Hilton Auckland, New Zealand, an HHonors Category 6 Hotel

A feature of the Hilton HHonors co-branded American Express Platinum card is the ability to redeem 125,000 points for an AXON 4-night hotel award in a HHonors Category 5 or Category 6 hotel.

Normally, a category 6 hotel will cost 40,000 points per night. HHonors VIP members can get a 6 night or longer award at 175,000 points/6-nights. A VIP 6-night award saves over 11,000 points per night. A category 5 hotel is 35,000 points per night or 150,000 points per 6 nights, a 10,000 points per night savings.

American Express HHonors Platinum card members are automatically enrolled as a Silver elite HHonors member. Silver status is normally earned after 4 stays or 10 nights in a 12-month period. (Periodic offers make Gold elite status a free or low stay special promotion throughout the year).

The problem for many travelers is the desire for an award at less than six nights and this is the value of the HHonors American Express Platinum card and the AXON award available to cardholders.

The AXON award for a 4-night stay at 125,000 points shaves 35,000 points off an otherwise 160,000 point stay for a Category 6 hotel. The savings of 15,000 for a 4-night Category 5 award is not as great, but it is a savings.

Charges to the American Express card earn from 3 to 5 HHonors points per $1 in spending depending on purchase item.

I like TripAdvisor. Where else can I find hundreds of reviews of a hotel in one place with a popularity ranking system?

The more I use TripAdvisor, the more frequently I notice some limitations of the service. Two issues have arisen over the past couple of weeks as I have spent several hours working with TripAdvisor hotel review webpages.

Firstly, I have issue with the geographical specificity of the hotel popularity ranking system used to show the order of listings according to a TripAdvisor proprietary algorithm – the TripAdvisor “secret sauce”.

A tourist often does not have detailed knowledge of a place. Here is the issue I ran into with studying Phoenix/Scottsdale hotels. I planned a trip to go to a meeting in Phoenix two weeks ago. I simply wanted to stay in hotels in the Phoenix area for a couple of additional nights, however, a hotel near Phoenix was also in consideration since I could drive to any location in the Phoenix area in my car.

TripAdvisor categorizes hotels by the specific city.

Phoenix hotels are one database of hotels provided in TripAdvisor’s own popularity ranking.

Scottsdale hotels are a different exclusive ranking.

Glendale, Chandler, Mesa, and Tempe are each additional ranked hotel popularity databases.

Sometimes there is an additional regional header besides the state, but not always.

Examples to illustrate the point.

My previous post was a trip report about The Wigwam Golf and Spa Resort in Litchfield Park, Arizona. The Wigwam is the only hotel in Litchfield Park, Arizona, a suburb in western Phoenix metropolitan area. TripAdvisor ranks The

Wigwam #1 most popular hotel in Litchfield Park, a city with 1 hotel.

What good does that do in helping me decide how The Wigwam ranks among metropolitan Phoenix hotels?

The good news is TripAdvisor sub-categorizes Arizona (and each state) with some regional category groupings. Arizona has a sub-category for “Central Arizona” which combines the hotel listings for Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Tempe, Chandler, and a variety of other towns and cities.

The interesting omission to me is Litchfield Park is not included in the Central Arizona database and therefore The Wigwam Resort has no comparative popularity ranking for Phoenix metropolitan resorts in the TripAdvisor search results.

Closer to home I noticed another odd thing about TripAdvisor.

For Carmel, California hotel listings I can search for Carmel and the TripAdvisor geographical hierarchy for hotel search returns is based on:

Carmel/Monterey Peninsula/California

If I search Carmel hotels, I will only see hotel listings for Carmel, except for a few Carmel Valley properties and a couple of Carmel Highlands properties if I search “Carmel” on TripAdvisor.

If I search Monterey Peninsula, I will expand the hotel database and see TripAdvisor’s popularity rankings for hotel listings in Carmel, Pebble Beach, Pacific Grove, and Monterey.

The TripAdvisor display for Carmel lodging looks like this:

#1 in Carmel of 18 – Tickle Pink Inn (this hotel is actually 5 miles south of Carmel in Carmel Highlands)

#2 in Carmel of 18 – Quail Lodge Resort and Gold Club (while technically a Carmel address, this resort is located on the Carmel Valley Road several miles east of the village of Carmel-by-the-Sea and would be referred to locally as a Carmel Valley location.)

