RTW trip of a lifetime ideas and suggestions
 

I hope this is the correct forum to post this question. Last time I posted, I was read the riot act for posting in the wrong forum. I could not find a RTW forum, so here goes.
I am planning a RTW trip and have done very little international travel ( few times to Europe). I am going to use Skyteam because I'm a Delta flyer (Diamond) and have a lot of skymiles. I have a rough idea of the places I would like to visit ( but any other suggestions would be appreciated ) so I really need help with places to stay.
I have :
Hilton Diamond status
Marriott Platinum Status
SPG Gold Status
Hyatt no status but points via Chase

So here is the list of places I need hotel recommendations:

Tokyo, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Siem Reap (Cambodia), someplace by the Taj Mahal, Dubai, Moscow, Paris, Vienna, and someplace by Machu Picchu.
I will have to cut 1 or 2 places out due to the Skyteam restrictions but any suggestions on hotels or things to see would be helpful.

What is widely considered one of the best redemptions of Chase UR points is the transfer to Hyatt for redemption at the Park Hyatt Vendome in Paris. A room there could easily run you in the vicinity of $1000 per night for 22,000 points.

In Hong Kong, the Conrad and JW Marriott hotels are very nice hotels, if you want to redeem nights using Hilton or Marriott points. If you want to splurge a little, then go for the Ritz Carlton Hong Kong.

For Sydney, Park Hyatt, Sydney Harbour Marriott and then Hilton in that order.

Closest SPG property to Machu Picchu is Tambo Del Inka.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/starw...-thread-9.html

C&P is available.

You will still need a hotel in MP for one night at least.

That's quite an itinerary! How does Delta deal with RTWs? Is there a mileage or segment max rule like the other alliances have?

Delta offers a RTW fare, but it is limited to 6 stopovers and no more than 3 on the same continent. It seems like a good deal, but I wonder if you could build a better trip using multiple open jaw with stopover trips linked together. That would remove the limitations and probably get you a better deal.
http://www.delta.com/skymiles/use_mi...orld/index.jsp

OP, if you weren't aware, Delta allows you to book a stopover and an open jaw into your award ticket. Open jaw means you book a round trip ticket, but your initial and final city are different. For example you could fly JFK to Moscow, then from Moscow to Vienna. Stopover means that you "stop over" for an extended period of time at one of your connection cities. For example if you booked a ticket from JFK to Vienna with a layover in Paris, you could set up a stopover in Paris where you stayed for a couple nights and the ticket would still be considered a single JFK-BCN ticket (and not two separate tickets/trips).

See this Points Guy post about Delta open jaws and stopovers: http://thepointsguy.com/2011/06/maxi...-delta-awards/

Now combine the two and you can get quite a trip. You could build the trip yourself this way and book it as 3 individual awards which should yield 9 destinations. You'll have to take the time to look up valid routing and destinations, and check out availability.

Sounds like a great trip. I also have over 600,000 Delta miles and have thought of a similar trip. From my experiences in Thailand I would stay at a Starwood Hotel(Thailand still is our favorite), in Sydney I would consider the Marriott Harbour again. In Hong Kong we stayed at the IC Hotel which was nice. Good luck and I'm going to be watching others replying for ideas. Have a great trip ENJOY. ;)

Just something to keep in mind - Delta charges a surcharge for award travel originating in Europe (I don't think they do it for Asia though). So if you are looking to minimize the expense, consider that as well.

Does DL have any creative routing options? On some carriers, a destination like India can go either direction from North America. You could build the backbone of an RTW off of an award like that with a strategic stopover (or two, if allowed) or open jaw. Espeically useful if you want to hit a few cities in one region that would require a couple paid local carrier segments anyway.

For Machu Picchu, if you're limited to using points you probably can't stay at the Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge (Orient Express property). However, if you're willing to part with some cash, the hotel is literally 30 steps from the entrance to Machu Picchu. I stayed there with the wife in April 2010 and we loved it.

Best thing about it is if you're interested in climbing Wayna Pichhu you have to be at the gate of the park at 6am to get one of the 400 coveted tickets to make the climb.

For macchu picchu the best hotel for us was at tambo del inka at urubamba/- the hotel was beautiful and the train station is located at the property to take you to Aguas calientes-// rates go for 350 per night but you can do cash and points for $60 and 4000 points // amazing value -- we just came back 2 weeks ago

That's not a valid open jaw.

It seems like a good deal, but I wonder if you could build a better trip using multiple open jaw with stopover trips linked together.http://www.hbing.info/g.gif

If you have enough points or $$, the Park Hyatts in Paris, Tokyo and Sydney are all great.

We stayed at the SPG Bristol in Vienna and liked it. The SPG Imperial there is supposed to be even grander.

Conrad Hong Kong is great.

Haven't been to the SPG Tambo del Inka in Peru, near MP, but the reviews I've read make it sound wonderful, plus it's a very good value in terms of the points required.

Happy trails!

Best thing about it is if you're interested in climbing Wayna Pichhu you have to be at the gate of the park at 6am to get one of the 400 coveted tickets to make the climb. http://www.demama.info/g.php