Priority Club members can buy points for $11.50 to $13.50 per 1,000 points. 5,000 points is $67.50 and the rate drops to $57.50 per PointBreaks night if you buy 26,000 or more points at a time. Members can buy up to 50,000 points in a calendar year.

Hopefully you already have points in your account. The availability of the Holiday Inn Express in Fortuna, California has me thinking about a coastal road trip north into Humboldt County this winter.

The selection is primarily in the USA this round with few hotels elsewhere in the world.

InterContinental Tahiti at 5,000 points per night is a deal if you can find a reservation and swing the airfare. Hint: Look in Asia.

Tahiti was not bookable when I tried just before posting this. The rate still showed 30,000 points per night. Sometimes it takes a few hours or even a day before the hotels are bookable.

The other piece of official news from the FlyerTalk thread is PriorityClubRepresentative states the X stays, for Y points promotion is stackable with this double points or double miles promotion.

Priority Club Double Points or Double Miles (Code 6673 registration page)

• Begins with second eligible IHG brand stay at any Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental Hotels and Hotel Indigo, except for Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites earn double points or double miles beginning with first stay.
• No retroactive credit for hotel stays prior to promotion registration date.
• Promotion earns 20 points per dollar at Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental Hotels and Hotel Indigo.
• InterContinental Hotels will change earning rate during this promotion when IC hotels in North America, Caribbean and Latin America (about 50 hotels) begin earning 10 points per dollar on February 15, 2012. All other InterContinental Hotels worldwide (about 120 hotels) will maintain earning rate of 2,000 points per stay regardless of hotel spend. Double points will be either 4,000 points per stay or 20 points per dollar depending on date of stay and location.
• Staybridge and Candlewood brands earn 10 points per dollar with double points.
• Link to standard earn rates for IHG brands.

Earning Double Miles with Priority Club

Priority Club has over 40 airline partners for earning miles. There are many earning structures depending on airline and hotel brand. The miles earning rates are shown here.

The US-based airlines of Alaska, American, Delta, United and US Airways earn miles at these rates:

• 2 miles per $1 spend at Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo and beginning February 15, 2012 at InterContinental Hotels in North America, Caribbean and Latin America. Double miles = 4 miles/$1.
• 1 mile per $1 spend at Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites. Double miles = 2 miles/$1.
• 500 miles per stay at InterContinental Hotels. Double miles = 1,000 miles/stay for all InterContinental Hotels worldwide prior to February 15, 2012. InterContinental Hotels in North America, Caribbean and Central America change to 2 miles/$1 February 15, 2012. There will be no change in miles earning rate for InterContinental Hotels in other regions.

Priority Club Double Points is stackable with quarterly stay bonus points offer.

*** InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards – Priority Club members may register for one of the quarterly stay promotions running January 1-March 31, 2012. You can only register for one offer so pick the target you are most likely to reach. Stay 3 nights = 5,000 bonus points. Stay 7 nights = 10,000 bonus points. Stay 15 nights = 15,000 bonus points.

Hotel Chain Scales are used by hotel industry analysts at STR.com to segment hotel brands into luxury, upper-upscale, upscale, upper midscale, midscale and economy categories.

The largest hotel loyalty programs for the US are Hilton, Marriott and IHG in terms of the size and broad range of hotels in different market segments. Wyndham Rewards, Choice Privileges and Best Western Rewards are comparable megachain hotels, but there are far fewer hotels in the upscale to luxury segments in these three brands. Starwood (1,100 hotels) and Hyatt (500 hotels) have a high proportion of upscale to luxury hotel brands in their portfolios, however, the number of hotels are far fewer in these chains and not as useful for travelers needing wide geographic coverage.

Hotel Brands and Market Segments

What is a luxury hotel or an upper-upscale hotel?

Price is generally the defining line between hotel market segments. I do not work in the hotel industry and I am an amateur analyst interpreting numbers from hotel industry data. STRGlobal.com provides industry data reports and I gather statistical data about the hotel industry regularly from the free data provided online.

STR has a list of hotel brands in different chain scale segments based on the average room rate data for thousands of hotels worldwide.

This post uses the 2011 STR US Chain Scales  along with the latest hotel properties data for each brand from the hotel chain’s websites to compare market segments for hotel brands of Hilton, IHG and Marriott.

Basically I want to see how the hotels in Hilton, IHG and Marriott segment out in each chain and compare to each other when looking at the number of luxury, upscale and midscale hotels in each hotel loyalty program.

Hilton Worldwide Hotel Brands with Market Segment and Number of Hotels

• Hilton Worldwide has 3,712 hotels in this list, but this is only an estimate. New hotels open every few days.The percentage of hotels in each brand is listed in ( ).
• Conrad Hotels (luxury) = 18 hotels (<1%).
• Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts (luxury) = 23 hotels (<1%).
• Hilton Hotels and Resorts (upper upscale) = 540 hotels (15%) in 78 countries including 70 Resorts.
• Embassy Suites (upper upscale) = 201 hotels (5%) with 193 in US and 8 international.
• Hilton Grand Vacations (upper upscale) = 50 properties (1%).
• DoubleTree by Hilton (upscale) = 250 hotels (7%) in 17 countries.
• Homewood Suites (upscale – extended stay) = 309 hotels (8%) in North America.
• Hilton Garden Inn (upscale) = 515 hotels (14%) with 130 in development.
• Hampton Inn (upper midscale) = 1,800 hotels (48%) with more than 1,700 in US and growing international expansion recently.
• Home2 Suites (upper midscale – extended stay) = 6 hotels (<1%).

Marriott International Hotel Brands with Market Segment and Number of Hotels

• 3,747 properties in 13 brands in 72 countries. This total does not include Marriott Executive Apartments which earn Marriott Rewards points, but are extended stay contracted properties and not a typical hotel stay.
• Ritz-Carlton (luxury) = 81 hotels (2%).
• JW Marriott (luxury) = 62 hotels (2%).
• Marriott Hotels & Resorts (upper upscale) = 521 hotels (14%).
• Renaissance (upper upscale) = 160 hotels (4%).
• Autograph Collection (upper upscale) = 29 hotels (<1%).
• Marriott Vacation Club (upper upscale) = 59 properties (2%).
• Marriott Conference Centers (upper upscale) = 7 hotels (<1%).
• Courtyard (upscale) = 926 hotels (25%).
• AC Hotels (upscale) = 82 hotels mostly in Spain (2%).
• SpringHill Suites (upscale – extended stay) = 299 hotels (8%).
• Residence Inn (upscale – extended stay) = 627 hotels (17%).
• Fairfield Inn (upper midscale) = 689 hotels (18%).
• TownePlace Suites (upper midscale – extended stay)= 205 hotels (5%).

