Aria Resort, CityCenter Las Vegas: Lines, Angles and Color

The Aria hotel opened almost one year ago on December 17, 2009 in CityCenter complex Las Vegas located between Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts.

Aria Resort is listed as the 9^th largest hotel in the world by number of rooms in Wikipedia. Aria has 4,004 rooms, including 568 suites, housed in two curvilinear glass towers of 59 room floors according to elevator buttons, or 61 floors according to the hotel website.   The 59^th floor two-story Aria Sky Villas are equipped with a two-floor elevator inside the room to create 60 floors for the hotel central towers as listed in many Aria descriptions.  Smaller tower wings extend through central towers. My 24^th floor room was the top floor of the northwest wing overlooking the pools.

 

First Impression is Maya Lin

The check-in desk is at the hotel entrance if you arrive at the front door in a car from Las Vegas Boulevard and drive by the Lumia central fountain and before the fountain wall. The concierge desk is located at the hotel entrance on the right wall along with an expansive registration desk looking the length of the Colorado River. 

If you arrive by public transit or self-park and have luggage, you walk into an entrance with three large metallic sculptures. You can walk outside from here and take the sidewalk alongside the wall fountain to the main entrance of the hotel or you can walk into the casino.

Far fewer people and incredible design views of CityCenter and the front of the Aria Hotel day or night makes walking outside the recommended path if you are rolling luggage to hotel check-in. Otherwise you pass through the casino across the length of the large hotel on a possibly crowded floor. Inside the casino you will pass by several restaurants and bars in a softly lit interior walk along the periphery of the gaming area to the registration desk at the far side of the building.

Check-in

I was offered a suite  upgrade for $75 per night, but apparently my attention was captivated by the long piece of shiny metal running the wall behind the registration desk since I turned down the offer.

Silver River is 84-feet of reclaimed silver cast sculpture of the Colorado River by American artist Maya Lin.  She is probably most famous for designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., a public design competition she won at the age of 21.

Aria Resort and Casino is the centerpiece of CityCenter Las Vegas. Opened in December 2009, CityCenter is the largest privately funded real estate development in the U.S. at a cost around 8.5 billion dollars to MGM Mirage.

Pelli Clark Pelli Architects designed Aria Resort and Casino.  This is the same firm that designed the iconic Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. The architectural firm received the Chicago Athenaeum American Architecture Award in 2010 for Aria Resort and Casino. 

Aria is the largest hotel in the world to have received LEED Gold certification. LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system providing third-party independent verification that a building meets design requirements for energy savings, water efficiency, improved indoor environmental quality, green building design and maintenance.

So what about the hotel rooms?

My 24th floor room seemed about 120 yards from the elevators. I am convinced you could walk a mile just covering the hallways of this single floor a couple of times. The rooms on this floor spread out in a curving fashion.

The windows in this wing (upper left in map) hallway look out to Vdara, a sister MGM Resorts hotel at CityCenter, and the Cosmopolitan hotel, adjacent to Vdara, but not actually part of CityCenter project. The Cosmopolitan opens next week on December 15, 2010 and has signed as a Marriott Autograph Collection brand.

The room key operates by radio frequency and opens the door by waving the key in front of the door’s circular pad rather than sliding into a lock mechanism.

Upon entering the room for the first time the drapes and blinds electronically open automatically and music plays on the TV. I enjoyed the musical selection playing but I never again found that music type on the sound system after my initial room entry. My room ovelooked the pool area of Aria Resort and the back side of the hotel looking toward the southwest portion of Las Vegas and the  mountains.

The 520-square foot room has high-tech electronics controlled by master switches on the walls, a nightstand touchscreen control panel I had some difficulty working and through the TV remote that I also had some difficulty working for certain functions.

The complaint I read most for this hotel in guest reviews was the difficulty in getting the technology to work properly. In all fairness to Aria’s room system, I was able to get most functions to work correctly without issue, but little glitches like the wake-up alarm not setting properly, switching to the TV through a remote control glitch when I was trying to change music selections, and finding it difficult to turn off the lights while keeping the blinds open were challenges I faced during my stay.

Wall and nightstand electronic switches are accompanied by a nightstand master remote unit and the TV remote.

The bed had quite a bit of bedding. The first night I was not particularly comfortable since I prefer a harder bed. The second night I slept better. The bed is probably perfectly fine  for most guests.

