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At this time: Easy methods to guide & get monetary savings at Belmond Accommodations?
Belmond ranks amongst my favourite resort manufacturers on this planet. The corporate manages an ultraluxe assortment of iconic resorts, trains and river cruises in 24 nations, bringing collectively among the world’s most sensational journeys and locations. With Belmond, you may keep in timeless resorts in Venice, Rio and St. Petersburg, embrace the spirit of journey at Machu Picchu or Angkor Wat, glide alongside the rails by means of the Swiss Alps, soar throughout the Andes, or discover the mystifying rivers of Myanmar. The Belmond story started in 1976, when the corporate acquired the keys to the legendary Belmond Lodge Cipriani in Venice. A 12 months later, they started accumulating the carriages for the Venice Simplon-Orient-Categorical, which launched in 1982 to whisk intrepid vacationers to La Serenissima in fashion. Since then, Belmond has grown to a fastidiously curated assortment of journey adventures, every with a wealthy story to inform.
However with the group’s stellar status additionally comes a heavy price ticket. Staying at a Belmond property usually requires deep pockets, with entry room charges nicely above $1000 USD per night time at a number of properties. Sadly, Belmond at the moment lacks a formalized factors loyalty program – most likely as a result of their rich friends preserve returning anyway – though they handle an invitation-only program known as “Belmond Bellini Membership” which presents unique charges and perks to the shoppers of the world’s high journey brokers (extra on that beneath). Nevertheless, there are some ideas & methods that may prevent a couple of bucks on prices when staying at one of many model’s properties. I hereby share one of the best methods for reserving a room (and even suite) at a Belmond Lodge .
On this article:
You possibly can share your individual methods within the feedback beneath.
1. BOOK VIA BELMOND BELLINI CLUB
Belmond has established an invitation-only program – known as Belmond Bellini Membership – for high producing journey brokers, to be able to foster a relationship with these agent and to extend gross sales. The Bellini Membership is known as after the well-known cocktail from Harry’s Bar at Belmond’s Lodge Cipriani. Belmond Bellini Membership presents shoppers of those journey brokers complimentary facilities and VIP standing at Belmond resorts, trains and river cruises worldwide. These advantages are a bit much like the perks supplied by Virtuoso, though Belmond Bellini Membership covers extra properties than these supplied by Virtuoso, and for some properties, the Belmond Billini Membership perks are extra rewarding than the Virtuoso perks.
While you guide a Belmond resort by means of a journey agent that’s member of the unique Belmond Bellini Membership, you’ll get the next advantages:
- Complimentary improve upon arrival at time of check-in, based mostly on availability
- Buffet or full breakfast for two, day by day
- Totally versatile resort or resort credit score as much as $200 USD per keep
- $500 USD reward voucher for future journey when buying an expertise of $5,000 USD
- VIP Recognition by property administration and workers
- Particular in-room welcome amenity
- High-of-the-waitlist precedence for prime demand properties and experiences
- Complimentary Web
Journey brokers which are members of Belmond Bellini Membership get pleasure from a degree of contact and repair when working with Belmond that’s not accessible to different businesses or by means of reserving direct. As a Bellini member, these journey brokers work with Belmond’s VIP desk for any particular requests, concierge providers, and waitlist clearance. Moreover, they’ve entry to particular promotions and charges not accessible to most of the people. My most well-liked Belmond Bellini Membership journey company is Traditional Journey, which additionally permits vacationers to guide the Bellini Membership charges on-line.
2. BOOK VIA VIRTUOSO
A number of Belmond properties are members of Virtuoso. Virtuoso just isn’t your basic resort reserving engine web site. It’s the business’s main, invitation-only community of the world’s greatest luxurious journey advisors, spanning over 26 nations and 9,000 journey advisors. So once you guide a Belmond resort through Virtuoso, more often than not, you may be in contact with a Virtuoso journey agent who will make the reserving for you. There are some Virtuoso journey businesses although that provide an internet reserving software, equivalent to Traditional Journey, which has a superb web site and is my general most well-liked Virtuoso journey company for reserving a Belmond (or another luxurious) resort.
Reserving a Belmond resort through Virtuoso as a substitute of through the Belmond web site has the next advantages:
- The one greatest motive to guide a Belmond resort by means of a Virtuoso journey agent is that it means worth for cash as you’ll get entry to complimentary VIP perks, equivalent to room improve, versatile check-in and check-out instances, day by day breakfast and a resort, spa, or meals credit score (or one thing else). Whereas the precise perks differ from resort to resort, they will simply be price a number of hundred {dollars} per night time.
- Generally, the Virtuoso fee is equivalent to the Greatest Out there Fee (BAR) discovered on the official Belmond web site, which is a versatile fee that may be cancelled with out penalty. For that motive, you’re leaving cash on the desk should you guide a paid keep at one of the best accessible fee (BAR) through the Belmond web site and never through Virtuoso.
It’s vital to emphasise that early reserving low cost charges, particular promotional packages, company charges, group charges, and different discounted charges don’t qualify for Virtuoso advantages. Due to this fact, I all the time suggest to test the bottom fee on the Belmond web site, after which weigh the professionals and cons earlier than deciding whether or not to guide through Virtuoso (greatest accessible fee with free advantages) or not.
Additionally, though Virtuoso and the Belmond Bellini Membership program appear to be equivalent (and are sometimes supplied by the identical journey brokers), they don’t seem to be:
- Virtuoso charges solely apply to a collection of Belmond Accommodations, whereas the Belmond Bellini Membership program is relevant in any respect Belmond properties.