InterContinental Hotels Group

• 4,452 hotels (as of September 2011)
• InterContinental Hotels (luxury) = 171 hotels (4%).
• Crowne Plaza (upscale) =  401 hotels (9%).
• Hotel Indigo (upscale) =  38 hotels (<1%).
• Staybridge Suites (upscale – extended stay) = 195 hotels (4%).
• Holiday Inn (upper midscale) = 1,238 hotels (28%).
• Holiday Inn Express (upper midscale) = 2,103 hotels (47%) with 1,866 in Americas.
• Candlewood Suites (midscale) = 300 hotels (7%).
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations = 6 properties (<1%).

I have some issue with the broad segmentation of Crowne Plaza and DoubleTree as Upscale rather than Upper Upscale for some locations and Holiday Inn as Upper Midscale for some locations where the Holiday Inn is more upscale.  Keep in mind in the real world of travel there will be some Crowne Plaza and DoubleTree hotels that will be just as nice or better than the nearby Marriott, Hilton or Embassy Suites.

How the hotel chains stack up when brands are compared by market segment.

Luxury market segment

• IHG = 171 hotels (InterContinental)
• Marriott = 143 hotels (Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott)
• Hilton = 41 hotels (Conrad, Waldorf Astoria)

Upper Upscale market segment

• Hilton = 791 hotels (Hilton, Embassy Suites, Hilton Grand Vacations)
• Marriott = 776 hotels (Marriott, Renaissance, Autograph Collection, Marriott Vacation Club)
• IHG = 0 hotels (based on STR chain scale rankings, but in reality many Crowne Plaza hotels are upper upscale).

Upscale market segment

• Marriott = 1,934 hotels (Courtyard, Residence Inn, AC Hotels)
• Hilton = 1,074 (Hilton Garden Inn, Homewood Suites, DoubleTree)
• IHG = 634 hotels (Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Staybridge Suites)

Upper Midscale market segment

• IHG = 3,341 hotels (Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express)
• Hilton = 1,806 (Hampton Inn)
• Marriott = 894 (Fairfield Inn, TownePlace Suites)

Midscale market segment

• IHG = 300 (Candlewood Suites)

The key point here is to consider what market segment you desire for your travels. IHG Priority Club will tend to be lower room rates, but Priority Club does not offer frequent guest elite members the level of defined benefits provided by Hilton HHonors or Marriott Rewards to their md-tier and top-tier elite members.

Another point to add is the practice of placing branded hotels in the same chain adjacent to each other. This is really common with Marriott where Courtyard and Residence Inn are literally adjacent hotels in many places. I have seen three Marriott properties in the same location in places. Geographic coverage is not as extensive as you might think when all the locations with multiple properties are considered. On the other hand, the placement of hotels in the same chain next to each other makes hotel hopping for loyalty promotion stay credit an easy task when you want to earn free Marriott MegaBonus nights.

Comparison of hotel loyalty program benefits across these hotel brands will be discussed in future posts.

The new double points or miles Priority Club promotion applies to stays from January 23 to April 30, 2012. The main thing to know is registration is required before your stays. There will be no double credit for stays made during the promotion period before promotion registration. SPG is generous in this aspect of promotions in that eligible stays usually receive retroactive credit as long as the SPG member registers by the promotion deadline.

The disappointing aspect of this Priority Club promotion is the registration page is not fully ready even though this offer has been blogged about since the beginning of the week.

Priority Club Double Points 2012

This registration page looks all good until you click the registration link to be met with a page requiring a promotion code to be entered. I have stated several times over the past couple of months that my pet peeve is having a promotion announced, and in this case a registration page available to members, before the promotion registration links are ready.

[ Update Jan 18 2:54pm Pacific Time: The Priority Club Double Points or Double Miles Registration Links in this post changed to registration link posted by PriorityClubRepresentative on FlyerTalk today, the company representative.

Update Friday, Jan 13 - 9:37am Pacific time: Priority Club has changed the promotion registration webpage in the past hour and code 2837 no longer seems to work. I assume they are getting the page redesigned for automatic registration with no need to enter a promotion code.]

BarbiJKM posted code 2837 yesterday on FlyerTalk that appears to work. When I registered using 2837 I received this confirmation message.

Priority Club Rewards 2012 confirmation message using code 2837.

Priority Club Double Points or Double Miles (registration page)

• Begins with second eligible IHG brand stay at any Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental Hotels and Hotel Indigo, except for Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites earn double points or double miles beginning with first stay.
• No retroactive credit for hotel stays prior to promotion registration date.
• Promotion earns 20 points per dollar at Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental Hotels and Hotel Indigo.
• InterContinental Hotels will change earning rate during this promotion when IC hotels in North America, Caribbean and Latin America (about 50 hotels) begin earning 10 points per dollar on February 15, 2012. All other InterContinental Hotels worldwide (about 120 hotels) will maintain earning rate of 2,000 points per stay regardless of hotel spend. Double points will be either 4,000 points per stay or 20 points per dollar depending on date of stay and location.
• Staybridge and Candlewood brands earn 10 points per dollar with double points.
• Link to standard earn rates for IHG brands.

Earning Double Miles with Priority Club

Priority Club has over 40 airline partners for earning miles. There are many earning structures depending on airline and hotel brand. The miles earning rates are shown here.

The US-based airlines of Alaska, American, Delta, United and US Airways earn miles at these rates:

• 2 miles per $1 spend at Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Hotel Indigo and beginning February 15, 2012 at InterContinental Hotels in North America, Caribbean and Latin America. Double miles = 4 miles/$1.
• 1 mile per $1 spend at Candlewood Suites and Staybridge Suites. Double miles = 2 miles/$1.
• 500 miles per stay at InterContinental Hotels. Double miles = 1,000 miles/stay for all InterContinental Hotels worldwide prior to February 15, 2012. InterContinental Hotels in North America, Caribbean and Central America change to 2 miles/$1 February 15, 2012. There will be no change in miles earning rate for InterContinental Hotels in other regions.

