Luxury Travel Diary, a high-end travel blog with great reviews based in the UK, has a bunch of travel auctions — some about to close, others extend into October — and there look to be some real bargains.
They wanted to highlight some of these, and offered to help organize a giveaway of a 3 night hotel stay in a suite at a top property in New York for readers of this blog. Details on how to comment on this post to win below.
I suppose that folks who already know about these auctions won’t like the added attention, because frankly there aren’t enough bidders relative to the value of the offerings and some of these items go too cheap.
Here’s an auction ending in 3 days for a private jet flight between New York and California – a transcon – going for 1000 British pounds as of this writing. There’s no minimum/reserve price, which is ridiculous.
Or 3 nights in St. Barts for 103 pounds as I write this:
There’s page after page of auctions to scroll through, generally nice places that appear to be selling for less than they should.
Prize: a three-night stay in a terrace suite at The William New York – subject to availability with no blackouts.
The property is currently rated 11 out of 189 ‘specialty lodging’ options on TripAdvisor, with 4.5 stars.
The William is a modern extended stay hotel located near Bryant Park in Manhattan. Stay for a month or more and be immersed in a lifestyle localized in culture, yet tailored in service. Thoughtfully crafted for our discerning clientele, The William features thirty-three guest suites that leave no detail unexplored.
These reviews look pretty typical:
To enter: leave a comment on this post with your favorite item up for auction at Luxury Travel Diary, or why you would choose to stay at The William over other hotels in New York. You may enter two times if you wish and answer those two questions one time each in separate comments.
Contest deadline and drawing winner: Entries close Friday, October 2 at Noon eastern. I will draw winner with the assistance of random.org.
The fine print: For avoidance of doubt I have no affiliation with either Luxury Travel Diary or The William hotel. I will put the winner in touch with the hotel for booking. They are solely responsible for providing prize to winner. All decisions made in the course of running this giveaway are final and unappealable and your entry signifies your acceptance. The goal here is to make readers aware of a pretty cool auction opportunity, and to give away a suite stay in New York. So please don’t make it hard on me for doing so!
I love the location of the William, and how it feels like your own NYC apartment!
The William sounds like a nice diversion from chain hotels…
Staying at the William would make for a very romantic weekend for my wife and I…certainly better than a chain hotel.
Why the private jet flight of the course…
The William is well located and the general options in NYC are good location or decent size room. The William gives you both.
The private jet flight for less than the major airlines Transcon F is my favorite.
Almost forgot. I would stay at the William over other hotels in NYC because I wouldn’t be bothered about whether I will get an upgrade or not! It’s nice to not worry about the room you will get.
Definitely the private jet!
The William for a change vs the boring chain hotels!
I love the 2 tickets to the Chocolate Fair in London.
The location of the William is perfect for us.
The William reminds me of a hip and modern NY apt. Love the style.
I would be interested in the 4 NIGHT YACHT CHARTER WITH KALIMBA CARIBBEAN TOURS.
The William has great, fresh modern design!
The amenities at the William including the kitchen and laundry facilities are a plus when traveling with family.
Love the William’s brilliant location at Bryant Park!
The Williams Hotel. Great location and added conveniences of kitchen and laundry
The Andaz stay at 5th Ave NYC sounds like a fun item to bid for in the auction.
The Hyatt in Chesapeake bay looks amazing, I may actually bid on that! I love the Chesapeake bay and have heard rave reviews about this hotel!
My favorite item would probably be the Vila in New Zealand.
I like the location for The William.
The William’s location looks perfect and we could certainly use the extra space with a toddler.
The private jet to LA would come in very handy as I have a trip there soon.
Love NYC and hope to check out a new hotel soon!
Entry #1 – I’d love the 2 nights at the Grand Harbor Inn in Camden, ME — looks fantastic!
Entry #2 – The Williams looks like it has great style in the rooms. Love that!
I would love to win the auction for The Hotel Adriatic in Croatia. Croatia is on my visit list.
Very few hotels in NYC have kitchens so I love that aspect of The William.
Buenos Aires is on my bucket list and I’m a Hyatt enthusiast, so the auction for the 2 Night Weekend Stay At Park Hyatt Buenos Aires would be my pick!
The location for The William is pretty great for Manhattan–near Bryant Park, shopping on Fifth Avenue, and good eats at Koreatown!
I would to stay the 2 nights at the Leone Blu, Florence, Italy. Florence is on the list for my next trip to Europe.
The William looks much nicer than the NYC hotels we usually stay in when visiting our son.
The William would be great for a trip I have planned to NYC to take my niece to see her first Broadway play for her 16th birthday. I would be better than other hotels to stay there as it has a great location, a kitchen to help out as my niece has some dietary restrictions and it would just make her birthday extra special to stay in a cool modern hotel on her first trip to NYC.
My pick from the list – Christchurch.
An el cheapo stay in St Barts during hurricane season. For what more could one ask?
I frequently visit NYC and am always looking for different places to stay. The William New York has a great location and looks great!
The 3 nights in Saint batts sounds like a dream for the winter NYC doldrums. I would take the prize for The Williams and have a stay cation for my fiancées bday coming up!
I’d stay at the William, because I need an excuse to go back to NYC. Thanks Gary!
Private jet flight, for the whole family!
I really like the and ax hotel in Costa Rica
The Charles Hotel in Munich would be a great win from Luxury Travel Diary.
I’d choose the William in NYC because of its great location and the amazing terrace.
That NY to CA flight looks pretty awesome!
I haven ‘t visited NYC in a while, so staying at the Williams would be a lovely treat.
The William NY has really stylish decor, definitely makes me want to stay there over traditional generic-looking hotels.
My favorite auction — 6 Nights For 6 At Shwari Watamu Villa, Kenya
Thank you for the info on Luxury Travel Diary. Had heard of them, looked once and gave up, as not for me. But the auction is kind of unbelievable. I think I like the 2 nights at Andaz 5th Ave.
How can you go wrong with a hotel situated between Grand Central and the Empire State?
I would choose The William for the decor.
I would stay at the Williams so I would have a new property to evaluate for visiting friends and family.