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.
- Here are their auctions
- And here are the ones ending soon which are probably the best to check out right now – to get an idea of just how good a deal you’re likely to get.
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).
would love to go back to Singapore
this will give me the opportunity to visit Dubai
Al Maha for fun in the sand.
The 2 Nights At Gili Lankanfushi Luxury Resort In The Maldives are probably my favorite but as i’ll be in Dubai next month this would come in handy!
Grand Hyatt Doha on the auction.
The Al Maha Desert Resort sounds like a marvelous desert oasis steeped in the Bedouin heritage and unlike any place I have ever visited.
Four nites at the Villa Sungai in Bali sounds like absolute paradise!
I want to stay there because I’ve never been to the desert at a place that gives you free dessert! 🙂
Want to stay at Al Maha for the Orynxs!!!
I would stay at the Bay House in Cornwall!!!
I would stay at the Al Maha desert resort because I’ve always wanted to try falconry and roll around in red sand!
I want to stay at Al Maha because of (in no particular order):
1- The beautiful private villas overlooking the desert
2- The plunge pool
3- The service
4- The gourmet quality food
5- The wildlife (oryxes and gazelles)
If i won the stay @ the Al Maha i would send my niece on a once if a lifetime adventure
My favorite item up for bid on Luxury Travel Diary is 2 NIGHTS IN AN UNDER CANVAS® SAFARI TENT IN THE US. Never knew this existed in my own backyard (i.e., the US)! One reason why I love LTD is because I find out about obscure and off-the-beaten-path accommodation options.
Would love to stay at the Al Maha for the wildlife.
Favorite item up for auction: 7 Luxury nights for 4 On Cote D’Azur Near Monaco
I have done the luxury island isolation and I would like to try the luxury desert isolation resort.
My favorite auction would be the Maldives trip
My boyfriend lived in Dubai for a year and we are going back to visit soon. I would love to surprise him with a visit to Al Maha. It looks absolutely stunning and relaxing.
My favorite item up for auction is the two nights at the Park Hyatt Buenos Aires. Buenos Aires will be one of my next travel destinations.
I would love to go to Al Maha to treat my wife, who works very hard in a stressful job. Happy wife, happy life!
This is once in a lifetime opportunity that Al Maha resort is giving away to any passionate traveler who deserves it. For me, I want to learn about the Bedouin culture, interact with the people, exchange ideas, savor the taste of authentic Arabian food but most importantly make friends and enjoy. I want to explore the deserts with the Ship of the Desert (Camels). Watch and observe the wildlife of the Desert such as Oryx and Gazelles. And when I am done with the day, I could use the top-class Spa to relax and soothe my body and my mind.
The Hajar terrace bar is the most beautiful feature in the Resort to me. Sipping your drinks and enjoying the sunset in the Desert. Now that is something you don’t see quite frequently.
Be it Sunny, be it Snow. Be it Rainy or unbearably cold. When I go back home, I will have a story to tell and an experience to share. All because Al Maha resort gave me that once in a lifetime opportunity.
I would love to win the auction for 4 nights for 6 guests at Villa Sungai, Cepaka, Bali to take my wife and some friends for a celebration. We all work so damned hard!
2 nights at Wigwam Holidays in Lee Valley, UK would be one of the best auction bidding. There is no other place one can find an accommodation under £2 in the UK. Thank you Luxury Travel Diaries. Its a great job you guys have done for us travelers.
Favorite auction item is 2 Nights At Capri By Fraser Frankfurt, Germany
Favorite auction item is 2 Nights At Villa Le Maschere, Near Florence, Italy
I would love to stay at the resort as I have never been to Dubai before.
I would like to stay at the resort to unwind as part of my annual vacation.
My favorite auction item is the stay in Wales, it is the place of my ancestors and was such an awesome place to visit!
I have wanted to go to Dubai for a very long time and this may be just the excuse I’ve been looking for!
I think my favorite item is 4 NIGHTS FOR 6 GUESTS AT VILLA SUNGAI, CEPAKA, BALI. There are lots of cool places on this site.
would love the peace and solitude of Al Maha
would like to go to the al maha for our honeymoon
I would like to stay at a TripAdvisor world best resort.
I’d love to stay at the Al Maha Desert Resort for the view and the sun!
I would choose to stay at the Al Maha to face my fears of being in that part of the world – while in the relative safety of a peaceful oasis – with a bit of luxury thrown in for good measure.
I love a good 5 star tent
2 nights in Bali sounds perfect at auction
The Green Leaf Boutique Hotel, Cambodia looks extremely dreamy. My friends birthday is in the fall and I would love to take her for a two day excursion to maha. It looks very picturesque and relaxing. Just what I need as an escape from my crazy work life
The wildlife drives and desert safaris at the Al Maha Resort sound like fun.
