5 night Marriott or RC Mini-Honeymoon
 

JW Marriott Grande Lakes in Orlando. Can't go wrong.

Can you elaborate? Just listing a property w/o info on why one can't go wrong doesn't help w/ decision making.

Cheers.

Help me choose best hotel for 7 night honeymoon!
 

Hey all,

I just got married last week in the beautiful oceanfront of Cancun.

Now I redeemed 7 night + air but I haven't decided on the destination.
I have points enough for Tier 3, but I would like to save on points if I can.

So if any one of fantastic Marriott travel-holics can point me to the best hotel/destination for redeem value, our two couple will graciously thank you as long as our honeymoon memories last!

Best

First, congratulations on your marriage.

As for the best "hotel" for your honeymoon, I'd suggest taking a slightly different approach. Narrow down where you'd like to take a honeymoon (i.e. Hawaii, Caribbean Island, Europe, Asia, Australia, etc.) and what type of place there you want (beaches, mountains, sightseeing, secluded, etc.) Once you have that in order, then you can look at finding the best, most luxurious, romantic, etc. hotel where you want to go.

I could point you to where I went on my honeymoon (Orlando), but that worked for us (as my wife had never been to a Disney park in her life before that and really wanted to go and I've never met an amusement park I didn't like.) :)

To get some ideas, do a search on "honeymoon" in this forum and you will get a lot of different threads on a lot of different locations.

just recently spent a week at Scrub Harbor. Absolutely loved it and highly recommend it. It was such a relief to be in such a calm secluded location after all the wedding stuff going on.

Good suggestions.

Cheers.

You cut out my favorite part of the post (my honeymoon). I'm crying:p

Actually, I did forget to add one thing in my OP, once you narrow your choice of location/area and look around a bit, you may still have some questions about the area or the Marriotts in that area. That is when we can be of much better help to you. So don't be shy.

Let us know where you choose and don't forget the trip report after your trip.

Using points for someone else's honeymoon. Question!
 

Hi all,

I've hung up my travel spurs for a bit, and am spending my banked points to send my brother-in-law on his honeymoon (flight/hotel/spending budget). The newlyweds to be are staying at a Marriott resort.

I thought I booked the room under his name, but it looks like I did not. Here's the question. Do I:

a.) leave the res under my name and add them as guests, with the idea/hope that they can take advantage of my platinum status?

b.) call and explain the situation to the hotel and ask nicely for them to do what they can to make it a nice honeymoon for them?

What do y'all recommend? Thanks in advance - I always appreciates everyone's help!

CoORD

What country? If you add two names, it might trigger a higher rate or, worse, cancellation because the room is not suitable for three people. Yet yoo want both of their names included so that there's no problem at check in (when many foreign properties demand passports from everyone) and so that either one can do room charges or get replacement key cards if necessary.

a) that's worked every time I've done it for my parents or son but would hate to see it backfire at such a critical time.

b) if you call MR they'll switch the res to their name, perhaps then make a comment about the honeymoon and then call the hotel to ask them to treat them special.

I'd lean toward b) as your PLT benefits aren't going too far at a resort anyway (no breakfast/lounge most likely).

USA. (every time I write that, I feel like it's the olympics and I'm about to start an obnoxious/patriotic chant)

Definitely call MR and have them change the names on the reservation to your brother-in-law and his bride. I have done this many times when traveling with my extended family to move some of the rooms into their names. If you leave your MR number on the reservation, you will still be able to see it in your MR account. They also might get the benefits of your platinum status during the stay (varies by property). As someone else already mentioned, many (most) resorts don't do much for platinum members anyway so they wouldn't be missing out on much from lack of status if the property doesn't recognize it. Having the reservation annotated as a honeymoon stay and politely asking for a nice upgrade (not demanding it) is your best bet to get them extra special treatment during their stay.

--Jon

Have used points for the Ritz Carlton in Dallas for a honeymoon gift.

Call MR Plat line and have them make the reservation, including notes asking for any available upgrades as part of the gift. I left my name on the rez, added the two honeymooners and even received 1000 points as a welcome gift.

(Please note that getting the points is NOT assured! Just a bonus by a very nice rev mgr.)

RC waived all parking fees and put them on a CL floor. They described the room as "two or three times the size of their new apartment".

Ideally it all works out, they get the benefits on their stay - you get the points. However you can't really guarantee it will work if you leave your name on the res, there is high probability it will work, but there's a small chance it won't.

-They may or may not get your elite benefits.
-You may or may not get the points.
-They don't get any points.

Also technically if you take your name off, they don't get benefits but if you leave your name on they may have some awkward questions at check-in:
- When is coORDinates arriving?
- I see the room is reserved for 2 but there will be 3 in the room would you like 2 queens.
etc etc...

I would definitely call and have it switched. The hotel is likely to be nice to them because it's their honeymoon, and the last thing anyone wants is even the remote possibility of a problem due to difference in names, occupancy rate, etc.