kdw133

Once again, thanks to everyone for the input and conversation. Here's the list I have so far for a beach/outdoors, somewhat secluded, Hilton honeymoon.

Big North American Resorts
Hilton Los Cabos
Hilton Hawaiian Village
Hilton Waikoloa Village
Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea

Exotic Destinations
Hilton Bora Bora Nui
Hilton Moorea
Conrad Bali
Waldorf Astoria/Hilton/Conrad Maldives
Conrad Koh Samui
Hilton Phuket
Hilton Mauritius
Hilton Seychelles Northolme

All-Inclusives
Hilton Papagayo Costa Rica
Hilton Rose Hall Jamaica


Anything to add to the list? Any other comments on which would make for the best honeymoon destination?


Edit: Correct spelling. Add to list.

Deemus7

Just FYI, the WA Maldives will no longer be associated with Hilton as of July 29th. There's a banner on their homepage, and someone mentioned it in the thread a few days back.

http://waldorfastoriamaldives.com/

Also, I just reread your initial post, and if snorkeling is an absolute must, the Conrad in Bali probably isn't the best bet. While it was a terrific stay, the ocean did not play any part of it. My wife and I simply dipped our toes in to say we had done it.

As lewende mentions above, the Hilton in Moorea is absolutely incredible for snorkeling. We did a 6-night stay there in May 2011 and also loved it. While the property was very expensive, the restaurants on Moorea really weren't terrible, and the vast majority have free shuttles. However, if you are looking at a 6-night+ stay, I would recommend only upgrading part of the stay to the OWB. I may get flamed for this, but we took the complimentary u/g to the deluxe villa with the plunge pool, stayed there for 4 nights, and then moved to the OWB for the last two (I believe it was around $150-$200/night). It was worth every penny, but I'm glad we were able to experience both.

travelingsalesgal

I would add Hilton Seychelles Northolme to the list.. Just returned from there.. It is the smallest Hilton in the world, with only 14 ocean villas (and I believe about 20 hillside villas). The staff was excellent, the entire place very romantic. The beach isn't super right there, but there are many beaches around. Not sure what Category it is, but well worth it.

kdw133

Deemus7 - thanks again. I wouldn't say snorkeling is a "must," but it's pretty high up there. It's just a good activity to do something other than sit around and lounge for a week straight.

That's good advice about upgrading only a few nights at the Hilton Moorea. Save some money but still get the experience. It's good to hear there are affordable dining options nearby with free shuttles too. Now, if only we could get there easily on Star Alliance...

travelingsalesgal - thanks for the tip on Hilton Seycelles Northolme. I'll add it to the list.

Deemus7

Not sure how Star Alliance awards work, but if you could route through NZ and build in a stopover, that is one of my FAVORITE countries in the world. Lots of great outdoor activities close to Auckland, and taking a stopover could help ease the pain of routing in that way.

If you can get to Moorea, you will absolutely love the snorkeling. We would take bread from the breakfast buffet and literally feed the fish right out of our hands! Hope it can work out!!

Thunderroad

Congratulations, kdw! I'll add my two cents to the very good advice you've already gotten here.

First, some general considerations:

1. Even though you’ve done a good job of describing what you’re interested in and asking some appropriate questions, you might get even more great advice if you make a few things clearer: Where are you based? (You refer to flying SA to get to Thailand…are you based in Africa?) Do you definitely want to use your UA miles to get all the way to your destination, or are you open to spending some $$$ (and how much?) if the miles only get you part-way there? If you are willing to spend to upgrade your room at certain of your choices, what would your budget be for that? And approximately what would you like the ceiling on your daily food/drink/activity/whatever spending to be?

2. You probably know this at least in theory but…Don’t worry about planning or getting the perfect honeymoon. My wife and I almost killed each other on our honeymoon while driving in New Zealand – once while I was at the wheel, once while she was – and we’ve lived happily ever after. And there were a few aspects of how we planned that trip that didn’t go great, but it remains one of our most memorably wonderful vacations (and a destination I’d very highly recommend - wonderful people, diverse scenery, probably the most beautiful country I've ever been to - though it's not the place for a tropical beach vacation, and in any event June is their winter). Most of all, down the line you two will have chances to visit some of the places that don’t make the cut this time around.

