Well, I may have found a distinct difference betweeen Hilton and Marriott! But I may not have all the information yet.

I booked a flight yesterday for two weeks in Australia yesterday. We'll leave SFO on Oct 28.

I was looking at the Marriott properties and I am pretty sure that I can get awards at either the Harbour or the other property on College Road (leaning toward College Road).

We are considering going to Melbourne for the 2nd week but there is no award availability at that Marriott. When I become Plat in a couple of months, will that help? (There is something called a Diamond Force with respect to getting awards with Hilton...not sure if there is something similiar w/MR.)

Also, it was odd that the Marriott in Melbourne was quite a bit more expensive (if you were paying $$) than the other two Marriott's in Sydney. Anyone know why?

And lastly, if there are any Aussie experts out there...if you had two weeks in Australia, how/where would you split your time (4 days here, 6 there, 4 somewhere else)...keeping in mind that I want to utilize my Gold status (Plat before we leave) to the best of my abilit.

Thanks all!!!

Dawn

No, your Plat status wil not help in that regard.

There appears to be a Special Event (Spring Racing Carnival) going on in Melbourne from Oct 30 through the night of Nov 7 and as such reward availability is limited/unavailable. There is award availability starting Nov 8 for all remaining nights in November. Paid rates also are $400 AUD during the Spring Racing Carnival special event period, and then drop to a more reasonable rate of $249-259 AUD starting Nov 8. Delay your arrival in Melbourne until Nov 8 and you have it made.

Luck of the draw on this one....flights have been made for Oct 28--Nov 13.

Will figure something out as there is a Hilton there as well (I believe)....we'll switch and stay @ the Marriott in Sydney.

Thanks for clarifying the part about getting an award as a Plat (that it makes no difference--that helps a lot actually).

Dawn

You're welcome. All the best with your plans and have a great time in OZ. I was there last December and went north for Scuba Diving, so I did not visit Melbourne. I did spend 6 nights in Sydney swore the next time I go that I would spend a lot more time in Sydney. So much to see and do.

Realizing that there are many wonderful places to visit in Austalia, would you say 2 weeks in Sydney is too long? Of course we would take many day trips...but I think hubby wouldn't mind having Sydney as a home base.

Again, we don't travel like a lot of folks (2 days here, 3 over there, 2 here, etc.). We read so many posts that said that two weeks in Barbados was waaaaaay too long....it was perfect for us because we really like to relax and enjoy our outtings....we don't miss much, but we just don't need to fill in every second of every day with something on a "to do" list.

Thoughts?

Dawn

That would depend on a multitude of factors including the individual. For me, 2 weeks wouldn't be too long, but that gets trumped by wanting to spend what limited time I have on other locales due to the distance traveled. I met a young man who was visiting Australia for 4+ months, perhaps in his case 2 weeks in Sydney may not be enough. Oh to be young, unemployed and have sufficient funds to do so. Now he was staying in hostels, which left my pool of accommodation choices a couple decades back.