The desk had plugs for a variety of media inputs. Wireless is part of the $20 daily resort fee implemented just last week at the Aria Resort.

The resort fee includes complimentary access to fitness room and a daily paper privilege you must redeem yourself at the hotel store. I also received two free drink coupons worth $8.65 each for a pint of Stella Artois at the Bar Moderno. The drink coupon is redeemable at four of Aria’s hotel bars.

The bathroom in my King Deluxe had adjacent shower and bathtub in a single glass door unit. Higher category rooms at the hotel have a separate tub and shower unit.

All Aria rooms I saw had a double sink vanity unit in the bathroom.

The basic room like mine had a standard water efficient toilet. High category rooms at the Aria Resort have electronic units with sensors that open the toilet automatically when you walk into the stall and a variety of wash functions. I will write another blog post to show features of different category hotel rooms I saw during my room tour of the Aria Resort. 

The entry hall has closets, robes, drawers and a full length mirror. The door e-panel has buttons for room privacy and room servicing indicator messages in the hall outside the door.

The room had a room safe in the nightstand drawer. My dad in his practical way asked “What would keep someone from just taking the whole drawer out of the unit?”

As I played with the safe in the drawer (I was not attempting to remove the drawer) a message came up on the TV. I suppose there would be some kind of an electronic alarm for hotel security if the drawer were taken out of the unit.

The hotel mini-bar is the electronic type meaning you are charged when you move an object inside. The air temperature unit worked quite well as I turned down the temperature to a comfortable 66 degrees for me during my entire stay from the 72 degrees default setting.

My next post will cover the other aspects of Aria Resort like the restaurants and bars, pools, Aria Spa, fitness room, art installations, and different room types in the hotel.

 

Loyalty Traveler Disclosure on this hotel review- I have not been paid or received any compensation by MGM Mirage or hotels mentioned in this piece. I did not receive complimentary rooms for this hotel stay.

When I rave about something, I rave about it because the hotel appealed to me personally. When I complain about a hotel, then my complaint is due to a problem I had or the potential for a guest problem  I foresee with a hotel.

I am a consumer analyst covering hotels for hotel guests.

Over the next week I will be writing extensively about several new hotels in Las Vegas with stays at Aria and Mandarin Oriental. These trips to Las Vegas and my hotel reviews are a result of incredible hotel + air package deals I purchased through Expedia Canada’s SAVE300 promotion in November when trips to Las Vegas were discounted by $300. While the Expedia promotion was meant for travel from Canada, there was a window of opportunity to book these packages from any location.

Trips from California to Las Vegas priced out at under $300 all-in for one and two night stays at 5-star Las Vegas resorts like Wynn, Bellagio, Aria, Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental. My two night stay at Aria Resort in a basic room with a roundtrip ticket from San Jose, California cost a total of $82 Canadian dollars. The same package from San Francisco would have been free, or I could have upgraded to a higher category room for a slightly higher rate.

Ultimately I saw several different room categories at the Aria Hotel during my two-night stay. The tour was not just for me being Loyalty Traveler asking for a hotel tour, but by a lucky coincidence. My hotel stay dates and request matched an arranged tour time for travel agents attending the Luxury Travel Expo 2010 at Mandalay Bay Las Vegas, another MGM Resorts property.  

Aria’s open house reception showed off the hotel to perhaps a hundred travel agents from the Expo. I tagged along at the invitation of the Aria hotel with a group of about ten others. The tour started with the basic King Deluxe, the same category room at 520 square feet size that I stayed in, although the tour room had a more desirable hotel higher floor location and view. I saw a King Deluxe corner room with Strip view, a one-bedroom suite, a one-bedroom Sky Suite on the 51st floor and a top of the line 58th floor 3-bedroom Sky Villa. One article I read listed a rate around $6,000 per night for this Sky Villa at some point in 2010.

I found the Aria Resort to be a top-level hotel room and beautifully designed resort in CityCenter Las Vegas. The group of travel agents I spent a couple of hours with on Thursday evening touring rooms at Aria Resort and Casino also seemed impressed by the hotel room design, views, and features. This AAA 5-diamond rated hotel is truly luxury at a bargain price with rates as low as $129 per night for many weekdays in December 2010.

Related Posts:

Betting on Expedia.ca for a Vegas Suite Deal (Nov 20, 2010) [This post tells how I bought my flight to Las Vegas and an upgraded room at the Mandarin Oriental for $12.]