My favorite auction is the 2 night stay in a villa at the Viceroy Bali.
“5 Nights Hotel Tres, Palma De Mallorca, Spain” sounds like the perfect getaway
Four nights at the Villa Sungai In Bali
Wait, no THIS is the perfect getaway!
8 Nights At Amaya Resorts & The Kingsbury, Sri Lanka
The Al Maha Deset Resort looks other worldly! The fact that it’s a conservation resort means authenticity and luxury.
Had never heard of Luxury Travel Diary until now. Would be head over heels for the 4 nights for 6 guests at Villa Sungai Bali; I’d take my whole family!
Stopover at Dubai for 4 days in March, on way to Singapore. This desert villa sounds like a good addition to the trip! 😉
They have some great rates at 5* properties in Bali we are looking at.
I love that AL Maha includes some great experiences along with the room rate!
Would love the opportunity to visit the Reviews, News &Amp; Auction Prizes From The Best Hotels In The World Including Style &Amp; Fashion Essential For Luxury Travel.
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FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
DESTINATIONS : AFRICA : SOUTH AFRICA
fourseasons westcliff
MARCH 23, 2015 YASMIN
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OVERALL: 9/10 ABOUT OUR RATINGS
HIGHLIGHTS
Breathtaking views from both the restaurant & the suite.
Friendly & attentive staff.
Luxurious pool area.
SUMMARY
Location: 8/10
Rooms: 8/10
Pool: 9/10
Staff: 10/10
Bar: 7/10
Restaurant: 8/10
LOCATION: SOUTH AFRICA
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The new Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff, Johannesburg is a cliffside garden retreat overlooking the city’s prestigious northern suburbs. Fully transformed by UK-based hospitality design agency, Black Sheep for a totally new experience. The hotel offers 117 guest rooms and suites, featuring cool, contemporary décor inspired by modern Africa. The hotel opened on the 1st of December with an initial 40 rooms with the final 77 opening within the 1st quarter of 2015. Flames restaurant is the first of five to open including bar and expansive welcoming terrace with sunset views.
The Westcliff is conveniently located just 25 minutes’ drive from the International airport within Park Town – an incredibly leafy area with wide roads, oozing the history of colonial Johannesburg with the wonderful houses designed by Herbert Baker, and villas designed by the top British architects of the late 19th century.
The hotel is spread over a large piece of hilly land and therefore it’s not based in just one building. Instead the rooms are arranged in a number of separate, terracotta coloured buildings, with cobbled streets amongst them and a large variety of plants around. It gave me a sense of visiting a small Mediterranean town where peace, tranquility and relaxed atmosphere is accompanied by beautifully designed pool, sun-bed terrace, Jacaranda Forest and the Rose Garden.
The hotel feels exclusive: marble flooring, modern crystal chandeliers, plush furniture with plenty but subtle touches of animal print: zebra print armchairs, leopard print rugs, animal print in a variety of colours on feature walls in the bedrooms. Relax in dark wood decorated lounge upon your arrival, take a sneak peak into the hotel shop filled with expensive African inspired products such as: decorative ostrich eggs, jacaranda wood sculptures, locally made jewellery or leather products. Soon after let yourself be transported in one of many golf carts into your suite; travel through highly manicured gardens, cobbled streets, admire the sculptures and listen to the birds. You get a feel of a very natural and relaxed environment yet luxury is oozing from the moment you step onto the plush carpets of the reception area. Certainly modern and effortless décor of glass, metal and unusual water features goes well together with old fashioned touches of marble flooring and dark chunky wood furniture.
Our home for two nights, the Deluxe Suite, consisted of the lounge area with a large, elliptical shaped balcony overlooking the Johannesburg Zoo. You couldn’t exactly see the animals but we sure heard them gently waking up at dusk. The East facing balcony proved to be an ideal location for a very early morning breakfast too – sunrise, 270 degree view of the busy city, subtly masked by the overwhelming greenery of the world’s largest man-made forest.
The overall look of our suite followed closely in the footsteps of the hotel itself: minimalistic décor with simple white, cream or dark wood furniture such as the sofa, coffee table, chest of drawers and the dressing table in the lounge. Subtle yet very colorful additions to the décor featured stripy carpet (green, cream, white and brown), abstract paintings by Guy Thesenon one of the walls in the lounge and a zebra-inspired feature wall in the bedroom (green and white).
The bedroom was fairly large too, with a discretely separated wardrobe section (again dark solid wood), most comfortable double bed, two bedside cabinets and chest of drawers with an LG flat screen TV. Worth adding that after two days of exploring Johannesburg, the world-famous Four Seasons Bed was a soothing and relaxing experience in itself.