3. You mentioned dissatisfaction with aspects of the Hilton program. As you can see from this thread, it does have some fantastic vacation properties. But overall I think Starwood is a better program, or at least one to consider accumulating some points at via stays, credit card bonuses and cc spending.

4. And even more generally, for future reference you might explore the many ways in which points/miles/free nights bonuses for credit card sign-ups can translate into free vacations…though that’s a separate discussion.

5. Check out the threads here on FT on each hotel you're considering and the reviews at Tripadvisor.com. They'll be chock full of good information.

6. Back to costs: I wouldn't rule out the more isolated, expensive resorts (e.g., French Polynesia, Maldives, Seychelles) since you're an HH Diamond and therefore will get free breakfast for two. Have a kind of big breakfast kind of late in the morning, and you'll really just need to snack a bit and have one additional meal later. And buy duty-free alcohol and/or or get some alcohol, mixers and snacks upon arrival (or even bring things like nuts or beef jerky with you from home, if you like those things), and that will cut your expenses substantially (except in the Maldives, where you can’t bring alcohol into the country or even buy it other than drinks at resorts). Order room service most of the time and you'll have that nice additional meal in a romantic setting (your nice room, deck or balcony) at a relatively affordable price.

7. In other words, I'd say that even at those expensive, isolated resorts, if what I suggest in #6 suites your purposes you two can get by for about $100 or at most $125 per day, mainly for the one additional meal. Costs would shoot up if you opt for the expensive resort activities like tours, snorkeling expeditions, etc. But such activities really are unnecessary when you're in paradise anyway.

8. A very good service for finding award flight options is awardnexus.com. some initial use is free for FT members. Then for another $50 that's well worth it, you can explore options a lot more and get email alerts to let you know if something you want opens up. In theory, UA phone agents can find you whatever awardnexus does. In reality, you're much better off calling them armed with the itineraries you've found, as all too often they won't find them on their own either because of lack of expertise or lack of interest.

9. As you may know, you can book one-way tickets about 330 days in advance, and that's your best bet for getting the itineraries you want (though sometimes award seats do open up later, and particularly a week or two before a trip). So no need to wait for your return trip dates to open up in order to bag the outbound trip.

10. Also, as I guess you’ve found, certain Hiltons (perhaps particularly in French Polynesia) are limiting the number of rooms for award availability or charging astronomical points for upgrades, so good to at least make reservations sooner rather than later.

11. I would think that with any place (such as the French Polynesia properties) that you’d consider paying $$ for an upgrade (such as to an over-the-water bungalow/villa (OWB), you could write ahead to the hotel asking what it would cost rather than first making the reservation. There’s an outside chance that the hotel might even offer you a better deal that way. Of course, if for some reason they refuse to provide a quote, you could do the booking and then cancel if you don’t like the answer.

12. I know you want to conserve your miles, but for such a special trip I’d suggest splurging for C or F awards.

13. Here’s a good site to get some information on what the climate is like at various places on a month-by-month basis: http://www.worldweather.org/

14. Wherever you go, drop the hotel a line way in advance and then a couple of weeks before the trip informing it that you’re on your honeymoon and reminding them that you’re an HH Diamond, and very politely mentioning that you’d appreciate a complimentary suite upgrade (or whatever upgrade is appropriate for the hotel) if possible. But also make clear that you realize it might not be possible and that you don’t expect it. And in fact, you really shouldn’t expect it…just welcome it if it comes through. If you can get the name and email of the general manager or some other senior manager, all the better.

15. We haven’t been to the all-in properties or those closer to the mainland USA such as in Mexico or Hawaii, but my impression is that as nice as these are, the more exotic destinations are even nicer in terms of the locales and the hotels themselves.

16. If in fact you get only part of the way to your destination using your UA miles and then buy ticket for the final international legs, I’d suggest overnighting wherever you switch tickets. Otherwise, traveling on two separate tickets, if there’s a delay or even a cancelation on one flight it will screw up your onward flights.

