Thank you all, especially SkiAdcock. Right now I am leaning Hawaii as it looks to be closer in appearance to Maldives than Thailand, however how's the bling factor? My wife loves new flashy buildings to stay in, would the hotels/resorts in Thailand be better in that regard?

Which triggers a question, can they be used on the SPG side?

Nope. The programs are still separate. Marriott has allowed linking of accounts and reciprocal elite status, but that's it right now.

I'm not sure exactly what constitutes a "flashy building" in terms of a beach resort. The Marriotts that come to mind aren't new developments: most have been there a long time. (Some were flagged as Outrigger Hotels before becoming a Marriott.) They'll be in good repair, but they won't have the look/feel of, say, an ultramodern new "W" hotel in a major city.

In fact, I miss the understated elegance of the Renaissance Wailea (now a Hyatt) - and older, quiet resort with a 70's vibe. An absolutely meticulously-groomed property.

The Marriotts you can book now will be fine, but the lasting memories of your Hawaii trip won't be the buildings themselves.

Interesting, thanks.

Given that these can be extended after year and booked out a year after that (almost 3 years to use), one would think some sort of accommodation needs to be made once the program integrate.

Maybe as simple as "the cert is worth 150,000 points, you need another 50,000 to make it happen".

First, I'm not sure most would like that approach as that might cause problems when hotels change category levels. Since they tend to move up more than down, that could mean the cert you ordered might no longer have the "value" to cover a particular hotel award any longer. But Marriott deals with that problem now. So I'm sure they could figure out a way to deal with based your suggestion as well.

Also, while I think I do remember someone posting the "3 year" possible use for a TP hotel award, I'm not so sure that will really work. For all other hotel certs, the cert is actually "used" at the time of the stay. That means the cert has to be valid during the stay, not when the reservation was made. When the cert expires, it basically no longer exists. And if it were "linked" to a reservation, that reservation will no longer have a valid cert linked to it which can cause problems about a week or so before the stay. Marriott just before the stay checks award reservations and if there isn't a valid cert linked to the reservation, they will try to order another award for you (using your available points.) If you don't have the points, you could lose the reservation.

I'm not sure why/how a TP hotel award cert would be any different than any other Marriott hotel award cert. So I'd think it would expire and "disappear" just like the other certs. So you may only have 2 years to use it. I've never tried to push a TP hotel cert out that long to test that theory.

Agree with the comments that the Thai resorts are older and definitely don't have the bling wow factor.
Id skip Bali - every Aussie seems to go there for a vacation - its like Spain for the Brits!
Depends what your after - for bling why not try Hong Kong? Something for everyone and some good beaches too, easy to get around and plenty of flights. The Ritz Carlton Kowloon certaintly has the bling / wow factor and Sunday Champagne Brunch over at the W is a must! Your wife to be will love the buildings too....

Thanks Beano, Hong Kong wouldn't be suitable for Honeymoon in this case because that's where we we originally came from. :D

Best Marriott Resort Destination in May - for Honeymoon!
 

So, I am getting married in May :D and planning the honeymoon right now. I'd like to know what ppl think is a good destination that time of the year? Quite a few places are in wet season and not ideal, and other spots like Europe is still kinda cold.

Anyone has any good ideas of a destination, plus a great resort to go to?

Cheers!

My response got deleted in the consolidation of alexbc's query into the honeymoon thread, but the long and short of it was:

Barcelona or Greek islands like Santorini, Mykonos and Crete in May should be wonderful, nicely warm but not blazing hot and before the summer crowds.

Also, if it's early in May, you could do well in the Maldives, at the end of the high season, or Bora Bora, where you will be at the beginning of high season. You might avoid the rain and the peak prices.

Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials and happy New Year!

I'm planning a 7 night stay w/ a cat 6 travel package at the Sina Villa Medici, Autograph Collection in Florence, IT in early/mid October. Should be good, right? No major qualms?

Santorini. We went in May 2017 and weather was perfect and it was before the crowds started swarming for the summer.

It's not a big swimming island so water being chilly isn't a huge deal (we had a heated plunge pool which helped to that end too)