The Best Giveaway I’ve Ever Done, Comment Here for Chance to Win 2 Nights at Al Maha!

by Gary Leff

I’m going to visit Al Maha Desert Resort next month. Lucky called it his favorite Starwood Starpoints redemption ever. It’s an all-inclusive with standalone villas and infinity pools in the desert outside Dubai where rates can exceed $1700 per night and is consistently deemed one of the world’s best properties on TripAdvisor.

For bookings made by March 8 Starwood is offering awards there for ‘only’ 39,000 points a night instead of the usual 60,000. And I’m going to use some of my points there.

And I’m going to give away a couple of nights there, too! And it’s thanks to Luxury Travel Diary.

Luxury Travel Diary is a high-end travel blog with great reviews based in the UK that has a bunch of travel auctions with real bargains.

I suppose that folks who already know about these auctions don’t like this added attention, because frankly there aren’t enough bidders relative to the value of the offerings and some of these items go too cheap.

Luxury Travel Diary wanted to highlight some of their deals, and offered to help organize a giveaway of a 2 night hotel stay at Al Maha Desert Resort. As I said, it’s an inclusive resort. So you get breakfast, lunch and dinner. That even includes room service. And you even get two desert activities per night stay at the property. This is a giveaway worth ~ $3000 or 78,000 – 120,000 Starwood points.

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 Al Maha Desert Resort. 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, January 29 at Noon eastern. I will draw winner with the assistance of random.org.

The fine print: The winner will be able to pick when to redeem the nights within 6 months. It’s not available on public holidays, Eid, Christmas and New Years (both of which are beyond 6 months anyway, but in the terms I was given). Advance booking is required and it’s subject to availability.

For avoidance of doubt, my own stay next month is paid for with my points. I have no affiliation with Luxury Travel Diary or Al Maha Desert Resort. I am not getting anything in exchange for running this giveaway other than an opportunity to share the place with readers.

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 stay. So please don’t make it hard on me for doing so!

You probably won’t fly to Dubai and back for a 2 night stay, though you might add onto it and do other things in the region (great opportunity to spend American AAdvantage miles and fly Etihad first class at 90,000 miles each way before the March 22 devaluation, and Etihad even provides a car service anywhere in the UAE… or to spend Alaska miles and fly Emirates).

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. I’d love to stay there as I am in love with the desert and it sounds very luxurious

  3. My favorite item up for auction is the 2 Nights at the Villa Le Maschere in Florence. 147GBP for two nights at such as beautiful property is a bargain. I will definitely have to keep this site in mind.

  4. I would choose to stay at the Al Maha Resort because of the incredible scenery, setting, and wildlife.

  8. 2 nights at a luxury cabin in Yosemite National Park. Last time/first time I went the place was on fire–I’d like to see it on a clear day.

  9. 7 Nights At Zoe Seaside Resort In Messinia, Greece. I’m probably bidding on this one anyway. Smart idea contacting you!

  12. I would choose to stay at the Al Maha Desert Resort because of the standalone villas and the desert activities.

  13. Would love to stay at the Al Maha- don’t have tickets to UAE booked, but would make the special trip for that!

  15. 3 Nights At The 5-Star Grand Hyatt Doha In Qatar

    I’m looking at an award redemption involving a stopover in DOH later this year, so this item is of particular interest.

  19. I would like to win the Al Maha Desert Resort giveaway because this was located in a region that I had never been interested in until I saw the photos.

  21. I grew up spending time in the deserts of California and would love to share that passion with my fiancée!

  22. My favorite item for auction is the 3 luxury nights in Tropea, Italy that I could tack on to my upcoming honeymoon.

  26. Stayed at the al-maha a couple months ago, definitely the best resort I’ve ever stayed at and would love to go again.

  27. I’ve never been to Dubai so I’d love to check out the city and this beautiful hotel. All-inclusive…yes please!!

  30. I actually have a 2 day trip in February to Dubai because that was the only time I could get off, AL MAHA would be a perfect gift for those 2 days especially the Falconry!!

  31. UAE in the summer! Sort of takes your breath away, but again so does this hotel. A great getaway for the winner. thanks gary

  37. I would like to see an auctions for hotel rooms at events which are already booked out, possibly as packages with tickets, e.g. NYE at the Shard in London, Venetian Carnival incl. traditional ball in Venice, F1 in Monaco, etc.

  39. Al Maha, Dubai, and any luxury resort were a “not in this lifetime” thought before I found this.

  44. I would choose 3 luxury nights at the Iconic Santorini, Greece because Santorini is beautiful.

  46. Favorite Item is the 3 luxury nights at the Iconic Santorini, Greece. Been there once. Beautiful.

  47. One of my favorite from Luxury Travel Diary auction would be: 2 NIGHTS IN A LUXURY VILLA AT THE 5-STAR VICEROY BALI.

  48. Also, I’d like to stay at the Al Maha because of the daily desert excursions. Looks fun!.

  50. I haven’t managed to get myself to the UAE yet. A stay at the Al Maha would definitely be a fabulous way to do it.

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