Marbella Nightly?

[lark]

Forgive me for a novice question -- we want to stay at Marbella for a few nights next summer. As I understand the points system, owners can use their points to make reservation for less than a week. But as I look at the various points charts online, I can't find one for Marbella.

Does this mean Marbella is exempt from points reservations? Put another way, if I am a potential renter, should I assume that my options are only going to be trying to rent a full week from an owner at Marbella?

 

[MALC9990]

Forgive me for a novice question -- we want to stay at Marbella for a few nights next summer. As I understand the points system, owners can use their points to make reservation for less than a week. But as I look at the various points charts online, I can't find one for Marbella.

Does this mean Marbella is exempt from points reservations? Put another way, if I am a potential renter, should I assume that my options are only going to be trying to rent a full week from an owner at Marbella?

If you mean DC points then the European Resorts (incl Marbella Beach Club) are excluded from the DC Points system. You may however be able to reserve a stay at Marriott.Com for cash or MR points.

 

[lark]

If you mean DC points then the European Resorts (incl Marbella Beach Club) are excluded from the DC Points system. You may however be able to reserve a stay at Marriott.Com for cash or MR points.

Thanks. That's what I figured.

MR points may be the way to go. It looks like they permit booking of the larger units by paying category 6 MR points plus a 5k or 10k "upgrade" cert. The problem is we are looking at a 4-night stay, which is always a terrible use of Marriott points, since the 5th night is free.

Booking for cash, if the prices next summer are what they are this summer, is probably not a doable option. Even if we only go for 4 days, it looks like renting a week from an owner and not using it all might still be cheaper than paying cash.

 

[m61376]

Make sure you enter one of the Marriott owner discount codes. If available, the discount can range from 25%-45%, depending on whether you have Premiere or Premiere Plus status and whether you have the Marriott Visa, which adds 15% making the minimum discount 35% (for that, enter MOD in the corporate discount code spot on Marriott.com; if you are a DC member there are other codes that may give you higher discounts).

 

[lark]

Make sure you enter one of the Marriott owner discount codes. If available, the discount can range from 25%-45%, depending on whether you have Premiere or Premiere Plus status and whether you have the Marriott Visa, which adds 15% making the minimum discount 35% (for that, enter MOD in the corporate discount code spot on Marriott.com; if you are a DC member there are other codes that may give you higher discounts).

Thanks much. I don't own at Marriott. I just have a friend who owns several weeks at MOC, converted (or enrolled, I guess) them into the points program, and has made a standing offer to rent them to me at a very good rate if I tell him in enough advance so that he can make his election for the year. I was hoping Marbella might be an option, but I guess it's not really unless he were willing to try to exchange one of his weeks for me, which I don't think I'd ask him to do.

He's also grossly inefficient with his weeks, and so I'm trying to do a bit of learning so that I can help him get the most out of the tens of thousands of dollars he's handed over to Marriott over the years.

 

[BocaBoy]

Thanks. That's what I figured.

MR points may be the way to go. It looks like they permit booking of the larger units by paying category 6 MR points plus a 5k or 10k "upgrade" cert. The problem is we are looking at a 4-night stay, which is always a terrible use of Marriott points, since the 5th night is free.

If I were going to Marbella for 4 nights, I would get a 5-night MR travel package if you have enough points. You essentially get the 5 nights for approximately the points of the hotel (you would also have to pay the "upgrade" fee for four nights), plus up to 120,000 airline miles at a 1:1 ratio, which is exceptional value. Even if you can only use 4 of the 5 nights, it is a good deal unless you have so many airline miles already that you will never be able to use them all, which is not a common problem.

 

[lark]

If I were going to Marbella for 4 nights, I would get a 5-night MR travel package if you have enough points. You essentially get the 5 nights for approximately the points of the hotel (you would also have to pay the "upgrade" fee for four nights), plus up to 120,000 airline miles at a 1:1 ratio, which is exceptional value. Even if you can only use 4 of the 5 nights, it is a good deal unless you have so many airline miles already that you will never be able to use them all, which is not a common problem.

Thanks. Good stuff. Unfortunately, I don't own at Marriott so I don't think I have access to a 5-day travel package.

 

[BocaBoy]

Thanks. Good stuff. Unfortunately, I don't own at Marriott so I don't think I have access to a 5-day travel package.

That is correct. I did not realize you were not a Marriott timeshare owner, and a 7-day package would waste a lot of points if you only stay for 4 days.