Breaking Down The Final Week of 2015 Daily Getaways
I like all the deals Daily Getaways is offering this week, although there are only 3 of them, including Fairmont getaways, Las Vegas deals and a huge discount from Expedia.
There are still some deals left, and you can find my write-ups of the previous weeks here:
In case you’re not familiar, Daily Getaways are daily deals sponsored by the US Travel Association. Some are better than others, so you need to think about whether you can take full advantage of the offer before buying.
For the more popular offers, they will sell out quickly, which means being around right when they go on sale each day at 1:00 pm EDT. Some offers will sell out in hours, some in minutes. It’s also important to be patient. If you click shortly after an offer becomes available and it shows sold out, keep trying. Someone may have an offer in their shopping cart but change their mind or have their computer crash. When that happens, their bad luck or change of heart can be your good fortune.
There’s no 10% discount this year for paying with an AMEX card. However, it doesn’t seem to make a difference in the pricing of most deals, with some being slightly better (and others the same or slightly worse) than last year.
Here are the last 3 deals of the year:
Monday, April 20, 2015: 2 deals from Fairmont Hotels
6-night Hawaii vacation for $1780
The price of this is almost exactly the same as last year ($2 cheaper). If you’re contemplating Hawaii, and staying at one of the Fairmont properties, this is an awesome deal. As this is a repeat of last year’s, here’s what I wrote then:
A lot of flexibility here, in that the 6 “Ovation Rewards” certificates can be used all at once or separately. They can be used at both the Fairmont Kea Lani in Maui, which is an all-suites property, as well as the Fairmont Orchid, Hawaii.
I would venture a guess to say that you could book multiple rooms at the same property at the same time, given a reading of the T&C. They’re also very flexible in that they can be used any day with last-room availability in the standard room category. And, there are no exclusions for holidays. I saw plenty of availability for Columbus Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The certificates also include a full breakfast for two people each day.
At the Fairmont Orchid, a standard room with breakfast for two goes for at least $340. I saw rates above $400 on some weekends and holidays.
At the Fairmont Kea Lani, I couldn’t find any rates for a suite below $500, and many days were $700.
Those prices make this a pretty screaming deal, especially if redeeming for a suite at Kea Lani
And, there are no expiration dates for the certificates.
I would consider all of the above still accurate, including the rates. C0nsidering the last-room availability and no expiration, this is one of the most accommodating offers of the bunch. There are 10 of these available and I would expect them to go quickly.
3-night stay at Fairmont Scottsdale Princess for $610
These certificates are just about as flexible as the ones above and include breakfast for 2 people as well. $200 a night is a solid deal at the Fairmont Princess. These certificates say limited blackout dates may apply, so be wary of this if you were planning to use these for a very popular date.
Tuesday, April 21, 2015: Las Vegas Deals at MGM Resorts
3-night stay at Bellagio in a suite for $1,500
- 3 nights in a Bellagio suite (double occupancy).
- 2 VIP tickets to a performance of “O™” by Cirque du Soleil®
- Dinner for two (2) at any Fine Dining restaurant at Bellagio (max $400)
- 2 spa treatments (valued at $500)
- Round-trip airport limo transfers (between McCarran Airport and Bellagio).
- Invited guest check-in at the Bellagio.
This is a slightly different version of last year’s offer. The differences are a 3rd night in a Bellagio suite and the subtraction of a VIP night in one of their clubs. This takes the price up to $1,500. If you value suites, this can be a solid offer, given that between dinner, massages and show tickets you’re already over $1,000 in value. But, if you weren’t going to max out those items, it’s going to be hard to get really big value out of this package.
2-night stay in Skyline Marquee Suite at MGM Grand for $1,545
- A 2 consecutive night stay in a Skyline Marquee Suite (double occupancy).
- Two (2) 1-hour massages at the Grand Spa.
- Two (2) tickets to see KA™ by Cirque du Soleil.
- One (1) dinner for 2 at one of the following MGM Restaurants: Craftsteak, Shibuya, or Pub 1842.
- Round-trip airport transfer from McCarran Airport to/from hotel.
This is somewhat similar to last year’s offering, though it includes tickets to KA and costs about $150 more. If you like Cirque shows, $150 is a good value. But, since it only includes 1 dinner instead of 2, I’d say it’s a big higher priced than some of the other deals. Here’s what I wrote last year about this giveaway:
The Skyloft rooms are supposed to be spectacular (I haven’t stayed in one yet). And, pricey. These rooms are at the very top of the MGM Grand and generally feature a two-story “loft” layout. Duh. They’re about 1,400 sf and very elegantly finished.