Priority Club Double Points is stackable with quarterly stay bonus points offer.

*** InterContinental Hotels Group Priority Club Rewards – Priority Club members may register for one of the quarterly stay promotions running January 1-March 31, 2012. You can only register for one offer so pick the target you are most likely to reach. Stay 3 nights = 5,000 bonus points. Stay 7 nights = 10,000 bonus points. Stay 15 nights = 15,000 bonus points.

Priority Club reward nights will cost less for 20% or about 900 IHG hotels globally.

Priority Club Brand Tiers for Reward Nights as of January 18, 2012.

Click on image for full size view. This chart is located on PriorityClub.com.

60 Days from January 18 to book or rebook at best reward redemption level

Don Berg, IHG VP for Priority Club stated to me in an interview today that members will have two months to book hotel rewards through customer service at the lower points level for reservations up to 360 days from booking date.

FlyerTalk and blogosphere comments indicate IHG customer service agents aren’t really up on the changes yet as news of the impending tier addition and IHG hotels shift spread rapidly across social media channels today.

Loyalty Traveler Analysis (based on pure statistical guesses and no detailed knowledge of actual changes other than 25% hotels going up and 20% going down.)

Every IHG brand has a new higher tier as seen in the chart.

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express add a new 20,000 point reward tier. Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels already had a 25,000 point hotel reward for about 1,000 hotels globally and 70 % of the 3,300 Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels are currently 15,000 points (60%) or 10,000 points (10%).

[update Jan 3 2:25pm Pacific - the original post read 90% of these two brands were at 10K or 15K. This data was corrected from 90% to 70% based on the Priority Club Reward tier categories compiled by ChongCao on this website.]

I expect 80% or more of the 2,000 hotels changing reward tier up or down will be in these two brands. Four reward tiers will allow easier shifts for Priority Club hotel rewards for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels based on revenue and reward demand.

InterContinental, Crowne Plaza and Hotel Indigo will likely see a shift upwards in most high occupancy metropolitan areas. Perhaps 25% or more of hotels will increase by 10,000 points per night and that is about 150 hotels in these three brands.

Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites will likely change upward for high revenue locations and affects about 120 hotels of 500 or so if reward nights increase by 25% more points.

Any techie care to produce a list of current Priority Club Reward levels before January 18?

Update Jan 3 2012 - ChongcCao has a UK website updated in August and November 2011 showing Priority Club reward tiers in 2011 for Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express and InterContinental hotels and tier changes from 2010 levels.

Frustrating to me is Priority Club Rewards does not have lists of hotels at the different reward tiers on the Priority Club website. I asked Don Berg, VP IHG Priority Club loyalty program, why Priority Club has no list of reward tiers for its hotels? Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott and Starwood publish the reward cost of all their hotels in easy to search lists. He said Priority Club research indicates the general Priority Club member does not have a need for a master list showing the reward cost of hotels.

Priority Club requires the member to look up a destination like Paris, France or Lubbock, Texas and see hotels and their reward cost.

Priority Club nicely displays Reward Night Rates in hotel searches.

My January 18th question is “Did the hotel reward tier go up or down?”

The need for a master list to me is to make use of the 60-day window for booking rewards at the lower level. There are no master lists of Priority Club reward tiers to know if a hotel went up or down when the new tiers are added January 18. We can tell which hotels increased to 35,000 or 50,000 points with several of the brands. The changes will be easily detected with Crowne Plaza, InterContinental and Hotel Indigo.

What about the midscale traveler’s needs?

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels is where I think more than 80% of the 2,000 hotels shifting tiers will occur. On January 18 how will you know if that 20,000 point hotel reward was 10,000 or 15,000 or 25,000 points before?

You will only know the January 18 reward rates and not the previous reward rates when you look up Lubbock, Texas or Key West, Florida. How will you even know to call and book the lower rate during the 60-day grace period after the tier changes at those 800+ Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels that go up in reward cost on January 18?

The following data is an addition to the original post based on data from ChongCao’s census of IHG hotels at different Priority Club reward tiers.

2011 reward tier data for Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels prior to January 18, 2012 changes.

InterContinental Hotels (ChongCao hotel tier list for 169 properties)

• 30,000 points = 99 hotels
• 40,000 points = 70 hotels

USA – Holiday Inn  (671 hotels) (ChongCao reward tier hotel list.)

• 10,000 points = 27   (4.0%)
• 15,000 points = 372  (55.4%)
• 25,000 points = 272  (40.5%)

USA – Holiday Inn  Express (1,731 hotels)   ChongCao 25K reward tier hotel list

• 10,000 points = 212   (12.2%)  ChongCao 10K and 15K reward tier hotel list
• 15,000 points = 1,107 (64.0%)
• 25,000 points = 412  (23.8%)

International – Holiday Inn  (549 hotels) (ChongCao reward tier hotel list.)

• 10,000 points = 35  (6.4%)
• 15,000 points = 309  (56.3%)
• 25,000 points = 205  (37.3%)

International - Holiday Inn  Express (367 hotels)

• 10,000 points = 57   (15.5%)
• 15,000 points = 216 (58.9%)
• 25,000 points = 94  (25.6%)

Related link FlyerTalk ChongCao – Master List of 10K and 25K Holiday Inn /Holiday Inn Express List
2011/2012  (Nov 9, 2011)

Guaranteed the InterContinental Santiago Chile will be a significant savings at 5,000 points compared to the published hotel rate. These hotels drop off the list once allocated rooms are booked so booking sooner is always your best bet.

Oceania tends to have scant participation in PointBreaks this past year.