#3 in Carmel of 18 – Lobos Lodge (actually in the village of Carmel-by-the-Sea)

The TripAdvisor display for Monterey Peninsula lodging looks like this:

#1 Tickle Pink Inn (#1 of 18 Carmel)

#2 Casa Palmero – Pebble Beach (#1 of 3 Pebble Beach)

#3 Quail Lodge (#2 of 18 Carmel)

#4 Best Western De Anza Inn (#1 of 62 Monterey)

#5 Lobos Lodge (#3 of 18 Carmel)

#6 Comfort Inn Monterey Peninsula Airport (#2 of 62 Monterey)

Looking at the first list for Carmel returns a variety of lodging options. 

A golf resort at Quail Lodge in the Valley; an oceanfront hotel in the Carmel Highlands with some of the most incredible views of California coastline in the state; a little place in downtown Carmel for all the features of dining, arts, and the beach in a central Carmel location.

These are all fine accommodations reflecting the type of activities available in and around Carmel.

The Monterey Peninsula hotel search returns are all over the place.

I still have the three Carmel options in the Top 6, so looking at the other three listings:

Casa Palmero is luxury on a money scale. A night here will likely run $1,000 for a room that won’t have an ocean view. The Pebble Beach golf course is all around and there are dining options and such, but the clientele for Casa Palmero is a jet-setter that will unlikely ever consider the Best Western de Anza on Fremont Street.

The #1 ranked hotel for Monterey is near the Monterey County Fairgrounds, a Denny’s restaurant, a Long’s drugstore, and a pornography shop, but not much else of tourist interest. The features of Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Wharf are about 3 miles away.

The Comfort Inn Airport is fine if you have a 6am flight out of Monterey, but not much to do in that area without driving to some other place.

The hotel search returns are an odd mix when the secret sauce of TripAdvisor popularity ranking sorts the regional results.

Down by the Seaside, See the boats go sailin’

Another problem I saw for this area is the City of Seaside has Hilton’s Embassy Suites and a Holiday Inn Express and these hotels are not listed in the Monterey Peninsula options because Seaside is not considered in TripAdvisor’s category for Monterey Peninsula. Seaside may not be the dearest place on the Monterey Peninsula, but by anyone local, the inclusion of Seaside in the Monterey Peninsula is a given. The Embassy Suites is across the street from Monterey’s city limits and the hotel beach facing view rooms have one of the best views of the Monterey Peninsula.

What is TripAdvisor’s definition of a B&B/ Inn?

My second issue with the popularity rankings is the separation of lodging into hotels and B&B/Inns. For Carmel-by-the-Sea, there are only 18 hotel listings and 36 B&B/Inn listings.

As a tourist my perception of a B&B/Inn is what I would experience when staying in a nice Victorian house with beautiful furnishings and a friendly country charm on the coast of Maine. Pacific Grove has B&B accomodations like that. Carmel has a bunch of motels that have been upgraded every few years for the past 60 years and the buildings are motel quality, but generally with a little extra style in the rooms.

Most of us would call a large number of the B&B/Inn properties listed among the 36 TripAdvisor popularity ranked lodgings “motels”. The location in central Carmel, near the beach, does not necessarily make a motor inn motel with a parking lot correlate to a special B&B/Inn.

Here is my argument presented in photos:

I just have a hard time rationalizing the inclusion of the Clarion Carmel Oaks property with B&B/Inns and not hotels.

Clarion Collection’s Carmel Oaks Inn and Suites, AAA 2-diamond property listed in TripAdvisor’s B&B/Inns category.

Small windows look out to the street. Balconies on second floor rooms.

The parking lot/courtyard to the Clarion Carmel Inn. The Inn’s Office is the door with the window.

Carriage House Inn, AAA 4-diamond property

Carports are unusual for a 4-Diamond Inn, but the room interiors are what one might expect in a nice inn. Large tubs, marble tile, window seats, and 42 inch wall mounted HDTV are some of the features in rooms at Carmel’s Carriage House Inn.

TripAdvisor has a substantial database of hotel reviews, but the algorithms used for hotel searches still needs more tweaking to better serve the traveler with relevant and more comprehensive results and comparisons.

Starwood Luxury Collection Wigwam Golf Resort and Spa, Litchfield Park, Arizona (western suburb of Phoenix). Starwood hotel page.

