Amanjunkie

Seems like many of the usual suspects, nothing really surprising. However, not having stayed there myself, is Las Ventanas really that good?

coraktp

I looked at the deals offered to see if the savings would make up for the $395 membership fee and the first hotel I checked was The Charles Hotel in Munich Germany. The Andrew Harper 'deal' was 2 nights in a junior suite with free breakfast, free wifi, some food credits and early check-in late check out privileges for $1178 based on double occupancy - which usually means the listed price is per person so you'll be paying double for two people, but I hope this is not the case here, because -

You can rent the same junior suite with all the same perks for $594/night for 2 people including VAT. So even if I'm wrong about the price being for one person, the 'deal' only saves you $10. I kept checking out the deals on the Harper site and they weren't. The prices were the same, a tiny bit smaller or even higher than what you can get going direct to the provider.

And also that Charles Hotel junior suite - cheap looking. The amenities and decor make Holiday Inns and Motel 6 look luxurious. Really unimpressive. If I spend nearly $600/night for a hotel room I expect WAY more.

So personally I think you should save your money. I know I will be.

offerendum

Sorry, but this is definitely not true. While you may be right with Harper you are definitely wrong with Charles. It's neither cheaply furnished or compareable with Holiday Inns.

bhrubin

Having won many an Andrew Harper auction, I can say that there have been many sweet deals available. You just have to keep an eye out for the right property and the right window that works for you.

We've stayed in a 2 bedroom beachfront villa with pool near the Maroma Resort for $266 per night per person (2014). We've stayed in a villa at the Plettenberg Hotel in South Africa for much less than we had planned to spend for a 1 bedroom suite in the same hotel (2010). Just last year, we had a stay at the St Regis Bora Bora for deluxe overwater villa for 6 nights for just $6000--over 50% off--only to get upgraded to the Royal Overwater Villa with private pool and 2 bedrooms due to my Platinum Ambassador status (2016).

While not every auction or every travel deal is as good as advertised, the same can be said for many advertised deals. And there can be some spectacular deals as evidenced by my own 3 most recent examples.

RichardInSF

Welcome to FT, coraktp The Charles is now my regular Munich hotel and like offerndum, I don't think any of the rooms in it look cheap. Of course, everyone has their own views on decor.

I somehow got a free subscription to Andrew Harper a few months back (certainly not through being a mod, it came through some stockbroker program) and so far have yet to see the value. They mainly email me with 'deals' which are often structured as auctions, so the posted price may just be a starter price. Maybe I should listen to bhrubin and study things more carefully as so far none of the ones I am familiar with have seemed to be good deals.

I also get the Hideaway report via email and should probably check it out more carefully.

bhrubin

I just looked up a weekend in August for a junior suite at The Charles. Price 612 euro per night. Total cost is 1224 euro or $1424. The Harper deal of $1178 with included breakfast, 85 euro credit, and upgrade possibility is a nice deal. The savings almost pays for the $395 membership in and of itself.

I believe your assessment is mistaken for that August weekend, assuming you value the Hideaway Report or expect to take advantage of more Harper deals. If you don't, then the membership may not be worth it to you.

I often look through the Harper deals and auctions to see if any might suit us.

We are happy to pay for the Hideaway Report because it provides useful information and a perspective I value for some boutique properties not often evaluated as often as the bigger luxury chain hotels. I also find the evaluations to often be very aligned with my own. The fact that we also gain access to FHR type offerings and auctions/travel deals just makes it sweeter.

KatW

i subscribed to Harper's Hideaway (web version) for a number of years. The benefits of booking through them are no better, and sometimes not as good as, Virtuoso or FHR. And, I don't think the staff there are all that sophisticated.

bhrubin

I use Harper now only for the Hideaway Report and the auctions.

I generally agree with KatW and have mixed feelings about using Harper as a TA. I've done it successfully but I've also been left wanting more often than not. So I don't recommend Harper as a TA in that regard. Especially for members of this forum. But do keep in mind that Harper does have access to Virtuoso.

KatW

yes, they do offer Virtuoso rates but they don't tell you that, at least when I subscribed. One is lef to believe these are oh-so-special bennjes accesdible only through Harpers. I'm avslow learner so imagine my, er, surprise when I figured out Harper was recasting itself as offering soevial bennies.

bhrubin, Do you find the Hideaway Report useful still even though you are a widely-travelled, sophisticated sort?

bhrubin

I'm actually not that sophisticated. Just ask @KI-NRT and @MacMyDay!

I do still find the Hideaway Report useful. And I enjoy it. It covers many geographical regions that inspire me, and it still includes so many interesting boutique properties that aren't as well covered here or other places I can trust. I'm not a big fan of numerical scores, but I find Harper's to actually be a very accurate representation of what might impress me and what won't.

One of my favorite things to do in a city with multiple luxury hotels is to visit them for lunch, tea, drinks, or just to check out rooms/suites. The Report does help me identify those that are more worth the effort for me.

And I seriously doubt you're a slow learner!

MacMyDay

100% agreed. I have won a fair few auctions, with the two stand out being La Reserve Paris, which ended up 50% less than the best available rate on the website, and then received a triple upgrade on arrival to a stunning suite; the other being Lucknam Park, for a 4 night stay which was 70% off their website prices, only to then receive an upgrade to their best suite. I've seen some pretty awful deals on Andrew Harper too and often they do not sell, but I check it all the time for last minute deals as there's often some great ones to be found.

We managed an entire conversation in real life without once starring silently into our mobile phones. That's the most sophisticated conversation I've had in years.

QPRfan

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offerendum

Same here. Hold a booking for a JS in December. Good deal with FHR 3 for 2.

I guess Information is a valueable good. So only a detailed report of hotel-options can sometimes be worth 400 $ in my eyes if it helps to find the right spot. Yes, it may be possible to find in many cases equal information for free at FT but not always and sometimes not as convenient.

Epicura

Oh well, the Maldives just became the land of broken dreams...

Epicura

On topic: I also scored a few great deals in AH auctions. 1 of our 2 rooms at Gasthof Post Lech for our last skitrip was about 70% off.