Five nights at St. Regis Punta Mita Resort at the northern point of Bahia de Banderas (Banderas Bay) 26 miles northwest of Puerto Vallarta Airport (PVR) is the top resort value ($17,500) in Round 6 of Starwood Resorts “Pack Your Bags†sweepstakes. St. Regis Princeville Kauai ($3,125) is the second highest value prize for a Golf Resort. The choices for the Best Golf Getaway in Starwood Resorts are as variable as Westin Turnberry, Scotland or Sheraton Denarau Fiji.
As far as which hotel offers the best golf, well … you had better check another source. I mowed more golf courses here on the Monterey Peninsula than I played.
SPG members can have four entries total for this round with one entry each day Friday April 1, Saturday April 2, Sunday April 3 and Monday April 4 before 11:59pm Eastern time (New York City).
Basic Rules (Pack Your Bags sweepstakes FAQ link)
There are 9 resort categories for the sweepstakes and one final prize on April 15 for a total of ten grand prize giveaways over the next month. Every Tuesday and Friday during the promotion period there will be a different set of hotels offering a grand prize package.
- You can enter once every 24 hours. Each entry is unique and you may choose a different resort within the choices of the Starwood Resort category with each entry.
- You can only win one prize during the promotion period.
- Prize is not transferrable.
- Winners are chosen from member entries within the posted time frame for each category.
Starwood Resort Categories for Pack Your Bags Sweepstakes:
Sweepstakes Period Rounds:
ROUND 1 – Best Exotic Escapes
* Photos posted: 3/15/11 @ 12:00:01 a.m. ET
* Submission deadline: 3/17/11 @ 11:59:59 p.m. ET
ROUND 2 – Best Winter Adventure Resorts
* Photos posted: 3/18/11 @ 12:00:01 a.m. ET
* Submission deadline: 3/21/11 @ 11:59:59 p.m. ET
ROUND 3 – Best Family Adventure Resorts
* Photos posted: 3/22/11 @ 12:00:01 a.m. ET
* Submission deadline: 3/24/11 @ 11:59:59 p.m. ET
ROUND 4 – Best Beach Resorts
* Photos posted: 3/25/11 @ 12:00:01 a.m. ET
* Submission deadline: 3/28/11 @ 11:59:59 p.m. ET
ROUND 5 – Best Spa Indulgences
* Photos posted: 3/29/11 @ 12:00:01 a.m. ET
* Submission deadline: 3/31/11 @ 11:59:59 p.m. ET
ROUND 6 – Best Golf Getaways
* Photos posted: 4/1/11 @ 12:00:01 a.m. ET
* Submission deadline: 4/4/11 @ 11:59:59 p.m. ET
ROUND 7 – Best Romantic Paradise
* Photos posted: 4/5/11 @ 12:00:01 a.m. ET
* Submission deadline: 4/7/11 @ 11:59:59 p.m. ET
ROUND 8 – Best Small Wonder
* Photos posted: 4/8/11 @ 12:00:01 a.m. ET
* Submission deadline: 4/11/11 @ 11:59:59 p.m. ET
ROUND 9 – Best Island Retreat
* Photos posted: 4/12/11 @ 12:00:01 a.m. ET
* Submission deadline: 4/14/11 @ 11:59:59 p.m. ET
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The 10th grand prize winner will be picked April 15 from the entrants for each of the previous rounds. The Grand Prize winner has the choice of any Starwood Resort in the SPG members’ favorites list.
Resort stays must be completed by December 31, 2011.
Who can enter: Anyone age 18 or over from
- fifty (50) United States (including D.C.),
- Canada (excluding Quebec residents),
- Argentina,
- Australia,
- Austria,
- Brazil,
- China,
- Indonesia,
- Ireland,
- Finland,
- France,
- Germany,
- New Zealand,
- Portugal,
- Singapore,
- South Korea,
- Switzerland,
- Taiwan
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom.
Important Promotion Term to Note:  Winner member may substitute a different resort from the one originally chosen. For this reason you should pick the most expensive resort stays since you can always trade down, but you can’t trade up.
What if I win, but then decide I don’t want to go to the resort I had originally chosen?
Members may substitute a resort of equal or less value from the resort options originally provided to the member during the Giveaway.Â
Check the Pack Your Bags Terms and Conditions link to see the tables of hotels and prize value for each of the nine Starwood Resort categories during the Pack Your Bags sweepstakes.
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150,000 Starpoints Component of Grand Prize
The points are yours for whatever purpose you choose. Air travel to the Starwood Resort prize is totally left up to the prize winner.
150,000 Starpoints are available for conversion into airline miles if you choose to use points for air travel.
150,000 points = 185,000 miles for most airlines with 1:1 point-to-mile exchange.
Loyalty Traveler Analysis:
Remember to enter every day through April 14.
Choose the most expensive resort for each entry. If you win, then you can always change to any other resort in the list for each resort category prize. You can always trade laterally to an equally expensive resort or trade down later, but you can’t trade up to a more expensive resort.
Air travel to the resort is left up to the member. In general, 150,000 Starpoints will have more value used for hotel nights rather than air miles.