Adobe style casitas

The Wigwam Resort, main pool area

The Wigwam lobby entrance

hallway to Red’s Steakhouse

lobby seating lounge

AAA 4 diamond
TripAdvisor Rank #1 of 1 hotel in Litchfield Park
SPG Category 4 hotel = 10,000 points for a free night or
$60 and 4,000 points on Cash & Points award.

The highest degree of satisfaction with this resort expressed in online hotel reviews seems to be among golfers. I came across several reviews on TripAdvisor praising the three golf courses.

Among Starwood members discussing the property on FlyerTalk, the general consensus is the resort is underwhelming for a designated Luxury Collection brand property.

I did not stay at the Wigwam Resort. I made it my first stop in 150 miles since lunch and leaving Blythe, California on I-10. The freeway exit for Litchfield Park came just in time as the traffic slowed to a crawl at 2:00pm, a good 20 miles west of downtown Phoenix.

The distraction of being in a residential neighborhood caused me to miss the street sign leading to the resort. I stopped and rechecked the map and then continued to drive and found the Wigwam Resort in the middle of an older, developed neighborhood, directly across the street from a public elementary school. The location was not at all what I expected.The conference room wing was the first door I entered from the parking lot. There were dozens of people in the halls and some booths with representatives.

The Wigwam is a golf mecca of greens in the desert. The resort was a golf country club as early as the 1930s when V.O. “Red” Allen came from Minnesota as the Club’s first golf pro and the first of three generations of Allen’s to head the golf program at the Wigwam. Red’s Steakhouse in the Resort is a tribute to this 40 year golf veteran of The Wigwam.

The property is composed of many adobe style casita units.

There is one central-area pool in the resort. The tennis court area, fitness room, and the Elizabeth Arden Red Door spa are at one end of the resort. There is a lap pool in the spa area.

Lap pool near Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa

Red Door Spa entry corridor

The Wigwam Fitness and Aerobics room

Tennis court and Golf course in background

Red’s Steakhouse

My opinion is The Wigwam Resort looks like a pleasant place for a good active time playing tennis, golf, workouts, and swims. The Wigwam is a different type of understated elegant resort than the other Starwood Resorts of the Phoenix area. This is the kind of resort conducive for interacting more with other guests or relaxing alone at your casita rather than the Las Vegas style grandness of the other three Starwood resorts.

Starwood’s other Phoenix area Luxury Collection property, The Phoenician, has received consistently high praise over the years and still ranks high on overall top hotels in the USA. The Phoenician along with the Westin Kierland hotel, when compared to The Wigwam Resort, these resorts have more elaborate facilities for pools, dining choices, and a setting in the Scottsdale vicinity for being dazzled.

Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort and Spa in Chandler (east Phoenix area) looks like the most recommended 3rd choice hotel discussed on FlyerTalk for a cheaper Phoenix- area Starwood option than the Phoenician and Westin Kierland resorts. The Sheraton hotel page for Wild Horse Pass states: “Voted Best Resort & Best In-Town Getaway by AZ Republic Reader’s Poll” .

5-12-08 I noticed The Wigwam Resort on www.Skyauction.com this weekend. The auction ends 5-13-08 and currently is $30/night + $49/night service charge. The Wigwam for $79 a night is an incredible deal for this resort in my opinion.

This Desert Life – JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort in Palm Desert

Resort lagoon flows directly into hotel lobby and gondola boat rides are available.

The JW Marriott Desert Springs was the one loyalty program chain hotel in the Coachella Valley that had the WOW factor. What I mean is that upon entering the lobby doors my first impression was wow! This looks like a resort. The place resonates resort from the fountains and gardens along the driveway entrance to the lobby to the large interior open space of the lobby, the indoor/outdoor lagoon and inside dock for lagoon boat rides, black and white swans paddling about the water, several pools, shops, and restaurants, and a golf course/mountain views background.

I was surprised to see it ranks as #9 on Tripadvisor’s 20 Palm Desert hotel listings, although Marriott seems to own this town with 7 hotel and timeshare resort properties. A Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inn are adjacent to each other and just a mile away from the JW Marriott Resort. A Fairfield Inn is near the interstate and several Marriott timeshare resorts are located in this city.

Some of the TripAdvisor reviews reflected my feeling that many Palm Springs group getaways tend to be party fests and there is potential for your trip to be disturbed by boisterous drunks. But that can happen at any hotel, anywhere. At 10am on a Wednesday morning the JW Marriott was anything but rowdy.

