My Favourite Membership

It’s no secret that I’m a true loyalist of the Club ITC Culinaire membership of the ITC Hotels. For business savings or personal spends, the membership’s got your back.

I foot a bill of Rs. 1,80,000 for a gathering of 25 people. Club ITC Culinaire got me 45,000 Points which amounts for 25% of the total bill amount. These points are enough to cover my cost for the next 5 visits to the hotel. I might even sneak in a room night stay with my family over a long weekend at 6,000 Points for a room night stay.

It’s a rewarding feeling to think about your savings from one dinner covering the cost of your next 5 visits.

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I constantly jet set around the country and the region for work. Even though business travel is just a part of the grind for most people, it is something I’m extremely meticulous about.

My travels over the past few years have taught me that choosing the right loyalty card is a crucial task on your way to start reaping the rewards from extensive dining and stays at hotels. For anybody who stays at hotels for extended periods of time, it only makes sense to get rewarded for the same.

I chose the Taj Hotels as it provides me access to a collection of exquisite properties across the region. My normal stops are mostly large Indian cities like Delhi and Mumbai. There is a Taj property in each of these places and they really look after their guests.

The Epicure membership comes with great perks like a complimentary night stay (which I use for my holiday) and point earning and redemption over food, drinks and the spa. Added to the 25% Epicure point earning on food, the membership offers Happy Hours at the Bars all days of the week. When I travel alone, I do tend to use the Happy Hours offer often. The best bit is that I meet other single travellers and many use the Epicure membership for the Happy Hours too. It’s a super benefit.

I accumulate enough Epicure Points and Airline miles due to my incessant travel that I can treat my family to two holidays a year at almost no cost. The Epicure Points take care of the stay and the earned miles take care of our travel.

The Epicure membership comes with great perks like a complimentary night stay (which I use for my holiday) and point earning and redemption over food, drinks and the spa.

The annual membership price is recovered by the use of the free room night and the 50% Point earning for the 1^st three transactions alone.

I’d recommend the membership to anyone with a penchant for travel and entertainment. It works well to reward your family and make up for the time spent away with some wonderful memories at the Taj, all earned through redemption of Points. The Taj has a wonderful set of experiences you can redeem your Points for. If you’re interested to know more, you can log on to the Taj website for a detailed view on their Point earning and redemption system.

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I’m a 40 year old professional working as a Partner with a Big Four accounting firm and I’m a huge advocate of networking through business entertainment. This is not just a business need but also a great way to build a relationship with clients or prospective clients.

With my fair share of experience in entertaining clients for business, I have slowly discovered that points based loyalty cards are just perfect. One earns points each time you entertain someone just like you earn miles when you fly on business. Once I have enough points, I redeem them to take my family out for a meal at no cost or for a quick vacation paid for by my points.

The best part is the 6000 preloaded points that come with the card when buying or renewing the membership.

Off all the dining options available at ITC Hotels, their Indian food is my weakness, hence I’m a regular at Bukhara and Dum Pukht. I earlier had the ITC discount based membership and was very disappointed when they switched to the points program. Due to my love for the food, I got myself a Club ITC Culinaire membership anyway and discovered the wonderful benefits of the points based programs. I earn points while dining and also when I stay at the ITC hotels during my travels across the country. You can’t even believe how quickly these points add up.

The best part is the 6000 preloaded points that come with the card when buying or renewing the membership. My wife and I go to celebrate by redeeming these points for a one night stay at ITC Maurya at no cost, virtually recovering my investment in the annual fee and the night stay is only the beginning of the point earning journey.

Let me tell you an incident in particular to explain how wonderful this membership is. Last year I spent about Rs. 80,000 on dining and entertainment and about Rs. 1 lakh on my stay bills for which I earned a total of 25,000 Green Points, 25% on dining (20,000 points) and 5,000 points on stay. I used these points for a 2-night getaway with my family to Agra at the wonderful ITC Mughal and 3 nights at ITC Rajputana, the charming ITC hotel in Jaipur, using up 5000 points per night.

Folks, there are some more benefits like special room rates, discounts on welcome break, birthday bonuses and more. It works all round. Go enroll and enjoy the point earning opportunity.

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Connoisseur Club from The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts

The Leela has a range of award-winning properties that celebrate the country’s diverse geography and rich architectural history. Their luxury palaces, hotels and resorts are present in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Kovalam, Gurugram, Delhi and India’s magical holiday destinations of Goa and Udaipur. In many ways, The Leela has redefined gourmet food, luxurious stays and indulgent living.

