Starwood Preferred Guest ran a 1,000 Delta or Northwest miles bonus per stay in conjunction with the free weekend nights promotion from May through July. These promotions were combinable and did not require the SPG member to change account earning from Starpoints to miles. These were simply a gratis bonus for members who registered for the miles.

Loyalty traveler referenced this promotion last May 14 in this post.

http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/05/14/spg-adds-1000-nw-or-dl-bonus-miles-per-stay-to-free-nights/

Yesterday I happened to be doing some Northwest Airlines research. To my surprise I saw there were no miles posted to my Northwest account from the SPG promotion. I went back to check if I had actually registered.

Here is the value of the Microsoft Office program OneNote. If you have not used OneNote, the basic function is OneNote allows portions of web pages to be copied into a notebook.

I rely on OneNote for record keeping. I went back to my May OneNote records and saw my SPG registration confirmation for the Delta or Northwest miles bonus.

SnagIt is another program that functions in the same way and SnagIt has the advantage of being able to copy entire web pages with embedded links. Also SnagIt allows you to draw, mark-up, and write on the web page.

While on the phone with Starwood customer service I was navigating through my Northwest account and I actually saw where 15 transfers for 1,000 miles were listed on my Northwest account from September 1, 2009, yet the miles were not showing up in my redeemable miles balance.

After a few minutes with an SPG agent it turns out there was some technical glitch with all the miles transfers from SPG happening as separate transactions and a limitation of one airline miles transfer per day.

Regardless of the technical issue, I am happy to report that my Northwest balance rose 15,000 miles today (15 days after 15 transactions posted – coincidence?).

Thanks Starwood and Northwest Airlines.

Now I just have to figure out if I am missing 1,000 miles due to a nonparticipating Starwood Hotel or if one of my stays was overlooked.

Loyalty Traveler record-keeping is time consuming.

My SPG Northwest Miles Transfers

Last month I stayed two nights in a Holiday Inn for $66 per night. My two night stay earned a free night at any IHG property worldwide from the stay two nights, earn a free night promotion that ran for about 14 weeks from May 4 to August 15.

Loyalty Traveler April 27 post – http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/04/27/ic-hotels-group-promo-one-free-night-for-every-two-nights/

Loyalty Traveler July 16 post – http://boardingarea.com/blogs/loyaltytraveler/2009/07/16/priority-club-free-nights-or-double-points-until-aug-15/

There was a term in the free nights promotion stating members had the choice of Double Points, Double Miles, or Free Nights. The preference for free nights was capped at four free nights earned after 8 nights of qualifying hotel stays. A condition of earning free nights was forfeiting base and elite points for the hotel stay.

• Paragraph 9 (a): Members who have re-registered will not earn base and elite points or miles from date of re-registration until 15 August 2009.

I forfeited $132 in base points from my hotel stay, but I earned a free night for my two night paid stay.

I did not earn 1,320 Priority Club base points from this hotel stay.

I did earn 5,640 Priority Club bonus points from this hotel stay. The bonus points posted to my account within days of my stay.

Net result is my paid two night stay spending $132 for a decent Holiday Inn in Henderson, Nevada earned a free night at any IHG property worldwide (an InterContinental Hotel is calling me) and 5,640 points (PointBreaks free night is whispering to me).

Holiday Inn Henderson has the distinction of being the first hotel I recall reading all positive TripAdvisor hotel reviews. While this property would not normally be my recommendation for a Las Vegas hotel stay, the location was convenient for where I needed to be during my Las Vegas trip. And I appreciate a 24-hour pool.

Priority Club Insider and FlyerTalk as Priority Club Promotion Sources

FlyerTalk has a long thread with Priority Club promotion links and discussion. Radioman has consolidated information in the first post of this 150+page thread.

Priority Club Insider is a well-organized site for staying up-to-date with new Priority Club promotion offers. I keep this site on my RSS feed.