CityCenter Las Vegas – Art, Architecture and Space (Dec 16, 2010)

Hotel Detail – Aria Resort and Casino Las Vegas in HD (Dec 11, 2010)

Aria Resort Las Vegas – Pools, Spa and Dining (Dec 12, 2010)

Aria Resort Corner Suite and SkySuites (Dec 18, 2010) 

Aria Resort Las Vegas SkyVilla 19 (Dec 19, 2010)

Vdara Hotel, CityCenter Las Vegas (Dec 19, 2010)

Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas (Dec 23, 2010)

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (Dec 21, 2010) (The Cosmopolitan is next to Vdara Hotel, but not part of CityCenter complex. The Cosmopolitan is a Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel.)

August 2009 I stayed at the Planet Hollywood with a room view of the CityCenter project under construction.

16 months later I am in the center of the action at CityCenter. This is Tomorrow Land of Las Vegas.

Aria Resort is high-tech room experience.  I had a wonderful hotel tour of Aria Resort in my Loyalty Traveler freeloader kind of way by tagging along with a bunch of travel agents from the Luxury Travel Expo 2010 conference at Mandalay Bay who were escorted around the Aria Hotel yesterday evening. The tour culminated with a wine reception in a top-floor 6,000 square feet, bi-level SkyVilla with three bedrooms, six or seven bathrooms (I’ll have to count my photos – toilets aren’t something I normally photograph, but these toilets were exceptional), a sauna, workout room, barber chair, massage table, and incredible views of the Las Vegas basin in all its nighttime lighted beauty.

Extensive coverage will follow this weekend after I actually have some real sleep.

Thanks Expedia.ca  for allowing all of us American freeloaders to take advantage of your Canadian Las Vegas Save300 promotion.

You provided me a priceless opportunity to experience high-roller luxury in a AAA 5-Diamond Resort Hotel.

Related Posts:

Betting on Expedia.ca for a Vegas Suite Deal (Nov 20, 2010) [This post tells how I bought my flight to Las Vegas and an upgraded room at the Mandarin Oriental for $12.]

CityCenter Las Vegas – Art, Architecture and Space (Dec 16, 2010)

Hotel Detail – Aria Resort and Casino Las Vegas in HD (Dec 11, 2010)

Aria Resort Las Vegas – Pools, Spa and Dining (Dec 12, 2010)

Aria Resort Corner Suite and SkySuites (Dec 18, 2010) 

Aria Resort Las Vegas SkyVilla 19 (Dec 19, 2010)

Vdara Hotel, CityCenter Las Vegas (Dec 19, 2010)

Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas (Dec 23, 2010)

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas (Dec 21, 2010) (The Cosmopolitan is next to Vdara Hotel, but not part of CityCenter complex. The Cosmopolitan is a Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel.)

Last month I passed by the JW Marriott Chicago, across the street from Starwood’s W City Center Hotel. The lobby was busy with workers adding the finishing details to the $396 million dollar renovation of the Continental and Commercial National Bank Building.  The Burnham building is a piece of Chicago history. Daniel H. Burnham, raised in Chicago, was America’s preeminent architect at the turn of the century and his architectural firm was the largest in the world at the time of his death in 1912. Other notable Burnham buildings are Union Station Washington D.C. and the Flatiron Building in New York City.

The hotel opened three weeks ago with 610 guestrooms on the lower 12 floors of the building. TimeOut Chicago has a 21 photo slideshow of the new hotel interior.

Dom Perignon Champagne & Andy Warhol-inspired snacks

Wednesday, December 1 from 4-9 pm there will be an event in the JW Marriott Lounge hosted by Dom Perignon to release a new limited edition collection of Warhol-inspired DP champagne bottles with a 2002 vintage. The bottles come in six colors and Warhol inspired appetizers will accompany the specially priced champagne.

Sounds like an interesting event if you have the time and inclination to check out the new JW Marriott Chicago hotel.

Room rates currently run at $239 per night for this weekend Dec 3-5, 2010.

Some people think I get free travel. The hotels and opportunities I get for discount rooms are the same opportunities open to any loyalty program member who plans with good travel strategies. I do not take complimentary rooms from hotels when I travel.

My goal is to show readers what is possible with hotel loyalty programs. Sometimes I probably get a nice upgrade due to being Loyalty Traveler, but the nice upgrades were a benefit I received as an elite hotel loyalty program member for many years prior to writing this blog.

