Originally Posted by
WEEBOBBY
I have friends in Ireland who want to Honeymoon in September in New York / Maui and Los Angeles (Santa Monica or Beverly Hills). They are looking at doing about 5 nights in each.
FS Maui is the obvious choice but blows their budget a bit for the rest of the trip.
I think they should leave NY and LA till much closer to the time but perhaps book the entry level room at FS MAUI. I thought they could go for FS Maui for $465 through DavidO and compromise on New York hotel to offset the cost.
I would say their budget for 2 weeks is about $300-350 a night and they have asked for my help.
I stayed in L'Ermitage in April for about $300 a night but that was a deal combined with expensive flights (LHR-LAX-Tahiti).
They seem keen on Santa Monica.
I see the Huntley in SM and The Benjamin in NY on luxurylink.com
I usually use a mix of website deals/hotwire/FHR/DavidO/and hotel programs such as SPG and IHG (the 40,000 cash and points trick for the IC Bora Bora - oh yes) but they are not familar with these methods
I have been looking at options like credit cards AMEX PLAT / SPG AMEX etc etc but dont see any that are available in Ireland (I am based in UK and these cards are available to me) where they could use the points given initially towards stays etc
Any suggestions would be much appreciated ?!!
FHR or hotel third night free promotions will probably be your best bets here. If you can find a requisite deal in NYC, you're looking at an effective budget of $450 per night rather than $300. Of course, September in NYC is crazy, but perhaps a slightly lower-end luxury property like the Trump, Regency, or even the Peninsula if you're lucky could have a starting rate of $500. Avoid the Benjamin--it's business-oriented and not at all a honeymoon hotel. Also, Jetsetter and other high-end "deal" sites may have good 4.5 star boutiques available from time to time.
In another direction, the new NoMad Hotel is fantastic, although not a luxury property.
In LA, if they're willing to expand outside of Santa Monica, I enjoyed the London West Hollywood as a solid 4.5 star hotel with a nice pool and restaurant. If I recall, my effective rate was ~$275 for a very nice open plan suite with a large balcony. As someone else mentioned, the FS on Doheny has charm to it and FS service to boot.
NYC is going to be the toughest part of the trick, and will likely govern the dates of the other two places. If you can get a 3rd night free promo, I'd likely extend that to a six night stay as they won't be bored in New York--alternatively, a 4th night free deal would necessitate a shorter four day trip. Nonetheless, with some good planning and checking around I'm sure things will begin to open up.