The week before my Holiday Inn stay I registered for several promotions through links posted on these two sites. Taking 30 minutes to read over promotions and register for offers earned the equivalent of $564 base spending in Priority Club points. I would have earned 0 points for this stay without the extra effort.

The 5,640 Priority Club bonus points came from just two offers.

One bonus offer I received was 3,000 bonus points toward elite status for an IHG brand stay within 90 days.

Another bonus offer I received was Triple Points. The application of this bonus is interesting. While I did not receive the 1,320 base points for my $132 Holiday Inn hotel stay, I did receive 2,640 bonus points for this stay. Basically I received 0 base points, yet I still earned double bonus points based on the 1,320 base points with the triple points promotion.

Combinable promotions allow a Priority Club member to pull in 5,000 to 10,000 points per hotel stay a good deal of the time. Priority Club counts all earned points towards elite status. Earning 60,000 points for Priority Club Platinum elite may seem like a formidable feat requiring somewhere in the neighborhood of $6,000 in annual hotel spending.  The reality is the going is easy with combinable promotions, the ability to buy points with hotel stays, and the relatively new option of purchasing points for Cash& Points stays. Earning 60,000 Priority Club points and Platinum elite status can be accomplished by some members for under $1,500 a year.

Gotta love Priority Club as a loyalty traveler.

Holiday Inn

My first piece of advice is to avoid coming to Napa on a summer weekend if you have a choice. Hotels are $100 a night less on weeknights and the ability to navigate roads free of bumper to bumper traffic will allow you to travel much more quickly on the valley roads.

I jumped at the opportunity to book the Westin Verasa Napa last weekend using one of my free nights from Starwood Hotels “Stay Two Times, Earn One Free Night” promotion between May and July.

Driving over from UC Davis to drink wine all day for free at Napa County wineries was a regular field trip exercise as a fermentation science college student in the mid-1980s.

Those days are history – mine and Napa Valley’s. Free wine tasting is as rare as a $100,000 home in California these days.

While I haven’t located a $100,000 home lately, I did find my way to a free wine tasting at the Wine Train waiting room across the street from the Westin Verasa at 10:30am. To my dismay, I couldn’t even identify a Monterey Riesling from a Napa Chardonnay on a blind taste test, or a Napa Syrah from a Zinfandel. 22 years is long time removed from my A+ grade in the UC Davis course – Introduction to Enology.  I do still know what I like and I did not like the wine samples I tasted.

I’ll stick with the Birra Peroni, if you please. That’s drink value.

Napa Valley Wine Train

Westin Verasa Napa Hotel

The hotel uses valet parking only for the garage under the hotel. There were about 10 street side spaces, unmetered and no hour limit. I parked on the street in front. I appreciated my decision when I went to my car around 5 pm just as a conference group had arrived in the lobby. A half-dozen people wanted their cars simultaneously.

I had to avoid getting run over by the valet parking kid running down the narrow sidewalk at me when I returned to the lobby pulling my luggage.

Westin Verasa Napa - small circular carport in front of lobby

The front desk receptionist offered platinum member amenity choices at check-in. Choices were $10 mini-bar credit, free movie, or points.

Westin Verasa Napa front desk

The hotel has three floors. The lobby has an open seating area, cafe and bar area with stools and tables, and a large open space around the hotel doorway entrance. The room was quite bright on a sunny day and from the lobby I could see the central pool courtyard.

Napa Westin Verasa lobby

The bar off to the right was active, not busy.

Westin Verasa Napa bar in open lobby

The elevators were behind a low level glass art divider and in the corner there was an architectural model of the entire property.

Room 2013 are windows just to left of large lobby windows

Elevator hallway has furnishings and seating. The elevator speaks with a British accent female voice. Being on the second floor I tended to take the stairs when going to the pool side of the hotel, but I missed my elevator Bond girl.