Here is an example of how I stayed mostly in upper upscale and luxury hotels in Chicago for under $100 per night this past week even though a major Opthalmologist Convention was happening and filling many of the downtown Chicago hotels.

Holiday Inn Elk Grove (O’Hare Airport)

• Points & Cash = 0 points + $30
• Priority Club elite benefit = free Gatorade and chips from hotel pantry
• Published room rate = $109 or $122.08 after tax
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $30 + $5 maid tip = $35
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $87.08

 

 

Holiday Inn Elk Grove Village (O'Hare)

Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers

• SPG Cash & Points $60 + 4,000 points
• SPG Platinum benefits = 33^rd floor lounge access with evening snacks and sodas, morning lounge breakfast, free internet, SPG Platinum Welcome Amenity 500 points and late checkout
• Published Room Rate = $265 or $304.75 after tax.
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $69 + $5 maid tip = $74
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $230.75
• There is no cash equivalent value given for the 8,000 Starpoints used in Chicago since I earned 70,000 free Starpoints through this “My Midas Touch” promotion. There was also an option to buy SPG points at the rate of $145 per 10,000 points through DiscoverAmerica.com in May 2010. The cash equivalent value for 4,000 points would have been $58.

 

W Hotel Lakeshore

• SPG Cash & Points $60 + 4,000 points
• SPG Platinum benefits = Lakeview room, high floor, two free drinks at the Wave Bar, free internet, SPG Platinum Welcome Amenity 500 points and 4 pm checkout
• Published Room Rate = $309 or $355 after tax.
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $69 + $5 maid tip = $74
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $281

Crowne Plaza Hotel Avenue

• Priority Club 25,000 points award ( I purchased 25,000 points last May for $150 through DiscoverAmerica.com Priority Club discount offer).
• Priority Club elite benefits = 15% off breakfast buffetat 40^th floor lounge; free beer at Elephant & Castle pub; complimentary upgrade to Tech floor with Mac computer and free internet.
• Published Room Rate = $329 or $379.67 after tax
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $15 (Elephant & Castle pub meal) + $5 maid tip = $20
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $229.67

Park Hyatt Chicago

• Hyatt Gold Passport Category 6  award for 22,000 points ( I purchased 22,000 points last June for $206.25 through DiscoverAmerica.com Hyatt Gold Passport discount offer) (oops … I posted this a few minutes ago incorrectly stating I paid $123.75, so now my average is a little over $100 per night.)
• Hyatt Gold Passport Diamond elite benefits = complimentary breakfast at NoMI ($33 value for crab omelette); free internet; Diamond member welcome amenity of 1,000 points; preferred view room on top floor (18) of hotel facing historic Chicago Water Tower.
• Published Room Rate = $422.50 (AAA) or $487.56 after tax
• Loyalty Traveler Checkout total = $5 maid tip
• Loyalty Traveler Savings = $281.31

5 hotel nights in Chicago = $564.25 for Loyalty Traveler

Actual lowest published rates for these hotel rooms = $1,649.06

That is why I am a loyalty traveler.

The Peninsula Chicago was ranked #2 hotel in the United States in the 2010 Condé Nast Reader’s Choice Awards. While I am not spending the night at The Peninsula Chicago, I did stay there for a couple of hours today. The $475 room rate before tax is well outside my budget. 

Shanghai Terrace provided me with one of the best dinner dining experiences I ever had for just $30.  The waiter asked my name when I entered the restaurant and I was addressed by other staff as Mr. Garrido when being waited upon. I was asked about any potential allergies after ordering my Bean Curd and Vegetables.

A selection of newspapers was offered to me for reading which I appreciated since I was dining alone. The food was superb. And I received two chocolate balls on a bed of coconut flakes in a decorated wooden box with my check.

The main lobby dining area, upstairs from Shanghai Terrace, has thick carpets which make your feet feel like you bounce along the floor. The premier restaurant at the hotel is Avenues with a set 8-course vegetarian ($105) or 8-course fish and meat dinner ($125).

The Bar is dark and cozy and stocked with items that would erase a month’s worth of my blog advertising revenue in a few sips. A beer fit my budget.

The view from the bed in my room at The Avenue Crowne Plaza looks right across to The Peninsula.

