I had been up late last night (in my timezone) when reports of 5000 point hotels started trickling in on FlyerTalk.   Since I need 3 nights in Bali, I waited up to see what would transpire.   No luck for me, Bali was not included in the list finally released.  Although eco-travelers came out fairly unscathed with the recent award chart devaluations (big cities got hammered), most of us were expecting a halfway decent Pointbreaks list for Feb and March to make up for it; so there was disappointment all around.

Pointbreaks

The list finally went up after a few false starts and very few people had something to be happy about.  Here’s a few that may be of use:

Fiji Intercontinental – nice base to relax in between trips to outer islands and there are some bird species in the vicinity.

Auckland Airport – you’d pass through here enroute to Australia or the Pacific Islands so why not get a free night to rest up before the flight?

Crowne Plaza Johannesburg – useful if you are enroute to or from Kruger or Magoesbakloof.

Holiday Inn Sumare, Sao Paulo – inconvenient location but if you are taking a bus to the Pantanal and need an overnighter, it’s an option.

Crowne Plaza Maruma, Venezuela – with all the parrots in Venezuela, worth a look.

Crowne Plaza West Hanoi – people on FlyerTalk say it’s inconvenient to the city but it may have birding nearby so check it out.

Check out the whole Pointbreaks list.