Hand crafted menus across restaurants at Leela hotels spell culinary excellence. With a selection of restaurants like Jamavar, The Great Wall, Citrus, Spectra and others, The Leela offers the best in dining. While Jamavar brings royal culinary traditions to the city, Spectra and Citrus bring to you the best of global cuisine.

Connoisseur Club offers undeniably good discounts on food and drinks, up to a 50% off on dining and a 15% on beverages across the hotels.

My company got for me and some of my colleagues a Connoisseur Club membership as we were regular visitors to the corporate hubs of Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The company felt that using the membership would lead to corporate savings on dining and living and indeed it did!

Connoisseur Club offers undeniably good discounts on food and drinks, up to a 50% off on dining and a 15% on beverages across the hotels in these three business hubs. More so, each time I booked my hotel room, I got a discount on the Best Available Rate on accommodation. Group dining certificates and others added to a reduction in our business expense as well.

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I have always wanted to pamper my parents, how they pampered us, if not always, at least on the big day, their Anniversary!! I never felt satisfied with what I’ve gifted them because it’s no different from what I do usually, as the options are limited to conventional gifts like flowers, cards or dinners.

I was looking for the perfect gift which would truly surprise and overwhelm my parents and that’s when my friend suggested the Connoisseur Club membership from The Leela Palace Bengaluru where she’s a member. She recommended Connoisseur Club by saying that “It’s a complete package worth every penny”.

I quickly researched the Connoisseur Club membership and I have to say it was an ideal gift for my parents and they could do all they ever wanted with the membership. The Platinum Level membership caught my attention in particular, I felt like it was crafted just for my needs. Off all the variants the membership offered, Platinum Level was the most indulgent and high value membership.

The membership kit arrived at my doorstep within a few days, ready to be gifted to my parents. My membership was so well packaged that it exuded elegance and class, it was perfect to be gifted as it is.

It’s a delight to hear my parents talk about The Leela Palace Bengaluru and their savings courtesy Connoisseur Club. My parents’ most recent experience with Connoisseur Club is their two night stay in a suite at The Leela Palace Bengaluru. They were immensely impressed with the hotel façade drawing inspiration from the architectural style of the Royal Palace of Mysore, and exclusive access to the Club Lounge, which enabled them to enjoy multiple rounds of drinks and snacks at the Club Lounge and exploit their taste for whiskey sour each evening they stayed at the hotel.

On their second day at the hotel, we invited friends and family to surprise them, we were a total of 8 people on a table at Zen, the Pan Asian restaurant and guess what, just because my parent’s were now members we got a 50% discount over a sumptuous brunch with alcohol. A discount of this capacity was almost unheard of to most of us on that table!

My parents were very pleased and said this was one of the best experiences of their life. I totally agree with them, they did all that they wanted to do immersed in royalty and luxury while saving big bucks. I’m sure that they’ve already managed to save INR 30,000 or more due to this membership.

Since it’s a year long membership, we look forward to visit The Leela Palace Bengaluru again and again to experience it all! This is just the beginning; I would love to try the other Leela properties too.

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10 years! My wife and I completed a milestone in our marriage and planned a special staycation to celebrate our special day. We bought the Club Marriott membership and headed to the JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu. Here’s a rundown of the amazing benefits we availed during our staycation and you can too!

1. Complimentary room night stay – Level 3 of the Club Marriott membership at JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu got us a free room night stay in a Suite. It possibly had the greatest view one could get while sitting by a window in a hotel room – a view of the hotel’s pool, palm trees and the infinite beach. It was a view worth a million bucks. Staying in a Suite came with extra perks like access to the Executive Lounge, where we enjoyed several conversations while we sipped martinis and binged on finger food.
2. Lunch for two at Lotus Café – With a choice between Indian, Italian and Asian, we enjoyed one of the best buffets in Mumbai at absolutely no cost. With views of the blooming lotus pond, our complimentary buffet lunch was nothing short of scrumptious. The membership also got us a 30% discount for all our other meals at other restaurants of the hotel – Dashanzi, Mezzo Mezzo and Saffron.
3. Complimentary Wine – On the day of our anniversary, we decided to dress up and go to Dashazi for a romantic meal where the Club Marriott membership card entitled us to a 30% off on the total food & beverage bill. We ordered the vegetarian dimsum basket to get the most of their overwhelming dimsum menu of over 15 kinds. To top the already decadent meal, I used the certificate offering a complimentary bottle of house wine to surprise my wife and to raise a toast to the wonderful life we’ve spent together.
4. 50% off at the Spa – No staycation is complete without a relaxing massage. Quan Spa is one of the better spas in Mumbai, using two off the five certificates available at the Spa, we got one 60 minute full body massage each. Our spa certificates helped us both get massages for the price of one.