I can see the top floor pool is bathed in seductive blue lighting with large windows for looking out across the Magnificent Mile. The Peninsula top-floor workout room allows guests to look out over the historic Water Tower buildings which are survivors of the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 that devastated virtually the entire city.

The Chicago Water Tower is the second oldest water tower in the U.S. behind the water tower in Louisville.

And The Peninsula was ranked the #2 hotel in the U.S. behind the 21c Museum Hotel in Louisville. How is that for a tangential coincidence!

The Peninsula Chicago provided Loyalty Traveler a magnificent evening on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago.

My room at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers has a west looking view of the Chicago River and a huge glass covered skyscraper dominates the river view skyline. Walking from the hotel along the river walk path, I passed through the Wrigley Building and found myself outside the Trump International Hotel Chicago.  This is the second tallest building in North America at 1,389 ft.

Chicago’s Willis Tower, formerly named the Sears Tower is #1. Trump International Hotel Chicago was the 6^th tallest skyscraper in the world when it was completed according to the October 21, 2009 plaque outside the hotel.

 

Loyalty Traveler took a room tour. That’s one of the perks of having a business card and hotel-oriented website. In my experience, luxury hotels are willing to let me drop in and photograph their offers since I primarily write for frequent guests who may be seeking rooms in Trump’s luxury market competitive set of Ritz-Carlton, Park Hyatt, Conrad, InterContinental and W Hotels – all hotel brands within the vicinity and price range of the Trump Hotel Chicago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Trump Tower reflected a brilliant sunspot as I walked back to my hotel.

Here is the link to the Trump Hotel Chicago photo gallery for professional photos of the property.

The Trump Hotel Chicago rates for October 22-24 are $368 per night for a two-night stay next weekend for the room category shown in my photos. The two W Hotels in Chicago and Park Hyatt Chicago have higher rates than that during most of this week.

Oberoi Hotels Advantage, the loyalty program for the luxury hotel chain in Asia, has a loyalty offer for two free nights at any of 11 Oberoi Hotels after 5 stays in one of the chain’s four business hotels in India by October 31, 2010. Qualifying stays can be at the Oberoi Mumbai, Oberoi New Delhi, Oberoi Bangalore and Oberoi Grand Kolkata. Free nights can be redeemed at any of 11 Oberoi leisure hotels and resorts including Mauritius, Bali, and several leisure resorts in India through October 31 or December 1-15, 2010.

This is a luxury hotel loyalty program promotion that has been around since June 1, but unfortunately I did not see this offer until this week. There are just five weeks left to take advantage of this promotion and you need to be in India. And unfortunately the month of November is not available for free nights redemption with this offer.

I am writing about this Oberoi Advantage offer just to bring the Oberoi Hotel chain to readers’ attention in case you find yourself traveling to India (11 hotels)  or one of the other locations with an Oberoi luxury hotel like Egypt (4), Saudi Arabia (1), Mauritius (1), Bali (1) and Lombok (1), Indonesia.

A couple of years ago I received a survey invitation from Oberoi Hotels. Bali is the only location I had ever visited with an Oberoi Hotel. The survey was professional and left me with the impression of Oberoi Hotels as a luxury hotel chain.

The Oberoi Hotels website is nice to browse just for the photos and descriptions of these wonderful hotels and locations.

I am particularly intrigued by The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore, India. This luxury property is a 25-room jungle resort located next to Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. Travel + Leisure Reader’s Poll 2010 rated this hotel Number 1 in Asia and the World. There appear to be only around 20 tigers living in the National Park according to IndianTiger.org and that data is from 2001. Apparently May and June are the best months for tiger sightings, but the park is closed from July through September. The park opens again next week on October 1.

Sample room rates for Friday, September 24 at the four Oberoi Hotels

Five stays at any one or any combination of these four hotels by October 31, 2010 earn two free nights. Kolkata is the cheapest and five stays can be done for under $900 at the Oberoi Grand.

Oberoi Grand Kolkata = 6,800 INR (7,480 after 10% tax) = USD$164/night (weekday rates about USD$180 after tax).

Oberoi Bangalore = 9,200 INR (10,304 after tax) = USD$226/night

Oberoi New Delhi = 11,000 INR (12,800 after tax) = USD$281/night

Oberoi Mumbai = 14,000 INR (15,400 after tax) = USD$338/night

Oberoi Hotel leisure sample hotel rates for two free nights in December 2010

The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore, India Dec 7-9, 2010 = 32,000 INR = 70,400 after tax for two nights = USD$1,546 for two-night stay.