Dining beside the lagoon

JW Marriott Desert Springs is a Category 6 hotel and requires 30,000 Rewards points for a free night. The Desert Springs Villas, which I did not visit, offer standard rooms for 25,000 points, a one-bedroom Villa for 35,000 points, and a two-bedroom villa for 45,000 points.

Large open lobby offers great views from room floors to people below.

About.com has a good review of the JW Marriott property in their golf travel section.

Rates for May 14, 2008 as low as $229/night standard rate; $218 AAA rate, when the Residence Inn and Courtyard are $169/night. A pool/mountains view is $265 (and probably worth the extra cost. There are some rooms which overlook the conference center and parking garage.) A two-bedroom suite at $509 (AAA) could be just the right space for a group resort getaway.

Black swans on lagoon

JW Marriott Desert Springs Spa and Resort, Palm Desert, CA (Marriott hotel homepage)
Marriott Rewards Category 6 Hotel – 30,000 points for free night
AAA rating 4-diamond
TripAdvisor Ranking #9 out 20 Palm Desert properties

I have to admit that Monterey hotels are generally a rip-off. I am working on a guide to help visitors sort through the crap choices. Sure, we have some of the most highly rated hotels in the USA in the vicinity of Monterey, however, most of us can’t even consider a $500-1,000 per night room in a posh hotel. And those are the starting rates for places like Post Ranch Inn at Big Sur, Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley, and Casa Palmero at Pebble Beach.

There are over 50 hotels, motels, and B&Bs within a 3-mile radius of my home and another 50 lodgings within a 6-mile radius. Most of them I would be embarrassed to recommend. The Monterey Peninsula with Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Carmel Highlands and the Big Sur coast is Vacationland, California. And there is even Santa Cruz for a totally different experience on the north side of Monterey Bay.

When the top rated hotels are pulling $400+ per night and the chain hotels like Hyatt, Marriott, and the Embassy Suites are $300+, the casual tourist is looking at $150-$200 night for a motel that would be $60-75/night in most places. My latest project has been gathering data and photos of the motel districts of Monterey and Carmel to select the best of the underwhelming motels one will likely find yourself in when visiting Monterey.

As far as tourism goes, the Marriott Monterey is the only major loyalty program hotel within easy walking distance to most of the attractions Monterey has to offer the visitor. The Hilton Garden Inn is about a 15 minute walk to downtown Monterey, and the Hyatt is about a 30 minute walk. A car (or bicycle) is essential to get around without spending the day on a bus. I live near the Hilton Garden Inn and enjoy the walk into town, but repeatedly walking to the beach, Cannery Row, and downtown Alvarado Street can get old as a tourist.

The difficulty in Monterey is a severely limited ability to build new hotel properties in the city and only a few new hotels have been built in the past 20 years. The Monterey Plaza Hotel on Cannery Row is the last major hotel to be built new in the city a few years back. Next month, the new InterContinental Clement on Cannery Row will open. The hotel project was started nearly 20 years ago and the lot sat empty until last year when finally a new development project got underway. Embassy Suites, Seaside, bordering Monterey is the tallest building at 12 stories on the Monterey Peninsula. Few buildings in the area are higher than 4 stories. The Marriott downtown Monterey is a 10-story hotel remodeled from an older hotel property. Nothing that tall will likely be built in Monterey again for some years to come, if ever.

This means most hotels in Monterey are older buildings from the 1960s and remodeled every decade to upgrade the place.

Special Offer:
Hyatt Monterey 12,000 bonus points for a 3-night stay.

The Hyatt Monterey is just about complete with a remodel of the property. This hotel was famously known by Hyatt Gold Passport loyalists as one of the dumpiest Hyatt Hotels in the world. Unfortunately, the hotel is old and the remodel does not change the location next to the freeway. Hotel rooms on the golf course side are preferred for the better view and less noise.

Popular wedding arch

The outdoor pool and activity area are adequate and one of the larger pool facilities on the Monterey Peninsula.

The lobby is large and comfortable with dining facilities and bars.

Hyatt Monterey lobby

By the numbers:

Offer: 12,000 points for a 3-night or longer stay booked using MRY12K offer code. Promotion Dates: May 1- Oct 31, 2008

Sample Rates: As low as $199 per night for dates in May and June. Monterey has lowest rates Sunday through Thursday. Friday and Saturday nights are peak rates. May and June are less touristy and then the season picks up and the rates increase for summer. The Monterey coast tends to have the best (warmest) weather of the year in September and October and rates generally remain high through October.

