Originally Posted by
GlobalPartycrasher
2. There are about 40 villas on the property, and the vast majority are the same floor plan, square footage, etc. (though the views may differ). I wonder if the property didn't/couldn't find a way to distinguish between these villas so that only a subset were "standard" rooms eligible for points redemption (I know people hate it when properties do this, but it would hardly be the first time, and if a generic Sheraton can get away with it, why not a special property like Al Maha), and as a result has been swamped with reward redemptions for certain weeks, including for high season which can't yet be charged at peak rates?.
I believe this May already be the case - but as a genuine difference, not one made to “game” the system. I paid 66,000 for what I was told was a “premium” villa, which did indeed seem to have by far the nicest setting. While not on the website, it looks likely to me that a small set of the villas (4-5?) with the best views have been differentiated in the system.
Two caveats: 1. this was before the transition to the Marriott system and 2. I might just have been mischarged.
Back to the general debate, the real problem is Marriott not noticing the property’s special conditions until after the programme announcement, so they not unreasonably had to do something. I’d rather they went back to just asking a reasonable amount of points, but in the meantime their solution is reasonable.
As I said, it means that for a couple you should not book on points unless rates are $1,100 or higher (I would want min $1,300), although the relative attractiveness on points is much higher if only
one person is staying: for once, a benefit to single people on a points stay.