The new InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club PointBreaks list posted today. The best value hotels tend to get booked out in the first couple of days, so check the list over and get your reservation in quickly for these 5,000 point free nights. Saving $250 on a hotel room by spending 5,000 points is one of the highest value hotel rewards available with any hotel loyalty program.

InterContinental Hotels Group includes the brands InterContinentalHotels, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites, and Candlewood Suites.

The list seems a little smaller than the last few offers. There are a few InterContinental Hotels listed. Dallas, Jakarta, Adelaide, Nairobi, and Cali, Colombia. Is this a new PointBreaks trend for just one InterContinental Hotel per continent?

 If “those Ukraine girls really knock you out,” then the new InterContinental Kiev is a hot item on the list of Pointbreaks. I received the Beatles White album CD for my birthday last week and I’ve had “Back in the USSR” playing in my head the past few days.

PointBreaks Hotels posted on January 13

Africa
Ghana
HOLIDAY INN ACCRA AIRPORT

Kenya
INTERCONTINENTAL NAIROBI

Middle East
Israel
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL EILAT

Saudi Arabia
HOLIDAY INN JEDDAH-AL SALAM

United Arab Emirates
STAYBRIDGE SUITES ABU DHABI-YAS ISLAND

Uzbekistan
INTERCONTINENTAL TASHKENT

Asia
China
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL DANDONG
HOLIDAY INN SHANGHAI VISTA

Indonesia
HOLIDAY INN BATAM
INTERCONTINENTAL JAKARTA MIDPLAZA

Canada
Alberta
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL EDMONTON-CHATEAU LACOMBE

New Brunswick
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MONCTON DOWNTOWN

Ontario
HOLIDAY INN OAKVILLE ( CENTRE)
STAYBRIDGE SUITES TORONTO MISSISSAUGA

Saskatchewan
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES SWIFT CURRENT

Central & South America
Brazil
HOLIDAY INN SALVADOR BAHIA

Colombia
INTERCONTINENTAL CALI

Nicaragua
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MANAGUA

Europe
Belgium
HOLIDAY INN BRUSSELS CITY CENTRE

England
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS SWINDON-WEST M4,JCT 16
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS STOKE ON TRENT

France
HOLIDAY INN PARIS-ST.QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES
HOLIDAY INN BLOIS-LOIRE VALLEY

Germany
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL WIESBADEN

Ireland
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL DUBLIN-BLANCHARDSTOWN

Italy
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL CASERTA
HOLIDAY INN TURIN-CORSO FRANCIA

Netherlands
HOLIDAY INN IJMUIDEN SEAPORT BEACH

Ukraine
INTERCONTINENTAL KIEV

Mexico
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL LEON, GTO
HOLIDAY INN TUXTLA GUTIERREZ
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES MEXICO CITY AT THE WTC
HOLIDAY INN MEXICO TOREO-SATELITE

Oceania
AUSTRALIA
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL ALICE SPRINGS
HOLIDAY INN ROOTY HILL
INTERCONTINENTAL ADELAIDE

United States
ALABAMA
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES FULTONDALE
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES MONTGOMERY-BOYD-COOPER PKWY

ALASKA
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL ANCHORAGE MIDTOWN

ARIZONA
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS WINSLOW

ARKANSAS
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL LITTLE ROCK

CALIFORNIA
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES CATHEDRAL CITY (PALM SPRINGS)
HOLIDAY INN BURBANK-MEDIA CENTER
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS SANTA ROSA

COLORADO
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES FT. COLLINS
STAYBRIDGE SUITES CO SPRINGS-AIR FORCE ACADEMY

FLORIDA
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL ORLANDO AIRPORT
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES SEBRING
STAYBRIDGE SUITES TAMPA SABAL PARK

GEORGIA
HOTEL INDIGO ATHENS-UNIVERSITY AREA
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES COMMERCE-TANGER OUTLETS

ILLINOIS
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES CHICAGO O’HARE
CANDLEWOOD SUITES CHICAGO-SCHAUMBURG

INDIANA
HOLIDAY INN INDIANAPOLIS-N @ THE PYRAMIDS
HOLIDAY INN TERRE HAUTE

KANSAS
STAYBRIDGE SUITES WICHITA

KENTUCKY
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES LONDON

LOUISIANA
STAYBRIDGE SUITES BATON ROUGE-UNIV AT SOUTHGATE

MARYLAND
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS BALTIMORE-BWI AIRPORT WEST

MICHIGAN
STAYBRIDGE SUITES DETROIT-NOVI
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES GRAND RAPIDS – SOUTH

MISSOURI
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES FENTON (I-44)

