How to Get Free Upgrades and Exclusive Perks at Mandarin Oriental Hotels

If you have ever stayed at a Mandarin Oriental, you probably already know why the brand has such a loyal following. From the legendary service to the beautiful properties and attention to detail, Mandarin Oriental has a way of making a hotel stay feel genuinely personal. But there is another reason we love booking Mandarin Oriental for our clients at DeSalvio Travel: through our membership in the Mandarin Oriental Fan Club, our clients can receive a collection of exclusive privileges and amenities that can make an already wonderful stay even more special.

And the best part? There is no additional cost to our clients for these benefits.

DeSalvio Travel is a member of the Mandarin Oriental Fan Club, giving us access to special benefits, amenities and offers that we can extend to our clients when booking eligible stays. When we make a Fan Club booking, we also communicate with the hotel ahead of our guests' arrival, sharing relevant details and preferences and making sure the hotel is aware of the benefits attached to the reservation. While certain privileges are subject to availability and individual hotel conditions, we do our utmost to make sure our clients receive everything they are entitled to and that the hotel has the opportunity to prepare for their arrival.

Our Relationship with Mandarin Oriental

Our relationship with Mandarin Oriental goes beyond simply booking rooms for our clients. We have been fortunate to experience the brand firsthand, including Mandarin Oriental Lutetia in Paris and Mandarin Oriental Marrakech, and to share those experiences through our travel writing. Following our visits, DeSalvio Travel joined the Mandarin Oriental Fan Club as advisors, giving us access to the dedicated Fan Club portal, exclusive offers, preferred partner benefits, promotions and resources across Mandarin Oriental's global portfolio.

For us, this is particularly meaningful because we genuinely know the hotels we recommend. We have experienced the service, design, restaurants and atmosphere ourselves, and we can combine that first-hand knowledge with the benefits available through our Fan Club relationship. It means that when we recommend a Mandarin Oriental to a client, we are not simply looking at a room and a rate. We are looking at the entire experience and how we can make it as valuable and seamless as possible.

So, what can you receive?

Complimentary Breakfast Every Day

One of our favorite benefits is also one of the simplest: complimentary full daily breakfast for two. Breakfast can generally be enjoyed in the restaurant or in the comfort of your room, depending on the hotel and your preference, although room service delivery fees may apply.

For a multi-night stay, this can add up to a meaningful saving, while also making your mornings considerably easier. There is something particularly nice about knowing breakfast is already taken care of when you wake up in a beautiful Mandarin Oriental, whether you are starting a busy day of sightseeing or taking your time over a leisurely morning at the hotel.

Dining and Spa Credits

Depending on the room category and hotel, clients can also receive up to $100 in dining credit and $100 in spa credit per stay. For suite guests, this can mean up to $200 in combined dining and spa credit, while room guests may receive a $100 dining or spa credit, subject to the hotel's specific terms.

These credits are one of the benefits we particularly like because they encourage you to experience more of the hotel itself. You might use the dining credit toward lunch or dinner, enjoy afternoon tea, or put the spa credit toward one of Mandarin Oriental's famous treatments. The exact credit and conditions can vary between hotels, so we always check the details for your particular stay before booking.

Complimentary Room Upgrades

Who doesn't love a better room?

Fan Club bookings can include a complimentary upgrade to the next room category, subject to availability, and this is one of the benefits we always request for our clients. An upgrade can never be guaranteed unless a particular offer specifically says otherwise, but we communicate with the hotel before arrival and make sure the request is clearly noted.

This is where having a travel advisor can make a difference. We know when our clients are arriving, what they are celebrating and what they are looking for from their room, and we communicate those details to the hotel in advance. When the hotel has the availability, that can mean moving into a more spacious room, enjoying a better view or simply having a little more room, or a whole suite, to settle in.

Early Check-In and Late Check-Out

Travel days do not always fit neatly into hotel check-in and check-out times, which is why complimentary early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability, can be such a valuable benefit.

If you arrive early in the morning after a long flight or have an evening departure, being able to access your room earlier or keep it longer can make the difference between a rushed travel day and a much more relaxed one. We communicate your arrival and departure details to the hotel in advance and request early check-in or late check-out whenever appropriate.