A Hyatt Gold Passport member can expect to earn 15,000+ points for a 3-night stay for about $700 after taxes during the lowest rate periods.

15,000 points are good for Hyatt upgrades, a luxury or upscale Category 4 hotel night (many of these hotels will run $400+/night), or 3 nights at a Category 1 hotel (5,000 points/night) or even 5 nights at Hawthorn Suites hotels (3,000 points/night.)

The Hyatt Monterey may not be the nicest Hyatt around*, but the rebate for future hotel rooms using the 15,000 points earned (3,000 points for $600 in room rate + 12,000 bonus) on a 3-night stay is substantial and the hotel has much more to offer than the 23 budget motels located on Munras Avenue, Monterey that will likely run as high as $150/night.

*(There is also the Hyatt Highlands Inn in Carmel Highlands with spectacular oceanfront location, but also a commanding rate in the $400+/night range in summer)

The freeway borders the north side of the hotel. Try and get a golf course view room for better views and less noise.

Hyatt Regency Monterey Homepage

AAA ranking – 3-diamond

TripAdvisor ranking #34 of 62 Monterey hotels.

Hyatt Gold Passport Category 3 hotel = 12,000 points/free night award

Sample Rates: July 13-16, 2008 3-night stay as low as $219/night or $259 night for room with preferred view (highly recommended for this property). Total cost after tax for preferred room view is just under $900. The best thing about a $300/night room at the Monterey Hyatt is the knowledge that you can take the points earned and get another $500+ value out of future hotel stays if you use your Hyatt Gold Passport points wisely.

Westin San Francisco Market Street (on right); Four Seasons (left) and floors 30-36 of the Grand Hyatt hotel near Union Square can be seen in the center of this photo.

Starwood Preferred Guest is giving travelers a great deal for a weekend stay in San Francisco at the Westin San Francisco Market Street.

SPG Promotion Offer for weekend stays Thursday – Sunday through August 31, 2008:
2,500 points for a 1-night stay
5,000 points for a 2-night stay
7,500 points for a 3-night stay

The Westin San Francisco Market Street is located at 50 Third Street, adjacent to Market Street, in the SoMa district on the same street as the W Hotel and St. Regis. This is the newest Starwood property in San Francisco and was rebranded from the Argent Hotel a couple of years ago. The design of the hotel is such that a variety of room sizes exist and the building has high floors with good unobstructed views towards the west and south from high floors. Large flat screen TVs are in the rooms.

By the Numbers:
San Francisco hotel rates are almost always higher on Thursday nights in the Central Business District than Friday or Saturday. Fisherman’s Wharf tourist hotels tend to be opposite. In summer everything can be high priced most of the week.

I found availability for the Westin Market Street for this Friday, May 9 for $149/night using the SUMNTS special rate plan link. After 14% tax the total hotel room rate is $170/night.

As a SPG platinum member I could receive $149 x 3 Starpoints = 447 points + 500 Starpoints platinum elite amenity gift + 2,500 Summer1 bonus points = 3,447 Starpoints.

Assume Starpoints can be redeemed on a future Starwood Hotels stay at the rate of $35/1,000 points hotel value and these points are potentially a $120 rebate value.

Net cost for Westin San Francisco Market Street hotel room = $50.

My recent stays using Cash & Points awards in Starwood Palm Springs (Westin Mission Hills Rancho Mirage) and Scottsdale (Westin Kierland) resorts had a Starpoints redemption value of about $520 for 9,000 points ($57/1,000 Starpoints). This rate of redemption value would make points earned worth more than cost of the Westin Market Street hotel room.

SPG Gold elite will not get the 500 Starpoints platinum amenity and the points earned will be 2,947 Starpoints per night. These have a potential redemption value of $103 at $35/1,000 points.

Net cost of hotel night for SPG Gold member = $67.

SPG Blue members (non-elites) will only receive 2 Starpoints per $1 hotel spending.
$149 x 2 = 298 Starpoints + 2,500 bonus points = 2,798 Starpoints for $170 room.
2,798 Starpoints at $35/1,000 has a potential value of $98 rebate on future Starwood Hotels stay.

Net cost for the Westin Market Street is $72/night for the SPG member with no elite status.