The cheapest rates I could find were $750 a night, with some nights much more.
The dinners are capped at $300 each. The spa treatments are probably worth about $300 depending on which treatment you pick. If you don’t mind paying roughly $500 for your 2-night room, then this is a good opportunity to try out a Skyloft. While you likely can’t slip a check-in person enough cash to get you moved to a Skyloft, you can always go the more affordable route and slip them some cash for a lesser suite and bypass the package.
It’s still a good value given the price of a Skyloft suite, but only if you’re willing to spend the money to stay in a suite.
4-night package at Luxor for $500
- Four consecutive nights in a Tower Deluxe Room at the Luxor (double occupancy).
- 2 VIP tickets (preferred seating) to The World Famous Jabbawockeez
- $400 Food & Beverage credit for select Luxor restaurants.
- Offer valid anytime through January 31, 2016. Blackout dates of December 30 and 31, 2015, apply.
Essentially the same deal as last year, $19 more. I’ve stayed at Luxor a few times and the rooms aren’t actually that bad, though wireless internet in the rooms is lacking. Luxor rooms can be as cheap as $70 a piece but average closer to $100 a night. Given that the $400 credit is for the entire stay, not just one meal, you’re essentially getting a free room if you can use the show tickets. I’ve eaten at their steakhouse, Tender Steak, and had a decent meal. It would definitely be possible to burn through $400 between all the eligible restaurants on-site.
3-night stay at Circus Circus for $150
- Three (3) consecutive night stay in a standard room in the West Tower at the Circus Circus Hotel Casino in Las Vegas (double occupancy).
- Breakfast buffet and dinner buffet for 2 people during stay.
- A $75 voucher for The Steak House restaurant inside Circus Circus.
- 1-day passes for two to the Adventuredome Theme Park.
- Offer is valid through December 30, 2015. Subject to availability.
This is a repeat of last year’s deal. I’ve never stayed at Circus Circus but there are plenty of better places to camp out in Vegas. Room rates can be found frequently at $25 a night. Pass.
3 nights in a suite at Aria for $1,700
- Three consecutive nights in a one-bedroom suite at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas (double occupancy).
- Dinner for 2 at your choice of one of the many fine restaurants inside ARIA, including: Sage, Bardot, Julian Serrano, or Jean Georges Steakhouse.
- Spa treatments for 2 at The Spa at ARIA.
- 2 VIP tickets to Zarkana™ by Cirque du Soleil®.
- Round-trip airport limo transfers (between McCarran Airport and Aria Resort & Casino).
- Offer is valid through December 31, 2015, subject to availability.
This is a downgrade from last year’s offer in a few respects. Last year’s price was $1,462; the suite last year was called out as a Sky Suite, this year’s is undefined. And, the dinner is more limited, now a dinner for 2 using a prix fixe menu. I like Aria and love Julian Serrano for dinner. I don’t actually think the changes make this a viable deal any longer.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015: $1,000 Expedia Hotel Voucher for $650
The 35% discount on a hotel stay is a really tempting one, but a bit of background from my previous post when this was announced:
Expedia is offering up a $1,000 hotel coupon and a 10 month’s worth of their +gold status for $650. Of course, there are a few lines of fine print:
*Coupons can only be used to book a +VIP Access or Expedia Rate hotel.
*Coupons can only be used once. Any leftover value is void.
*A coupon can only be applied to one hotel room per booking.
*Coupon values don’t apply to taxes or fees.
*Once a coupon is used, it cannot be refunded.
*Coupons can only be used on reservations paid for at time of booking.
I had to look up the details of Gold status with Expedia. Here’s a screenshot:
Bonus points, room upgrades (at a list of 1400 VIP access hotels) and a dedicated concierge seem to be the Gold benefits, while Blue members get a host of other things, like 2 points per dollar on hotel spend and 1 point per $5 of spend on flights.
I’m not a fan of booking through OTAs, but lots of people find it convenient. I can’t say I’d put a whole lot of value on the Gold status, but there’s still a 35% discount on a future hotel reservation. There’s only 50 of these available, so it’ll be a full-out scrum to score one of these.
The big key to note here is that you have to use $1,000 voucher on one reservation for one room.
If you can meet this criteria, line up for this offer early.
The post Breaking Down The Final Week of 2015 Daily Getaways was published first on Pizza In Motion.
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