hawaiiantraveler

I'd appreciate the opinion of all you knowledgable Fodorite's on a price quote I received from my agent.

HNL/BKK Upgradeable airfare-United
BKK/HKG Dragon Air
HKG/NRT upgradeable air-United
NRT/HNL Upgradeable air United

Bangkok-Private transfer to
Shangri-La Hotel-4 nights Superior river view Room with breakfast-then private limo transfer to:
Peninsula Hotel-3 nights Deluxe Room with breakfast-Private transfer to airport
HKK
greeting at airport with private transfer to:
Shangri La Kowloon-4 nights no meals
private transfer to airport
NRT
Meet and greet at airport with shuttle bus transfer to:
Keio Plaza Intercontinental Hotel Tokyo-standard room no meals-3 nights-Scheduled shuttle bus back to the airport for trip back home to Honolulu.
The price quoted for all including airfare and all taxes and transfers is $3,345.00 per person with 2 people (my wife and I) traveling. Is this a good deal? I'm stuck with using United as I am a Premier member and will be using some mileage to upgrade to Business Int'l.
We are planning to travel the last week on Feb '05 thru the first part of March. Any idea's or sugestions will be appreciated.

hawaiiantraveler

oops...title should have read Is this a GOOD deal.

Kathie

First of all, do you have the upgrades reserved? As you probably know, it is not easy to get business class upgrades. So if you can't get a business class upgrade reserved, go for a less expensive coach fare.

You can figure out whether this is a good rate yourself. Call United and get the airfare, then check a website like www.asiahotels.com and see what the rates are for your hotels. What's left over are the transfers. It's very easy to arrange your own transfers, including limo transfers for much less than a travel agency or hotel will charge you.

I have to tell you that I have always been able to get a better price on my own than through a travel agent.

rkkwan

That's basically 14 nights of hotel plus airfare in economy. I don't think that's a particularly good deal. Not bad, but nothing that special. I'd expect those the hotels to be about $200 at BKK, $250 in HKG, and $300 in Tokyo, for about $1,500 per person. Airport transfer can't cost too much, so your air ticket is about $1,500. Seems to me you can probably book them all seperately for not more than that.

Also, when you say a fare is "upgradeable", it doesn't mean UA necessarily will let you upgrade, even if there are seats in the front. You should really find out how likely you can actually get upgraded with miles.

hawaiiantraveler

Kathie: No the upgrades haven't been reserved but they are available. Thanks for the asia hotels site.That's the cheapest I've seen around.
RK:Wow your assesment on prices was almost spot on. The quote was $1,423 each for air and 1,922 each for the hotel,transfers and taxes portion which works out to 274.58 per hotel nite. Using Kathie's site I might save a few dollars. Thanks for all your concern and help. Aloha!
Peter

kuranosuke

brah! listen to kathi and kwan, they hit it right on the coconut. if you are going to pay the upgradeable ua fare, you must book your upgrade at the same time, or they may be not avaial, and you would have paid a higher fare. acutally, it cost us alot more to fly to asia from hnl, then it does from sfo or lax.

my cousin was able to get ua upgradeable fares from hnl to bkk for $970. you might want to plan this trip out for yourself, and see the diff. in price.

most of us in hi are locked in with ua, me included. don't forget to try one of the many izakaya's that dot the area when you stay at the keio in shinjuku. don't let the stink eye of the regulars bother you. just sip your sake or beer, and enjoy the great pupus. ahui hou!

hawaiiantraveler

Hey bruddah K thanks for the Shinjuku suggestion will need it by then. Any good steak places in that area?

kuranosuke

don't know of any good steak places there. i assume you are looking for domestic beef. its very expensive, however, if you want to try it, you can to the okura hotel, on the top floor, there is a teppan yaki restaurant which serve domestic beef. go for lunch as it is cheaper, around 80usd. i'd rather spend that money is a sushi bar.