Originally Posted by
Raffles
Couldn't be upgraded as we have a 2 bed Grand Deluxe Family Room. However, the website lists these as 65 to 85 sq m and our is probably 85 sq m. (The hotel tapers and we are on the first floor of rooms, so ours is likely to be the biggest. Rooms will get smaller as you go up the floors.)
Did the spa today actually. It was a $275 credit against whatever you wanted. Note spa is fully segregated male and female, 2 saunas, 2 spa pools etc. Not ideal if you want time together pre or post treatment. Had to sign for the cost of the treatment in Dirham, front desk will deduct up to equivalent of $275 I was told.
MR - I value a Sirius point at 15p when redeeming for meals in the London hotels, so MR transfers at 15 to 1 are a 1 per cent return in my book - which is about as good as you get unless you value Avios at above 1p. Will be keen to see your analysis though. More importantly, I want to know what criteria they have for making reward night rooms available.
Lol, as long as it's not a Friday I think it's OK. If your dates include a Friday it seems to give you no results. Apart from that I think it's pretty random personally.
Here's an idea of the value you get per Sirius point for food redemptions, it's not fantastic, but not terrible either, especially if you earned your MRs really cheaply through signup bonuses etc.
I did this based on prices I could find online or from memory of what I paid.
Code:
Based on an exchange rate of 1 AED:GBP = £0.17
Sirius MR
Food redemptions AED GBP Sirius MR Value(p) Value(p)
1 Meal for 2 at Arboretum 530 90.1 500 7500 18.02 1.20
1 Meal for 2 at Junsui 820 139.4 900 13500 15.49 1.03
1 Meal for 2 at Lattitude 450 76.5 500 7500 15.30 1.02
1 Meal for 2 at The Noodle House 350 59.5 125 1875 47.60 3.17
1 Meal for 2 at MJ's 750 127.5 900 13500 14.17 0.94
1 Meal for 2 at Honyaki 550 93.5 500 7500 18.70 1.25
1 Meal for 2 at Tokyo 500 85 500 7500 17.00 1.13
1 Meal for 2 at The Wharf 500 85 300 4500 28.33 1.89
I'd like to do this for the room redemption prices too, however it would first mean figuring out the Peak, Off Peak, Super Peak dates for each resort and then searching for prices in each one which can and do vary so it wouldn't be really scientific. I think that calculation is best done on per case basis.
Seems rude not to go to The Noodle House, I quite liked it, especially since it's such a great use of Sirius points but the Mrs doesn't like that everything is deep fried.
I've noticed on the 2013 Dining awards several restaurants have become cheaper to book using points.
The restaurants seem to be split into 5 categories:
Signature Dining: Tier 1 - 900 points
Signature Dining: Tier 2 - 700 points
Casual Dining: Tier 1 - 500 points
Casual Dining: Tier 2 - 300 points
Others: The Noodle House - 125 points
From the 2012 awards to the 2013, the Signature Dining: Tier 1 category is reduced from 1100 points to 900 which brings the points value more inline with the Casual Dining: Tier 1, the other categories appear unchanged.
Here are the room redemption values based on your valuation of 1p per MR point.
Code:
Based on an exchange rate of 1 AED:GBP = £0.17, 15 MR = 1 Sirius and 1 MR = 1p
HOTEL ROOM CATEGORY OFF PEAK SUPER
Burj Al Arab One Bedroom Deluxe Suite 1200.00 1500.00 2137.50
Jumeirah at Etihad Towers Deluxe Room 150.00 225.00 450.00
Jumeirah Beach Hotel Deluxe Room 207.00 262.50 600.00
Beit Al Bahar One Bedroom Villa 825.00 1177.50 1500.00
Jumeirah Creekside Hotel Superior Room 97.50 165.00 300.00
Jumeirah Emirates Towers Deluxe Room 187.50 279.00 360.00
Mina A’salam, Madinat Jumeirah Deluxe Balcony Room 225.00 292.50 622.50
Al Qasr, Madinat Jumeirah Deluxe Room 247.50 330.00 690.00
Dar Al Masyaf Arabian Deluxe Room 262.50 375.00 742.50
Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Deluxe Room 210.00 300.00 525.00
Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Royal 4 Bedroom Residence 1282.50 2550.00 4500.00
Jumeirah Living World Trade One Bedroom Apartment 262.50 330.00
Jumeirah Carlton Tower Superior Room 315.00 427.50 742.50
Jumierah Lowndes Hotel Superior Room 300.00 412.50 622.50
Grosvenor House Apartments Studio Residence 262.50 375.00 547.50
Jumeirah Frankfurt Hotel Deluxe Room 168.00 309.00 577.50
Pera Palace Hotel, Jumeirah Deluxe Golden Horn Room 157.50 292.50 300.00
Jumeirah Port Soller Hotel & Spa Superior Mountain View 255.00 472.50 667.50
Jumeirah Grand Hotel Via Veneto Superior Room 285.00 390.00 510.00
Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel Deluxe Room 150.00 247.50 300.00
Jumeirah Dhevanafushi Beach Revives 1087.50 1425.00 2040.00
Jumeirah Vittaveli Beach Villas 667.50 1005.00 1477.50
Jumeirah Bilgah Beach Hotel Deluxe King 90.00 120.00 150.00