rocky

I'm doing a 12-day trip coming up. 6 days in Japan, 6 days in Thailand.

I'm pretty flexible on itinerary within those 6 days.

What are the interesting places to visit?

I'm trying to do an all-Starwood tour. (I have 500k points and that's too much to have in one devaluing currency.) What are the best values. (Not necessarily cheapest, but quality for the points redeemed.)

alhitmi

Hiroshima is beautiful city with one of the best Sheratons in Asia, you can do it in 2 days/1 night with a visit to Miyajima island.

MSPeconomist

For Japan, I was going to say Westin Tokyo, but to me, part of what makes it a nice place to stay is the lounge (or the alternative buffet breakfast downstairs, especially on weekdays). Its residential location is not the best location for tourists but it's located near good subway lines and in a very pleasant upscale mixed residential area. This still would be the best Starwood choice around Tokyo IMO but the OP might want to consider spending more points to get an executive club level room, especially if this means a high floor.

OTOH, I'd be tempted to advise the OP to spend more time in Thailand, where there are great Starwoods at reasonable rates. If one skips Japan totally, splitting twelve days between Bangkok and one or two beach resorts would be an awesome trip.

pricesquire

+1

Thailand is a great country for SPG hotels, and a great country to spend a lot of extended time in.

And that's coming from someone who loves Japan [as in, that's one of my destination specialities w/ Virtuoso].

Conversely, why not do 9 days Thailand and 3 days Angkor Wat?

rocky

I booked before the Great United Devaluation this year.

Right now, my itinerary looks like this, all in C.

9 OCT NH SFO-NRT

17 OCT TG NRT-BKK

22 OCT TG BKK-TPE
BR TPE-ICN
OZ ICN-HNL

I understand UA is allowing some changes without repricing the miles. (Just the $25 change fee for me as a Gold.)

So I'm open to shifting within the non-repriced rules.

geminidreams

In BKK on points the Plaza Athenee and Le Meridien are the best value for points. SGS is OK but I would not rate it as significantly better value than the other 2 mentioned. The St Regis is nice but poor value on points compared to the others. W is nice but in a dull area and not as good as SGS. Royal Orchid has view of river but not well located. The Westin is tired so not worth the same points as the PA and LM. You have enough points that 4P and Aloft are probably not worth considering.

nongsom

Totally agree but if you want to save your point or make stay credit alternate stay between 4p and Westin are good choice.
If I have 9 night in bkk
5 for plaza athene
Westin 1
4p 1
Lm 1
Ros 1
try all to make a better plan for next stay
Westin PA. ROS have lounge
Best lounge is PA
Best lounge view is ROS

rocky

That could be really interesting. What is best airport to fly into? REP seems to have no *A coverage.

Where to stay in Cambodia?

rocky

Rates in BKK are so low, I'll just pay cash. St Regis looks like ~175 a night. PA ~115. How much better is the STR in terms of location and quality?

pricesquire

I forgot you're trying to stick to SPG redemptions & didn't realize when I responded you were stuck with the Star alliance.

I just did a similar trip (REP as an add-on to Thailand).

I'm using AA miles, so I'm in a different boat.

Also, I'm not stuck to SPG. Great guest houses (truly luxury) around REP, and there's a Park Hyatt, too. Aman has a place, too: Amansara.

FWIW, I believe you can buy a flight to REP for pennies on the dollar compared to a similarly situated flight if you were flying around the US. Flight is only 1:10, time-wise.