United States

ALABAMA

CANDLEWOOD SUITES HUNTSVILLE

ARKANSAS

CANDLEWOOD SUITES ROGERS/BENTONVILLE

CALIFORNIA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL FULLERTON

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SACRAMENTO NORTHEAST

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SAN JOSE-SILICON VALLEY

HOLIDAY INN FRESNO-AIRPORT

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES SAN JOSE-INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

COLORADO

CANDLEWOOD SUITES DENVER/DTC

CONNECTICUT

CANDLEWOOD SUITES WINDSOR LOCKS BRADLEY ARPT

FLORIDA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL TAMPA EAST

HOLIDAY INN PORT ST. LUCIE

GEORGIA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL ATLANTA PERIMETER GALLERIA

STAYBRIDGE SUITES ALPHARETTA-NORTH POINT

ILLINOIS

HOLIDAY INN CHICAGO-WILLOWBROOK-HINSDALE

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS ROLLING MDWS-SCHAUMBURG AREA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS AND SUITES SPRINGFIELD

INTERCONTINENTAL CHICAGO O’HARE

INDIANA

STAYBRIDGE SUITES INDIANAPOLIS-FISHERS

KANSAS

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL KANSAS CITY – OVERLAND PARK

LOUISIANA

HOLIDAY INN MORGAN CITY

MASSACHUSETTS

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL BOSTON – NEWTON

MICHIGAN

CANDLEWOOD SUITES DETROIT-AUBURN HILLS

CANDLEWOOD SUITES DETROIT-SOUTHFIELD

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL DETROIT- NOVI

STAYBRIDGE SUITES DETROIT – NOVI

STAYBRIDGE SUITES DETROIT-AUBURN HILLS

MISSOURI

CANDLEWOOD SUITES ST. LOUIS

MISSISSIPPI

CANDLEWOOD SUITES FLOWOOD, MS

NORTH CAROLINA

CANDLEWOOD SUITES RALEIGH CRABTREE

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HICKORY

NEW JERSEY

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SECAUCUS-MEADOWLANDS

STAYBRIDGE SUITES PARSIPPANY

STAYBRIDGE SUITES PRINCETON SOUTH BRUNSWICK

NEW YORK

HOLIDAY INN BUFFALO-AMHERST

HOLIDAY INN LONG ISLAND-ISLIP AIRPORT

OHIO

CANDLEWOOD SUITES COLUMBUS AIRPORT

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL CLEVELAND AIRPORT

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL COLUMBUS NORTH

PENNSYLVANIA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HARRISBURG-HERSHEY

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL READING

SOUTH CAROLINA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL GREENVILLE-I-385-ROPER MTN RD

TENNESSEE

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL KNOXVILLE DOWNTOWN UNIVERSITY

TEXAS

CANDLEWOOD SUITES DALLAS-BY THE GALLERIA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HOUSTON NEAR RELIANT – MEDICAL

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL HOUSTON-DOWNTOWN

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SAN ANTONIO AIRPORT

HOTEL INDIGO HOUSTON AT THE GALLERIA

STAYBRIDGE SUITES DALLAS-LAS COLINAS AREA

VIRGINIA

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL RICHMOND WEST

HOLIDAY INN RICHMOND SOUTH-BELLS ROAD

STAYBRIDGE SUITES HERNDON-DULLES

WISCONSIN

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MADISON

CANADA

ALBERTA
HOLIDAY INN CALGARY-AIRPORT

ONTARIO
HOLIDAY INN MISSISSAUGA TORONTO WEST
STAYBRIDGE SUITES GUELPH

QUEBEC
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MONTREAL AIRPORT
HOLIDAY INN POINTE-CLAIRE MONTREAL AIRPORT

Europe

BELARUS

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MINSK

FRANCE

HOLIDAY INN STRASBOURG CITY CENTRE

GERMANY

HOLIDAY INN BERLIN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

HOLIDAY INN NÜRNBERG CITY CENTRE

ITALY

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL MILAN – MALPENSA AIRPORT

HOLIDAY INN ROME – AURELIA

KAZAKHSTAN

INTERCONTINENTAL ALMATY

RUSSIA

HOLIDAY INN MOSCOW – VINOGRADOVO

SLOVAKIA

HOLIDAY INN ZILINA

SPAIN

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS MADRID – ALCOBENDAS

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS MADRID-SAN SEBASTIAN D/L REYES

TURKEY

HOLIDAY INN ISTANBUL AIRPORT

UNITED KINGDOM

HOLIDAY INN AYLESBURY

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS BRADFORD CITY CENTRE

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL LIVERPOOL -JOHN LENNON AIRPORT

HOLIDAY INN LONDON – BRENT CROSS

HOLIDAY INN LONDON – SHEPPERTON

HOLIDAY INN MAIDENHEAD/WINDSOR

Central & South America

ARGENTINA

INTERCONTINENTAL MENDOZA

CHILE

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS ANTOFAGASTA

INTERCONTINENTAL SANTIAGO

COLOMBIA

INTERCONTINENTAL MEDELLIN

EL SALVADOR

INTERCONTINENTAL REAL SAN SALVADOR

GUATEMALA

HOLIDAY INN GUATEMALA

MEXICO

CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL VILLAHERMOSA, TAB.

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS CIUDAD JUAREZ

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS MORELIA

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS MERIDA

HOLIDAY INN MORELIA

ASIA

CHINA-PEOPLES REPUBLIC
INTERCONTINENTAL BEIJING BEICHEN
HOLIDAY INN BEIJING DESHENGMEN
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS BEIJING MINZUYUAN
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL BEIJING PARKVIEW WUZHOU
INTERCONTINENTAL DALIAN
INTERCONTINENTAL HUIZHOU RESORT
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL NANJING HOTEL & SUITES
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SHANGHAI FUDAN
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS SHANGHAI JINQIAO
CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL SHANGHAI PUDONG
HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS SHANGHAI WUJIAOCHANG

JAPAN
HOLIDAY INN – ANA SENDAI

VIETNAM
INTERCONTINENTAL HANOI WESTLAKE

OCEANIA – no properties

AFRICA – no properties

Middle East 

EGYPT
INTERCONTINENTAL TABA HEIGHTS

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
HOLIDAY INN DUBAI – DOWNTOWN DUBAI

Priority Club introduced Last Minute Reward Nights in 2011 with the stated intention of expanding these rewards to more dates. For now these discount rewards have only been offered on the first full weekend of each month. Hopefully they will be exapnded soon to other weekends in the month.