The real value of the Starpoints, even for an infrequent hotel traveler, is the opportunity to book Cash & Points awards using your Starpoints. A Category 3 hotel will cost 2,800 Starpoints + $45. There are many instances where the 2,800 Starpoints will save a guest $200 on a hotel reservation.

The Westin San Francisco Market Street has a wonderful outdoor sidewalk patio for Ducca Restaurant dining and drinks.

This is a great deal for San Francisco hotel travel.

Stay a weekend in the city and earn enough Starpoints to book another weekend Starwood getaway this summer at a great discount.

Westin San Francisco Market Street
SPG Category 4 Hotel = 10,000 points/free night

TripAdvisor Ranking = #49 of all 238 San Francisco Hotels
TripAdvisor Reviews

San Francisco, California, view of Golden Gate Bridge

I have noticed the abundance of travel articles in the past few weeks touting the simplicity of domestic travel this summer right here in the good ole USof A.

Personally, my travel plans are on hold as I work through my Loyalty Traveler business plans, the prospect of teaching school kids this summer, and awaiting a great airfare opportunity like the tickets I purchased last May 2007: Buenos Aires to New York in Business Class for $541 and Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand in Business Class for $1,400 all-in.

Let’s assume I can get a great deal for two tickets to Europe or Asia for $600 each. $1,200 in airfare just to get to a foreign airport. The ground transportation tends to be one of the bigger expenses of international travel, aside from the hotels. Germany has Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket discounts that allow a passenger to travel anywhere in the country on regional trains over the weekend at a highly discounted rate (35-37Euros or about $55USD). Little train travel deals like that help the dollar stretch a long way with planning.

Assume gas averages $4.00/gallon this summer. My recent road trip averaged over 27 miles/gal in my Hyundai Sonata with the A/C running. $1,200 in gas will buy 300 gallons and about 8,000 miles of driving. I can cover a lot of road in my car for the cost of two international air tickets.

I love getting out of the USA to gain a different perspective on life and our American lifestyles. Canada may be the best bet for international summer travel savings (although gas will be more than $4.00/gal in Canada). Vancouver, Canada is a little over 1,000 miles by road from Monterey. Considering the cost of auto gas compared to international airfare, I’ll have enough gas money for another 5,000 road trip miles in my car and the ability to easily see dozens of city and resort hotels on the way.

Recent travel articles on the high cost of tavel and domestic agendas:

Ladies Who Launch: Jetsetting around the U.S. of A.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-swift/emladies-who-launchem-jet_b_99409.html

Luxury Travel targets the young and affluent:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/hotels/2008-05-01-upscales-hotels_N.htm

Jet Set Will Fret over Soaring Fuel Prices:
http://www.hotelinteractive.com/index.asp?page_id=5000&article_id=10453

Economy May Aid Florida Tourism:
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/may/01/bz-economy-may-aid-states-tourism/

AOL/Zogby Survey finds Americans plan to spend less in 2008 on vacations:
http://www.hotelsmag.com/articleXml/LN783405719.html?nid=3457

Hyatt Regency Suites Palm Springs

Palm Springs Hyatt Regency Suites lobby

This hotel’s main attribute is location. The Hyatt Regency is a 6-story hotel located directly in the center of Palm Springs nightlife on Highway 111, where Palm Canyon Drive slows to a mini-strip in the section of downtown Palm Springs with high end tourist shops, bars, and restaurants.

Lobby Atrium Artwork

Hyatt Regency Palm Springs lobby bar


The Hyatt Regency hotel has an outdoor bar on the sidewalk strip in front and a large lobby with an indoor bar. The outdoor swimming pool is a little small for a hotel this size, but sufficient for a good workout swim or cool dip. A poolside cafe is available for drinks and snacks.

There is even a small putting green near the outdoor bar.

The pool view rooms will have less noise than rooms facing North Palm Canyon Drive, the main Palm Springs strip.

The workout room was tiny and hopefully will be enlarged when the current remodeling is completed (scheduled to be completed May 2008).

The street outside seemed to be fairly active for a Tuesday night in April.

TripAdvisor Ranking: #55 of 66 Hotels in Palm Springs (#6 of 7 hotels rated 4-star). Complaints tend to be a worn hotel (recently remodeled rooms in 2008) and the noise for rooms facing Palm Canyon Drive (Highway 111). The hotel location is perfect for people who want to party on the Palm Springs strip, but Hyatt Grand Champions is the place to be for a more desert resort like experience. My impression is the Hyatt Regency Suites Palm Springs is the better hotel for people who don’t want to make the drive all the way to Vegas to get a little crazy.