Ok, enough (probably more than enough!) general advice. As for specific hotels:

1. In some ways, your best bet might be Conrad Koh Samui. My wife and I plan to go there in February, so I can't speak from experience. But it does sound great, has the spectacular views, your own very private room and pool, etc. No, not much of a beach to speak of, but you can go out to the floating dock to dip in the sea water and you might find that with your own pool and wonderful patio hitting the beach is not a priority anyway. If you read through the CSK thread here on FT, you'll see that there are nearby hotels and restaurants that will pick you up for pretty cheap prices and take you to eat and hit spas at much less expensive rates than the Conrad. Or you can simply rent a car if you're up for driving yourselves. I don't know of specific hiking options on Koh Samui, but perhaps you could research that.

You'd likely get some rain in KS in June, but some clouds and occasional rain are fine in that kind of climate.

Finally, you can get all the way there using your UA points. If in fact you’re based in Africa, then SA part or most of the way is the way to go, I guess, then connecting to Thai domestically. But if you're based in the USA or Europe, there are lots of better Star Alliance options. If you’re in the USA, you’re probably better off going transpacific even if you’re on the East Coast.

2. I heartily agree with the endorsement of the Conrad Bali. It’s a wonderful property. Check on this, but I’m almost certain that as a Diamond you’d have access to the suites section of the hotel, which is like a hotel within a hotel. We were lucky enough to get a complimentary upgrade to actually have a suite in that section. Between the wonderful pool for the suites section, the complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea/snacks and early evening cocktails/snacks, we spent a good part of our time at the hotel just being lazy slugs lounging in the suites section. And as a Diamond on a honeymoon, you’d have a great shot at a complimentary upgrade into it…though again, don’t risk disappointment by assuming that would happen.

You can walk to other resorts and restaurants from the Conrad, which is nice (or take cheap taxis to yet others). It’s a paved path that runs parallel to the beach. And even at the hotel itself, I don’t think the prices are as expensive as some other properties you’re considering and I’m discussing.

One downside of the Conrad is that most beaches on Bali are really not very nice, including in the part of the island where the Conrad is. You can sit/lie near the water and gaze out on tranquil scenes, but going into it is not especially attractive.

On the other hand, the island is well worth exploring, especially to get a sense of the sites and unique culture of the place. If you feel you’d like to actually stay in one or two other places on the island, there’s some great diversity to the scenery there. Or, as suggested, even a day trip or two with a driver (for maybe $50 or $60 per day?) would be good.

Like Thailand, you can get to Bali via the Star Alliance, certainly on SQ and I think on TG. You probably can fly to Denpasar, Bali without having to pass through Jakarta, which is good as Jakarta is not worth seeing or even transiting through.

June is the dry season in Bali.

3. As much as we loved and highly recommend the Conrad Bali, I get back to thinking that the Conrad Koh Samui is itself a nicer hotel in view of the room, the stunning view (which you won’t get from your room in Bali), the private pool, the greater overall privacy by virtue of having your own villa, and the fact that I think Thai food is fantastic while I’d say Indonesian food is good but not great. But as you can see, there are some definite trade-offs.

4. Now, getting back to the more isolated properties, but ones that your UA miles won’t get you all the way to…

Over-the-water bungalows (OWB) of the kind Hilton has in French Polynesia and the Maldives really are wonderfully romantic places to simply hang out. My wife and I spent four days each in the Hilton Moorea and Bora Bora properties. Very good snorkeling at both. I'd say Moorea is better if you want to explore the island, is somewhat less expensive (though still pretty expensive, including the restaurants on the island), and has a fun over-the-water bar/basic restaurant that is relatively reasonably priced; BB is better if you just want to hang out at the hotel because the OWBs and beach there are even nicer (not that the Moorea rooms are anything to sneeze at). You could split your time between the two, but be aware that Moorea is just a cheap ferry ride from where your flight lands, in Tahiti, while BB will cost about an additional $1,000 for the two of you for the domestic flight. Also, if you’re really on a budget, you’d likely have to overnight in Tahiti one or both ways.

In my own research, it seems that getting to New Zealand and then on to Tahiti on Air New Zealand is really a non-option. The flights don’t go every day and the awards are very rarely if ever available. (If you join awardnexus, you could search some random days at various times of year to see if awards do ever pop up.) You could get as far as Hawaii on UA (or US), then pay for the weekly Hawaiian Air flights to Tahiti.