You need to use the geographic search feature to easily locate a hotel since the master list is only sorted by either cost in points or hotel brand without a state or country description. This has been my complaint since the program launched, but Priority Club has not added geographic data to the main list. There is a country and state search tool on the left side of the page.

Last Minute Reward Nights geographic locator tool

This week’s hotels offering Last Minute Reward Nights

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts CENTURY CITY CHENGDU 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts CITYSTARS CAIRO 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts FOSHAN 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts MENDOZA 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts MIRAMAR PANAMA 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts PRESIDENTE MEXICO CITY 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts PRESIDENTE PUEBLA 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts RESORT JIUZHAI PARADISE 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts SHANGHAI PUXI 15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts SHENZHEN 15,000 pts.

Crowne Plaza DETROIT- NOVI 12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza HOUSTON NEAR RELIANT – MEDICAL 12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza MANAMA (BAHRAIN) 12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza MOSCOW – WORLD TRADE CENTRE 12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza SHENZHEN 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn CHICAGO-TINLEY PARK-CONV CTR 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn DUMFRIES – QUANTICO CENTER 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express CORYDON 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DURHAM 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express ELMIRA-HORSEHEADS 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express FREDERICK-FSK MALL(I270/RT 85) 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express JACKSONVILLE BEACH 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MYRTLE BEACH-BROADWAY@THE BCH 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express NEWPORT 12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express NORTHAMPTON M1, JCT.15  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express RALEIGH-DURHAM AIRPORT  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites EXP-MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MONTREAL CENTRE-VILLE DOWNTOWN  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites OMAHA WEST  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites ORANGEBURG  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites BOSTON-PEABODY  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn PARIS – MONTMARTRE  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn STEAMBOAT SPRINGS  12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn WOKING  12,500 pts.

StayBridge Suites CALGARY AIRPORT   10,000 pts.

Staybridge Suites CRANBURY-SOUTH BRUNSWICK   10,000 pts.

Candlewood Suites CHICAGO/LIBERTYVILLE  7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites DETROIT-WARREN   7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites EMPORIA   7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites JACKSONVILLE   7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites ORLANDO   7,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites WASHINGTON-DULLES HERNDON   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn ALLENTOWN-I-78 (LEHIGH VALLEY)   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn CHENGDU CENTURY CITY-WEST   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn DENVER LAKEWOOD   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DARTFORD BRIDGE    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DERBY – PRIDE PARK   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express EAST MIDLANDS AIRPORT   7,500 pts

Holiday Inn Express GAS CITY   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GUADALAJARA EXPO   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express KANSAS CITY-BONNER SPRINGS   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express LONDON -CHINGFORD-NTH CIRCULAR   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MEMPHIS MEDICAL CENTER MIDTOWN   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MILTON KEYNES    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express PLYMOUTH   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express TORONTO-NORTH YORK   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites ANN ARBOR   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites CANYON    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites CLAYPOOL HILL (RICHLANDS AREA)   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites COURTENAY COMOX VALLEY SW    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites FLORENCE I-95 & I-20 CIVIC CTR   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites GREENVILLE    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MONTROSE-TOWNSEND    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MOREHEAD CITY    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites ORLANDO-OCOEE EAST    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites PHENIX CITY-COLUMBUS    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites PLYMOUTH    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites PROVIDENCE-WOONSOCKET    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites SOUTHFIELD – DETROIT   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn GENT – EXPO   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites GRAND JUNCTION-AIRPORT   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn MOBILE-DWTN/HIST. DISTRICT   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn MORGANTOWN/PA TURNPIKE EX 298   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn ROANOKE – VALLEY VIEW    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn ROCK ISLAND – QUAD CITIES   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn ST. PAUL-I-94-EAST (3M AREA)    7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Select CLINTON   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn TIMONIUM   7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express HENDERSON   5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express KRAKOW    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites LEVELLAND    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites LIVINGSTON    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites LOS ALAMOS ENTRADA PARK    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites MAGNOLIA-LAKE COLUMBIA    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express and Suites NORTH LITTLE ROCK    5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites MANSFIELD-CONFERENCE CTR   5,000 pts.

82 hotels are listed at the time of this post.

Five InterContinental hotels including Chicago O’Hare and Houston Near the Galleria are on the list. Twelve Crowne Plaza Hotels made the list.

The list can be searched by country and state on the Last Minute Reward Nights page for easier sorting.

Hotel List for Last Minute Reward Nights October 7-9, 2011

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Dubai – Festival City

20,000 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Tequendama  Bogota

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts CHICAGO O’HARE

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Cairo Semiramis

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts HOUSTON NEAR THE GALLERIA

15,000 pts.

InterContinental Hotels & Resorts Rio

15,000 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts ACAPULCO

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Asuncion

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts City Centre Changsha

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts EDMONTON-CHATEAU LACOMBE

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Foshan

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts GREENVILLE-I-385-ROPER MTN RD

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts International Airport Beijing

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts JACKSONVILLE-RIVERFRONT

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Jerusalem

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Managua

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts San Marcos Golf Resort

12,500 pts.

Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts Shanghai

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express Bedford

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GREENSBORO-(I-40 @ WENDOVER)

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express Hemel Hempstead

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MILWAUKEE-NEW BERLIN

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MINNEAPOLIS AIRPORT-MALL AREA

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express MT. HOLLY-NJ TNPK EXIT 5

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express PADUCAH

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express PALM DESERT

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express RATON

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express RICHMOND NORTHWEST I-64

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SIOUX FALLS AT EMPIRE MALL

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express Swindon – West M4, Jct.16

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express WALTERBORO I-95

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Basingstoke

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Bern – Westside

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts CHARLESTON AIRPORT & CONV CTR

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts CHARLOTTE-AIRPORT CONF CTR

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Frankfurt Airport – North

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Kingston-Waterfront

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Laramie

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts MILWAUKEE AIRPORT

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts SEATTLE-SEATAC INTL AIRPORT

12,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Resort Yalong Bay Sanya

12,500 pts.

