HARD ROCK??!! please HELP!
 

So we have been traveling for free or close to free in the continental USA for a while now. However, we were just invited to a wedding in Punta Cana in November. Obviously we will fly for free with SW. However, everyone is staying in the all inclusive Hard Rock hotel. We were quoted $2300 for 2 people for 5 nights. Which, to a person who has been traveling for free (or almost free), seems astronomical. Does anyone have any ideas of how to decrease our out of pocket cost?

Stay elsewhere? But you'll probably end up spending a lot of time where the wedding party is which may end up costing you a lot. To me it sounds like a good deal overall. $2300 for 2 people all inclusive for 5 nights.

Stay for only 2-3 nights?

Hotel Hustle:

https://wandr.me/hotel-tools/hotel-hustle/

shows only 2 points hotels in the Punta Cana area, both near the airport, a Westin and a Four Points (both SPG program). They have low cash rates too, for a sample date of Nov 1 (you weren't specific about the date). So you'd obviously have to stay apart from everyone else and get a rental car or use taxis or whatever; if you look at a map, you'll see the Hard Rock is at the northern end of Punta Cana while the airport is on the southern end.

Otherwise, I'm not aware of anything you could do short of how it always works for indie hotels: Try to see if there's a credit card with a points program that lets you earn big enough signup points and whose points can be used to book that particular hotel. (Don't assume that a points program that can book a wide variety of hotels can always book a specific one. And you'd want to find someone who has points in that program to tell you how many points that hotel requires, before you commit to the card, in case even with a signup bonus it's unrealistic.)

Or, if you don't need to be onsite, but don't want to be as far away as the airport, you'll check have to check third-party hotel booking sites with a map and see what more-reasonbly-priced hotels might be nearer by.

How do you travel for free?

To your question; staying in a Hard Rock hotel sounds like a nightmare to me, but $2,300 all inclusive for five nights sounds like a pretty good deal to me. If you don't want all that jazz, just stay at a simple hotel somewhere nearby.

Seems like you're faced with either paying to stay there or choosing somewhere else cheaper. I don't like all-inclusives and haven't been to the DR so I don't know what a good price is for lodging there (AI or not), or what other options there are.

Just do some research and find out other lodging options as well as transport options to get to the Hard Rock for the wedding related events. Decide on whatever is the best value to you. Or don't go if you can't afford it or don't wish to spend the money.

lol, really!? Telling me that I have an option of not going doesn't seem very helpful. I am very well aware that's an option. I was looking for something more along the lines of "you can use such and such points" or they use "such and such credit card". I did look in nearby options and what I can tell you is I can easily take my whole family of 6 to stay in a nearby resort for the same price that I would be paying staying at Hard Rock for just me and my husband (2 people). So no, I don't feel like I am getting a good deal. I am looking for any info on how to actually save $ while staying at Hard Rock.

How are we to know what cards and points you have available to you to reduce the costs?You asked for ideas on how to reduce costs. Ideas have been presented that you may not like but they are valid.

Good luck getting help.

I think we paid roughly that amount for two, including airfare out of SFO for 7 nights at Riu Palace so ya $2300 sounds pretty expensive esp. if that doesn't include airfare. although I guess it depends on the time of year/demand etc.

but sticking on topic, I don't believe they are networked with any points or miles system. The only thing I could think of is if you are able to "spend" airline miles through a portal to book a room, or use a card like CapitalOne Venture to have the charges reimbursed.

You say "we were quoted". Was this a group rate booked by the wedding party? If so, look around on your own and you may get a lower rate at the Hard Rock for 2 people (I've done this before). Maybe you can book a lower quality room than they initially booked for the group. Also, do you have any points that you can use like cash to pay for part of the booking (i.e. Amex MR)?

yes, that's exactly what I wanted to find out. Does Hard Rock have any point programs? From what I have seen its an independent hotel. So I am at a loss of how to get miles or points applied to it. But that's exactly what I am after.... So if someone does know of any mile or point programs that Hard Rock is involved in then please let me know.