This is all we could pack in our one day short trip. However, there is so much more the Club Marriott membership offers at the hotel – 20% at the Salon and Bakery, 50% off on the laundry service, up to a 50% off on room rates and complimentary access to the pool and services at the Salon.

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The last time I visited the Pullman New Delhi Aerocity was to celebrate my daughter’s exceptional result in exams and her admission to an Ivy League college in the States. I figured it’d be great for her to celebrate with close friends and family before she moves out for college. With our Accor Plus membership, we managed to call a group of 10 people at Pluck, Pullman Aerocity to celebrate the momentous occasion.

Why Pullman New Delhi Aerocity?

Even though the hotel is considerably new to the Indian market, we’ve been loyal patrons of the hotel brand for a few years now. We try and stay at the Pullman every time we travel overseas. Apart from comfort, convenience and service, it is very comforting to stay at a hotel owned by a trust worthy international hotel brand like Accor Hotels.

Pluck at the Pullman Aerocity serves European cuisine with a ‘farm to table’ concept i.e most of their vegetable stock is either grown on location or locally ensuring the freshest meals on your plate. Visiting Pluck is like treating my family to a dose of health. Pluck is my personal favourite but Pling is another spot at the Pullman that keeps us coming back to the hotel for a drink or two.

Why Accor Plus?

As I’ve already shared before, Pullman is one of our favourite hotel brands to stay at, so we decided to get a membership for the same to avail benefits. It offers a pool of benefits ranging from a complimentary room night, complimentary upgrade to the next category of rooms, complimentary Buffet Lunch, 40% off on the total bill for larger tables and many other property specific benefits.

Benefits applicable on the food bill are the ones we use very regularly. The certificate offering a 40% off on the total food bill helped us celebrate my daughter’s special day. For a table of 10 with an average cost of 2,500 per head, we only paid Rs. 11,200.

In addition to the fresh greens from their in-house organic farm, Pluck pulls itself apart from the rest with its mix of traditional and avant-garde menu. One would be amazed to see the diverse variety of food laid on our table – from fusion delicacies like Caviar Golgappa and Kaffir Lime Paneer Tikka to the more traditional vegetable Biryani.

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I was on a hunt for the perfect birthday present for my husband when my friend suggested the Club ITC Culinaire membership to me, keeping in mind his absolutely irrevocable love for food and all things good in life.

It was his big 50th, I knew the gift had to be special, but a hotel membership is something I was really unsure of only because I had never heard of anything like it before. However, one look at their online brochure was enough for me to make a decision and buy the membership.

ITC has the most beautiful properties across the country. From ITC Maurya nestled in greenery in the heart of Delhi to the very royal ITC Rajputana in Jaipur, each property is worth a visit for the unique experience it has to offer. In addition to beautiful hotels, ITC Hotels are known to create handcrafted signature dining experiences at their iconic restaurants like Bukhara, Dum Pukht, Peshawari and others. The restaurants known for their flavorful excellence offer the finest in food, service, ambience and culinary traditions.

Club ITC Culinaire membership Green Points can be accumulated and redeemed on accommodation and lifestyle at over 100 hotels in 75 locations and 80 Wills Lifestyle stores.

My husband absolutely loved the membership card and soon enough I knew that I had made the right choice. The welcome bonus of 6000 Green Points allowed us to redeem them for a one night stay at ITC Maurya to celebrate my husband’s 50th.

The best part of the evening was that in addition to the 25% Green Points, we earned 50% bonus points on the entire bill as a part of the birthday week redemption and since our total expenditure crossed 25,000, we were credited with another 1,000 Points. On a bill of Rs 30,000 we had earned 12,250 points, which can now be used for 2 room night stays at ITC Maurya itself at 6000 points a room night.

We had invited a few friends for dinner at Bukhara to celebrate the special occasion and enjoyed a very memorable meal as the restaurant never fails to impress. The best part of the evening was that in addition to the 25% Green Points, we earned 50% bonus points on the entire bill as a part of the birthday week redemption and since our total expenditure crossed 25,000, we were credited with another 1,000 Points. On a bill of Rs 30,000 we had earned 12,250 points, which can now be used for 2 room night stays at ITC Maurya itself at 6000 points a room night or at another similar ITC Hotel across India or a visit back to Bukhara for knocking off Rs 12,250 from our next bill.

Even though the membership was a gift for my husband, the complimentary spouse card lets me enjoy the benefits too! Now I use my spouse card to redeem points every time I have a Kitty to attend or go out for a casual lunch or evening with my friends.