Westin Verasa Napa elevator foyer

Room 2013 is near the main elevator and sits over the lobby/fitness center area on the main floor.

Westin Verasa Napa door decor

I opened the door to a luxury one bedroom apartment with a full size kitchen.

Westin Napa Verasa kitchen

This room even has a full oven and all mod cons with a full size refrigerator, dishwasher, two sinks, pots, pans, cutlery, two built-in drawer cutting boards, and microwave. Four sets of utensils and dishes were provided in the cabinets.

Westin Verasa Napa Room 2013 dining table

The sitting room had two chairs and a bed couch, large ottoman, and a tray.

Westin Verasa Napa 2013 sitting room

The entertainment center had an X-Box system, small clock radio pod, and 32 inch HDTV with some real HD channel choices. One complaint is the TV is wall mounted and there is no swivel feature to view the TV if you are at the dining table or kitchen.

Westin Verasa Napa room entertainment system

Room 2013 has a full balcony looking over the pool courtyard.

Room 2013 balcony

The view of the trees and hills is great.

Westin Verasa Napa room 2013 view

The bedroom has a Westin Heavenly bed, chair, bed bench, and another 32-inch TV.

Westin Verasa Napa bed and bench

Westin Verasa Napa bedroom TV and chair

The bathroom featured a glass shower stall and separate bathtub with stone walls.

Westin Napa Verasa 2013 shower

Westin Verasa Napa bath tub

I wandered the hallways and there is a laundry room just down the hall from 2013 with one washer and one dryer for guest use. The hall corridors are long with a hotel design of three wings extending towards the river. Art work is located in some locations.

Westin Verasa Napa guest rooms hallway art

A wonderful feature of the hotel design absent in too many upper upscale hotels is the ability to travel through the hotel hallways to reach the pool, pool changing rooms, fitness room, and bocce court without walking through the lobby.

Westin Verasa Napa fitness center is located on main floor to side of lobby

The pool area features cabanas with lounge chairs (no charge) and a large rectangular spa pool adjacent to the main pool.

Westin Napa Verasa spa, pool, and cabana

Just beyond the pool is the River Walkway. Third floor rooms at the end of the wings have best river views.

Westin Verasa Napa river view

View from Bocce courtyard

Westin Verasa Napa south courtyard at bocce courts

Westin Verasa Napa bocce courtyard palms

The central pool courtyard had table seating and a central fountain with firelight at night.

Westin Verasa Napa pool courtyard

Westin Verasa Napa central courtyard fountain

Westin Verasa Napa courtyard fountain firelight

La Toque restaurant at the hotel has a prix-fixe menu of two, three, or four courses. Wine accompaniment is also prix-fixe menu. I searched my hotel room and I did not locate any information about the restaurant in the room.

A good estimate is $100 to $150 per person for fine dining.

Westin Verasa Napa Artwork in hallway to La Toque

Westin Verasa Napa spoon doors to La Toque Restaurant

I wandered down one stairway looking for the north end of the hotel courtyard and found myself in the staff employee area of the hotel. Eventually I wandered out into the meeting area courtyard on the north end.

Meeting Rooms courtyard at north end of Westin Verasa Napa

The River Terrace Inn is adjacent to the Westin Verasa Napa. The smaller pool there was quiet and empty at a time when 25 or so guests were around the Westin pools. That is a plus and a minus for the River Terrace Inn I guess.

The pool area guests at the Westin cleared out when the sun went behind the building. Pool hours until 11pm allowed me to take a night swim. The pool area was empty of people all morning Monday until I left around 11am.

Westin Verasa Napa pools

Westin Verasa Napa

If you are not currently a Virgin Atlantic Flying Club member, then here is your chance to earn a quick and free 2,500 Hilton HHonors points by joining Flying Club. You also earn 2,500 Flying Club miles.