It will be the relatively dry season in June, which is nice, though you could still get some rain. But as with Koh Samui, it’s unlikely that you’d get such consistent rain that time of year that it would put a damper on the trip.

5. Haven't been to the Conrad Maldives, but it gets very nice reviews. Again, you'd have to pay to upgrade to an OWB. No hiking to be done there, for what it's worth, as the islands in the Maldives are small and totally flat. We stayed at the Waldorf Maldives and loved it, but unfortunately it is dropping the Hilton affiliation next month (though one recent report at the WM thread notes rumors of another very nice Maldives hotel becoming a Waldorf). There’s also the Hilton Iru Fushi (sp??), but from what I’ve read the Conrad is nicer. My impression is that the Conrad also has the best snorkeling in the Hilton chain, but unlike the FP properties at some of the OWBs you don’ have instant access to it right off your deck…or at least, for the very best snorkeling near the reef you have to take a somewhat long walk or shuttle boat to another part of the resort.

There’s a current thread in the UA forum about SQ (and SQ is one of the world’s best airlines) getting you all the way to the Maldives, but that award availability on SQ can be tight. Aside from that, your best bet might be to fly to a Middle Eastern country such as Dubai, and the pay for a flight from there. Be aware, though, that even once you get to the Maldives you’d then hop the hotel’s domestic flight to get to the Conrad. I don’t know the exact price, but I think it’s at least $300 or $400 per person.

6. We just got back a few weeks ago from a fantastic vacation in the Seychelles, which I’ll more fully write up and post about in a week or two. I agree that the Northolme there is a wonderful property, but Labriz really has the wow factor. Labriz is the only hotel on an island (Silhouette) that is a national park. If hiking is a priority, it definitely is the best of the Hiltons. Some nice hiking to be done there, going right from the hotel, including an easy and only slightly hilly walk of 30-45 minutes each way along the coast. There is also a considerably more hilly and strenuous (partly because of the heat and humidity) trek across the island, maybe 90 minutes each way, ending at a beautiful, isolated inlet where you can cool off and hang out. I think that as a Diamond you’d get a complimentary upgrade from garden villas to beachfront ones facing the water, but you might want to confirm this (and again, mention the honeymoon). The view of the water from those villas is very filtered to provide privacy from the very occasional guests strolling along the beach, but the trees and bushes you’re gazing at and through are beautiful. Picture postcard white sand beaches and pretty rock formations at the hotel and within walking distance.

Northolme is also great, though there’s no room to roam the way there is at Labriz and the rooms aren’t quite as nice. (But that’s just because Labriz is outstanding; Northolme’s rooms are quite fine.) Also, service is good though not quite as great as at Labriz. But the views are even better as you’re facing west and parts of the resort are elevated. Snorkeling pretty good at both places, but easier to do at Northolme as the best spots are just several yards into the ocean. (I guess I’d still say FP and Maldives snorkeling is slightly better, though my wife disagreed.) Northolme is also on the main island (Mahe), so you can explore by renting a car or hiring a driver or even hopping a bus. Like Labriz, some beautiful beaches on the main island. One of the most beautiful drives we’ve ever taken, though slightly hairy to avoid oncoming buses on the narrow roads. There are restaurants within walking distance (if you don’t mind walking along the road and having to be mindful of occasional cars and buses passing by) or an easy taxi ride. Most restaurants not cheap, but less expensive than eating out in French Polynesia.

I guess I’d recommend doing both, with Northolme first and the ratio of days between the two being maybe 2:1 or 3:2 in favor of Labriz. If you stay at least five nights (even if they are award nights) on Labriz, the otherwise expensive transfer between islands is free.

Like the Maldives, a real trek to get to the Seychelles…perhaps even tougher. If you can bag award flights on SA, you can use your UA miles to get you as far as Mauritius, and then take relatively cheap and short flights ($300 RT in economy per person??? Maybe $500 in business???) to get to the Seychelles.

June is relatively dry. Like other places, you’d get some rain but not a problem.

Hope this helps!

luv2go

I'm 27 years past my honeymoon, but just want to give a giant ^ to thunderroad for taking that great post. So much detail, and so helpful.