Club ITC Culinaire is a combination of a good deal and super experiences at an ITC Hotel. From 25% Green Points on dining, birthday week celebration bonus of 50% points (including the spouse birthday), to 5% earnings on your stay and on expenditure at Wills Lifestyle stores, the membership caters to all aspects of a distinguished lifestyle. Perfect for connoisseurs of good food, fashion and experiences!

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It was time for one of my closest friends to get married and I had the most difficult task of finding the perfect wedding gift for him. I was sure that I wanted to get something that both of them could enjoy instead of something for their house or a gift item just for him.

I racked my brain to think of the best gifting options and zeroed in on a hotel membership. My friends are fond of good food, good wine and good travel, hence there couldn’t have been a better gift for them considering their lifestyle. I thought each time they used the membership, they will spend time together, enjoy the luxury hotel experience and will have a lot of good memories thanks to my gift. And it worked.

I asked a few other friends who frequently visit hotels to help me choose one membership from all the loyalty programs available in the market. The recommendations made it clear that I should pick a membership that is close to their home. They stay in Powai and the finest hotel complex near by was the Renaissance Mumbai, hence the answer was simple, the highly recommended Club Marriott membership. This is the food and beverage loyalty card from Marriott offering benefits at more than 250 Marriott hotels with over 1,000 restaurants across Asia Pacific.

Club Marriott membership is the most thoughtful gift for any occasion. It’s like gifting people a year long of memories they can cherish forever

I got them the membership from Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel fetching them a complimentary room stay, buffet breakfast, buffet lunch or dinner, chocolate cake, a bottle of House Wine and a huge line up of other discounted services. Due to the proximity to their home, I was hoping they’d be able to get full use of the membership benefits through frequent visits. Besides the Renaissance, Mumbai has four other gorgeous Marriott hotels at which participating hotel discounts can be availed – The Westin Mumbai Garden City, JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar, JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu and Courtyard Mumbai. If I’m not mistaken, the participating hotel benefits offer up to a 20% discount on accommodation and a 20% on the food and beverage bill.

Unlike most cards, the Club Marriott membership is valid across Asia Pacific. My friends had lined up a few travel plans to Australia and New Zealand soon after their wedding and were able to avail a 20% discount on their food and beverage bill and room stay during their visit as well as a 20% discount on weekend leisure rates at some Marriott hotels.

It was only after my friends came back from their travel did they tell me about the membership helping them cut a deal throughout their trips and how thankful they were for the gift. Now they are planning a trip to Goa with Club Marriott. It seems like the membership will take them through the 1st year of their wedding.

Not just for weddings, but I believe that the Club Marriott membership is the most thoughtful gift for any occasion. It’s like gifting people a year long of memories they can cherish forever.

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I was on a hunt for the perfect birthday present for my husband when my friend suggested the Club ITC Culinaire membership to me, keeping in mind his absolutely irrevocable love for food and all things good in life.

It was his big 50th, I knew the gift had to be special, but a hotel membership is something I was really unsure of only because I had never heard of anything like it before. However, one look at their online brochure was enough for me to make a decision and buy the membership.

ITC has the most beautiful properties across the country. From ITC Maurya nestled in greenery in the heart of Delhi to the very royal ITC Rajputana in Jaipur, each property is worth a visit for the unique experience it has to offer. In addition to beautiful hotels, ITC Hotels are known to create handcrafted signature dining experiences at their iconic restaurants like Bukhara, Dum Pukht, Peshawari and others. The restaurants known for their flavorful excellence offer the finest in food, service, ambience and culinary traditions.

Club ITC Culinaire membership Green Points can be accumulated and redeemed on accommodation and lifestyle at over 100 hotels in 75 locations and 80 Wills Lifestyle stores.

My husband absolutely loved the membership card and soon enough I knew that I had made the right choice. The welcome bonus of 6000 Green Points allowed us to redeem them for a one night stay at ITC Maurya to celebrate my husband’s 50th.

The best part of the evening was that in addition to the 25% Green Points, we earned 50% bonus points on the entire bill as a part of the birthday week redemption and since our total expenditure crossed 25,000, we were credited with another 1,000 Points. On a bill of Rs 30,000 we had earned 12,250 points, which can now be used for 2 room night stays at ITC Maurya itself at 6000 points a room night.

