Homewood Suites is offering 500 points for HHonors members using eCheck-in and Suite Selection by September 30. 

Loyalty Traveler is remiss in just now writing about this promotion as the offer has been available since August 1, so this is the last week for 500 points, but perhaps the offer will be extended.  Either way, the web feature is an innovative example of hotel technology for allowing the guest some choice in room selection.

The promotion link is here and the web page contains a link for a multimedia demonstration of “Choose Your Suite” that you can direct link to here.

Homewood Suites are an extended-stay brand with a kitchen and an apartment-style hotel with a central lobby for food and entertainment and a swiiming pool and activity areas. 

Extended-stay hotels are currently one of the high growth market segments in the hotel industry and Hilton has about 220 Homewood Suites properties around the USA.

I could have really benefitted from this FlyerTalk list by SanDiego1K of the Best Hilton Hotels in Europe back when I had one million HHonors points. In 2002 six-nights at any Hilton-family hotel up to Category 5 level was only 100,000 points and in 2008 these hotels are 150,000 points for six night stays using points.  There weren’t that many Category 6 HHonors hotels in 2002 when the cost was 150,000, and in 2008 there are many more Category 6 hotels at the rate of 175,000 points for six nights. For stays shorter than six nights the rate is 40,000 points per night.

Amsterdam Hilton is one of my favorites.

The Budapest Hilton stay is one I repeatedly rave about as one of the greatest views I ever had at a hotel.

While I have not stayed at the Hilton Dresden, I photographed the hotel last year.  The Hilton is located right in the center of the Altstadt, near the newly rebuilt Frauenkirche.  This Lutheran church is considered to be one of the most historically prominent cathedrals in Europe due to its association with Martin Luther.

The massive allied bombing of Dresden in February 1945 created a firestorm which destroyed most of the city center and the Frauenkirche.  Kurt Vonnegut, the American novelist, was a POW in Dresden at the time of the bombing.  As a young teenager I became aware of Dresden through Vonnegut’s novels and the Dresden bombing is a central feature of Slaughterhouse Five.

I visited Dresden in 2000 and again in 2007.  The Hilton Dresden is a great resting point for a moving cultural experience in this historical city and surroundings.  There has been vast reconstruction in the vicinity of the Hilton this past decade and in many ways it seems like a Disneyland set with old-style new buildings and blackened older facades still tarnished from the 1945 firestorm.

If you make it to Dresden, be sure to allocate time to explore the countryside of Saxony along the Elbe River.  Once you leave the main cities of Leipzig and Dresden, the region really has limited international tourism.  I was amazed at how few people spoke English when I visited in 2000.  I loved it.

The region between Dresden and the Czech Republic border is known in English as Saxon-Switzerland.  This is one of my favorite regions of Europe for hiking and biking.  Bike paths along the Elbe River make for a great ride from Dresden all the way to the Czech border.

Dresden also has the Westin Bellevue and Four Points Konigshof hotels where I have stayed on my trips to the region.

A couple of weeks ago I came across a relatively new blog for Starwood Hotel lovers, titled *Wood.

Sharkieva has put together some nice posts that integrate significantly more technical components than what you will find here such as YouTube links, Snap photos, and maps.

I placed a link to the *Wood blog on the left side blogroll since I was having trouble re-finding the website through searches.

Check it out.  

*Wood is a pleasant Starwood multimedia experience from a Starwood Hotels fan.

GoldPoints Plus has a Quarter 4 promotion for members who complete 3 stays at any Carlson hotel property worldwide between October 1 and December 31, 2008 to be eligible for one hotel stay up to 4 nights in 2009 at 1/2 points of the standard redemption level for any Carlson hotel worldwide.

Carlson Hotel brands include Radisson Hotels, Country Inn and Suites, Park Inn, Park Plaza, and Regent Hotels.

The promotional stay is not transferable.

Four Nights at Half Points promotion offer link.

Promotion terms and conditions.

Read Loyalty Traveler’s June 2008 post “Carlson Hotels Worlwide GoldPoints Plus” for an overview of the hotel chain and loyalty program.