Hilton HHonors/Virgin Flying Club Promotion link: http://www.virginatlantic.com/corporate/micropage.view.do?id=16513

Virgin Atlantic is an airline with loads of loyal flyers, comfortable cabins, good image, and hey, Richard Branson just looks rock star cool.

Pim, my cat, loves his Flying Club membership.  Pim has never flown Virgin Atlantic, but just having access to Flying Club member web pages makes Pim a happy pet.

Pim signed up for Flying Club last year (no promotion bonus) when I was doing paid research on Virgin Atlantic and learned my dormant Flying Club frequent flyer account was frozen. A phone call to Virgin Atlantic to plead my case for needing access to the member’s only section of the website to do my job fell on unsympathetic ears.

“Your account will be reactivated when you take a Virgin Atlantic flight.”

My wife’s account was locked too.

Pim, knowing his supply of cat food was on the line if Loyalty Traveler did not rake in a little cash, volunteered to become a Flying Club member. Being a loyal cat to me, Pim lets me use his Flying Club account now and then when I need to do Virgin Atlantic Flying Club research to earn some cash.

Pim, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Member

A new Priority Club Rewards promotion is offering 10,000 points for 4 unique InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards partner activities between August 20 and October 31.

Registration online between August 20 and October 31 is required.

Registration Link: https://secure.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/pc/1/en/ep?secure=true&_promoCode=3558

Priority Club Rewards Offer:

First activity = 1,000 points

Second Activity = 2,000 points

Third Activity = 3,000 points

Fourth Activity = 4,000 points

Maximum bonus points from this promotion = 10,000 points.

One eligible activity is a purchase of Priority Club points. This will assist the new member to Priority Club hotel stays with points to add to the 10,000 bonus to reach the 15,000 to 25,000 required for a free room night at most InterContinental Hotels Group hotels like Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inns, and Hotel Indigo. An InterContinental Hotel will run 30,000 to 40,000 points. PointBreaks are hotel offers at just 5,000 points for a free night with participating hotels.

A partner points to points conversion through Points.com is also an eligible activity and a good way to get more value out of some frequent flyer miles sitting in an orphan account that is unlikely to grow since you have no plan to fly the airline again anytime soon.

If you have a Priority Club branded VISA card, then you can count a credit card purchase as one activity.

Exchanging American Express Membership Rewards points counts as an activity.

Diners Club points exchanged into Priority Club points counts as an activity.

A Hertz car rental; Priority Club Rewards Shopping purchase, Netflix rental, Priority Club Rewards Dining by Rewards Network restaurant meal purchase, floral purchase, OfficeMax and a variety of other options can easily generate activity without the need to spend much money.

Here is the list of Priority Club Rewards Shopping partners: https://pcrshopping.dbgloyalty.com/all.jsp

Personally I can do Points.com, Diners Club exchange, purchase Priority Club points, and make a Priority Club Rewards Shopping Purchase in less than one hour and earn the bonus while spending less than $20.

Many Priority Club Rewards members can likely generate four activities with less than $20 in spending and earn the 10,000 Priority Club Rewards points bonus.

Lake Las Vegas

Lake Las Vegas is 17 miles east of the Las Vegas Strip, just past the suburb city of Henderson. The lake itself is a 320-acre private lake surrounded by a 3,200-acre Tuscan inspired resort complex of hotels including the Ritz-Carlton, Loews Resort (formerly a Hyatt Resort), MonteLago Village Resort, residential communities, a golf course, and the small disneyesque MonteLago Village beside the lake.

MonteLago Casino Lake Las Vegas

Lake Las Vegas is a far different experience from the Las Vegas Strip. This is the kind of place where you can easily keep the kids entertained with outdoor activities without the need to dodge street drunks and sex advertisers prevalent along the Strip.

Lake Las Vegas

Lake Las Vegas is the place for visitors to the Las Vegas Valley whose idea of a vacation is more in tune with lying by a pool all day, riding in or paddling boats on the lake, and playing games at ping pong tables or pool tables rather than poker tables. There is still dining in restaurants, perhaps a spa treatment or two, and outdoor free shows while basking in a warm weather getaway at a resort hotel for fine dining and evening entertainment away from the Strip.