Candlewood Suites EASTCHASE PARK

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Expres MEBANE

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express BAY CITY

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express Birmingham Oldbury M5, Jct.2

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express CHICAGO-ARLINGTON HEIGHTS

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express COLORADO SPRINGS (AIRPORT)

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DAYTON-HUBER HEIGHTS

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DENVER – AURORA

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GIRONA

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GREENSBORO – AIRPORT AREA

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express HALIFAX-BEDFORD

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express HENDERSON

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express LE MARS

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express NASHVILLE-HENDERSONVILLE

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SAN DIEGO OTAY MESA

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SANDY – SOUTH SALT LAKE CITY

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express ST. PETERSBURG NORTH (I-275)

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express Shanghai Zhabei

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express TAMPA -USF-BUSCH GARDENS

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express VENICE

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express WILSON I-95

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts ATLANTA-PERIMETER/DUNWOODY

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts COLORADO SPRINGS (AIRPORT)

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Chiangmai

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts DENVER EAST – STAPLETON

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts Hangzhou Xiaoshan

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts LISBON – CONTINENTAL

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts ORANGE PARK – WELLS RD.

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts PUEBLO

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts QUINCY

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts SHREVEPORT WEST

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts St.Petersburg-Moskovskye V.

7,500 pts.

Holiday Inn Express BROOKSVILLE WEST

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express DECATUR

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express EASTLAND

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express GREENVILLE-SPARTANBURG (DUNCAN)

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express ROSEVILLE-ST. PAUL

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express SIMPSONVILLE

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Express WILSON-DOWNTOWN

5,000 pts.

Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts WARREN

5,000 pts.

Getting off the interstate for much of the road trip across the deserts from Colorado to California was one of my objectives during the July 2011 road trip I dubbed Brokeass Mountain Tour.

St. Regis Aspen courtyard with pool area access closed for construction - July 2011.

After one night at the St. Regis Aspen we drove Interstate 70 for 27 miles west from Glenwood Springs to Rifle, Colorado where I headed north on two-lane Colorado State Highway 13, rather than drive Interstate 70 west into Utah.

Colorado Highway 13 travels through high country cattle grazing land loaded with elk crossing signs, although we didn’t see any elk, only cattle on this drive.

Grazing land beside Colorado Highway 13.

My objective was connecting to US Route 40, the major east-west highway across northern Colorado. Forty miles north of Interstate-70 is Meeker, Colorado and we turned onto Colorado State Highway 64 and followed the White River flowing west. The road had recently been scraped clean of mud and Flood Warning signs were still posted along the road. Record breaking rainfall had hit the Rocky Mountains just two days before in places like Breckenridge and Aspen. The road looked like the rains had washed mud from the mountains right across the road for several miles.

“]

Google Maps Aspen,CO to Vernal, UT (213 miles) [click image to see full-size

The historic Colorado Hotel in Glenwood Springs has a Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Suite.

Hotel Colorado Roosevelt Suite in Glenwood Springs.

Apparently T.R. also did some mountain lion hunting based out of Meeker, CO.

St. Regis Aspen bronze statue mountain lion

An aerial view of the White River Valley around Meeker and the “China Wall” reveals the ruggedness of the western Colorado outback.

Highway 64 follows the White River through the western Colorado outback. This is the wild west where there aren’t many towns or people or paved roads. The realization that there are thousands of miles of paved road connecting small towns dozens of miles apart across the western U.S. created an alluring appeal for me to explore these sparsely populated places of hidden beauty that are bypassed by the vast majority of travelers on an interstate journey through Colorado and Utah.

Throughout my life I learned plenty of history from song references and one of the songs that connected with me during this drive from Colorado to Utah is Bob Marley’s “Buffalo Soldier”.

Buffalo soldier in the heart of america

If you know your history

then you would know where you coming from.

~Bob Marley – Buffalo Soldier

Buffalo Soldiers were involved in the 1879 relocation of Utes from the White River region of Colorado to the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah. Henry Johnson was a Buffalo Soldier recipient of the Medal of Honor for actions at the Milk River Battle in Colorado 1879. Here is a fascinating historical lens to the Indian Wars and Colorado from an October 3, 1879 New York Times article describing the White River 1879 problems with reference to a buffalo soldier military unit in Colorado.

Kenney Reservoir on Highway 64 near Rangely, Colorado.

Future western states road trips will likely be solo since exploring the remote west is not such an alluring trip ticket for my wife who would much rather be exploring the historic cities of Europe.

The Colorado Plateau

The Colorado Plateau extends from the Grand Canyon region of Arizona in the southeastern portion of the Plateau to the Green River canyons of northeastern Utah and Yampa River in northwestern Colorado where the rivers converge at Dinosaur National Monument park.

The Green River is the largest tributary river to the Colorado River from its source in the Wyoming Rocky Mountains where it drains the high plateau on a course through Utah.

Driving I-70 east into Colorado Kelley and I figured Fruita, the first city where we drove adjacent to the flooded Colorado River, was a place for growing fruit, but why was Grand Junction, named Grand?

The AAA guide suggested Grand Junction’s name was due to its transportation junction location. Turns out the Colorado River from its headwaters in the Rocky Mountains to where it joins the Green River in Canyonlands National Park, Utah was named the Grand River up until 1921 when Edward T. Taylor, U.S. Representative from Colorado  introduced a resolution to rename the headwaters section of the river in the state of Colorado as the Colorado River.

The Green River has a much larger watershed than the Colorado River before they converge at Canyonlands National Park in southeastern Utah. The Yampa River is the second largest river in Utah and primarily runs west from Streamboat Springs, Colorado to where it joins the Green River in Dinosaur National Monument.

Dinosaur National Monument

The area north of US Route 40 in northwest Colorado and northeast Utah is dinosaur country. The Dinosaur National Monument Quarry Visitor Center has been in a temporary structure since 2006 when the main center closed for safety reasons. The new Dinosaur Quarry Center rebuilt using funds from the Obama stimulus package American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 will reopen next week on October 4, 2011.

Traveling from Dinosaur, Colorado to Vernal, Utah reminded me of the economic divide we used to experience when living in Downeast Maine and crossing the border into Canada where the standard of living was visibly higher. Vernal, Utah has money, lots of major chain hotels, restaurants and fast food joints and the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum for a chance to see dinosaur fossils and full size replicas without having to drive to the Dinosaur National Monument.

