How to Get Bargains on 5-Star Hotels?

[Deactivated] on 19/06/2019 - 11:11

Hi OzB-ers,

We have been looking to go on a 5-day relaxing holiday out of Sydney with our 18-month old son during mid-August. After a lot of research, I filtered down the destinations to Fiji or Hamilton Island.

Have been looking at the 5-star resorts Sofitel, Pullmans, etc on all the websites you can imagine (Skyscanner, Trip Advisor, Booking.com, etc. etc.). Everything looks such a rip-off. Everything is around $1,500 which I think is a lot to spend on accommodation for 5 days. We do not travel frequently so there is no point in purchasing the Accor Plus membership. I do have 60,000 and 30,000 points with Qantas and Velocity but are not sufficient to cover the 5-day stay.

Hence, I turnaround to OzB-ers to ask the best way they have saved money on 5-star hotel fares.

Any advice will be highly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

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Comments

  • 87percent on 19/06/2019 - 11:28

    book directly with the hotels, often they'll not only match but beat the aggregate site pricing

    OR

    buy miles from the forum, and cash them in at the hotel

    • [Deactivated] on 19/06/2019 - 11:35

      buy miles from the forum, and cash them in at the hotel

      What do you mean by buy miles from the forum?

    • i7-2600k on 20/06/2019 - 02:02

      booking directly is rarely if ever cheaper than using a booking site + promo code

      plus agoda etc make hotels sign contracts stating they are not allowed to undercut their pricing.

      • Eeples on 29/06/2019 - 09:44

        Ringing up the accommodation directly….. can be cheaper.

  • John on 19/06/2019 - 11:28
    +1

    I think its not a rip-off its just standard pricing for 5 star hotel in those kind of resort island. Best bet is to use 10% or 12% off promo with pre-paid bookings made using Expedia/Agoda etc (do a search here, there should a few of them roaming around). The best one I reckon is Westpac because there's hardly any hotel exclusion.. the recent promo has ended but I'll post link to the new 10% promo

    • [Deactivated] on 19/06/2019 - 11:36

      Thanks in advance!

        • [Deactivated] on 19/06/2019 - 11:44

          Thanks for the link. Unfortunately, I do not bank with Westpac hence do not have a Westpac card. The offer is only applicable if you pay with a Westpac issued card.

          • John on 19/06/2019 - 11:51
            +1

            @[Deactivated]: The other usual 10% off promo usually has a list of exclusions which normally includes these 5 stars hotel chains. If you can't find anything good, these Westpac could be considered.

            You can just open an account with a debit mastercard - Its $5/month. Can always cancel it after making the booking. Plus there $50 promo being offered for opening an account and using paypass 5 times with the card.

            https://www.westpac.com.au/personal-banking/bank-accounts/tr…

  • GG57 on 19/06/2019 - 11:46

    Bargains in 5-star hotels are possible to find, but not in those locations. Those prices seem to be more related to the location than the hotel chains.

    Try Asia.

    • [Deactivated] on 19/06/2019 - 12:05

      Hmmm.. Have been to Bali before so don't want to do it again. May look at Thailand but again you pay more for the flights so it kinda works out the same.

      • Stewardo on 19/06/2019 - 22:34

        Yeah 5 star hotels are cheap in Bangkok, but if it’s only five nights and with a baby it’s too far. What about cairns? im guessing you picked those places for warmer weather. Personally with the kid I’d be going to port Macquarie, Yamba, Batemans bay, Narooma. Somewhere like that.

  • spackbace on 19/06/2019 - 11:58
    +5

    Relaxing and with an 18mo

    Yeah those 2 don't go together, and I say this as a dad of 2 kids lol

    • [Deactivated] on 19/06/2019 - 12:07

      Haha thanks for the heads up. Thats why we thought of a resort holiday instead of walking with a pram around big cities with a crying hungry sleepy baby in it.

      • spackbace on 19/06/2019 - 12:08
        +3

        Lol I was more thinking of the toddler jumping in mum n dads bed at night because their room is different to them and won't settle. No night time fun time for mum n dad 😉

  • DASH8 on 19/06/2019 - 12:00

    Depends when you are going.
    Wotif can have some decent deals.

    Find a deal on there and call the hotel direct to match.

  • altomic on 19/06/2019 - 12:05
    +1

    try using a VPN and a server in a different country.

    in the past (pre-airbnb) sometimes looking for a hotel from e.g. a USA located server would provide cheaper prices than an aus server.

  • [Deactivated] on 19/06/2019 - 13:32

    It's a bit like first class on a plane. They will leave the seats and rooms empty just waiting for the high spenders. The better discounting is in 3-4 star rooms which are based more on throughput.

  • Platinumtelecom on 19/06/2019 - 22:43

    Entertainment book has fantastic rates on some hotels. Sometime $100s cheaper that lowest rates found online

    • [Deactivated] on 20/06/2019 - 09:37

      Does the Entertainment book have 5-star hotels at a cheaper price?

      • Platinumtelecom on 20/06/2019 - 10:50

        Yes with some hotels, my most recent experience is Sails in the Desert Hotel, Alice Springs, $428 per night with entertainment in September for a superior room. Average price is usually $680!

        But there is times when I don't find any cheaper on entertainment.

  • Optimist Prime on 25/06/2019 - 23:22

    Mate, me, the missus and our 18 month old looking at the exact same thing. Starting to look at Holiday deals. I can't seen to see any listed on ozbargain though, unfortunately.

    Thailand also can up for us, but it is quite a jaunt for 10 days that we'd like to go for.

    Seems a few EOFY deals to Fiji etc if you look around. Not sure if any bargains, but definitely looks easy and painless.

    If anyone in this thread sees a decent holiday package for somewhere warm Bygone between now and December, let me know. Departure from Melbourne.

    Cheers.

    • [Deactivated] on 26/06/2019 - 14:53

      We ended up booking our trip to Cairns. Cheaper option for a 4-5 day trip compared to Fiji and Hamilton Island.

      • Optimist Prime on 30/06/2019 - 08:05

        Nice. Able to post the deal you got? Or just flights + accommodation you chose seperately?

  • Bottom Dollar on 28/06/2019 - 21:03
    +1

    Luxury Escapes

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