Chalk Signs, Not Neon Prevail at Lake Las Vegas

Hey this is Nevada. MonteLago Casino at MonteLago Village is adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas if pulling a slot or two and gambling for dollars is an itch you must scratch.

Friday and Saturday evenings have free music concerts by the lake. While you have a slim chance of seeing Bono at the Ritz-Carlton spa, you can actually plan to hear the tribute band Vegas U2 in a free concert September 11.  http://lakelasvegasevents.com/

Lake Las Vegas Event Lawn in front of Ritz-Carlton

Ritz-Carlton Hotel Lake Las Vegas

Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas is a resort where a Lake view is desirable and worth the extra $20 or so per night. The hotel was built in 2003 and has 348 rooms and suites. There is a $25 per day Resort fee which includes internet access, spa and fitness center facilities access, free local calls, and access to business center computers.

Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas lake view

Weekends at the resort generally mean less choice in room selection, in addition to higher rates, unless you book well in advance. You will likely pay more for the less desirable Resort view on a Friday or Saturday night than you will for a Lake view on any other weeknight.

Pontevecchio Bridge of Lake Las Vegas

Sample rate for Monday through Friday, September 13-17, a 4-night stay in a Lake View Standard Guest Room is $229 and includes breakfast for two. That room rate is down from $249 per night, room only without breakfast, for the preceding Friday and Saturday night weekend of September 11-13.

Lowest room rates are $229 for a Resort View Guest Room on a Friday or Saturday, September 11-12.

Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas courtyard

The standard size Guest Room at the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas is nearly 500 square feet and will feel like the size of a large junior suite of most upscale chain hotels. TVs are 37-inch HDTV flat screens in standard guest rooms.

One Bedroom Executive Suite Resort View is $329 on Friday, September 11.  Stay Monday night, September 13 and the rate for the same room is just $229. This is a really large room at 960 square feet with a separate sitting area room from the bedroom with its own toilet. A 42-inch TV in each suite room provides entertainment options and the sitting room has a sofa.

Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas Fountain at Entrance

Ritz-Carlton is pet friendly. There is a hefty $125 charge for pets, but you won’t have to sneak Fifi and Fido into the hotel.

Ritz-Carlton is also a kid friendly environment. The hotel offer’s children’s programs for a fee and your kids can be entertained by someone else. Your own luxury babysitter service for up to 6 hours a day.

http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/LakeLasVegas/Childrens/Default.htm

Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas Dining link: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/LakeLasVegas/Dining/Default.htm

Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas bar

Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas Photo Tour: http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/LakeLasVegas/PhotoTourPop.htm

Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas pool

Packages can save some real cash at a resort hotel.

Ritz-Carlton Las Vegas Spa

Loyalty Traveler analysis of Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas offers for the week of September 11-18.

Peace of Mind free nights package with one free night on a 3 night stay; two free nights on a 5-night stay; and 3 free nights on a 7 night stay are the best values. The available room only showed as a Resort view standard guest room when I checked online. A call to reservations may allow you to book a Lake view room or a suite with this package, if desired.

Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas Resort Sample Rates

Marriott Rewards members can redeem Mariott Rewards points for free nights at the Ritz-Carlton Las Vegas. PointSavers make this property a good deal for the month of September.

Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas lobby

Ritz-Carlton Tier 1 PointSavers reward codes descriptions and point values

Code M021: one night award in a standard guest room 35,000 points (regularly 45,000 points

Code M022: two-night award in a standard guest room for 60,000 points (regularly 75,000 points

Code M023: three-night award in a standard guest room for 80,000 points (regularly 100,000 points

Code M024: five-night award in a standard guest room for 120,000 points (regularly 150,000 points)

Code M025: seven-night award in a standard guest room for 140,000 points (regularly 175,000 points)

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/ritzCarltonPointSavers.mi

Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas

 

 

 

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort is about 20 miles east of the major action on the Las Vegas Strip. The hotel décor is bright, airy, and the loudest noises you are likely to hear will come from kids screaming and laughing out of fun, joy, and excitement at the pools, ping pong tables, and the lake beach rather than the typical clink, clang, and ring of slot machines in Las Vegas.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort white sand beach

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort struck me as a family fun destination in a desert oasis perched on the edge of a private lake on the outskirts of Henderson, Nevada. This hotel used to be the Hyatt Lake Las Vegas and possibly familiar to many movie watchers as the Las Vegas location for the 2001 movie America’s Sweethearts with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Julia Roberts, John Cusack, and Billy Crystal.

Link to Resort Overview page for Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort Terrace Fountain

The hotel was designed with a Moroccan theme. This lobby invites one to sit and lounge in the cool open space with plenty of comfortable cushion chairs and couches when the outside temperature can peel your skin in the sun before you can finish a round of golf. 

Loews lake Las Vegas Resort Arabesque Lounge in lobby

There are nearly 500 rooms and close to 50 suites at the resort.  This hotel is one of my favorite locations in the Las Vegas Valley. You will be hard pressed to find a better value for a resort getaway if you desire sun and relaxation and don’t mind the absence of gambling facilities.

The website has a page for room category comparisons. http://www.loewshotels.com/en/Hotels/Lake-Las-Vegas-Resort/Rooms/Compare.aspx

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort lounge beds on terrace

The primary difference for most of the standard rooms at 392 square feet (a comfortable size) is the view from three locations within the hotel.

Superior rooms will be located on the side of the resort facing away from the Lake. Loyalty Traveler Aug 20 rate check: AAA rate $93 per night Aug 25-27. Taking Care of Business Instant Gold Elite rate $139 per night.

Deluxe rooms face the pool side or may have a partial lake view. Loyalty Traveler Aug 20 rate check: AAA rate $106 per night Aug 25-27. Taking Care of Business Instant Gold Elite rate $159 per night.

Loews Lake Las Vegas upper pool

Luxury rooms have the nicest view in the standard room size category and look upon Lake Las Vegas.  Loyalty Traveler Aug 20 rate check: AAA rate $106 per night Aug 25-27. Taking Care of Business Instant Gold Elite rate $159 per night.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort lower pool

Grand Luxury King at 524 square feet provides ample space for feeling a bit more resort like. I feel like I’ve scored a decent upgrade when I have a room over 500 square feet. That makes the hotel room feel spacious enough for an extended hotel stay. Loyalty Traveler Aug 20 rate check: AAA rate $126 per night Aug 25-27. Taking Care of Business Instant Gold Elite rate $189 per night.

An Executive Suite at 792 square feet is when the going is good and the relaxing in your room is truly a comfort. Taking Care of Business Instant Gold Elite rate Luxury King Suite $289 per night Aug 25-27.

Moving above this size of room will rapidly increase the cost of your stay.

Grand King Suite at 1,188 square feet is $489 per night with “Taking Care of Business” Instant Gold Elite rate Aug 25-27.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort terrace and lake view

Loews You First Hotel Loyalty Program Instant Gold Elite Offer

One of the real values of booking a room at this hotel for a quick stay over the next week is the ability to receive instant Gold elite status in Loews “You First” hotel loyalty program for stays by August 30, 2009. Even a one night stay qualifies for this offer.

One of the benefits of Gold elite membership, normally requiring 5 stays in a calendar year, is a complimentary room upgrade. Book the Luxury room and you may find yourself in the Grand Luxury King. Book the Grand Luxury and you may receive an Executive Suite. Upgrades may be confirmed at time of booking and Gold members can buy a suite upgrade for $50 per night, if available.

