I was reading this on Yahoo News and wondering if any of them had point stays available: http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-40253571
Not these properties in particular though I admit that Sandals, Couples, Secrets, etc. don't really do it for me. There are plenty of all-inclusive options available, or semi-available, through traditional miles and points programs. E.g. Marriott Rewards offers inclusive rewards in the Caribbean and Latin America at six properties: http://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morepack.mi Hyatt Gold Passport offers Passport Escape awards which include breakfast and some dinners as part of award stays: http://www.hyatt.com/gp/en/awards/hyatt_free_night.jsp There are some Priority Club properties which are all-inclusive, those generally go for an incremental 10,000 points per night if I recall correctly. Are the Starwood hotels in the Poconos all inclusive? http://poconos.destinations.starwoodhotels.com/
Yes, but are any of these luxury hotels? Like Gleff, this type of property doesn't float my boat but I would think the only luxury hotels that are close to all-inclusive are the health resorts such as Canyon Ranch and Miraval.
Out of curiosity, I looked at the Poconos link and these hotels look tacky. I also noticed that there's no obvious definition of what's included. My best guess is that it's only half board, perhaps with some supplements for special meal nights such as steak, without (alcoholic) beverages. I'm shocked that this stuff is in SPG, although the heart-shaped tubs and full board seem to be standard for "resorts" in this area.
I am not really interested in these type of properties at all- I assume they do appeal to certain customers as they seem to be busy- however like Club Med type operations I would say "avoid,avoid,avoid". In terms of an all-inclusive which is super nice- the Four Seasons Tent Camp north of Chiang Rai is absolutely amazing- I guess you could stay there using the "anytime, any hotel, anywhere" awards from Priority Club if you really wanted to use points- It is 225,000 BHT+++ for 3 nights- with taxes ~7K Euros- so you would need a boatload of points.
MMmm.. Four Seasons Tented Camp... there was a pricing glitch that sadly wasn't honored there a couple of years back, I sure would have loved to have experienced that place.
Well, they are only loosely in SPG. The couples-only Cove Haven Entertainment properties were once part of Caesars, and Caesars was once part of Sheraton ITT. Caesars (Vegas, etc.) was sold, but the Poconos properties were retained. For a while, they even still had the Caesars name. If you check out their dedicated website and their Facebook pages, you'll see that they have a pretty dedicated audience of honeymooners and return guests. Breakfast and dinner is included daily. Alcohol is not included, however soda, juice, coffee and tea are included during breakfast and dinner. IIUC, lunch is usually additional but is sometimes included for certain promos. No, they don't fit the "luxury hotel" definition that most of this forum's members generally hold. All three resorts are AAA 3-diamond. But IMO, this is good revenue for Starwood and most SPG members don't even know that they exist. SPG recently had another all-inclusive resort join the program: The Westin Resort & Spa, Playa Conchal, Costa Rica. Category 6, but no "standard" rooms. Alcohol and all meals are included, IIUC. I suspect that The Veranda, Turks & Caicos, (in the OP's article) would satisfy many here as a luxury hotel. And FWIW, Sandals Royal Plantation (also in the OP's article) is a AAA 5-diamond resort. I believe that the article's introduction is about the former Four Seasons Resort Great Exuma which is now Sandals Emerald Bay.
The Sheraton Bijao Beach Resort is a new all-inclusive Starwood property in Panama which opened in Oct 2011. SPG Cat5.
Thanks! I like that they spell out exactly what is "all inclusive" and what is not. All Inclusive Policy The following services are included in the rate: Accommodations Breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks All alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks in our selected bars and restaurants Complimentary minibar on arrival day with soft drinks, juices, bottled water (Other days, the spare is an additional charge) 24-hour Room Service (Additional Charge) Non-motorized water sports Use of gym Use of the tennis courts Table games coordinated by our activities department Bellboy and waitress gratuity Government taxes and service charge Kids Club (ages 4 - 11 years) Teens Club (from 12 years) Nightly Shows Basic Medical Assistance (First appointment only) The following are not included in the rate: Transportation Laundry/Dry Cleaning Services Spa Golf and snacks at golf course Motor Sports Babysitting Telephone Calls Diving To-go box lunches
There is one confusing point. Even though all meals are included, when you click on the "specials" of the hotel it states: "Offers Available: Nov 20, 2011 - Dec 22, 2012 Book now and take advantage of our best rates of the season at one of the Starwood hotels and resorts in Latin America plus get daily breakfast for two." I guess that they intened for the "specials" to be for all Latin America properties as oppose to this particular property.
Melia has some resorts on Greek islands that offer all inclusive packages to some guests. These are three and four star properties in general and do not seem to have the full range of water sports that some places offer. However, they do seem to include wine or beer with meals and certain bar happy hour times in their rates, enforced by wristbands. You might be able to get these on points.
and for non-US citizens, Melia has a bucketload of all-inclusives in Cuba.... Some on very spectacular beaches. Of these the Paradisus level are the best by far, which is probably true across the bar for Melia all-inclusives...
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