Oberoi Mauritius,  Dec 7-9, 2010 = 500€/night = USD$1,341 for two-night stay.

This is a high value promotion if you find yourself in a position to take advantage of Oberoi Advantage.

Loyalty traveler 5-key promotion.

Ritz-Carlton Rewards loyalty program launch has a valuable offer through the end of 2010. New members to Ritz-Carlton Rewards will earn a free night after two Ritz-Carlton stays completed by December 31, 2010. There is a limit of two free nights after four stays. The free night certificate is valid for one year from issuance.

There are about 70 Ritz-Carlton hotels participating in the new Ritz-Carlton Rewards hotel loyalty program. New members to Ritz-Carlton Rewards will receive a free night at any Tier 1, Tier 2 or Tier 3 Ritz-Carlton hotel after two stays. You have one year from date of issuance to use your free night.

The primary impediment to this offer is you must never have been a Marriott Rewards member to qualify for the free nights offer (see item#3 in this Marriott Concierge Sep 17 FlyerTalk post). That knocks out about 33 million of us loyalty travelers. So while this is not an offer I can personally use, there are people close to me who have the opportunity for some luxury travel on the cheap.

My parents do not belong to Marriott Rewards. One of my sisters does not belong to Marriott Rewards. And I have a whole lot of readers who do not belong to Marriott Rewards.

Finding cheap Ritz-Carlton Hotel Rates

Not all of us can take advantage of flying to Asia for stays at the Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur where starting room rates are regularly under $150 per night.

Searching the Ritz-Carlton website for cheap dates can waste hours of your time.

Here is a step-by-step shortcut guide for finding low rate dates at Ritz-Carlton Hotels or other hotel brands using Travelocity.com/hotels flexible dates function.

• Open the webpage showing all Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Find the location of a hotel you want to rate check.
• Open a separate window for Travelocity.com/Hotels

• Search the location of the selected Ritz-Carlton Hotel on Travelocity.com.
• For example, search Atlanta, Georgia, October 15, 2010.

 

• Travelocity.com will return a list of hotels in Atlanta, Georgia for your date.
• Sort the hotels by “Star Rating”. The default mode is “Travelocity Picks”. Use the drop-down menu to select Star Rating. Since Ritz-Carlton hotels are 5-star hotels the list will bring up Ritz-Carlton Hotels in the area.

 

•  Click on the “Select Hotel” button on Travelocity.com under the rate for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

 

• Click the tab for “Flexible Dates” on the Travelocity.com hotel page.

• Flexible dates shows rates on a 90-day calendar for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The nice aspect of Hotel Best Rate Guarantees is the rate shown on Travelocity.com will indicate the low rate dates for the next three months. The rate shown on Travelocity.com should be the ceiling. The calendars indicate lowest rate dates and then you can narrow your searches on the Ritz-Carlton website to these dates and look for even lower rates or high value package deals during these low rate dates indicated by Travelocity Flexible Dates search results.

 

Low Rate Ritz-Carlton Hotels

In the Washington, D.C. area you can try the Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner where published rates are regularly $179 for weekends during this promotion period and drop to $159 in December.

Atlanta area travelers have a great opportunity for relatively cheap weekend rates and two Ritz-Carlton hotels. Ritz-Carlton Atlanta is $179 for Friday and Saturday weekend nights in October and November. Ritz-Carlton Buckhead Atlanta is regularly $219 on Fridays and Saturdays. And these are just the lowest published rates in default searches. AAA, senior, or special offer rates may even be lower.

Ritz-Carlton Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia has cheaper rates on weekdays, dropping as low as $199 per night in October and November.

Ritz-Carlton Phoenix has $199 per night rates through Thanksgiving week and Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain near Tucson drops to $259 per night during that week. Pick up some sunshine and late autumn warmth with a couple of stays and earn a free night certificate during the Thanksgiving holiday week.

