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!
Favorite auction item is 2 nights at the Instants D’absolu Ecolodge and Spa in France!
The most interesting item up for auction, of course, is the private jet flight at a reasonable price!
And the William is interesting on my end given the high prices NYC hotels usually request…
Favorite Auction item – Private Transcon.
The William NY.
I love the 2 nights at ‘Rue Cler Bijou’ Parisian apartment. I’ve been wanting to take my little daughter to Paris since she’s obsessed with Madeline and the Eiffel Tower. Great deal!
The William NYC hotel is amazing. Not just for the location but for the room colors and details. I feel that as an entrepreneur I would be very inspired here and that’s why I would pick this hotel over others in NY.
I would love to stay at The William and be immersed into the life around Bryant Park.
I would love to stay in NYC near Bryant Park to celebrate my upcoming birthday!
The private trancon jet would be a great way to visit my West Coast family!
The private jet from NY-CA is definitely my favorite item! I am going to wait to buy tickets to SFO until the auction ends.
Definitely the Emeraude cruises in Halong bay, seems really nice!
I would stay at the William for it’s art and architecture. =D
The private jet flight between New York and California is my favorite item up for auction at Luxury Travel Diary.
My favorite auction is 4 nights at Makunudu Island, Maldives
Gary, why do the vast majority of these comments all sound like they’re coming from one person connected to the hotel or auction site? Surely from all the comments you read, you recognize a strange pattern in the replies also.
I’d choose The William over other hotels in New York for its cool and hip design touches as well as its location.
I’ve bid on a couple of things before and won one – a week at an apartment hotel in London at a pretty good price, although not quite the steal I’ve seen on some items.
I’d choose 2 nights at the Andaz Shanghai on Luxury Travel Diary since I am going to China next summer – I have stayed at a lot of Andaz properties and I love the quirky luxury.
I like the William for its location near Bryant Park – handy for MOMA. and window shopping on Fifth Ave.
My favorite item up for auction is the Summerfields Rose Retreat in South Africa. I’ve always wanted to visit Kruger.
I’d love to stay at The William because I love the colors, style and location of this hotel. It would be so amazing to stay near Bryant Park, Grand Central Station, and an easy subway ride to Central Park or Brooklyn. I’m a California girl at heart but I love the energy of New York City and would take any opportunity to spend some time there exploring all that it has to offer!
I was in St. Barts 32 years ago . Loved it them and would love to go back.
A stay at the Williams to see how it compares to other NY hotels.
Would like to stay at the William for convenience, location, and for what it offers with it’s extended stay capabilities.
4 NIGHTS AT MAKUNUDU ISLAND, MALDIVES
My favorite is the private jet flight NY to LA.
My favorite was a private jet flight auction!
I’d stay at the William to write a review for my YouTube channel that has 6,000 subscribers
My favorite item up for auction at Luxury Travel Diary is the 7-night stay in Abu Dhabi – perfect for my Etihad Christmas Day 2014 error fare
I would like to stay at the William for its location.
Favorite is 2 nights at Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay Resort, Maryland. Went to HS in DC and always enjoyed time along the Chesapeake.
I’d like to stay at The William for its location and sample its luxurious setting.
Well, the private jet one is awesome!
The William sounds awesome for when I want to stay in NYC for more than a couple of days!
I like
3 Nights At Waipuna Estate, Christchurch, New Zealand
Used to love luxury link. Until they went bankrupt this May. I lost $1.7k that I had paid for a vacation that they never sent to the resort. Hope new management is better…
The private flight is my favorite item.
I’d stay at the William for the nice location and attractive property.
I’ve never been to Sardinia so the Hotel Marinedda Thalasso would be fun.
Never have flown on a private jet!
The Williams is in a great location because it’s so close to Broadway.
The best auction item is the private jet flight. Incredible value!
The William because it’s close to Bryant park
Gala Dinner for 2 at Hyatt Churchill London
The Hyatt Chesapeake one is interesting, especially because you have 4 years to use it.
Katana & Itz’ana Resorts, Belize looks great! I’ve seen these auctions before and wondered about them. This is a great opportunity to try one of them out.
Love the idea of the William as it only has 33 suites. It will remind me of when I lived in NYC
My favorite auction is Andez 5th ave
I love visiting the auction site – to bid but also to discover places I hadn’t known about before.