Thunderroad

Lots of good advice here already. My own two cents:

1. Especially for Thailand and Cambodia, you might look into what the weather is likely to be like in October in the places you might visit. That could affect where you go and whether you might cut short your time in Japan in favor or SE Asia. For instance, the rainy season patterns around Koh Samui and Phuket are somewhat different. Here's one of many good sites for checking on monthly precipitation averages in various places: http://www.worldclimateguide.co.uk/
2. As someone who made several such changes prior to taking a recently completed award trip, I can confirm that changing a pre-devaluation UA booking without being charged extra miles is entirely possible. BUT as always with UA, PARTICULARLY with award travel involving partners, make sure you have a CSR who seems to be helpful and to know what they are doing. They are all over the map in this regard. If you have doubts, go by the rule of hanging up and calling again.
3. While I agree with this good advice (though perhaps two nights would be better to visit both the city and the island) I'd say keep your expectations modest re the Sheraton. It's fine, and very conveniently located within walking distance of the train station. But as a Sheraton it is a cut or two (or three) below many of Starwood's finer Asian properties.
4. The Westin in Kyoto is a good hotel. On the large side, and has more of a Western than Japanese feel to it in some respects. But we liked our stay there and especially appreciated it being within walking distance of our favorite part of Kyoto: the Philosopher's Path, which has beautiful temples and gardens and nice little shops along it, and which is less crowded than the similar sights at the center of town.
5. Siem Reap is worth a visit and I believe Le Meridien there is a nice hotel, though I've never stayed there. You can get cheap flights in and out of Bangkok from there. (Bangkok Air is a good, reliable airline for that purpose.) If you do go, book a guide and car as it is too big to simply walk around, and try to see the temples early and late in the day (perhaps relaxing at LM in the middle of the day) to avoid most of the tourist bus hordes.
6. I don't know the Bangkok Starwoods nearly as well as many here, but do like the riverside location of the Royal Orchid Sheraton, for what it's worth. Have also stayed many times at the Plaza Athenee (sp?) and liked it, but was just passing through on business so didn't get to check out the area (beyond the interesting nearby restaurant and gift shop run by the organization that specializes in distributing condoms for disease prevention purposes - a longish walk or quick taxi away).
7. As for Thailand versus Japan, they really are both great countries, but obviously are different in all sorts of ways. Thailand is much cheaper in points and $$, FWIW, and also obviously better if part of your plan is to hit a beach. I could see splitting your time, but my personal inclination would be to concentrate on one or the other.

Anyway, happy trails!

craigthemif

Get yourself a 1-week Japan rail pass and visit Kyoto, Hiroshima, Mt Fuji, Nara, etc. The bullet trains get you around quickly so you can base yourself in Kyoto for the south and Tokyo for further north.

For Thailand I would skip BKK completely (or 1 day to see the sights) and either head to Angkor Wat (you can get cheap flights there with Air Asia or Bangkok Airways) or a beach resort such as Ko Samui. (again you can get cheap low cost flights)

missxmelon

^ I second this opinion. I spent two weeks in March in Japan; Osaka, Hiroshima, and Tokyo were my bases. Spending a night in Hiroshima and visiting Miyajima the next day before our bullet train to Tokyo was awesome. I loved hiking on Miyajima, eating the local maple snacks, and petting the deer. In hindsight, I wish I had spent an extra night, even, so our hiking would not have been as rushed. You'll need a day for the sights in Hiroshima, too!

Definitely agree on getting the JR pass. It might seem expensive, but it's actually way cheaper than buying tickets individually on the bullet trains. And if you do go between Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka, and Hiroshima, you'll save a ton of money.

As for Osaka vs. Kyoto as your base, I'd pick the hotel costing fewer points because it's a 30 min train ride between the cities (if you prefer one over the other).

MSPeconomist

Just be careful that you understand the conditions or the JR pass. It can be used for the NEX to/from NRT if this doesn't mean too many days. It must be purchased in advance from abroad and you normally need to allow time to get it validated before the first use. Also, it's not valid for certain (the best/fastest/newest) bullet trains and bullet trains normally require seat reservations, although it's usually easy to change them at the station just before departure (to take an earlier train).

geminidreams

St Regis is better in hardware though haven't been in a PA refurbished room. PA Has a great breakfast and very nice lounge. It is close to BTS (convenient for getting around) but St Regis is directly connected. both are very good hotels and are centrally located.

Siem Reap is ok to visit. The Le Meridien was reasonable. There are a lot of temples to visit with a lot of walking.

I find Bangkok more interesting than the beach resorts but it comes down to relaxing or doing things.