A few days ago I noticed a tweet from the Hyatt Regency Irvine about a new contest. It turns out it has nothing to do with Hyatt; they just like to share cool stuff on their Facebook page. Don’t you love a company with a good social media presence? They’re better than I am!
The Villa Sandi Estate in Venice, Italy, is running a contest to see who has the best engagement story. Really? As I said at the time, I think this is a contest I can win. I already shared much of the story in greater detail in a trip report a few months back, including how I managed to earn tens of thousands of points in the process, scored first class seats, and got a discount on a convertible and oceanfront room at the Hyatt Regency Maui. Then I proposed on the top of Haleakala at sunrise. Pretty romantic for a clueless guy like me.
It’s worth knowing that right now you can get the same package I bought from Costco Travel for a five-night stay for only $2,000 all-in. That’s $200/person/night in a picture-perfect hotel room including a car and full daily breakfast!
I’m not allowed to ask you to vote for me, nor do I want to. I like meritocracy, and the best story should win. I’m a bit peeved right now that all my apostrophes got removed from the submission, automatically earning a fail in my book, but c’est la vie. However, any of you with a good engagement story should go check out the site and write an entry. Feel free to share the link to your story in the comments below.
The Grand Prize includes:
• 5 day, 4 night trip for two to Italy
• 2 night’s hotel accommodations in Venice, Italy
• 2 night’s hotel accommodations in the Veneto Region near Villa Sandi Estate
• Round trip coach air transportation for two to Venice, Italy
• Ground transportation to/from the airport, Villa Sandi Estate and around the vineyards at Villa Sandi
• Tour of Villa Sandi for two
All the rest of you, go take a look and see if anyone’s a contender. If that contender happens to be me, well… 
It can be a bit difficult to find individual pages, so here’s a direct link to my story. (It’s longer than most, no surprise to the regular readers…) You just need to give them a name and email address. It’s relatively painless.
There is a long delay before a winner is announced. The top 10 finalists will be selected in March, and of those top 10, a judging committee will determine who’s the winner of the grand prize trip to Venice. Megan and I have each been there before, but it would be nice to go back, even if we pay for it ourselves. We just need to stay someplace other than a dirty hostel across from the train station. The Hotel Danieli looks nice, no?
About Scott Mackenzie