- Virtuoso advantages can solely be utilized to Virtuoso charges (which is equivalent to the Greatest Out there Fee, as defined above), whereas the Belmond Bellini Membership program is relevant to all charges discovered on the Belmond web site (together with discounted and/or early fowl charges).
- The upgrades for rooms booked by means of the Belmond Bellini Membership program are prioritized forward of upgrades for resort stays booked through Virtuoso.
3. BOOK VIA YOUR CREDIT CARD COMPANY
While you personal an American Categorical bank card, you may guide nearly any Belmond resort through Amex High-quality Accommodations & Resorts. It will give you comparable advantages as these supplied through a Virtuoso journey agent:
- Room improve upon arrival when accessible
- Day by day (continental) breakfast for 2 individuals
- Assured late 4pm check-out time
- Midday check-in when accessible
- A spa, meals, and/or beverage credit score (valued at a minimal of US$ 100 USD)
Holders of a Visa Signature bank card can even profit from Virtuoso-like further perks at most Belmond resorts & resorts once they make the reserving through their bank card journey workplace and/or pay with their bank card. Contact your native VISA bank card firm to seek out out whether or not they provide this journey service.
While you personal a Citi Status Card (USA residents solely) you can also make use of the fourth night time free profit: once you guide a 4 night time keep at a Belmond property, you get reimbursed the price of the fourth night time, minus any taxes and repair charges. The fourth night time profit is calculated based mostly on the common nightly fee of your full keep. Reservations should be made by means of Thankyou.com or the Citi Status Concierge and you have to pay in your keep along with your Citi Status Card, ThankYou factors, or a mixture of the 2.
4. BOOK VIA HOTELS.COM
Accommodations.com – a part of Expedia – is one in all my favourite resort reserving web sites, primarily for 3 causes:
- You acquire credit in direction of free resort nights through Accommodations.com’s Rewards program. While you guide and keep 10 nights at eligible resorts, you’ll get 1 night time free to redeem at one other. Accommodations.com works out the common worth of all the ten nights you’ve collected and provides it again to you as a free night time. All it’s essential do is make a free Rewards account and login into your account earlier than making any bookings.
- You possibly can usually apply 10% low cost coupons. Sadly, nearly all the world’s main resort chains are excluded from the listing of resorts for which you should use a reduction coupon (though I’ve been ready to make use of low cost coupons for reserving Belmond properties previously)
- Accommodations.com additionally has a superb Greatest Fee Assure (BRG) program: should you discover a cheaper worth, Accommodations.com will match that fee (and refund you the distinction) after you submit an on-line BRG declare. The Accommodations.com BRG is out there just for precise itinerary matches, together with property, room sort, and dates of journey (as is the case with all different BRG applications). The BRG additionally contains an equivalent cancellation coverage (which may make it tougher in your BRG declare to be authorized).
These three benefits work very nicely when reserving a keep at a Belmond resort. As talked about above, Belmond doesn’t have a loyalty program, so you could as nicely guide the room through Accommodations.com as a substitute of the official Belmond web site in order that you’ll get a few of your a refund ultimately (by investing it in direction of free resort nights).
It’s vital to note that Expedia is at the moment rolling out a brand new loyalty program – known as One Key – which can change the Accommodations.com Rewards program. One Key launched in July 2023 in the USA, with different nations to observe later in 2024.
5. BOOK VIA THE BELMOND WEBSITE
Aside from the Greatest Out there Charges (BAR) – that are all the time greatest booked through a Virtuoso journey agent – it is sensible to test the Belmond web site for the presence of any presents, packages or particular offers. You possibly can test these offers by clicking on the “provide” tab on the highest of the house web page of every Belmond resort. A number of kinds of offers are supplied:
- Single resort bundle offers require a multi-day keep at one property and often embody a reduction on the room fee and some advantages equivalent to airport transfers and complimentary wellness remedies.
- Multi-hotel bundle offers are supplied in locations the place Belmond manages a number of properties in shut proximity to at least one one other (e.g. Italy, Peru). The bundle offers often provide a reduced keep once you go to a number of resorts throughout one itinerary along with complimentary transfers between the resorts and few different advantages (e.g. spa remedies).
That mentioned, reserving instantly through the Belmond web site is my least most well-liked methodology of reserving, and right here’s why:
- The Belmond Bellini Membership program is relevant to all charges discovered on the Belmond web site (together with single and multi resort bundle offers).
- Belmond doesn’t have a income based mostly loyalty program, so you can not earn credit with the corporate in direction of free resort nights. The one option to make your stays at Belmond resorts rely for some form of loyalty scheme is by making the bookings through Accommodations.com, the place you may make investments right into a free resort night time for each ten nights booked (which could be spent at different Belmond resorts).
- Most resort manufacturers provide a greatest fee assure: should you discover a decrease qualifying fee on the web, the resort will match the decrease fee, and sometimes throw in an extra low cost. Sadly, Belmond doesn’t provide a greatest fee assure (as they declare that they provide the bottom accessible charges anyway).
- By no means guide a versatile ‘greatest accessible fee’ on the Belmond web site. As soon as once more, as defined above, you’re leaving cash on the desk should you guide a paid keep at a Belmond resort that could be a Virtuoso member through the resort web site and never through Virtuoso, as a result of you may’t obtain Virtuoso advantages (equivalent to breakfast, free improve, and a resort credit score) by reserving instantly with the resort.
IMHO, it’s totally bizarre that Belmond isn’t rewarding loyal shoppers who guide instantly through the corporate’s official web site, however that you could rating free stays at Belmond resorts by reserving through Accommodations.com or get very good advantages at Belmond properties (as should you would have elite standing) by reserving by means of Virtuoso or your bank card firm.
6. MY REVIEWS & YOUTUBE VIDEOS OF BELMOND HOTELS
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