The hotel ultimately has to work around its occupancy and availability, so we never promise something that the property cannot guarantee. What we can do is make sure the request is communicated properly, in advance and to the right people, and then follow up with the hotel to do our utmost to have it accommodated.

Personalised Welcome Amenities

The benefits are not only about dollars, upgrades and additional time in your room. Fan Club bookings also include a personalised welcome amenity and a personalised welcome card from hotel leadership, giving the hotel another opportunity to recognise your arrival and make the experience feel personal.

We communicate relevant information about our guests before they arrive, including celebrations or special occasions whenever appropriate, so the hotel team has the opportunity to prepare. Whether it is a honeymoon, anniversary, birthday or simply a particularly meaningful trip, those details give the hotel another chance to make the arrival feel special.

These details may seem small, but they are often what transform a hotel stay from simply being a reservation into a genuinely memorable experience.

Priority When Hotels Are Full

Another benefit that is easy to overlook is priority waitlist clearance at fully committed hotels.

This can be particularly useful when you are planning a trip to a destination where a Mandarin Oriental is in high demand and rooms are difficult to secure. Of course, availability can never be guaranteed, but having Fan Club access and an established relationship with the hotel gives us another avenue when a property is fully committed.

If your preferred dates are not initially available, we can monitor the situation and work with the hotel should space become available. For popular destinations and peak travel periods, that additional level of communication can be particularly useful.

And Then There Are the Special Offers

In addition to the standard Fan Club privileges, Mandarin Oriental regularly introduces exclusive offers for Fan Club bookings. These offers change throughout the year, which is why we don't recommend planning a trip around one particular promotion.

Instead, when we are planning a client's trip, we look at what is available for their dates, room category and circumstances and determine which offer provides the greatest value.

Depending on the hotel and the current promotion, these offers can include discounted stays, complimentary nights, additional dining or spa benefits, suite offers, family amenities or incentives for booking further in advance. The promotions will change, but the principle remains the same: we look for the offer that provides the most value for your particular trip.

This is also why it is worth asking us before booking directly. An offer that looks attractive at first glance may not necessarily be the best option for your particular stay once the room category, length of stay and included benefits are considered.

Why Book Mandarin Oriental Through DeSalvio Travel?

This is ultimately why we value our relationship with Mandarin Oriental and our membership in the Fan Club. You can certainly book a Mandarin Oriental hotel yourself, but when we arrange the stay for you, we can look beyond simply finding a room and a rate.

We can check the available Fan Club benefits, look for applicable offers, communicate your preferences and special occasions to the hotel, and make sure the details of your stay are properly coordinated before you arrive. We know that the value of a hotel stay is not simply what you pay for the room. It is everything that comes with it.

Our work also does not stop once the reservation is confirmed. Before our guests arrive, we communicate with the hotel and make sure they know when you are coming, pass along important requests and preferences, and do our utmost to have benefits such as early check-in, late check-out and room upgrades accommodated whenever availability allows.

The hotel makes the final decision on availability, but having those requests communicated properly and in advance gives the team the best possible opportunity to make it happen.

And because these benefits are attached to eligible Fan Club bookings, you don't pay extra for DeSalvio Travel's access to them.

Whether you are planning a honeymoon, anniversary, family vacation, business trip or simply a few nights somewhere wonderful, these little extras can add up to a considerably better hotel experience.

Mandarin Oriental is already one of our favorite hotel collections to recommend. Having the ability to add breakfast, potential upgrades, hotel credits, flexible arrival and departure times, personalised amenities and special offers makes it an even stronger choice for our clients.

If you are considering a Mandarin Oriental for your next trip, let DeSalvio Travel check what Fan Club benefits and offers are available for your dates before you book.

You may be surprised by how much more can be included.

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Book your call here.

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Marisa DeSalvio

CEO DeSalvio Travel
Travel design specialist
Adventure Travel Specialist
Asia/Pacific specialist

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More reading about our experiences at Mandarin Properties: 

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Mandarin Oriental Lutetia, Paris

Our experience at Mandarin Oriental Lutetia

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Mandarin Oriental Marrakech:

Mandarin Oriental, Marrakech Review
Our Butler experience at Mandarin Oriental Marrakech
Our Spa experience at Mandarin Oriental