Ritz-Carlton Westchester, New York drops to $259 per night during Thanksgiving week. Compare that to Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park where the lowest published rate is $995 per night during the holiday week. Ritz-Carlton New York Battery Park has a rate of $325 for tonight, September 18. Rates are as low as $345 on weekends and $395 per night during Thanksgiving week. The average weekday rate at Ritz-Carlton New York Battery Park is about $575 after tax. This hotel is a Tier 3 Ritz-Carlton reward and your free night certificate will have good redemption value at this particular hotel in 2011. New York Central Park is a Tier 5 hotel and is not eligible for the free night certificate which is restricted to Tier 3 or lower properties. New York hotel rates are the fastest rising in the U.S.

California has six Ritz-Carlton Hotels, but you will have a difficult time finding rates under $300 per night, unless you can frequent Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe in November before ski season begins and $199 nightly rates are common.

I have shown you some places where you can stay at a Ritz-Carlton Hotel for around $200 per night. Two one-night stays for under $500 will earn a free night certificate.

** The difference between a hotel stay and a hotel night.**

A hotel stay is one or more consecutive hotel nights at the same hotel, regardless if guest checks out and back in on different reservations. This promotion requires two stays.

In a place like Atlanta you could stay Friday night at the RC Atlanta and Saturday night at the RC Buckhead and that will earn one free night certificate. This type of hotel hop also works for Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner and Ritz-Carlton Pentagon City in the D.C. area where both these hotels have relatively low weekend rates for a Ritz-Carlton.

In Lake Tahoe you could stay Monday night at the Ritz-Carlton, go to the Hyatt Regency or some other hotel in the area on Tuesday and return to the Ritz-Carlton Lake Tahoe for Wednesday night. That would qualify for a free night certificate with two separate stays.

High-Priced Ritz-Carlton Hotels for free night redemption

I already mentioned Ritz-Carlton New York Battery Park as a place for a $575 free night opportunity.

Here are some other high-priced Ritz-Carlton Tier 3 hotels for your free night. Tier 3 hotels are normally 50,000 points per night so the promotional value of this new member enrollment is between 60,000 points and 100,000 points if you earn and redeem two free nights after four stays in 2010.

Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C. in April 2011 during cherry blossom season is an example of a high-priced Tier 3 Ritz-Carlton reward redemption. Two free nights at this hotel prices out at $1,555.

I have shown how you can stay 4 hotel nights at Ritz-Carlton for around $900 to $1,000 all in. Earn two free nights and you can potentially save over $1,500 on a future Ritz-Carlton stay in some place like Washington, D.C., New York City, Florida or California.

Ritz-Carlton has a 5-key loyalty traveler promotion with this offer.

Four Seasons hotels in California have a promotion with Gowalla, the location based mobile service. Check in with Four Seasons “Best of California” concierge recommendations on Gowalla during a stay of two or more days at any of six California Four Seasons hotels. When guests “check-in” at three different Four Seasons concierge recommended sites on Gowalla during their Four Seasons stay, the guest is eligible for a $100 dining or spa credit at the hotel.

This promotion runs through November 19, 2010.

Participating California Four Seasons Hotels:

• Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills
• Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel
• Four Seasons Hotel Westlake Village, Los Angeles
• Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara
• Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley at East Palo Alto
• Four Seasons Hotel San Francisco

The interesting facet of the luxury segment is just seven luxury hotel brands are ranked in the North America survey. There is no rank for Park Hyatt, Starwood brands St. Regis, Luxury Collection and Le Meridien, Accor’s Sofitel, and Hilton’s Conrad or Waldorf-Astoria Collection brand. There truly are not many luxury properties in the US with the major hotel chains.

JD Power 2010 North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study link.

JD Power Luxury Segment Satisfaction link.

The JD Power luxury segment chart led me to estimate the number of properties for each luxury hotel brand. The result shows luxury hotel brands are a small population in the overall hotel market in North America.  

Here are 15 luxury hotel brands ranked by number of properties in North America. The number of hotels was estimated by a simple count and may include some hotels scheduled to open this year. Links to property locations are included for each brand.

Ritz Carlton (Marriott Rewards redemption) = about 45 hotels in US, Mexico and Caribbean. Hotel Locations.

Four Seasons (no published loyalty program) = about 35 hotels in North America. Four Seasons  Hotel Locations. 

InterContinental Hotels (IHG Priority Club and Ambassador Club) has about 37 hotels in North America. InterContinental Hotel locations. 

Fairmont (Fairmont President’s Club) about 30 hotels.  Fairmont Hotel locations.

W Hotels (Starwood Preferred Guest) has about 20 hotels in North America. W Hotel locations.