MONTANA
STAYBRIDGE SUITES GREAT FALLS

NEW JERSEY
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SOMERSET-BRIDGEWATER
HOLIDAY INN TOTOWA WAYNE

NEW MEXICO
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES ALBUQUERQUE-N. BALLOON FSTA PK

NEW YORK
HOLIDAY INN ALBANY, NY-WOLF ROAD
STAYBRIDGE SUITES ROCHESTER UNIVERSITY

NORTH CAROLINA
HOTEL INDIGO ASHEVILLE DOWNTOWN
HOLIDAY INN CHARLOTTE-AIRPORT CONF CTR

OHIO
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS CINCINNATI-WEST CHESTER
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL DAYTON

OKLAHOMA
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES OKLAHOMA CITY-PENN SQUARE
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL TULSA

OREGON
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES PORTLAND – JANTZEN BEACH

PENNSYLVANIA
HOLIDAY INN HARRISBURG (PA TPK EXIT 40A)
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HARRISBURG HERSHEY

SOUTH CAROLINA
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES I-26 & US 29 AT WESTGATE MALL

TENNESSEE
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES CHATTANOOGA (EAST RIDGE)
HOLIDAY INN KNOXVILLE-WEST (I-40 & I-75)

TEXAS
INTERCONTINENTAL DALLAS
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES GAINESVILLE
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES LAKEWORTH NW LOOP 820
CANDLEWOOD SUITES LONGVIEW

VIRGINIA
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS RICHMOND NORTHWEST I-64

WASHINGTON
HOLIDAY INN SEATTLE-RENTON

WISCONSIN
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS MILWAUKEE-WEST MEDICAL CENTER

WYOMING
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS CASPER-I-25

Marriott has a 20% global rate break for weekend stays, valid from Thursday through Sunday nights. Some resorts in Hawaii, Caribbean, and Latin America offer 40% discounts and offer the global rate break seven days a week. The rate is available at over 2,500 participating hotels in all 9 Marriott brands. At most hotels, the discount rate requires a Friday or Saturday night as part of your stay. Marriott Global Rate Break promotion link.

Marriott Global Rate Break Promotional Code = F5X.

Some hotels offer a breakfast rate discount for just a few dollars more than the room only rate.

The Marriott Global Rate break is not a prepaid, nonrefundable rate for hotels I checked in San Francisco where the reservation could be cancelled up to day of arrival. Hilton’s weekend rate Winter Sale of 33% discount or 50% discount for weekends all through 2010 is a bigger discount available through January for booking, but the Hilton rate is prepaid and nonrefundable.

The JW Marriott San Francisco had weekend rates as low as $143.20 for Friday, January 29. The same hotel and date with a breakfast rate was $155.20. Adding $12 to the room-only rate to receive breakfast for two at the J.W. Marriott is a good deal. The AAA room-only rate was $161 for this date so the 20% discount rate was a better value than the AAA rate.

JW Marriott Ihilani Resort in Oahu, Hawaii Monday Feb 1-Monday Feb 8

Cancellation allowed up to 3 days before arrival.

King, Mountain or Golf view = $203.40/night

King, Deluxe Ocean View with breakfast for 2 = $281.40/night.

(The Deluxe Ocean View room category for this resort was priced at $417 per night (AAA rate, no breakfast) in a hotel rate search conducted August 2009 for a 5-night stay on Nov 7-12 for this Loyalty Traveler post.)

JW Marriott San Francisco

I am not much of a tech person which is why I found an article from HotelWorldNetwork.com useful for explaining why hotel HDTVs usually have crappy reception. “Guests expect high definition on new TVs”

One of the frequent criticisms I have made over the past year is the lousy TV reception on the 46” HDTVs I see in so many hotel rooms. Apparently the cost to update the TV signal is much higher for a hotel than a residential unit and when a regular signal is fed to an HDTV the picture is generally worse than an older box TV. I find it absolutely annoying when I am sitting in an upper upscale hotel room and the  picture image on the huge, flatscreen HDTV is worse than my 12-year old 32” box TV at home.

I estimate about 90% of the hotels I have stayed in this past year had flat screen HDTVs, and most were 42-inch or larger. I estimate fewer than 50% had any HD channels, only about 25% had good picture quality on most of the available channels, and just a few had more than 5 channels with HD reception. Several of the hotel room TVs this past month had reception which was reminiscent of TV top antenna days from the 70s.

Apparently there is a piracy issue with having the HD box in the hotel room. And the expense for the electronics to manage a hotel HD system is an investment not readily manageable for the time being in this economic climate.

The St. Regis San Francisco has a good alternative. The DVD player connection to the large HDTV allows the guest to watch movies rather than TV channels.

Perhaps I better enroll in NetFlix for the next couple of years of hotel travel until the HDTV upgrades are commonplace.

Digital TV channel at Westin San Francisco Airport