We had invited a few friends for dinner at Bukhara to celebrate the special occasion and enjoyed a very memorable meal as the restaurant never fails to impress. The best part of the evening was that in addition to the 25% Green Points, we earned 50% bonus points on the entire bill as a part of the birthday week redemption and since our total expenditure crossed 25,000, we were credited with another 1,000 Points. On a bill of Rs 30,000 we had earned 12,250 points, which can now be used for 2 room night stays at ITC Maurya itself at 6000 points a room night or at another similar ITC Hotel across India or a visit back to Bukhara for knocking off Rs 12,250 from our next bill.

Even though the membership was a gift for my husband, the complimentary spouse card lets me enjoy the benefits too! Now I use my spouse card to redeem points every time I have a Kitty to attend or go out for a casual lunch or evening with my friends.

Club ITC Culinaire is a combination of a good deal and super experiences at an ITC Hotel. From 25% Green Points on dining, birthday week celebration bonus of 50% points (including the spouse birthday), to 5% earnings on your stay and on expenditure at Wills Lifestyle stores, the membership caters to all aspects of a distinguished lifestyle. Perfect for connoisseurs of good food, fashion and experiences!

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It had been a while since ads for Hotel Memberships kept popping up on my Facebook feed. Despite having an interest in luxury properties and experiences, I hadn’t really considered buying a membership but the ads made it seem too tempting to pass. I finally made the call thinking it was worth a shot and there I was with a Hilton Premium Club membership package in my hand within 10 days of making the call.

The Hilton Shillim Estate Retreat and Spa was on top of my travel bucket list. My Hilton Premium Club membership gave me a brand new reason to strike it off my list. The membership for Hilton Mumbai International Airport includes participating benefits available at the retreat and spa – 20% discount on a table of up to 15, 15% discount on room service, 10% discount on room rates and a certificate offering a 30% discount on rooms and complimentary buffet breakfast.

I didn’t wait any longer to book my weekend getaway at Hilton Shillim Estate Retreat and Spa. The 70 acre all-villa retreat is a comfortable three hour drive from Mumbai with outstanding service. Nestled amidst nature, the property has about 90 villas and a spa which sits at the centre of the relaxing retreat. Amenities for bicycling, a hiking trail, a jogging track, a meditation camp, a pool, a walking track and a yoga pavilion make it an apt den for fitness enthusiasts.

Our villa came with a private pool and a personal butler service. Each meal, each drink and each moment handcrafted to perfection. Besides pressing the snooze button multiple times to enjoy the comfortable mattress I had ever laid my head on, I thoroughly enjoyed cycling and hiking at the property. It was something I would’ve never managed to do in the bustling city.

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Over the past year I’ve thoroughly enjoyed using my Club Marriott membership at JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru. Complimentary meals, stays and kid’s centred activities, they’ve got it all. Not just JW Marriott Hotel Bengaluru, the membership also lets me enjoy a couple of benefits during my weekend stay at the near by Sheraton Grand Bangalore Hotel.

Having used my card a decent amount, I knew it could be trusted while planning an international trip as well. I logged onto the Club Marriott website to check their participating hotels in Australia and the number of benefits offered there. The website mentioned 16 participating hotels in Australia with the following available benefits:

• Up to a 20% off on the food and beverage bill at the restaurants for up to a maximum of ten (10) guests. Savings on premium wines and spirits at select hotels.
• Up to a 20% off on the Weekend Best Available Rates.

Our travel itinerary included Sydney, Gold Coast and Melbourne, and luckily enough we found a participating Marriott hotel at each of our destinations where the Club Marriott discounts were available.

We spent a total of 2 weekends in Australia and were able to avail the 20% discount on the Best Available Rate on rooms on both occasions. Keeping that aside, we got a 20% on each meal we consumed at the hotels and let me tell you that this accounted for a huge part of our total saving.

The benefits we availed during our trip were far more valuable than the card itself. I’m so glad to have purchased the membership in the first place and then to have planned my trip ‘Down Under’ with it.

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Honeymoon, that’s the one thing that everyone really looks forward to after the wedding, me and my husband being avid travellers were more excited for the honeymoon than our wedding. We both had saved enough for our wedding and very little for our honeymoon. So we mutually decided on travelling within the country.

But was that the only option?

I started searching for beautiful places within India and special deals on hotels. While going through the web I came across the Accor Plus page on hotelmemberships.com. I was pretty amazed at the benefits available on hotels in Asia Pacific. The membership gave access to a bouquet of top brands like Sofitel, Novotel, Pullman, Mercure and hotels at the most ideal locations. I instantly called my husband-to-be to tell him about all the details and he agreed for us to buy the membership. We planned for Singapore as the air fare wasn’t that high and the country had many beautiful locations to offer.

Below are 5 ways the Accor Plus card helped me save during my honeymoon.

