Preferred Hotel Group’s loyalty program “I Prefer” has seven weeks of two night free stay giveaways through its Facebook fan page at your choice of two different Pacific Northwest hotels for each week of the sweepstakes. Preferred Hotel Group is a major hotel association representing more than 700 independent upscale and luxury hotels worldwide in 65 countries.

• Week One: Pan Pacific Hotel and The Willows Lodge (Monday, Sep 12 10:00am CT – Sunday, Sep 18 11:59pm CT)
• Week Two: The Coeur d’Alene Resort and Brasada Ranch
• Week Three: Hotel Captain Cook and Wort Hotel
• Week Four: The River Rock Casino Resort and Tulalip Resort Casino
• Week Five: Hotel Terra and Teton Mountain Lodge
• Week Six: The Allison Inn & Spa and The Heathman Hotel
• Week Seven: Hotel 1000 and The Woodmark Hotel, Yacht Club and Spa

The entry period for Week One is September 12, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. Central Time (CT) and ends on September 18, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. CT. Each subsequent contest week should run Monday 12:00am CT through Sunday 11:59pm CT.

• Contest is only open to U.S. residents of 50 States and D.C.
• The stay for the Week 1 contest must be completed by March 31, 2012.

How to Enter:

1. “Like” the I Prefer Facebook page.

2. Register for the Postcards from the Pacific Northwest Contest. Answer the weekly Pacific Northwest themed question with a 140 character “postcard” and you could win a two-night stay for two at one of the two weekly featured hotels.

3. The rules state the winner each week will be selected randomly meaning this technically is a sweepstakes since you do not need to win a postcard writing contest to win the free hotel stay. The Facebook page shows the 140 character postcard entries and allows fans to vote, but the rules indicate the winner is chosen randomly from the entries.

4. Inviting your Facebook friends to enter the sweepstakes gives one additional entry for each friend who registers for the I Prefer free stay giveaway.

5. Week One Prize Value = about $750.

Preferred Hotel Group is also a hotel partner of Choice Privileges.  Choice Privileges members can redeem points for select properties around the globe in the Preferred Hotel Group chain at rates from 30,000 to 60,000 points for a free night.

Preferred Hotels Group has a Stay Longer Winter Campaign discount for I Prefer members offering 10% off Best Available Rate (BAR) for one night, 20% off BAR for two nights and 30% off BAR nightly rate for stays of three or more nights at 70 hotels wordwide. Rate code is MKTSL. Non-members can register for I Prefer loyalty membership when booking these rates.

There are some big savings on several properties I checked around the U.S. like Beaver Creek Lodge Colorado with rates normally around $200 per night dropping to the $120 to $140 range for three night stays.

Preferred Hotels Group Participating Hotels link

USA has 37 hotels in 21 states, Canada has 3 hotels, Europe has 11 participating hotels in seven countries, Asia has 6 hotels in five countries, Middle East and Africa have 5 hotels in three countries, Central and South America have 8 hotels in four countries.

US$65 per night for a suite at Vista Real Hotel Guatemala for a 3-night stay Jan 11-14 is an example of the kinds of deals available. These are not prepaid, nonrefundable rates. The Vista Real Hotel is cancellable up to day before arrival.

Hotel Vista Real Guatemala, Guatemala City

I Prefer Membership Benefits and Program Enrollment link

I Prefer has five pages of special rate offers in addition to this promotion.

Book a three night stay at a Preferred Hotel Group participating hotel through March 31, 2010 and get the third night free at over 180 properties globally.

Terms and Conditions:

Must book rate online at IPrefer.com.

• Rate code MKT3YR.

• Confirmation will not reflect free night. (Ric’s note: This is the promotion terms, yet every hotel I checked stated the discount was calculated into the rate shown when making a booking.)

• Rate is adjusted to reflect 33% discount for total three-night stay package value.

• Must book and stay by March 31, 2010.