Loews You First Gold members also receive complimentary late checkout, complimentary internet and free fitness center access.

Loews You First Elite Level benefits: https://www.loewshotels.com/en/YouFirst/Benefits.aspx

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort terrace fireplace

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort website link for hotel virtual tour: http://www.loewshotels.com/Content/en/Hotels/Lake-Las-Vegas-Resort/PhotoGallery/virtualtour.html

Dozens of children were playing in the activity pools outside.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort lower activity pool and slide

One lone woman sat reading a book in the quiet spacious lobby on a Saturday morning. The pool is off to the side and the beach loaded with toddlers sits below the lobby level. The view from the lobby was an uninterrupted-by-people vista and unobtrusively tranquil with glittering sunlight reflecting off the lake surface.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort lobby

Boats are available for rent and the roads are fairly wide and quiet of heavy traffic in the Lake Las Vegas community if you want to try a bike ride.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort boat dock

Self-parking is free at the resort and just 50 yards from the entrance. (I clocked myself at 25 minutes to go from my room at Planet Hollywood on the Las Vegas Strip directly to my car in the self-park lot and directly back to the room).

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort entry drive; self-park lot on left

The hotel shuttle will take guests to MonteLago Village about a mile away where the MonteLago Casino and Ritz Carlton Hotel are located.

Loews Lake Las Vegas Resort upper pool and spa tub

InterContinental Hotels Group has a Great Asia Sale this week.  Loyalty traveler is passing on the sale news a little late, but better than never. There is still 24 hours for booking these slight room rate savings for 11 participating hotels in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Jakarta for stays through October 31, 2009.

IHG Great Asia Sale Promotion link.

The current sale was five days and ends Friday, August 21 at 11:59pm GMT+8. That is 11:59 noon on Friday, August 21 New York time or 8:59am Friday, San Francisco time. I used to travel to Asia every year and I could keep track of the time zones in my head. These days I have to look it up on an international clock.

Check back Sunday, August 23 at 12 noon NY time or 9am California time for the next Great Asia Sale offer for the cities of Bangkok, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Phnom Penh.

www.ihg.com/asiasale

The Great Asia Sale is more like a good AAA discount rate rather than a full-blown great deal. The rates shown in the advertisement are not the rates I found in several rate checks today. In fact, there were lower rates than the Great Asia Sale rate available for the IC Singapore for the two dates I checked.

IHG Great Asia Sale Advertised Rates

Great Asia Sale Terms: Rate is prepaid and nonrefundable and no cancellation allowed. InterContinental Ambassadors are not allowed to use the “Buy One Night Get One Free” certificate with the Great Asia Sale rate.

The Great Asia Sale offers greater savings for the Holiday Inn Park View Singapore (around 15%) than for the InterContinental Singapore (around 5 to 6 %). The InterContinental Singapore actually had lower rates using the advance purchase for the weekday rates sample.

The Weekend Special rate includes breakfast for two for the Singapore Holiday Inn Park View. This rate might be a better value to start the day with breakfast at the hotel for an extra USD $21 and earn additional Priority Club points.

Holiday Inn Park View Singapore lobby

The Holiday Inn Park View is located just off Orchard Road, Singapore’s main shopping street. Just outside the hotel is an alley with restaurants and beer gardens. I passed through the HI Park View on my last trip to Singapore and the lobby is one of the nicest I have seen in a Holiday Inn. The road outside the front entrance is extremely busy with car traffic. A pedestrian overpass had some interesting signage. The SGD $1000 fines for riding a bicycle on a pedestrian bridge make the hotel rates seem downright cheap in comparison.

Pedestrian Bridge Sign outside Holiday Inn Park View Singapore

Conclusion: The IHG Great Asia Sale is a discount in most cases, albeit a relatively small one in the rates for dates I checked. I wouldn’t exactly call it a “great sale” discount. This promotional sale is nothing to be too upset about if you miss the current “Great Asia Sale”.