TripAdvisor reviews of Hyatt Regency Suites Palm Springs

Hyatt.com AAA hotel rates for a 2-night stay Wednesday, May 21-Friday, May 23
Hotel has 13.5% tax on rooms.
$119.20/night (street side)
$144.20/night for pool/mountain view (highly preferable for reduced street noise).

Weekends in Palm Springs area have higher room rates:
2-night stay Friday, May 16-Sunday, May 18
lowest AAA rate $159.20/night or for pool/mountain view room $184.20.

Hyatt Regency Palm Springs homepage
Hyatt Gold Passport Category 3 hotel = 12,000 points for free night.
AAA = 3-diamond

Hyatt Grand Champions and Renaissance Esmeralda share same road entrance off Highway 111, Indian Wells, California

Lobby of Hyatt Grand Champions, Indian WellsHyatt Grand Champions Resort – Indian Wells, California

This hotel is located about 16 miles east of the Palm Springs Hyatt Regency Suites. The property shares the same road entrance with the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort which is to the east of the Hyatt Grand Champions.

The property borders a golf course and the rooms surround several pools. My first reaction to this resort was the proximity of the car park to some of the rooms. The same drawback exists here as at the Westin Mission Hills. There is a good probability your $300/night room window view will look out onto someone’s car in the parking lot. And unlike the Westin Mission Hills, there may not even be a bush between your patio and the car headlights of someone parking.

The Hyatt Grand Champions resort view from my car.

Avoid rooms facing car park at Hyatt Grand Champions, Indian Wells

My words of advice are to pay more if you need to and get an interior pool facing room or golf course view.

The terrace outside the lobby faces the golf course.

The parking lot facing rooms was the only major complaint I had with my tour of this resort hotel. The pool area had the most palm shade of any of the pool areas I saw in the valley hotels. I imagine the air temperature around these pools must be cooler than most of the area resorts during the 110 degree days of summer.

Hyatt Grand Champions Adults pool area

Hyatt Grand Champions large whirlpool

Hyatt Grand Champions kids pool area

Palm grove fountains between pools, adjacent to kids pool slide


Golf course view rooms have a variety of patio/balcony styles.

5th floor Regency Club rooms could be booked for $75/night more than lowest available rate rooms for a two-night stay May 21-23, 2008.

There are a couple of restaurants located in the hotel. All other food options require a drive out of the resort to nearby shopping centers in the surrounding neighborhoods of Indian Wells.TripAdvisor Reviews Hyatt Grand Champions ranked #2 of 5 hotels in Indian Wells (Renaissance Esmeralda ranks #1).

TripAdvisor Average Price $294/night.

Hyatt.com rates for May 21-23 AAA rates. Standard rooms are a large 550 sq. ft.

$159.20 for mountain/garden view (I’m thinking parking lot view).

$194.20 AAA rate for pool/golf course view (better safe than sorry) or

$234.20 for Regency Club (the breakfast and evening hors d’oevres probably make this the best value. Lounge is reserved for adults or children 16 and up after 5:00pm)

$439/night Penthouse Suite

A resort fee of $19.67/night is added to the room rate. 9.5% hotel tax.

Hyatt Gold Passport Category 3 Hotel - 12,000 points for free night

Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, Indian Wells, California homepage

AAA rated 4-diamond hotel

Hyatt Gold Passport Bonus Offer for Hyatt Grand Champions is 2,000 points/stay for Sunday-Thursday night stays through August 31, 2008.

There is also a Hyatt Gold Passport Exclusive Offer for 5,000 points bonus offer for a 3-night stay.

Offer Code = GRCH5K

Offer valid May 1, 2008 to August 31, 2008, at Hyatt Grand Champions Resort, Villas and Spa. Three night minimum length of stay required.

Holiday Inn Park View, Singapore

New Card Members Only
Priority Club VISA Signature Card
25,000 points after 1st purchase
25th Anniversary Priority Club Visa Signature Bonus: 15 points per $1 spending at IHG hotels through July 31, 2008 (12 points Bonus + 3 points regularly earned with IHG hotel spending).