The ensuite bathroom was decorated in minimalistic fashion, with cream tiles, large mirror above a single sink and lots of lighting, accompanied by Etro toiletries. Medium sized bath and a separate rain shower were discreetly separated from a single WC and a bidet. This area of the bathroom was also decorated with three classic cartoons from Rand Daily Mail of April 1913.
Our suite was located just by the Jacaranda Gardens – an intimate outdoor venue with space up to 250 guests. Downhill from our suite was the Rose Garden – an outdoor venue twice the size of the Jacaranda, but hosting also up to 250 guests. Both venues were immaculately manicured with variety of plants and flowers, ancient Rome themed statues in the Rose Garden – a perfect setting for a wedding, birthday celebrations, anniversaries or corporate events. Up the hill from the main Reception was the Arcadia – a beautiful indoor venue hosting up to 200 guests, decorated with marble flooring, animal inspired plush and leather furniture and a polo bar at the end of the hallway.
Just a short walk down from the Arcadia was the 716 sq. ft outdoor pool. Opened from 6am to 8pm it did actually become a place of forming a new friendship from about 10pm one night of our stay. It seemed that on one of the hotter nights during our stay (26 degrees) only we and one other couple decided to cool off in the pool overlooking the city and the bright stars above us. Whilst on their honeymoon, the couple from Los Angeles were telling us about the great white shark cage diving, riding on elephants and sky-diving they had planned for the next few days of their trip. We shared the magic of our experience of South Africa. The hotel staff had no problem serving us wine by the pool that night and also keeping the bar opened after hours so that we were able to discuss our amazing holidays (and one of the hotel staff even joined us after his shift!).
Unfortunately the spa was still under construction at the time of our visit. On opening, the spa will welcome you with pure colour, washed timbers accented with modern finishes such as petrified wood create a soothing and calm space. Bronze metals, washed with a warm light, accent walls painted in a contrast colours accented with bold and dramatic art all aim to create a space where time ceases to exist exuding calmness and relaxation. Simple spaces and vast windows, highlighted with lazer-cut screen details of water lillies, allow privacy whilst enjoying the surrounding views.
The area, Parktown, and the beginning of Jan Smuts is where colonial Johannesburg started at the end of the 19th century, when the British designed this part of Johannesburg, starting in Parktown West, going all the way to Westcliff. There are wonderful houses designed by Herbert Baker, and villas designed by the top British architects of the time. It’s possible to make contact with the ParktownWestcliff Heritage Trust, they often have walks through this area. There are no shopping centers, or malls, in Parktown. Yet it is a vibrant area of Johannesburg with good restaurants, clubs and bars, and not far from RosebankMall ,which hosts the Cinema Nouveau and the Sunday Rooftop Mark. It is the hub of most businesses and with so much development taking place, the area is very congested so add further 30-45 minutes to your journey e.g.: to the airport… South Africa isn’t really a place to use public transport but a great alternative for travelling around the city is Uber Taxi (e.g.: £20 from the airport to the hotel). Otherwise, Parktown is clean and you feel safe.
The hotel overlooks the Johannesburg Zoo so just a short walk away you you can enjoy the most popular local tourist attraction. The Zoo covers 55 hectares of land and was founded in 1904, as a piece of land donated to the public for recreational use by the firm of the late Hermann Ekstein. The zoo houses over 320 species of animals, totaling about 2000 animals. It is open to the public 364 days a year, including Christmas, New Years and Easter holidays. The zoo is internationally accredited and highly respecte for its husbandry practices, which includes maintaining a high standard of animal welfare, nutrition and ethical conduct, ensuring the physical and psychological well- being of all its animals. Worth recommending are the Evening encounters – the zoo after dark.
Other close by attractions include:
Johannesburg Planetarium, with a range of shows such as “Sky Tonight”, “Space Travel” and a variety of children shows and birthday party arrangements (cost £1.50 per person).
Constitution Hill, holding a very complex history going back to 1892, today hosts gripping exhibitions with themes that reveal South Africa’s rich heritage and advocate human rights; a platform for Heritage, Education and Tourism related programmes.
Mandela House, striving to be a world-class visitor attraction and a leading centre for the preservation, presentation and research of the history, heritage and legacy of the Mandela Family.
The Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff, Johannesburg is the perfect location for a romantic weekend away, a wedding or a honeymoon. A midnight swim in the pool overlooking the clear skies of Johannesburg, watching the sunrise from your balcony or a night cap at the roof top bar watching a thunderstorm pass by in the distance…
Read the review my wonderful meal at Flames at the Four Seasons The Westcliff.
The Four Seasons Hotel The Westcliff, Johannesburg
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THEJohannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
Four Seasons The Westcliff, Johannesburg Review
FOUR SEASONS THE WESTCLIFF, JOHANNESBURG REVIEW
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Flames Restaurant at Four Seasons The Westcliff
Flames Restaurant at Four Seasons The Westcliff
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