We take nice trips all the time, but want something extra special for next year because in december we will pay tuition payment 16 of 16 for the little luv2gos! . Bye bye bursar office!

For the family trip,, they want to return to the sorrento Hilton, which they loved when we went around 5 years ago. But, hubby and I want a 'honeymoon' type location for an additional trip. We like beach locales, and hubby loves to play tennis,, so tennis courts in or around the property mandatory.

Live on east coast USA, and have to use star alliance. We are going to Hilton Moorea this September, so that's already taken . We went to Bangkok, and Phuket earlier this year. LOved Phuket, but stayed a few days at the Hilton, and other days at the JW Marriott. So, would tend not to consider koh samui, since we've ' done' Thailand.

Bali is near the top of my list, but I've learned for this post that I can easily get the Maldives with *A, so that's become a new possibility. I'm just afraid all the add-on costs there would put a damper on things. Since we like to go away a lot, I like to use the points for the flights and hotel, get comp breakfast, as we're diamond, eat a snack type for lunch, or share, and get a somewhat nice dinner. ( although I admit to being the type who has actually eaten dinner in the lounge, such as the Conrad Bangkok- food so good and plentiful, I didn't see any reason to eat dinner after) . My friends still don't believe me that I only spent around $1200 for my 10 day trip to Hongkong/Bangkok/Phuket.

I really miss the Hilton Cannes. That was one of my favorite Hilton's.

drowland1134

I am a hilton Diamond member and I have booked a 7 night stay in october at the Hilton Los Cabos Resort for my Honeymoon. I used points for a Jr. suite oceanview room. Does it still make sense to email the Hotel a few weeks before to see if there are any potential free upgrades to a larger suit. I know know there i a good chance to upgraded to a suit if i had just booked a normal deluxe room, but didnt know if anybody had any luck getting upgraded to a better suit, when you have a smaller suit already booked. Any replies or advice about this resort or if they have been in a similar situation would be much appreciated.

anabolism

Laundry service included? Wow! Can you provide any details?

You can certainly cancel an award stay with no penalty, but what I've done is contact the hotel directly, either by phone or email, usually to the GM or front desk manager or revenue manager, or the assistant manager of any of these, explain that I was planning an award stay but wanted to make sure the visit would be special, and ask if they could offer an upgrade to a suite for an extra cost. At some properties I've been offered the difference from a regular room to a suite, while others have offered half of that for spectacular suites.

Is that because there the ocean isn't nice there? I've been looking for beachy places for an around-the-world status run on OneWorld and was thinking Bali would be nice, and easy to get via HKG. (From what I read, Phuket has gone downhill and the water isn't very clean, plus there isn't any D availability to/from HKG on the days on need.)

Not to quibble (I find most of New Zealand is very cold even in their summer) but Bay of Islands north of Auckland is very beachy and nice and can feel tropical in their summer.

Why is that? Is the water cold, dirty, or rough? I really like to swim, so I was hoping to find a beachy place that's good for swimming as part of my RTW status run, and thought Bali fit. Is the pool at the Conrad long enough to swim laps in?

No harm in emailing or phoning the hotel to ask. If you're willing to pay, you can contact them well in advance. If you're only looking for a free upgrade, contact them close to the arrival date, when they'll know their occupancy.

kdw133

Thunderroad, wow! I expected good responses when I posted here, but that was above and beyond. So much knowledge and first hand experience, thank you so much.

I want to start by responding some of the questions in your post.

1. Where are you based?
Chicago, sorry about the confusion.
Do you definitely want to use your UA miles to get all the way to your destination, or are you open to spending some $$$ (and how much?)
Really would like to just use the UA miles. Maybe open to spending a couple hundred more if we really want to get somewhere *A doesn't serve, but not too much.
If you are willing to spend to upgrade your room at certain of your choices, what would your budget be for that?
Definitely thinking about this, especially to one of the OWB. Would be willing to spend $100-$200 a night, maybe only for a couple of the nights though.
And approximately what would you like the ceiling on your daily food/drink/activity/whatever spending to be?
After getting so much for free, I'm still cheap here. Don't like to blow money on fancy, expensive dinners. Prefer good filling meals. Also don't like to get gouged on drinks, so would like somewhere where we can pick up our own beer/wine/liquor. Up for a few activities maybe. Basically, know we are going to have to spend some money, but want to keep it under control. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say an average of $100/day.

