) and black sand (pebble) beach. Their shuttle can also take you into town and can sometimes take you all the way to Oia. They picked us and another couple up after dinner at Mystique, though they don't usually do so. (The other couple got engaged there that night, so it was a special request.) We loved our suite upgrade at Vedema, and it suited us to be away from the more crowded towns for a few days. Vedema is not along the edge of the caldera and does not have a view of the caldera.
Blue Palace is new and modern. It's a huge place. I recommend a rental car on Crete unless you intend to remain at the resort the entire time. There is lots of discussion about this resort in its Master Thread.
We did not go to Mykonos, and the Santa Marina is currently a Cat7 property. Read up about this a bit before spending points there. It is not very clear why this former Cat4 property is a Cat7 today. I suspect that its categorization is skewed by its expensive suites and villas. If you are not interested in Mykonos' party atmosphere, make sure that this is really where you want to go.
Also remember that breakfast may be included with most paid rates at many of the hotels but is probably not included with award reservations.
There's a great book called "Greek Island Hopping" that I would recommend. It's especially good if you are considering any ferries between islands, but it is also good just as a tour guide for each island and Athens.
For summer 2010, there are also some new options such as The Romanos, Costa Navarino and the Sheraton Rhodes. Bonus is that these new properties do not demand as many points as many of the others.
Last edited by sc flier; Apr 7, 2010 at 7:04 am
Apr 7, 2010, 1:23 am
#52
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Thousand Oaks, Ca., USA
Programs: AA Lifetime Plat; Bonvoy Titanium Lifetime Elite;Hyatt Globalist; HHonors Diamond; United Silver
Posts: 8,302
Got fantastic upgrades at both Grand Bretagne and Blue Palace, both among my top Starwood stays ever.
Didn't go Starwood on Santorini as I wanted caldera view.
Didn't go Starwood on Santorini as I wanted caldera view.
Apr 7, 2010, 7:20 am
#54
Join Date: Jan 2010
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I don't have any experience with the Grand Bretagne, but I have heard nice things. I recently stayed at the Luxury Collection Arion Resort and Spa and found it to be a very tranquil place to escape the city, yet close enough to enjoy the sights. Enjoy Greece, it is a fabulous place!
Apr 7, 2010, 9:21 am
#55
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: NJ/NYC
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Posts: 2,786
I am picky on hotels I really like and feel strongly that the Grande Bretagne is awesome. Food, especially breakfast, is weak though for the price.
I had a 7-8 night stay upgraded to a really, really nice suite without any prodding. I was very happy there. Gotta get back ASAP.
I had a 7-8 night stay upgraded to a really, really nice suite without any prodding. I was very happy there. Gotta get back ASAP.
Apr 7, 2010, 9:48 am
#56
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: San Diego
Programs: IC Platinum Ambassador, UA Mileage Plus, SPG Gold, HHonors Gold
Posts: 852
I agree with all the postive comments on Grande Bretagne--excellent stay and great pre-trip communication as well. If I ever go back to Athens, the Grande Bretagne is at the top of my list.
sdcarver
sdcarver
Apr 7, 2010, 12:07 pm
#58
Moderator, Marriott Bonvoy & FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: McKinney, TX, USA
Programs: United Silver; AA Plat/2MM; Marriott LT Titanium; Hilton Gold
Posts: 11,727
I will be spending 5 nights between Christmas and New Years in Greece. Are any of the Starwood hotels outside of the 3 in Athens open during that time of the year? I was thinking about spending most of the time in Athens, but thought a trip out to one of the islands might be interesting. But online, none of the hotels outside of Athens seems to be taking reservations for that timeframe. 
Apr 7, 2010, 12:14 pm
#59
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I think most all island hotels close for the winter. Usually the last week is sometime in October. Most all restaurants close for the winter too. The islands are pretty dead in the winter.
Apr 7, 2010, 12:51 pm
#60
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Lafayette, CO, USA
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Posts: 9,096
hhoope01, there will be few tourists on the islands in winter, and probably all of the Starwood properties other than those around Athens will be closed. That's not to say don't go, though, to stay in a locally-owned hotel...
http://www.greektravel.com/winter/
Blue Palace's winter closure for 2009-10:
From October 31, 2009 through April 22, 2010 , the resort will close for the winter season.
Their breakdown of dates for cancellation policies is probably useful for anyone trying to comprehend the changes in prices throughout the year:
• Season A: April 23-30 and October 15-31
• Season B: May 1-May 31 and October 1-October 14
• Season C: June 1- June 21
• Season D: June 22 - July 14 and August 22 - September 30
• Season E: July 15 - August 21
The Westin Costa Navarino has announced their winter closure, though the Romanos' web pages do not yet mention it.
October 31, 2010 - March 31, 2011
Vedema winter closure
October 15, 2010 - April 30, 2011
Mystique winter closure
November 1, 2010 - April 14, 2011
The Sheraton Rhodes Resort does not mention a winter closure schedule, but I expect that it will be closed approximately Nov - mid-March as when it was the Hilton Rhodes Resort.
http://www.greektravel.com/winter/
Blue Palace's winter closure for 2009-10:
From October 31, 2009 through April 22, 2010 , the resort will close for the winter season.
Their breakdown of dates for cancellation policies is probably useful for anyone trying to comprehend the changes in prices throughout the year:
• Season A: April 23-30 and October 15-31
• Season B: May 1-May 31 and October 1-October 14
• Season C: June 1- June 21
• Season D: June 22 - July 14 and August 22 - September 30
• Season E: July 15 - August 21
The Westin Costa Navarino has announced their winter closure, though the Romanos' web pages do not yet mention it.
October 31, 2010 - March 31, 2011
Vedema winter closure
October 15, 2010 - April 30, 2011
Mystique winter closure
November 1, 2010 - April 14, 2011
The Sheraton Rhodes Resort does not mention a winter closure schedule, but I expect that it will be closed approximately Nov - mid-March as when it was the Hilton Rhodes Resort.