Dinosaur replica outside Field Museum Chicago

There were several good dinosaur models I saw in Vernal, Utah while driving through town, but no pictures. The photo above was taken outside the Field Museum during my trip to Chicago in October 2010.

Looking north from US 40 to Cliff Ridge near Dinosaur National Monument.

The Uintah Basin, Utah

The Uintah Reservation of the Ute Indians runs through the Uintah Basin south of the Uintah Mountains where the highest peaks in Utah are located. This part of Utah is still sparsely populated and while predominantly a white citizenry, the largest town of Roosevelt was founded by homesteaders and not Mormons. The Uintah Basin was developed beginning in 1906 by homesteaders  with paid claims who bought land within the Uintah Indian Reservation at $1.25 per acre allowed by the Dawes Act as a way to integrate Native Americans with the American emigrant population.

“]

Google Maps Satellite Vernal, Utah -Salt Lake City UT (171 miles) [click on image for full-size

Farmland near Heber, Utah.

I never realized Utah had places with such green land in late July. This region of Utah is a strong contrast to the canyonlands of the southern regions of the state. Looking north to the Uintah Mountains provided some striking views of mountainous terrain that looked to be wild west wilderness to my eyes. Since I was driving west on US 40, I did not get any good photos of the high mountains to the north.

Park City, Utah

Highway 40 continues through the Uintah Basin and winds around Strawberry Reservoir, a major water conservation project and Utah’s most fished location. There was some thickly forested land in the mountains as we drove between the reservoir and Heber 23 miles north. The road drops down from the mountains into Heber located in a lush valley surrounded by the Wasatch Range of mountains separating Heber from Provo and Salt Lake City.

Park City is the year round world class sports resort on top of the eastern slopes of the Wasatch Range peaks, just a short 30 minute drive from downtown Salt Lake City.

Park City was crowded with car traffic as we approached the historic downtown area, yet the tourist center was totally dead. Walking empty streets gave an eery feeling on a nice July afternoon. Kelley thought I had booked a resort in Park City, but I hadn’t since she had complained about altitude sickness after feeling nauseous  for our entire stay in Aspen.

I took that as a sign I should avoid another night keeping her at 7,000 feet in altitude so I took advantage of a Priority Club Pointbreaks hotel for 5,000 points at a Holiday Inn Express in Salt Lake City. That was a $30 night in points cost rather than blowing my free SPG Resort night at the St. Regis Deer Valley in Park City or 15,000 Gold Passport points for the Hyatt Escala Lodge Park City. Waldorf Astoria Park City had published rates at $109; far lower than Starwood or Hyatt paid rates.

The Village, Park City Utah on dead action July afternoon

My plan was to hang around Park City for about three hours taking photographs of the major resorts, but Kelley vetoed that Loyalty Traveler assignment. She asked me to take her to our hotel and then I could ride a bike down a ski slope by myself and bar hop all over Park City if I was still feeling like an Olympian.

Marriott Vacation Club Summit Watch Park City

Kelley was under the impression we were staying at a resort in Park City when I parked the car downtown and took her to the lobby of the Marriott Vacation Club Summit Watch. When she realized I was just taking pictures of resorts and I told her we would stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Salt Lake City she was relieved, and so was I that she wasn’t disappointed about not staying in a Park City resort hotel. She wanted to be out of the 7,000 ft. high altitude mountains of Park City ASAP.

All I can say to my readers who would have liked to learn more about Park City is that I was disappointed at being in one of the great ski resorts of the USA and unable to properly tour the town. I am planning to drive another road trip at my leisure and likely will pass through Park City, Utah again next June when I travel to Keystone, Colorado for Travel Blog Exchange 2012 Conference.

The view from above Park City, Utah

Feeling kind of miffed about my aborted tour of Park City I proceeded to drive the road up the mountainside from Park City with every intention to drive Highway 190 across the Wasatch Mountains to Salt Lake City and bypass Interstate 80. And I might have made it too if there was better road signage on those mountain slopes. At about 9,000 feet I hit unpaved road with huge potholes and abandoned my mountain road route to Salt Lake City.

View from above Park City, Utah

Empire Pass above Park City

Any locals to Park City reading this blog? Give me a clue in the comments as to where I missed Highway 190 when I was at Empire Pass above Park City.

I backtracked down the mountainside to Park City and drove the Interstate-80 freeway to Salt Lake City.

Kelley really liked those Holiday Inn Express breakfasts on this trip so it is probably best we didn’t stay at the St. Regis Deer Valley or Waldorf Astoria in Park City where the price of breakfast would not fit my brokeass mountain budget. In retrospect, I think the Hyatt Escala Lodge breakfast, complimentary as a Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond member, would have likely impressed her more if she would have been feeling well enough to eat in Park City. Her appetite was much better the next morning in Salt Lake City once we dropped back down a few thousand feet from the mountain slopes of Park City.

For readers I guess the thing to keep in mind is be prepared for some queaziness when you decide to travel to a ski resort at 7,000 feet or more if that is not an altitude you are acclimated to function in.

We had a decent stay at the Holiday Inn Express Salt Lake City. While swimming in the outdoor pool we met a couple from Nova Scotia who had driven cross country to Vancouver and down the Pacific Northwest coast to Eureka and back across I-80 to Salt Lake City on their journey home. They were asking for travel advice for Indiana. Sorry, not my expertise.

We shared stories of northern California with Kelley and I having lived in Eureka for nearly a decade and also Downeast Maine tales from our two years around Acadia National Park when we also had the ability to travel a bit around the Canadian Maritime Provinces.

All Mod Cons at HI Express Salt Lake City for 5,000 Priority Club Points.

Salt Lake City was under a smog alert for the day we headed west out of the city. What a shame that a city in such a remote location has air pollution reminiscent of Los Angeles. We packed up and headed out to the clear air of eastern Nevada, just another 30 hours from getting home to Monterey.

