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We made a very last minute, overnight trip to Philadelphia a few weeks ago and needed a place to stay. We were looking for a place in the heart of the city (within walking distance to everything) and decided on Le Méridien Philadelphia.
BOOKING
I made a booking the day before check-in after planning our last minute trip to Philadelphia. When I looked on Monday, literally every hotel in the city was sold out. Nothing at Starwood, Hyatt or Marriott. Worried that our only option was going to be the airport hotels, I kept checking back a few times a day. By Tuesday, some availability opened up at a Hyatt property and I jumped on it using 12,000 Hyatt GP points. [...]
W Hoboken Hotel – Starwood Category 5 225 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030 Award Redemption: 12,000 pts or 6,000 pts +$110 (very limited Cash & Points availability) Normal rate: Around $269-350 avg, ranging from $224 – $414 Starpoints return: 1.88 – 3.45 cents/point – Average to REALLY GOOD
Booking/Check-inI had a last minute-ish stay required in New York and it happened to be on opening day of the United Nation General Assembly in Manhattan. As a result, all hotels were fully booked in New York, so the best I could do was Hoboken, New Jersey. I booked a “Cozy Room: King Bed,” and, despite the busy week, I was able to get a pretty good rate. On my [...]
Starwood’s Summer 2014 promo, “Earn Away, Get Away” was just announced:
The Deal
From May 1 – July 31, 2014 you’ll earn:
2x Starpoints on all stays (for a total of 4x points/$ spent) 3x Starpoints on all stays that include a Sunday night (total of 6x points/$ spent)How to Get It
Register here: SPG Promos: “Earn Away, Get Away” by June 30. Book your SPG stays, remembering that Sunday nights will get you 3x Starpoints. Bonus points will post to your account within 2-4 weeks. AnalysisHere’s what you stand to gain on a typical $250 stay:
The value of the promotion really [...]
Don’t miss out on Starwood’s Winter 2014 promo “Bring On The Nights“:
The Deal
Basically, you can earn appx 500 bonus points/night on your first 20 Starwood nights from Jan 5 – Apr 30, 2014. Nights 21-25 will earn you appx 1,000 bonus points/night.
How to Get It
Register here: SPG Promos: “Bring on the Nights“ by Feb 28. Book your SPG stays (5 night increments so that you’ll get the bonus points!) After every 5 nights of eligible stays, 2,500 bonus points will post to your account within 2-4 weeks.Don’t forget:
This is only on “eligible nights” i.e. Award nights, Cash + [...]Spotted a possible pricing mistake on Starwood:
The Deal
The Westin Washington, D.C. City Center is undercharging for One-Bedroom Suites…rates as low as $299/night for a 902 sq ft suite where Traditional Rooms are $329-$399/night.. I’m finding good availability in June, July, September, October, etc 2014–other months seem to be pricing correctly.
Sample of pricing mistake June 18-19 booking
Normal rates are closer to the $500 mark for the suite:
The normal price: Sample booking for Apr 14-17 comes to $479/night [...]
Both Starwood and Hyatt promise “guaranteed room availability” for their top tier elites. I was forced to put this to the test on a recent business trip to Charlotte where I already had a few nights booked but needed to add an extra night on the front end of the stay. As a result of the conference and a Monday Night Football game downtown (thanks for nothing, Carolina Panthers), ALL Starwood and Hyatt properties in ALL of the Charlotte area (yes, including those 20+ miles from Downtown) were sold out.
StarwoodThe official policy at Starwood is “guaranteed room availability when your room is booked by 3 p.m., 72+ hours prior to arrival” with the [...]
Bali is one of the top honeymoon destinations in the world with literally hundreds of hotels in dozens of regions to choose from–so which one do you choose? I’ve narrowed my choice by *trying* to stay at Starwood or Hyatt properties using points or cash & points. And, if it doesn’t make sense to use points, then I’d still prefer to stay at one of these properties so that I might have a better chance for an upgrade and, at the very least, earn more points while staying. At the end of the day, however, it might be cheaper and a better experience to stay at a local property.
View Starwood in Bali in a larger map
Starwood Bali hotels by category [...]Don’t miss out on Starwood’s “SPG Take Two” promo for the Fall/Winter of 2013:
The Deal
– Earn 2x Starpoints between Sep 1 & Dec 15, 2013. – Effectively get 500 extra Starpoints/night by earning a 2,500 Starpoints bonus on your 5th, 10th, 15th and 20th eligible night.
How to Get It
Register here: “SPG Take Two” by October 31, 2013 For the 2x Starpoints promo, simply stay at SPG Hotels between Sep 1 & Dec 15. For the 500/night, you’ll have to make sure you hit that 5th night. Check your account within 2-4 weeks of completing the stay, your points should be there!Don’t [...]