Take this Hawaii Dollar and break it in the sand. Just step on it and let it snap like a beautiful sand dollar shell cracking under the feet of unobservant tourists. Crumble Hilton HHonors Hawaii Dollars into tiny grains since using this option for spending your HHonors points has as much appeal as a sand dollar in 100 little pieces you don’t want to bother keeping in your pocket.

Every couple of weeks I look for some new promotion to generate a spark of interest from this loyalty traveler and I just find Hilton HHonors in the dark.

One of Hilton HHonors options for redeeming points is an exchange of 25,000 Hilton points for 50 Hawaii Dollars. Two Hilton Resorts in Hawaii accept Hawaii Dollars for restaurant and spa purchases. Hawaii Dollars are accepted at Bali by the Sea® or Donatoni’s, or the Mandara Spa or Kohala Sports Club & Spa at two Hilton Hotel Hawaii Resorts. Hilton Waikoloa Village on Hawaii’s Big Island or Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa on Oahu are the only two places you can spend Hawaii Dollars.

25,000 points is almost sufficient for a free night on a 6-night VIP 175,000 points award for Hawaii. Trading 25,000 points for $50 is the type of exchange rate you expect when using a traveler’s check or cash at a foreign hotel desk to exchange money.

Hawaii is still the USA right? Obama’s birther controversy has had me wondering lately whether Hawaii might be a foreign land.

Breaking up is hard to do, but sometimes best for all concerned

Rumor has it that Blackstone Group is going to break up and sell off the Hilton chain to recoup much of the $US 26 billion investment the company sunk into the Hilton portfolio a couple of years ago.

I hope so.

The Hilton HHonors loyalty program has been gutted over the past few years. I know Hilton is still an extremely popular hotel chain, but I don’t think the hotel loyalty program is the primary incentive feeding Hilton loyalists or else they do not know there are greener pastures in the field of hotel loyalty programs.

Sure, there are good features of Hilton HHonors. Double dipping for points and miles creates a frequent flyer account boost without even flying. Or earning 50% extra points by double dipping with points and points gets a member to a hotel award faster than otherwise expected. But promotions like 10,000 points after five stays as the feature summer bonus are lame.

And not just Hilton, but all the hotel chains are relying heavily on credit card brand incentives this promotion season. VISA (Hilton, Marriott) or MasterCard (Hyatt) just to earn hotel stay bonuses is not a good strategy for incentivizing hotel loyalty when the country is reeling from a mountain of debt and consumers are curtailing spending and staying away from hotels altogether.

Are credit card purchases of hotel loyalty program points part of the US economic stimulus program? The people who rely on credit cards for earning frequent flier miles and frequent guest points are not the population segment holding back economic recovery in the USA. Credit card incentives just serve to fragment among the various hotel chains the smaller pool of travelers still traveling.

There is a lot of consternation in the hotel industry about hotel room rate cuts. Red Roof Inn is embracing low rates with the “One Cent Event”.

http://www.redroof.com/landingpages/one-cent-event

Red Roof Inn One Cent Event

Red Roof Inn in Woburn, Massachusetts is offering rooms for a penny for one night only on Sunday, August 23. Rooms were available at time of this posting.

Red Roof Inn Woburn, MA One Cent Rate

Joining the RediCard hotel loyalty program for Red Roof Inn will give you members-only 48 hour advance notice of future one cent event rates prior to public release.

RediCard is a points based hotel loyalty program. Members earn 10 points per US$1. A free night at Red Roof Inn is 5,000 points. Redicard member receives a certificate valid for a free night at a Red Roof Inn. Free night certificates expire after one year from date of issue.

Redicard hotel loyalty program link: http://www.redroof.com/redicard#

Red Roof Inn has 345 locations in 36 states.

Red Roof Inn Woburn, MA for one cent on Sunday Aug 23