1)  The Free Room Night at an International Hotel. What Really?

While you are travelling internationally one of the major point of concern is accommodation. With Accor Plus it became so convenient for us to plan, even though there were so many choices we settled for Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay. The hotel was at one of the most happening locations in the city with a great view of the city skyline. We got a free room night as a member benefit and not just that, all our consecutive nights were at a 10% discount. Believe it or not we covered the complete cost of the membership with just this and there was still more to come.

2) Food at half the price!

We dined at different Accor properties while touring the city and I was surprised to find an Accor property everywhere we went to grab our meals. Singapore is not a cheap country to travel for an Indian as the currency is 50x but at the same time having something like an Accor Plus travel card plays to your leverage. You get to dine at the most exclusive restaurants in the city at the cost of dining at a local restaurant. Not to miss, taking out your card at an International location to avail half the price for the meal feels quite elite.

3) 15% off on Drinks

On our date night, both of us planned on looking our best. We went to the restaurant at our own hotel and decided to order a bottle of wine. With our card we availed a 15% discount on drinks along with our food. I was super excited about this. Getting an experience of fine dining on a date with a bottle of wine was an ideal set up and reward to our trip.

4) Exclusive Member Buffets – The paradise for foodies.

We are both real foodies and hearing about buffets just gets us crazy. The sea food buffets exclusively for members helped us explore so many options. The Seafood buffet featuring Wok Fried Slipper Lobsters live station, Alaskan King Crab, Dungeness Crab, Baby Maroon Lobsters, Irish & US Oysters and more is something one shouldn’t miss. Our taste buds were so satisfied by the end of the meal.

5) One Month Anniversary

Even after giving us more than its value in Singapore, the Accor Plus card was still not letting us stop. To celebrate our first marvellous month of marriage we went to Honk in Pullman New Delhi Aerocity to enjoy their delicious Pan Asian cuisine. Again, the delicious taste left us wanting for more.

My husband has never been appreciative of things I buy but the Accor Plus membership has been an exception. We have since then bragged about it to so many of our friends. Card’s value precedes the cost. It has offered me so many savings till now and I am definite of renewing this card next year as well. Looking forward to celebrating my birthday at an Accor Hotel soon to avail of my Group Dining Certificates.

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You just can’t surpass the only membership which gives a free room night stay across Asia Pacific. With over 800 hotels to choose from, Accor Plus has the largest collection by any hospitality company in all of Asia Pacific covering brands like Sofitel, Novotel, Pullman, Mercure and more.

I planned a trip to Singapore with my mother in February and decided to get the Accor Plus membership to avail the free room night stay. We booked our stay at Novotel in Singapore using the membership well in advance to ensure the availability of rooms to avail the free room night stay.

In addition to the complimentary night, the membership also offers Red Hot Deals on accommodation every Friday which entitle the member to up to a 60% discount on rooms when booked online. Sure enough, I sat with my laptop on a Friday evening in hopes of getting rooms at a 60% off, I wasn’t lucky enough to grab a 60% discount but I bagged a good 40% discount on the rest of our nights in Singapore.

You just can’t surpass the only membership which gives a free room night stay across Asia Pacific.

We had a very packed holiday schedule with a very busy itinerary. We were always on the go and like every tourist, we made sure to pack in a heavy breakfast to keep ourselves energised throughout the day. The discounts on the food bill are also applicable across Asia Pacific, hence we got a 50% discount on food and a 15% discount on beverages each morning we ate breakfast at the hotel and on whatever meals we had at the hotel. I believe this is the only membership which gives a 50% dining discount across hotels in Asia Pacific.

By the way, Accor Plus also entitles me to a whole range of dining and other benefits in my own city, New Delhi at Aerocity (Pullman, Novotel and IBIS) for the rest of the membership year. There are free meals, discounts and more on offer. I’m completely in love with this membership, would recommend all those looking out for a membership to go for it.

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I always thought of Accor Hotels to be reminiscent of a midscale French hotel chain with limited marquee hotels and a scattered presence in India. Accor Hotels made quite a buzz recently and caught my attention, having acquired the Fairmont-Raffles group, onefinestay, John Paul – a top global concierge company and a stake in the Banyan Tree hotel, Orient express and Rixos. It dawned on me that Accor Hotels is the world’s second largest hotel operator only after Marriott.

