One man’s tale of a week on points at a luxury resort whilst spending no money

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• Alex W says:

  13 Feb13 February 07:04

  I bet the Ambassador $20 F&B credit doesn’t get you far in Bora Bora!

• Spurs Debs says:

  13 Feb13 February 07:16

  This sounds like hell. For me going away is about being spoilt and looked after by others.
  I save points etc to allow me to do things a little nicer, not to lug a load of kitchen equipment and food about with me. I don’t even do that at home I have the shopping delivered!

  • sunguy says:

    13 Feb13 February 10:38

    +1

• Nigel the pensioner says:

  13 Feb13 February 07:20

  Sad.

  • Victor says:

    13 Feb13 February 08:39

    What’s more sad is the lack of comprehension that there are people with less cash than you.

    It’s plainly true that money doesn’t buy class or manners.

    • Mr(s) Entitled says:

      13 Feb13 February 09:02

      It actually tends to erode it.

    • Rachel says:

      13 Feb13 February 10:01

      He might think the way that this couple spent their holiday is sad. But it’s quite a leap to suggest that he doesn’t understand that people don’t have as much money as he does.

      Personally, a trip to the Maldives is likely out of my price range. If eating like this couple changed that, I still wouldn’t go. I’d pick a cheaper destination and enjoy more freedom with regards to eating. Having to prepare (and cook) all but 3 meals on a one week break just isn’t my idea of fun.

• Rob says:

  13 Feb13 February 07:36

  Each to their own. The key seems to be “we had to figure out a way to make it affordable.”.
  It’s not for me but I do know a friend who had next to no money and he and his wife managed to get a free holidays to Thailand on points and then ate pot noodles from 7/11 every meal. And for some people food is just not a big deal and so eating like the people did in this story is what they do at home.
  I think Rob sometimes forgets a lot of us aren’t anywhere near as loaded as he is and part of the fun of the site is discovering ways of getting best value for points, and doing things you wouldn’t usually be able to afford to do.

  • Talay says:

    13 Feb13 February 08:01

    Fair point about wealth and income but the number of points needed to do this must have been fairly substantial.

    Those points had a value, either as convertible into cash, goods or even better, into a holiday where the subject of this story could have enjoyed to eat out.

    I regularly eat out and sometimes spend more than I think is wise but one of the reasons why we have never been to such a place with only the one option for food is that I’d be rather annoyed if someone told me it was £100 for a burger, £25 for a beer, £250 for a bottle of wine etc. and I had no option to go elsewhere.

    Equally, as I found out at the Ritz Carlton Phulay Bay in Krabi, Thailand, a fantastic hotel and resort can be badly let down by the quality of their food. Luckily, we were able to get a taxi out and back at a cost of about £75 each time to go somewhere else.

  • Ali says:

    13 Feb13 February 08:23

    fair point…
    pot noodles good idea mind 😉
    agreed with each to their own.
    We stayed in Fiji Intercontinental and they had shops on site where you could buy 1.5 L of coke and crisps etc for somewhere around 5 USD. We only discovered it towards the end – alas.

  • Cat says:

    13 Feb13 February 08:39

    In Thailand? You can get dinner for about £1!

    • Shoestring says:

      13 Feb13 February 08:55

      & a fantastic fresh seafood dinner, 2* Michelin quality by any rational standards, for under £10

      • Rob says:

        13 Feb13 February 09:03

        That was a slight flaw in the plan! They did stay in a resort hotel in Cha Am for some of it and I think the food was expensive there. And while it seems ridiculous, they would spend 10baht on a pot noodle rather than 50baht on street food and felt the £1 saving was worth it.

        They were incredibly short of money, they wouldn’t even get the aircon bus as they couldn’t afford it.
        Ultimately they had a great time, not quite my style but YMMV

      • Jonah says:

        13 Feb13 February 12:38

        So when did you last go to Thailand?

    • Cat says:

      13 Feb13 February 22:25

      Not sure if aimed at me, but the last time to Thailand was 3 years ago, and I went to Cambodia a year ago too.

  • Gbtp says:

    13 Feb13 February 09:53

    Lol who said Rob is loaded?