Promotion: InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Visa Signature Bonus
Dates: May 1, 2008 through July 31, 2008

Bonus: 25,000 Bonus points for Visa Signature card, after first purchase. Other card offers award 30,000 points after first purchase, but depending on your hotel stay plans for the next 90 days, the added bonus below can make this card offer a better deal.

Added bonus: 15 Priority Club points for purchases at IHG hotels through July 31, 2008 charged to Visa Signature Card holder. Only new account members are eligible for this offer.

Target Audience: Loyalty Traveler thinks this is a great deal for someone looking at 10 to 20 hotel nights in the next three months. The potential value of Priority Club points earned will provide a significant future rebate on IHG hotel stays.

I received a VISA offer from Priority Club today. A 25,000 points bonus is given after the first purchase. In addition, VISA will award 15 points per $1.00 spent at IHG hotels.

Add the VISA bonus offers to the 10 base Priority Club points regularly earned for hotel stay spending + any bonus points for elite status.

Another card offer I saw on the Priority Club website gives you 30,000 points and the regular 3 points per $1 IHG hotel spending, but not the 12 bonus points with this Visa Signature card offer through July 31. This is a great opportunity to earn lots of Priority Club points with summer travel. If you are making business or vacation plans, this offer may be a large enough rebate to steer you to Priority Club loyalty.

By the numbers:

Spend $1,000 with VISA at IHG and get 12,000 extra points. $1,000 should buy 3 to 12 hotel nights, depending on location. 12,000 Priority Club points has a base value of $120 which is the purchase price through Priority Club.

Redemption value for a free hotel night is 30,000 points at a Crowne Plaza hotel or at some InterContinental Hotels. 30,000 points may be worth as little as $125 or as much as $400 at most upscale hotels in the 30,000 points redemption bracket.

The best redemption value is Priority Club PointBreaks which offer hotel rooms at 5,000 points per night. The hotels being offered at PointBreaks special redemption rates change every couple of months. Occasionally there is a luxury InterContinental in some part of the world or an upscale Crowne Plaza on the list.

Currently there is the Crowne Plaza, Montauban, North Toulouse, France on the PointBreaks list for bookings through July for only 5,000 Priority Club points per night. This hotel is located in a 17th century refurbished monastery and typically rooms sell on the low end for around $160 per night.

Sample Scenario to Illustrate VISA Promotion Value
A 10-night international vacation may cost $2,000 in hotel rooms. 15 to 20 nights in the USA could be about $2,000 in spending and would make a long summer vacation. The rebate on a $2,000 hotel vacation with Priority Club will be generous if planned carefully.

Points earned (The Priority Club Visa card will grant you Gold elite status, a $50 value.)
*$2,000 in hotel charges at Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn, and Crowne Plaza hotels (10 Priority Club points per $1 for base earning) = 20,000 base points.
(If you plan to stay in InterContinental Hotels, you will earn 2,000 base points per stay and you should look into InterContinental Ambassador Club membership for $150).

*Elite Bonus for Priority Club Gold = 10% of base points (Elite status is a complimentary privilege for the first year of Priority Club Visa card holder membership. Gold elite membership can also be purchased by any Priority Club member for $50) = 2,000 points.

*Other promotions should add at least 5,000 points for multiple hotel stays over next 90 days, and likely other promotions can be used to earn as much as 20,000 additional bonus points without extra expense. Assume 8,000 points will be earned through other offers.

*Visa Signature Card 1st Purchase = 25,000 points

*Visa Signature Card hotel spending bonus = 15 points per $1 for $2,000 in hotel charges = 30,000 points.

Summary: $2,300 spent on hotels by July 31, 2008 using new Priority Club Signature Visa card

Spend $2,000 in base hotel charges for room rate, food, etc.
Assume $250 taxes depending on location. Europe tends to have hotel rates with taxes already included.
$50 Gold elite membership in Priority Club.

Rebate Value: 85,000 to 100,000 Priority Club points earned with a purchase value of $850 -$1,000 and a potential value of $3,000+ if redeemed strategically with awards like PointBreaks.

85,000 -100,000 points are enough for 3 free nights at high-end hotels or up to $200 per night value for 17 nights ($3,400 value) if used for PointBreaks award nights at upscale locations.

Strategic use of Priority Club points earned can provide future room value equivalent to the $2,300 paid for this summer’s vacation travel.

Pay Now and Redeem Later will be a strategy that pays off over the next year.