Dining at one of the Accor hotels seemed nothing short of an obscure thought previously. But the more I delved into their dining ensemble the more it took me by surprise. They actually offer an exquisite mix of restaurants, lounges and bars across their prominent brands such as Sofitel, Novotel, Pullman, Mercure etc. Pling at the Pullman New Delhi Aerocity, in particular extends an exalted bar experience with live music and an international selection of wine and other elixirs, while Novotel Mumbai Juhu Beach is an absolutely fabulous beach front venue with five restaurants and a stunning bar called Gada da vida!

After a brief presentation on the various benefits on offer, it became clear that the Accor Plus membership was a deal one couldn’t pass. So, I signed up without a second thought and got myself an Accor Plus membership.

The well packaged membership pack consists of a membership card and a bunch of super value certificates. I feel that investing in a hotel membership that you use multiple times in a year is great value for money; it’s a gift that keeps giving 365 days of the year!

This membership offers the best deal for honeymooners. Apart from the free room night stay across Asia Pacific, enjoy a 50% off on your dining bill each time you share a romantic meal with your partner at any of their 800 hotels in Asia Pacific and the dining discounts are available for larger tables too.

For all those considering this membership, don’t just confuse it for a mere dining membership. With Accor Plus, say hello to a free room night stay at any Accor hotel in Asia Pacific, a 10% off on regular rates at any time and an array of RED HOT accommodation deals through the year. Curiosity got me asking about similar deals and I got to know that Accor Plus is the only card which allows you to avail a free room night stay outside India. What a selection?! From Beijing to Bangkok, Goa to Gold coast, Kolkata to Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai to Melbourne and beyond, the world is your oyster to explore and experience more! Take your pick from exotic locations in Asia Pacific and enjoy a complimentary night stay for two.

Come to think of it, this membership offers the best deal for honeymooners. Apart from the free room night stay across Asia Pacific, enjoy a 50% off on your dining bill each time you share a romantic meal with your partner at any of their 800 hotels in Asia Pacific and the dining discounts are available for larger tables too. It is the only membership in India to give you the same dining discount across 1000 restaurants across Asia Pacific.

Besides being an absolute money saving membership card, the membership comes with certificates offering a free meal, group dining discounts, birthday offers, wine and more. These certificates are valid across India and we also got some special ones for our own local city; pssst……do ask for those!

One card offering membership benefits at 800 hotels and 1000 restaurants of the largest hotel company in Asia Pacific is surely something worth thinking about!

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10 years! My wife and I completed a milestone in our marriage and planned a special staycation to celebrate our special day. We bought the Club Marriott membership and headed to the JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu. Here’s a rundown of the amazing benefits we availed during our staycation and you can too!

1. Complimentary room night stay – Level 3 of the Club Marriott membership at JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu got us a free room night stay in a Suite. It possibly had the greatest view one could get while sitting by a window in a hotel room – a view of the hotel’s pool, palm trees and the infinite beach. It was a view worth a million bucks. Staying in a Suite came with extra perks like access to the Executive Lounge, where we enjoyed several conversations while we sipped martinis and binged on finger food.
2. Lunch for two at Lotus Café – With a choice between Indian, Italian and Asian, we enjoyed one of the best buffets in Mumbai at absolutely no cost. With views of the blooming lotus pond, our complimentary buffet lunch was nothing short of scrumptious. The membership also got us a 30% discount for all our other meals at other restaurants of the hotel – Dashanzi, Mezzo Mezzo and Saffron.
3. Complimentary Wine – On the day of our anniversary, we decided to dress up and go to Dashazi for a romantic meal where the Club Marriott membership card entitled us to a 30% off on the total food & beverage bill. We ordered the vegetarian dimsum basket to get the most of their overwhelming dimsum menu of over 15 kinds. To top the already decadent meal, I used the certificate offering a complimentary bottle of house wine to surprise my wife and to raise a toast to the wonderful life we’ve spent together.
4. 50% off at the Spa – No staycation is complete without a relaxing massage. Quan Spa is one of the better spas in Mumbai, using two off the five certificates available at the Spa, we got one 60 minute full body massage each. Our spa certificates helped us both get massages for the price of one.

This is all we could pack in our one day short trip. However, there is so much more the Club Marriott membership offers at the hotel – 20% at the Salon and Bakery, 50% off on the laundry service, up to a 50% off on room rates and complimentary access to the pool and services at the Salon.

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Weekend getaways and quick breaks keep me energised and motivated through tough work days. This time around due to the lack of time I decided to stay in my own city and make my way to the Park Hyatt Hyderabad. I had visited the hotel’s Italian diner, Tre-Forni for a meal several times, however I had never spent the night at the hotel.

For a fully relaxed staycation I decided to stay at the hotel for two whole days. This hotel is situated in Hyderabad’s upscale Banjara Hills. Set in a dark colour tone, well -balanced with abundant natural lighting, the hotel façade and interiors have a rather modern and a quirky look instead of a traditional hotel set up.