    • Brian says:

      13 Feb13 February 10:13

      Who said he isn’t? 🙂

    • mike says:

      13 Feb13 February 10:17

      i think it is not too much of a stretch to assume that

      • Gbtp says:

        13 Feb13 February 13:41

        He’s probably “loaded” by regional standards. Certainly not by SW3/SW7 standards.

  • BP says:

    13 Feb13 February 11:49

    7/11 cheese and ham toasties are the way to go! Surprisingly nice!!

    • the_real_a says:

      13 Feb13 February 12:11

      My guilty pleasure… 🙂

    • Cat says:

      13 Feb13 February 22:27

      So is the 7/11 constantly churning chocolate milkshake, but I’m pretty sure that may have been one of the things that gave me a dodgy tummy, with hindsight…

  • Russ says:

    13 Feb13 February 13:19

    Not sure it revolves around how much money one has but how resourcefully one uses it.

• Dawn says:

  13 Feb13 February 07:43

  My company is non for profit and working with animal charities/vet students. We have to travel to Australia to talk in the Universities so we go for 3 months. We do home exchanges so the accommodation costs us nothing and we cook in most of the time. This makes it all affordable. We travel a lot and spend longer away but use the home exchange/eating in option. I collect Avios and manage the 2-4-1 voucher once a year and upgrade to Business as I can only justify economy through the business. We make it work and enjoy the lifestyle on little money.

  • Dawn says:

    13 Feb13 February 07:44

    I should have said we fly Business once a year with the 2-4-1 voucher to S Africa and for all other flights I upgrade to business. 🙂

• Mr(s) Entitled says:

  13 Feb13 February 07:51

  Ah, the joys of Brirish snobbery.

  It’s not a massive step from here to what most of us come to HfP to do. To limit cost.

  While some may look down there nose with comments geared towards knowing once’s place in the social strata there are plently of people more wealthly than you who think you shouldnt be at their resort if you spend your life dealing with the admin of churning cards just for a few extra little points. Let alone driving around hunting 3Vs! Wait, you used a voucher to fly first class? A voucher!?! Good heavens, have some dignity.

  Fair play to them for extracting some enjoyment out of their day without harming others. Surely we should all do the same?

  • Tom Cook says:

    13 Feb13 February 09:27

    +1 Wednesday wise words right there

  • Cat says:

    13 Feb13 February 22:31

    + 1 from me too. I have 13 weeks holiday a year, and I do a great job of making them as fabulous as possible on a teacher’s salary.

    As long as it’s fun and not harming others, who cares?

• ankomonkey says:

  13 Feb13 February 08:11

  What about the story of someone who lived over a month in a hotel on IHG points break (5k/night)? I enjoyed that story.

  • Rob says:

    13 Feb13 February 08:54

    That was a guy I know. It was all inclusive but only for cash bookings, so he paid for the first night to get the wristband 🙂

  • Russ says:

    13 Feb13 February 13:12

    We are going to live in hotels permanently and hopefully start next year when partner gives up work. It’s cheaper and more convenient to live in a full service hotel rather than our current property plus, I don’t get robbed every month by Tandridge council!

    • Crafty says:

      13 Feb13 February 15:32

      Is this a joke??

      • ankomonkey says:

        13 Feb13 February 17:31

        The Major in Fawlty Towers did it. I always wondered what status he had in their loyalty scheme…

      • Russ says:

        13 Feb13 February 22:02

        Nope.

      • Russ says:

        13 Feb13 February 22:04

        ….unless you meant are we getting robbed each month by Tandridge council then the answer’s yes.

      • Cat says:

        13 Feb13 February 22:35

        Ankomonkey that gave me a giggle!

• Chrisasaurus says:

  13 Feb13 February 08:12

  I have heard and seen many things but be fair – this suite had a kitchenette, it wasn’t an inappropriate use of it.

  The physical location and resort itself would have been unaffordable to this guy otherwise so why not? The hotel may have expected f&b spend but at this end I doubt it depends on it for profitability… And either way, I often expect people to do things and am disappointed!

  • Genghis says:

    13 Feb13 February 08:19

    It’s not clear but from the way it’s written, the OWB didn’t have a kitchenette?

    • Rob says:

      13 Feb13 February 08:53

      No. Hence the burner, I think,

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