Exchange Rates

[mary-j]

"Ta very much" Curtiejoe. Ain't I awfy clever!! Aye yer right Omegaet, us canny scotswill dae anyhin tae save a bob or twa!!! Cheers!

[curtiejoe]

hi VIPmary-j

Very clever indeed. Now, all you need to do is use your smarts to figure out where to use your VIP certificate. Perhaps Dubai...Costa Rica...or somewhere a bit closer to home for you?!!!

curtiejoe

[mary-j]

i wish it was as simple as that.I have spent hours on the net finding out as much info on the auctions i am interested in and still cannot decide on one. Sofar my choices are La Mansion Inn-Costa Rica, Kupa Kupa Barong-Bali, The Fortress-Sri Lanka and Jade Mountain in St.Lucia. Can anyone put me out of my misery and help me choose. If you were in my shoes, which would you all choose? Thank You!!

[curtiejoe]

hi VIP mary-j

In your shoes, my choice would be The Fortress, Sri Lanka. I've heard and read a lot of very good reviews on it.

In my shoes, my choice would be La Mansion Inn, Costa Rica (mainly because I'm thoroughly biased in favour of Costa Rica, as you've no doubt seen in my posts).

curtiejoe

[mary-j]

Actually, thesetwo are my favourites although I am leaning towards La Mansion Inn, but what is putting me off that is the travelling from the UK. If I chose The Fortress in Sri-Lanka, then I could go to Dubai to my apartment for a couple of days first then fly on to Sri-Lanka. I had read somewhere that The Fortress's pool has fibre optics in it which change colour, also, apparently, their cutlery is made of glass!!! I really like the sound of those "loft suites".

[curtiejoe]

hi VIP mary-j

OK, it's time to put on your ten-league boots! Head to The Fortress. Fibre optics in the pool, AND glass cutlery...WOW! That's unique and worth the long trip from Scotland. And, besides, as you say, there's the awesome and attractive bonus of you being able to stop off on your way at Dubai and your own place there. In my mind, there is no other choice. You can wend your way to Costa Rica and La Maison some other time. Sri Lanka awaits!!!

curtiejoe

PS need someone to carry your bags? I'm your man...

[lhbrown]

Hi mary-j,

Good job figuring out where the "universal currency converter" is located. Unfortunately, the Euro currency is raising havoc with the prices over here (France), as well as the LL Dollar prices on the European properties. I noticed that on one of the LL properties in Italy we used to go to, the hotel added 1 extra night and doubled the dollar price. It went from $525 for 3 nights to $1175 for 4 nights, none of the extras had changed. That is a tremendeous increase.

[jashermd]

Hello,

I use http://www.xe.com for currency conversions -- it shows mid-market (midway between buy and sell) rates so it's a pretty good gauge of the rate you'd get if you paid with a credit card.

I've also noticed the price fluctuations on some of the European properties (the package I bought last year for JK Place in Florence, where I'd like to return, is starting at $916 instead of $720). Still decent value for money, but not as good as it was last year...the Euro may have risen but my personal income hasn't done...

Cheers,
Julian

[lhbrown]

Hi jashermd,
Yes, prices have crept up, and in some instances the incrases are considerable. I guess, the Euro is not doing us any favors... Also, I have been thinking that the properties have figured out that they can get more money after their initial exposure on LL, this is true for US properties as well where no currency fluctuation exists....

[curtiejoe]

hi VIPtravelfan

I guess it always comes down to 'supply and demand'. When a property becomes "hot" or in demand, after exposure on LL, the owners know that they're in a good position to raise prices, especially if similar, high-end properties are not available in the same area. It'll be intereesting how such properties fare on the soon-to-be-available "0" auctions on LL. I have some experience with just these sorts of auctions on other websites, such as skyauction, and think this new format will be an exciting addition to LL and are bound to prove very popular.

curtiejoe