Hyatt successfully distinguishes itself within the competitive hospitality marketplace with ten different brands, each designed to deliver experiences attuned to the lifestyles, attitudes, values and aspirations of the guests. The Park Hyatt in particular is a luxury brand from Hyatt catering to the world’s most discerning business ad leisure travellers seeking and elegant meeting space or sophisticated escape.

Even though I had put my membership to good use by availing dining discounts in the past, I had saved a few vouchers to plan this weekend. Off the two days I spent at the hotel, I only paid 50% of one day’s price for a room. This was all due to Club at the Hyatt’s accommodation vouchers offering one complimentary night and a 50% discount for the other.

What’s a weekend with kids if you don’t hit the pool, right? Only open to hotel residents, Park Hyatt’s roof top pool is one of the best in the city with a bird’s eye view of Hyderabad’s skyline. The time I spent at the pool with my family was the highlight of my weekend. Not only did my membership offer complimentary use of the pool but the Health Club too. We hopped in for a quick steam and sauna session on both days. I’d say the breathtaking views of the skyline was the real cherry on top to the entire experience at the pool.

Off the two days I spent at the hotel, I only paid 50% of one day’s price for a room. This was all due to Club at the Hyatt’s accommodation vouchers offering one complimentary night and a 50% discount for the other.

I have already expressed my fondness for the hotel’s Italian fare. Tre-Forni is not only known for their largest collection of cold cuts and cheese served during Sunday Brunch but also the much sought after live Jazz performance every evening. Since we were staying at the hotel this time we made it a point to try the different dining options it had to offer. We hit The Dining Room for some regional dishes and comfort food and the Oriental Bar & Kitchen for Pan-Asian food. I quite liked the Oriental Bar and see myself being a regular at the restaurant.

The membership discounts were applicable for all our meals at each restaurant, being a family of 4, I saved a 25% each time we dined at the hotel. One thing I found to be very unusual was the 25% discount the card offered over Sunday Brunch. I had never seen any other card or promotion to be valid over Sunday Brunch. Weekend escape or not, I think this could be useful for people who’d like to unwind with a family meal on a Sunday after a hectic week.

After the pleasing experience I had over the weekend, I’m sure that I will be renewing this membership to avail the benefits next year as well.

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Last month we had my brother and his family visit us from Mumbai. As they landed in Kolkata, we told them about the relaxing staycation we had planned for all of us at the Radisson Kolkata Ballygunge courtesy the Rezerved membership.

The day we were to check in, everyone woke up excited with their plans ready for the weekend. The ladies had plans to hit the spa while the men planned to spend quality time with the kids within the indulgent abode that was our hotel.

Radisson Kolkata Ballygunge is one of the most premium hotels in Kolkata with the best rooms in the city and good in-house food and beverage options. The hotel houses some of the best food options at the all day diner, K 19 and the cozy Smoke Shack which serves some very creative kebabs.

We had booked two rooms since we were 2 families of 3 members each. Thanks to the Rezerved membership we got the first room complimentary and the second room at a special price of only Rs. 3000.

The Rezerved benefits didn’t just end at accommodation. We were also able to redeem our meal certificates for a 50% discount on the food bill for a table of six over two meals during our stay. Not to forget, the women also got 20% discount at the Spa for their much awaited spa sessions.

With young children it was inevitable to avoid room service every couple of hours to curb their hunger pangs. Luckily for us, Rezerved card discounts were applicable during all meal periods.

Thanks to the Rezerved membership we got the first room complimentary and the second room at a special price of only Rs. 3000.

Even though we exhausted most of our certificates, we plan to visit the hotel often enough to enjoy discounted meals and food promotions with the help of our card benefits. The card discounts offer up to a 50% discount at the restaurants depending on the number of guests.

Rezerved managed to make our relaxing staycation absolutely memorable. We had the most gala time at almost half the cost of the original services. My brother was so impressed with the membership and its benefits that he plans to buys the same for himself.

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Retail therapy is the real deal for me and my standard stop is the Ambience Mall in the heart of Gurugram. On one of my shopping trips, I stepped into Spectra at The Leela Ambience Gurugram Hotel for lunch with a friend. We thoroughly enjoyed the extravagant buffet with a choice of cuisine for each. On my way out, I crossed paths with a Leela executive who told me about the Connoisseur Club membership. It seemed so attractive that I got it immediately and have never regretted it ever since. Now it is the most important card in my wallet, almost as important as my credit cards.

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