mahasamatman

The United and Continental cards were orphaned the same way Fairmont could be. (I suspect we may define "orphaned" differently.)

Tpa-flyer

I was approved for the Fairmont cc on Jan. 13th and met the spend by Apr. 13th. Received an official letter from Fairmont in my mail day before yesterday congratulating me on earning the two comp nights. The letter was dated, April 16. So, I'd say, at least in my case, it all ran like clockwork. Hope you receive your letter soon. Keep us posted here on FT.

gnomey

Thanks. My timeline in meeting min spend is similar to yours (April 11, I think)

This means they are behind in sending mine. Just to double check, min spend is $3,000 , right ?

I remember I applied with one of the dying links so didn't actually see the clause regarding min spend

moretimeoffguy

So glad my wife and I applied for the Fairmont card before it disappeared. This was a while back. Finally have 4 nights booked at the Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui. It's an all-suite resort. Back, I think, in 2015, that property looked like a ghost town. Turns out it was completely closed to guests for 20 million in renovations. It's on a great beach right next to the Andaz Maui, where we were staying.

Had just looked at the Savoy in London, and they were booked out via free night certs until January of 2018! Similar situation at The Plaza hotel in Manhattan due to those "addition capacity controls" of both properties.

Anyone stayed at the renovated Fairmont Kea Lani? How does it compare with the Andaz Maui Wailea?

dgross

I have stayed at both hotels. While many people like the Fairmont, I would never stay there again. Some of my issue are......

1. We used free night certificates (September 2015), and was given a room below grade, it was across the hall from the HR department, and you looked out to a soil berm 10 feet in height. The room smelled musty/mildew. I did eventually get moved to a nicer room. It is my opinion that they may put you in a low quality room and attempt to get you to pay for an "upgrade". I originally did that for a partial ocean view room, but it had no ocean view whatsoever. Any way, after the game playing, I was moved to a decent room.

2. Birds are all over the restaurant (breakfast area). If you leave the table to go to the buffet, expect birds to be visiting your plates unless someone guards the table. The Andaz has a high visibility screen around ka'Ana Kitchen, so no bird issue.

3. The Serenity pool at the Kea Lani is right next to the Kids pool area and the restaurant, so it is not a quiet area. The Andaz serenity pool is separated from the other pools and restaurants by a 7 story hotel wing. It is serene.

4. Finding chairs near the pool was also difficult. I was told the Andaz has chairs around the pool for every room, even when the hotel is at capacity.

5. I found pool service lacking. We were at the pool for 2-3 hours one day, and not once did the waitress stop and check with us. I find the service better at the Andaz.

The Fairmont is all suites, has nice grounds\gardens, Polo Beach is larger than Mokapu Beach and the restaurant Ko is fantastic.

You and your wife should consider getting Hyatt credit cards and stay 4 nights at the Kea Lani and then 4 nights at the Andaz.

booyaa

Question:
Is the anniversary free night from $12k spend (terms and all) just like the free nights we got from the sign-up bonus? 1 year expiration, subject to black-out dates, no breakfast, doesn't cover resort charge, etc?

Also, how can we easily find out when our anniversary date is?

Thanks

gpapadop

Since you asked: http://travelbloggerbuzz.com/travel-reports/maui/
I moved from one to the other, all for free! ^

zzrayzz

Yes same as the free nights. Can call chase to find out anniv date

moretimeoffguy

Thanks dgross for the info. And thanks gpapadop. Enjoyed reading your blog post. :-) I'm sure we'll love the Fairmont.

@dgross, my wife and I aren't eligible for the Hyatt cards again for another... yikes, probably a little less than 2 years. We both used Hyatt free night certs to help take our in-laws to Kauai (Grand Hyatt Kauai). Will certainly re-apply, but it won't happen in time for our trip.

We'll be arriving into Hawaii from Tokyo (first time there). Chose the IHG Strings because it's near Shinagawa Station and because nearly every good points hotel seemed to be booked (the Hiltons and the Hyatts). And we have IHG free night certs we need to use. Combined that with points. There are a few Marriotts available for the nights we want (late Sept, 2017), but thinking we'll stick with IHG. May not be the best property--not expecting a resort; it's Tokyo--but also not expecting to spend our 5 Japan nights in Tokyo. Will do several day trips to escape the madness of a big city.

apple1122

Hi,

I'm new to the Fairmont program. How do I check the rom availability that is eligible to redeem the free night certificate from Chase?. I went to Fairmont's website, but couldn't understand if the room is eligible or not.

Also, can I use the suite upgrade certificate (from Chase) with the free nights certificate reservation?

thanks!

Jasper2009

Yes, you can apply a suite upgrade cert when using a free night cert.

Generally speaking, you can always use a free night cert if there's availability for a "Fairmont room" unless the date is blacked out (see here)

apple1122

Thanks!
What is a "Fairmont room"? When I searched, I don't see anything says "Fairmont Room" other than Deluxe room, Plaza room.....

Jasper2009

Fairmont calls its standard rooms "Fairmont rooms" (usually the lowest room category).

Deluxe rooms generally are 1-2 categories higher than a Fairmont room and therefore ineligible for using free night certs.

What property are you looking at?

apple1122

I was checking NY Plaza (checked Feb 2018), didn't see any Fairmont Room except Deluxe room. I checked its room option, it shows Deluxe being the lowest level?

I also checked Bali Sanur Fairmont, it is an all suite property, still didn't see any Fairmont room option.

Jasper2009

There are a few exceptions, and you've found some of them.

- you need a "Fairmont Suite" at the Fairmont Bali (since it's an all-suite property)

- the Deluxe room indeed is the lowest room category at the Plaza; it's worth noting that both Plaza and the Savoy have strict capacity controls for redeeming free night certs (unlike all other Fairmont properties, where the only limiting factor is the few black-out dates). The only way to check availability for using free night certs at those two properties is by calling FPC.