2.-7. All good advice.

8. I actually just looked at AwardNexus the other day. I'll give it a shot when I get closer to deciding on a location.

9. It costs the same amount of points to book two one-ways as a roundtrip? If so, I will book the outbound first.

11. Definitely considering doing a points + cash upgrade, at least for a few nights.

12. Thought about a cabin upgrade for honeymoon, especially if it's really long travel, but just can't justify burning the extra miles. I would much rather use the miles to go on two trips in economy, than just one trip in F.

14. - 16. More good advice.

Now on to the hotels themelves.

1. - 3. Conrad Koh Samui vs. Bali. These are in the same class (exotic, southeast Asian islands), and I agree with you that the Conrad Koh Samui sounds like the better bet.

4. Hilton Moorea vs. Hilton Bora Bora Nui. From what you wrote, I think Moorea is the way to go. Just being able to ferry over alone is a big factor, plus better snorkeling and island stuff.

5. The Conrad or Hilton Maldives is out if you have to take a $300-$400 flight once you get there.

6. I liked your idea about doing both the Hilton Northolme and Labriz in the Seychelles. It just sounds like it might be the hardest to get to out of them all. I won't rule it out until I verify that though.

Thanks again for all the info, I really appreciate it. I didn't respond to everything to try to keep my response short, but I read multiple times and took it all in. I'll post a little later about where my thoughts are at now.

Deemus7

There was a basket in the room that we would place our dirty clothes in at the end of the day. It wasn't taken every day but rather seemed like the housekeeping staff would wait until it was mostly full and would take it away in the morning. It would come back that night as part of our turndown service, folded and bundled in tissue paper. One of the coolest perks we've experienced! I think this is specific to the suites-only section of the resort.

As for the water, it's a combination of all you mention. Not clear, relatively rough, and just not the best (especially compared to Moorea). However, the pool in the suites-only section at the Conrad was definitely large enough for lap swimming, and the week we were there (Saturday May 26th through Friday June 1st) I never saw more than two people in the pool.

Deemus7

I can't speak for the Maldives, but the Conrad Bali definitely has a tennis court. I can't remember if they charged for it (I know it cost something to rent equipment), but even so, Bali is very inexpensive, and my wife and I definitely did the "eat dinner in the lounge" thing a few nights, especially with a large late breakfast and the snacks provided with afternoon tea! The canapes in the lounge appeared to be bottomless. Our last night there they were especially good, so I think we polished off three or four helpings!

kdw133

OK, a new updated list based on input here and on a couple other threads.

Big North American Resorts
Hilton Los Cabos
Hilton Waikoloa Village
Waldorf Astoria Grand Wailea

Exotic Destinations
Hilton Moorea
Conrad Koh Samui
Hilton Phuket
Hilton Mauritius
Hilton Seychelles Northolme/Hilton Seychelles Labriz

All-Inclusives
Hilton Papagayo Costa Rica
Hilton Rose Hall Jamaica

Removed from Consideration
Hilton Hawaiian Village - too urban and family oriented
Hilton Bora Bora Nui - Hilton Moorea a better option, extra plane ride, not as good snorkeling/island amenities
Conrad Bali - Conrad Koh Samui a better option
Waldorf Astoria/Conrad/Hilton Maldives - WA no longer a HH soon, Maldives has no *A service AND there's an extra flight to get to hotel island


Any other thoughts? I'v gotten some great input so far, but would love to hear more, especially about some of the properties that haven't had any comments.

I'm going to move on to trying to coordinate *A service soon to factor that into the decision.

SR12

Condor is part of Star Alliance and flies to Male from Frankfurt, Germany. But rarely any award availability, rather crappy airline overall and only awards ever found were economy seating only.
So after paying taxes+fees rather bad choice to spend mileage.
Extra flight is 498USD (roundtrip, per person) and there is a tennis court on the island.

kdw133

Thanks for the confirmation. It's possible, but not doable.