The $2300 was quoted by the wedding travel agent. I did look around on my own and found very comparable rates ($2260). I wouldn't mind a cheaper room. Also, does Hard Rock ever run any specials? Maybe someone has seen a Groupon on it or something alike?

You will get better responses if you provide your actual travel dates. Try flying in early morning and out late at night to shave a couple of hotel nights off the bill.

Still curious about the free travel bit. Would love to know more.

There is no need to be snotty.

What's not helpful is coming here and expecting others to be your free travel agent. We don't know what hotel points you have, what bank program points you have, specific dates, etc. More information can enable folks to be helpful.

Have you clearly stated upfront that your one and only option is staying at the Hard Rock, it would have been helpful. Your OP read as if you were looking for alternative lodging options besides the high price quoted at the Hard Rock.

Ditto +1, would be interesting to know! :)

Cheers & Safe Travels. ^

Citi Prestige?
 

Do you have a Citi Prestige card? Maybe you could shave off the cost of a night with the fourth night free benefit?

It also doesn't help that you double post about the same issue.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...ease-help.html

Have you picked up the phone and called Hard Rock yet?

Does Citi Prestige work at an independent hotel chain like Hard Rock? We have used up our Barclay credit for Disney tickets. But maybe there is another credit card like Barclay that will let me redeem miles against a website like Undercovertourist.com?

If you get the Citi Prestige card, for a stay of 4-7 nights you should get rebated one night. So that's over $400.

By "free travel" I mean travel with credit card points. We have gotten free vacations from cards like AmEx SPG (at Shearton hotels) and IHG (Holiday Inn Express), free flights with cards like SW, and free attraction tickets (like Disney) with Barclay cards.

Problem here is that Hard Rock is an independent chain, and I am not aware of any offers or point programs I can use for the stay there. I was appalled at how expensive it was compare to other nearby options. Like I said, I could take the whole family of 6 and stay at a nearby resort for the same price. But we are tied to Hard Rock since all the wedding festivities will be there. So I am looking for anything that could lower that cost; points, vouchers, deals, coupons.

You thought that was expansive? I just spent close to $1800 for 3 nights at Hard Rock Universal Studio Florida (not all-inclusive) and at the cheapest room. My families are staying there so I don't really want to stay at a different hotel. I ended up using the points I got from my Chase Sapphire Reserve card signup (100,000 UR points) plus a little more to pay for the hotel. CSR UR points to $ conversion rate is 1 UR points to $0.015 for travel spending thru the UR portal.

I click this thread because I thought maybe someone would have some special deal going on with Hard Rock, so I could use it too. :p But I guess not yet.

Yeah, I wasn't sure where it would be more appropriate to post. Yes, I called them and spoke with an agent. Nothing came from it. Their rates are within $20 of what we were quoted with the wedding travel agent. They also told me that they aren't affiliated with anyone, just as I suspected. I didn't know if by chance I could buy points from someone that has frequented Hard Rock a lot? Or potentially I could get a better rate if I book in the spring? I would imagine it's their busy season right now, but maybe they are less expensive when it gets warmer in the states? I don't know. SO that's why I am looking for more experienced Hard Rockers to advise me

Please look at my post #3 (which got merged from the other thread you started). There are certainly non-resort options in town which are way cheaper, including a Four Points (SPG program) that's under $100 a night some nights in November. But they're at the other end of town.

In that same post, I also mentioned some credit card ideas but with their own downfalls.

Best I could do was around 2K after converted to USD here. http://hoteles.viajeselcorteingles.e...sive-d7txny32? or here https://www.hotelsclick.com/index.php?hotel_id=87455

My suggestion is to suck it up and book the Hard Rock, or book a cheaper all inclusive nearby.

The Grand Bahia next door is around $700 less, and the Iberostar also nearby is about $1000 less both all inclusive.