Domes adds a new Marriott Bonvoy hotel redemption option – ‘Domes of Corfu’

‘Domes of Corfu’ is opening this Summer as part of Marriott Bonvoy, and we are quite excited about it.

There has been quite a lot of HfP coverage, much of it in the comments section, about the ‘Domes’ hotel group in recent years.  Domes also generously donated a 2-night stay at their first Corfu hotel as a prize for the raffle at the Head for Points Winter party in 2019.

The coverage was driven by Domes of Elounda in Crete.  Until it was repriced last year, this was exceptional value for money if you had Marriott Bonvoy points and a family, as large villas were available.

Many HfP readers went there – including myself last October – and I don’t think any were disappointed.  Here is a review of Domes of Elounda written by a reader as part of our ‘My Favourite Hotels’ series.  I took a totally different angle here.

There are currently four hotels in the group, all part of Marriott.  Elounda is not typical, as two of the others are adults-only:

Domes of Elounda in Crete, Autograph Collection (the two pictures here are Elounda)

Domes Noruz Chania, Autograph Collection (adults only)

Domes Zeen, a Luxury Collection Resort, Chania (ex Casa Cook Chania, review to come at some point as Sinead was there last year)

Domes Miramare, a Luxury Collection Resort, Corfu (adults only)

Domes is adding a new family resort in Corfu this Summer

Domes has announced ‘Domes of Corfu’. This will be a family resort, unlike Miramare which is adults only.

This is not a new resort, and Domes will only be operating the hotel instead of owning it. It was previously the ‘Lti Louis Grand’ hotel, and its website is still active here.

It looks like this, click to enlarge:

The layout looks impressive, with beach access. As you can see from the website, however, the hotel interiors were getting dated.

The good news is that €14 million is being invested in an overhaul to:

“refurbish all public areas and guestrooms with distinctive aesthetics that blend with the unique environment of Corfu and create a fresh, innovative and bespoke experience for guests. The renovated, brand-new family friendly resort situated on a prime location in Glyfada beach will offer 218 rooms and will start operating in the summer of 2021. The inspiring resort will seamlessly blend local culture and tradition with a relaxed, venetian and bohemian style.”

My only concern is that the standard rooms are relatively small at 22 to 28 sq m. The room count appears to be being reduced from 247 to 218, however, so perhaps some will be enlarged. There are some ‘swim up’ suites which will be novel – I had one of these at The Ritz Carlton Al Bustan Palace in Muscat when I visited a couple of years ago.

The hotel will launch as part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection of upmarket independent hotels. You will be able to earn and spend Marriott Bonvoy points and you will receive your status benefits.

How to book

The hotel is not yet bookable via the Marriott website. It is bookable via the Domes website but I am not sure if you would receive Bonvoy points or status benefits this way.

As usual, our hotel booking partner Emyr Thomas can get you added benefits on a cash stay. As with all Marriott’s luxury brands, you would receive:

• Upgrade on arrival, subject to availability
• Complimentary breakfast for two daily for duration of the stay
• Early check-in / late check-out, subject to availability
• Complimentary wi-fi

For clarity, bookings made via Emyr are ‘pay on departure’. Emyr has, in the past, been able to get Domes to relax their deposit rules for HfP readers. You can email Emyr via the form on this page of HfP.

It isn’t clear what category Domes of Corfu will be as a Marriott Bonvoy redemption. We will do an update when the hotel appears on the Marriott website.

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How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards (July 2021)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card usually comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year. Until 31st August 2021, the bonus is doubled to 40,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Gold and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn American Express Membership Rewards points with American Express Gold (20,000 bonus points), the American Express Rewards Credit Card (5,000 bonus points) and – for small business owners – American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus points) and Business Platinum (40,000 bonus points).

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)