I have friends in Ireland who want to Honeymoon in September in New York / Maui and Los Angeles (Santa Monica or Beverly Hills). They are looking at doing about 5 nights in each.

FS Maui is the obvious choice but blows their budget a bit for the rest of the trip.

I think they should leave NY and LA till much closer to the time but perhaps book the entry level room at FS MAUI. I thought they could go for FS Maui for $465 through DavidO and compromise on New York hotel to offset the cost.

I would say their budget for 2 weeks is about $300-350 a night and they have asked for my help.

I stayed in L'Ermitage in April for about $300 a night but that was a deal combined with expensive flights (LHR-LAX-Tahiti).
They seem keen on Santa Monica.

I see the Huntley in SM and The Benjamin in NY on luxurylink.com

I usually use a mix of website deals/hotwire/FHR/DavidO/and hotel programs such as SPG and IHG (the 40,000 cash and points trick for the IC Bora Bora - oh yes) but they are not familar with these methods

I have been looking at options like credit cards AMEX PLAT / SPG AMEX etc etc but dont see any that are available in Ireland (I am based in UK and these cards are available to me) where they could use the points given initially towards stays etc

Any suggestions would be much appreciated ?!!

For NYC :
for 300-350 it's going to be hard to find a luxury hotel. For this price range I would more focus on the hotel location than the luxury part (a central park view would be a must for a honeymoon). The Jumeirah essex house (soon to be rebranded) provides comfortable accomodation within this price range and you get the perfect location (central park south)

For LA:
Given their preference for Santa Monica the huntley will fit just fine and is within price range. The views are to die for and Casa Del Mar/ Shutters on the Beach entry rooms are far from ok, without views and the price difference can be shocking
They could also look at the FS Beverly hills which continuously offers free nights packages (usually stay 3 pay 2 or stay 4 pay 3). Balcony views have a certain charm and pricewise it's a good deal (especially if booked through FS preferred partner)


Though these hotels don't belong to virtuoso, they are maybe part of another program / or have negociated perks when booked through specific sites (you should check the kiwi collection, visa signature and online booking sites such as whatahotel who have, in addition to providing virtuoso bookings, negociated deals with 4 star sup / low 5 star hotels

$300-$350 doesn't readily buy a lot of luxury in Manhattan hotels -- that's nearly the price range of the Ramada or Wingate limited service properties there -- unless getting creative like you are considering.

The Andaz hotels provide pretty good value in that price range.

cheers for all the information which is very much appreciated .
I had thought about the FS Bev Hills (I considered it in April but got a great deal on L'ermitage) although they fancy SM (I've been to LA twice and went for Bev Hills both times although if I did choose anywhere else it would be SM )

i think they would happily go for a fairly average hotel in NY to get the FS Maui.

Out of interest what do you see as the premium locations in NY ? I have visited twice and always done the touristy thing of being near Times Square!

I stayed in a suite at the Langham Pasadena a few years ago. It�s not a bad hotel with reasonable rates.

If they fancy SM, then the huntley is fine considering price range. Just avoid Loews hotel which looks like a convention hotel with a massive number of rooms and lacks of charm

NY in September post labor day (or labour day since this is a UK traveler) is always the start of the high season. So $300.00 is a really nothing in the luxury market. You might be able to score some fun funky hotel (Thompson Group, The Standard). Otherwise, check out some other major urban places, like Boston, Chicago, Toronto or dare I even suggest good old Montreal to balance the budget.

Santa Monica.... I personally use The Oceana in Santa Monica for large renovated rooms, but yes you give up the oceanviews. The Shore Hotel also gets a lot of press. I'd take a bungalow room at Fairmont vs Casa Del Mar or Shutters. Some really small rooms at those two hotels. Never had good feedback on Huntley

Maui.... With an FSPP booking i would not shy away from FS Maui in a basic room.

FHR or hotel third night free promotions will probably be your best bets here. If you can find a requisite deal in NYC, you're looking at an effective budget of $450 per night rather than $300. Of course, September in NYC is crazy, but perhaps a slightly lower-end luxury property like the Trump, Regency, or even the Peninsula if you're lucky could have a starting rate of $500. Avoid the Benjamin--it's business-oriented and not at all a honeymoon hotel. Also, Jetsetter and other high-end "deal" sites may have good 4.5 star boutiques available from time to time.

In another direction, the new NoMad Hotel is fantastic, although not a luxury property.


In LA, if they're willing to expand outside of Santa Monica, I enjoyed the London West Hollywood as a solid 4.5 star hotel with a nice pool and restaurant. If I recall, my effective rate was ~$275 for a very nice open plan suite with a large balcony. As someone else mentioned, the FS on Doheny has charm to it and FS service to boot.



NYC is going to be the toughest part of the trick, and will likely govern the dates of the other two places. If you can get a 3rd night free promo, I'd likely extend that to a six night stay as they won't be bored in New York--alternatively, a 4th night free deal would necessitate a shorter four day trip. Nonetheless, with some good planning and checking around I'm sure things will begin to open up.

I think it makes sense to book early at FS Maui, and think booking a lead-in room on a FSPP booking is a good idea. You can always continue check for rate drops or promotions and later amend the booking if a better rate becomes available.

R-C Kapalua might also be worth considering with a STARS booking.

For New York and Los Angeles low rates at nice properties might become available closer to the travel dates. High-end properties in New York occasionally have promotional rates of $300~$400 for lead-in rooms.

In Santa Monica The Fairmont Miramar is a Virtuoso property.

In New York you should be able to get that price at the NY Palace. If you can book a refundable rate you can continue to check for a better price elsewhere. I concur that the more important consideration is location. You should be able to get a solid, fun hotel in a cool neighborhood at that rate.

I admit I haven't checked lately, but the reason I stopped staying at the NY Palace was that I had consistently found room rates to be much higher. Be nice if it has come down.

You left out the possibility of acquiring points to get the hotel costs into the range mentioned for the non-LA localities.

Just use Groupon/SniqueAway/LivingSocial/TripAlertz to find a good hotel for a decent price in NYC. I live in Manhattan and don't understand why tourists insist or even consider staying in Times Square... it's a zoo.

Consider boutique hotels: NoMad, Jane, Ace, Standard, Gansevoort, Dream, Giraffe, St Giles, Library, Sanctuary. Andaz on 42nd is pretty good and has great location.

Another suggestion is to use Hotel Tonight app. You can only book 1 night at a time, but I see the same hotels almost every night and most of them are under $300.

$309 http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Proper...es/Default.htm
$405 http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Proper...es/Default.htm (excl sunday) (and RCCP from $530)
$415 http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Proper...es/Default.htm

FHR - latter two RC above have expiring free night offers, negotiating might extend
FHR in NYC - london (4th nt free) plaza (3rd nt free) trump (3rd nt free, may not work) (excl expiring ones)

(seems FS hualalai is currently from $445 after $250 credit)

has any one/agent negotiated multi-destination stay with companies besides aman/FS?
in this case options incl FS, RC, fairmont - but wouldnt be with local sales/mgmt.