• Valid for three-night stays only.

• My check of rates at several hotels showed the 3^rd night free rate was the lowest rate I could find.

• I Prefer participating hotels for 3^rd night free.

Brown Hotel, Lexington, Kentucky (hotel website link)

Luxury King 500 square feet. = $146.73/night Jan 24-27, 2010 $529.38 after tax

A 30-day advance purchase rate is $175 per night for this same stay with a total cost of $631.40.

3^rd night free rate saves about $100 or 16% on the total rate. The rate is a savings, but not the 33% savings you might expect.

This I Prefer promotion is typical of free night rate offers where the special offer daily rate is significantly higher than the otherwise lowest available rate.

Alchymist Grand Hotel & Spa, Prague, Czech Republic (hotel website link)

Feb 14-17 512.55EUR Junior Suite 3 nights (includes breakfast) with Stay Two Nights, Get Third Free.

Special Offers through hotel’s own website has a Winter 2010 Early Bird Offer of 570EUR for three nights or 680EUR for four nights. In this case the I Prefer member 3^rd night free offer is the best deal for a 3-night stay, but the Winter Early Bird hotel special offer rate is a better deal for a 4-night stay.

Alchymist Grand Hotel & Spa, Prague, Czech Republic (Feb 2007)

Brown Palace Hotel & Spa in Denver (not participating in 3^rd night free)

Not all hotels are participating in this offer. For example, I was just in the historic Brown Palace Hotel in Denver yesterday. This hotel is a fine example of a historic atrium design similar to the original 1875 Palace Hotel in San Francisco.  The original Palace Hotel in San Francisco was destroyed in the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and rebuilt in a different design. This makes the 1892 Brown Palace Hotel in Denver the oldest atrium design hotel in the USA.

The Brown Palace Hotel & Spa is a member of Preferred Hotels & Resorts. The hotel has AAA 4-Diamond Hotel recognition, and is the only 2010 Forbes Four Star hotel winner in Denver. This hotel is not participating in the third night free I Prefer promotion, but for the next week hotel rates are as low as $139 per night during the slow holiday season.

historic atrium of Brown Palace Hotel & Spa, Denver

Hotel Valencia, A Preferred Hotels and Resorts “I Prefer” loyalty program member hotel

Santana Row shopping district

I first became aware of the Santana Row high end shopping district of San Jose when the original buildings burned down in a huge fire just as the shopping street was soon to open in 2002. The street Santana Row reminds me of the shopping centers of the fashionable shopping centers of Las Vegas with the palm trees and Disneyesque facades. There is a Borders bookstore amid the Gucci and Burberry shops. The real pleasure of the street is the Hotel Valencia, a member of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts. and a participant in the “I Prefer” hotel loyalty program.

Hotel Valencia courtyard fountain

This hotel is urban boutique and chic. I could try to think of descriptors for the rooms, courtyard, bar, and public spaces, but their website is accurately descriptive in parts I reviewed and the hotel is impressive for an urban boutique hotel as may be seen in photos. This is the premier hotel in the San Jose area as far as I have seen in the Silicon Valley. I guess there is also the Four Seasons in East Palo Alto if you really seek a luxury hotel in Silicon Valley, and the Four Seasons is within walking distance of IKEA or a ride to Stanford Shopping Mall. Hotel Valencia is a comfortable hotel getaway in the middle of the city.

Even the reviews on TripAdvisor are mostly highly favorable of the Hotel Valencia experience.

View to west from 7th floor Cielo restaurant patio

5th floor Ayoma Spa. The pattern effect on the walls is created by metal grate covering ceiling lights and is featured on all room floors. The lighting design is so inexpensively clever.

Rooftop 5th floor swimming pool and hot tub overlooks Santana Row on the right and the hotel courtyard on the left.

Mood lighting in the VBar.

Hotel Valencia, Santana Row, San Jose, California
Member of “I Prefer” hotel loyalty program.