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 would want to stay at the Al Maha to enjoy the undistributed view of the desert! In a private pool no less!

  2. I’ve never experienced a desert vacation before and the Al Maha looks like a fantastic opportunity. What a fabulous trip that would be!

  8. I would love love LOVE to stay at Al Maha Desert Resort! There’s no way I can afford to splurge on it’s cash price in the near future, and points-wise it’s still too much to spend. Never had the opportunity to stay overnight at a desert, and I can’t think of a more pleasant experience than staying at a luxury desert resort. The scenery, privacy, and unique activities that are exclusive to that location is just so attractive.

  9. My favourite item up for auction would be the 3 NIGHTS IN A VILLA AT LOAMA RESORT MALDIVES AT MAAMIGILI. Maldives is on the top of my list to visit, and preferably soon before the sea level gets any higher.

  10. Two Nights at the Grand Hyatt Singapore would be my favorite auction right now……but I would be so thrilled to visit the Al Maha Desert Resort. Wishing and hoping….

  11. My favorite item right now would be the 3-course dinner for 2 at Tavern at 15 would be nice, because I’m hungry 🙂

  12. The chance to do two desert activities per night is a pretty awesome reason to go to Al Maha Desert Resort!

  13. The auction item I would pick would be the 7 nights in Crete, Greece. At the Aquila Porto Rethymno Hotel. Greece is one of the places my husband and I have always wanted to see!

  15. I can’t quite describe my desire to experience the Al Maha Desert Resort! We have had the fortune to do many things in the past couple of years that I would never have dreamed of, and this would be no less than that.

  17. Currently My favorite auction item on that is 2 Nights At Villa Le Maschere, Near Florence, Italy which is in a great city I’d like to revisit.

  18. The reason I would choose to stay at Al Maha Desert Resort is it’s always in top50 hotel list and it’s all-inclusive style.

  19. My favorite item up for auction at Luxury Travel Diary is the 2 NIGHTS IN A LUXURY APARTMENT IN FLORENCE, ITALY

  20. The reason I’d choose to stay at Al Maha Desert Resort is its location and good reviews from TripAdvisor.

  21. 3 Nights For 4 In A Luxury Private Villa In Goa, India is my favorite item for now since I heard it’s very nice beach escape.

  24. My favorite auction is definitely the “5 Nights Half Board At Reethi Beach Resort, Maldives.” I would love to visit the Maldives (Overnight Stay At Diamonds Thudufushi Resort In The Maldives is my second favorite!).

  25. Would love to get out to the Maldives and relax at the LOAMA RESORT MALDIVES AT MAAMIGILI!

  27. I dream of the desert. I have passed through the region twice, but have yet to travel into the vast wonderland. The photography and art on the Al Maha Desert Resort webpage are exactly what I dream of. I would love to have the opportunity to share this experience with my family. I believe it would be memory to cherish.

  28. 7 NIGHTS FOR 6 PPL AT LAGUNA BEACH, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC looks like a wonderful experience. I love the resorts in DR.

  29. I would like the “3 Nights For 4 In A Luxury Private Villa In Goa, India” item on Luxury Travel Diary, because India has fascinated me, yet I’ve never visited.

  30. I would stay at Al Maha because I’ve never been in a desert that’s entirely sand; dune bashing sounds fun!

  32. From the auction, how about the 3 Suite Nights At Bond Movie “Spectre” Location, Austria

  33. I love the all-inclusive when it’s not done on the cheap — it looks like this particular place (which I have to say I’m an idiot for not knowing about!) does it up right!

  37. I would love to stay in Al Maha Desert Resort so I can relax with my wife without worry of all other expenses.

  40. Favorite Item up for Auction is a 3 Suite Nights At Bond Movie “Spectre” Location, Austria..
    I would choose to stay at the Al Maha Desert Resort for a chance to see the Oryx.

  44. The Vintage Luxury Yacht Hotel in Myanmar seems like the most interesting luxurytraveldiary auction for me!

  45. I have always dreamed of going to Greece. I drool over the 7 Nights At Aquila Porto Rethymno Hotel In Crete, Greece offered in the auction!

  46. Another Auction from Luxury Travel Diary is 5 nights half board at Reethi Beach Resort, Maldives
    The Legend of Al Maha ….a tale of intrigue and rebirth. Just one of the many resons why I would choose to stay at Al Maha Desert Resort.

  47. My favorite item in the auction is that 3 Nights At Pumziko Safari & Wellness Lodge, Tanzania. My friend and I are planning to visit them someday for our August birthday celebration!

  50. I would love to stay at Al Maha because when we went to Dubai we did not have time to really experience the desert.

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