Utah salt flats 50 miles west of Salt Lake City

Brokeass Mountain Road Trip, July 2011

Monterey, California – Denver, Colorado

• Yosemite’s Tioga Pass Road across the Sierra Nevada Mountains
• Westin Monache Resort Mammoth for year round vacations
• Even Lonelier than the Loneliest Road in America
• Earth’s Oldest Trees in Great Basin National Park Nevada
• Less extreme than 127 Hours in Utah
• Brokeass Mountain Tour eastbound – Hotel Value at High Elevation
• Brokeass Mountain Tour visits Starwood in Denver
• Driving by the 14ers South Park to Aspen, Colorado
• Top of the Rockies on the High Road to Aspen – Independence Pass 12,095 feet.
• St. Regis Aspen – Too Late to Cancel
• Aspen, Colorado to Park City, Utah: Ghost lands of Buffalo Soldiers, Utes and Dinosaurs
• The California Trail across Nevada

The movie reinvigorated my desire to finish a piece about traveling through Utah on the Brokeass Mountain Tour road trip I made in July. I attempted several drafts of this post since July and for some reason I kept getting bogged down in Utah history, state facts and stories that had little relevance to my 42 hour experience traveling through the state. Here are some notes from my eastbound road trip.

The Brokeass Mountain Tour plan had been to drive to Arches National Park and possibly Canyonlands National Park in Utah, but time and heat were factors for our road trip in July from Monterey to Denver. Five days or 127 hours would make a great excursion trip possible into the canyons or mountains, but remember to tell people where you plan to be when you wander off the main roads. There are some remote places in this part of the country.

There is Nothing Between Here and There except a whole lot of beauty.

The road sign in the opening scenes of the movie 127 Hours shows “Next Services 100 miles”. My memory of the actual road sign on Interstate 70 East at Salina, Utah read “Next Services 110 Miles” which refers to the next town with gas, food and hotels at Green River, Utah. This is the longest stretch of Interstate in the U.S. with no services. Interstate 70 passes through the Fish Lake Mountains as the road crosses Summit Pass at 7,923 ft. in the Utah high desert Wasatch Plateau. The rock formations are enchanting.

Ghost Rock in San Rafael Swell, I-70 rest area

We crossed Utah on a mid-July afternoon with the temperature in the 90s when we had been hiking through forests at over 10,000 ft. elevation on Wheeler Peak in eastern Nevada just six hours before.

Google Maps Ely, Nevada - Moab, Utah

My destination was Moab, but with the remarkable ability of cell phones I saw the temperature at Moab was near 100 degrees and the rates were in the $150 to $200 per night range for most hotels. I changed my plans and booked a hotel room at the Holiday Inn Express Green River, Utah while stopped at a gas station in Salina, Utah where US Route 50 joins Interstate-70. Cell phone reception is really spotty when crossing the long stretches of no services areas between towns.

View from Interstate-70

View from Interstate-70

The San Rafael Swell and Ghost Rocks

The construction of Interstate-70 across the San Rafael Swell  was considered an engineering marvel. There are no gas or food services along the 110 mile stretch between Salina and Green River, but there are two rest stops. The Ghost Rocks rest areas are located about 40 miles west of Green River on both sides of the freeway. These are the highest points of I-70 in the San Rafael Swell.

Ghost Rock Rest Area on I-70 Utah

Looking East across San Rafael Swell from Ghost Rocks

Rather than trying to explain the geological features of the San Rafael Swell, I’ll direct readers to Wikipedia. This is an area where water erosion has created slot canyons like the one where Aron Ralston was trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Green River, Utah was a smaller town than I expected. The place was loaded with tourists; some heading to the National Parks, and others heading east to Colorado or west to Nevada and California. Several chain hotels were located near the river about two miles off the Interstate.

Holiday Inn Express Green River at 15,000 points was my pick for the night. There was also a Comfort Inn (Choice Privileges) and a Super 8 (Wyndham Rewards) and the River Terrace Inn, across the street from the Holiday Inn, that looked to be the most upscale and popular of the lodging choices. The lowest room rate for the Holiday Inn Express was about $120 after tax.

We bought a pizza at Cathy’s Pizza & Deli in town and it was quite good. I stopped to take a photo of the swollen Green River, but the bugs at dusk were so intense that I couldn’t bear to walk over the bridge for a photo opportunity.

July had seen many days of heavy rain across Utah. We delayed the start of our trip by one week to avoid rain storms over Nevada and Utah. The town of Green River was actually under Flood Watch Advisory as we drove the bridge across the swollen Green River. The bridge had a dozen or more pedestrian onlookers photographing the fast moving water under the bridge. Part of the lawn of the River Terrace Inn was flooded. The Holiday Inn Express was just about 100 yards from the river bank and I wasn’t so sure a ground floor room was in our best interest, but the receptionist kept going on and on about how I was getting an upgrade based on my Priority Club Platinum elite status. The room was a good size room with two Queen beds, a table and a cushioned chair with ottoman.

Nearly every day of the road trip I read in papers and heard news stories about people drowning in flash floods in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. Some of these people even died while driving their cars when they unexpectedly ran into flood waters.

Lobby at Holiday Inn Express Green River Utah

Utah has remarkable geologic beauty in the southern regions of the state. There are also vast stretches of road with few or no services  between towns. This is a rugged land that requires a plan. My plan is to get back to the canyons when the temperature is a little cooler and the weather not so precarious.

Colorado River at Fruita, Colorado

Brokeass Mountain Road Trip, July 2011

Monterey, California – Denver, Colorado

• Yosemite’s Tioga Pass Road across the Sierra Nevada Mountains
• Westin Monache Resort Mammoth for year round vacations
• Even Lonelier than the Loneliest Road in America
• Earth’s Oldest Trees in Great Basin National Park Nevada
• Less extreme than 127 Hours in Utah
• Brokeass Mountain Tour eastbound – Hotel Value at High Elevation
• Brokeass Mountain Tour visits Starwood in Denver
• Driving by the 14ers South Park to Aspen, Colorado
• Top of the Rockies on the High Road to Aspen – Independence Pass 12,095 feet.
• St. Regis Aspen – Too Late to Cancel
• Aspen, Colorado to Park City, Utah: Ghost lands of Buffalo Soldiers, Utes and Dinosaurs
• The California Trail across Nevada
• Homeward Bound – Carson Pass Highway 88 over the Sierra Nevada to Monterey