JW Marriott (Marriott Rewards) 19 hotels in North America. JW Marriott hotel locations.

Loews (You First) has hotels in 17 cities. Loews hotel locations.

Waldorf-Astoria Collection (Hilton HHonors) 17 Hotels in North America. Several of these properties opened in the past year. I suspect WAC brand will be included in the JD Power luxury list for 2011. Waldorf-Astoria Collection hotel locations.

The Luxury Collection (Starwood Preferred Guest) 18 Properties, although three properties are in one location at The Phoenician Scottsdale. The Luxury Collection Hotel locations.

Millennium Hotels (M&C Loyalty Club) = 13 hotels in North America. Millennium Hotel locations. This brand is prevalent in New Zealand/Australia. 

Le Meridien (Starwood Preferred Guest) = 10 hotels in North America Le Meridien Hotel locations. 

St. Regis (Starwood Preferred Guest) = 8 hotels in North America.  St. Regis Hotel locations. 

Sofitel (Accor A-Club)= 9 hotels in North America.  Sofitel Hotel locations.

Park Hyatt (Hyatt Gold Passport) has only 5 North America locations. Park Hyatt Hotel locations.

Conrad Hotels (Hilton HHonors) has 5 hotels in North America. Conrad Hotel locations.

Globally the largest luxury brands in this selection are InterContinental Hotels (about 175 hotels), Le Meridien (about 100 hotels) and Sofitel (131 hotels). These brands have the vast majority of their hotels outside North America. These three brands, two of which do not rank in the JD Power luxury hotel brands for North America, surpass Ritz-Carlton (80 hotels) or Four Seasons (85 hotels) global portfolio in number of hotels.

Ritz-Carlton is a Marriott brand that partially participates in Marriott Rewards. You do not earn Marriott points for paid stays at Ritz-Carlton hotels, but you can use points for free nights at Ritz-Carlton Hotels. Marriott changed their award chart this past year to go to a 5^th night free redemption program for all their hotel brands, except Ritz-Carlton hotel awards are still progressively discounted for longer stays. The longer you stay the less Marriott points per night needed. A Tier 1 Ritz-Carlton Hotel costs 45,000 points for a one night stay, but only 25,000 points per night at 175,000 points for a seven night stay. This is a substantial savings on a seven night points stay at a Ritz-Carlton.  

One of the best values in the Marriott Rewards points catalog is PointSavers discounts for Ritz-Carlton stays.

Noticeably absent from the JD Power list of North America luxury brands is Hilton Worldwide’s Waldorf Astoria Collection. The rapid expansion of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection this past year now places the brand at 24 hotels globally with 17 in North America. These numbers will likely place Hilton’s luxury brand on the JD Power list in the next year or two. Conrad Hotels are still limited to just five locations in North America and 19 hotels worldwide.

InterContinental, W Hotels, and Loews are rated two JDPower circles. I am not too familiar with Loews having only been to two locations. I really like the Loews Lake Las Vegas (formerly a Park Hyatt), but I wonder if that property will survive with the closing of the Ritz-Carlton Lake Las Vegas a few months ago?

W Hotels are trendy but not what I consider a luxury hotel brand in terms of service and facilities. I like the hotels for their ambience, but the typically small room size is a big detractor for the typically high price. When I am paying for a luxury hotel I want at least 500+ square feet of room space to lounge around in and the typical W Hotel room is well short of that size.

InterContinental Hotels are a better loyalty program value if you buy in to Ambassador membership for the extra benefits. The annual rate for new members increased in July to $200 or 32,000 Priority Club points.

Fairmont Hotels are great if you travel across Canada and the west coast. Fairmont President’s Club only requires ten stays for top elite membership with some nice benefits. You should sign up for FPC membership just to receive the monthly special rate offers even if you are not positioned for earning elite status.  There are some high value rate discounts for loyalty members sent each month in email.

 

Loyalty Traveler related post: August 10 Overview of JD Power North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study

Loyalty Traveler Comments on JD Power 2010 Upscale Hotel Brand Ratings (Aug 11, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler Comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Full Service Brand Ratings (Aug 13, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power 2010 Midscale Limited Service Brands (August 15, 2010)

Loyalty Traveler comments on JD Power 2010 Economy/Budget Hotel Brand Ratings (August 16, 2010)

Comments on JD Power 2010 Extended Stay Hotel Satisfaction Index (Aug 17)