Hotel Kämp opened in 1887 as one of the premier hotels in Finland. I stayed at Hotel Kämp, a Starwood Hotels Luxury Collection historic property on my one night in Helsinki last week.

The published rate for this SPG category 5 hotel was 245 EUR or $316 USD. I booked the stay on a Cash & Points award for $90 and 4,800 points before the SPG changes earlier this month increased category 5 Cash & Points to $110 + 6,000 points. I used a SPG suite upgrade for my one night stay. This was one of two suite upgrades provided to me in mid-2012 as part of the SPG Amex Stars blogger campaign I participated in for 2012. Read More…

I have to face the fact that I do not like staying at the St. Regis San Francisco. The hotel has many endearing qualities like a fantastic bed and linens, great bathtub, a large fitness center and pool. There is even a yoga room.

But I get a bad vibe every time I stay at this hotel.

In December I stayed two nights at the St. Regis San Francisco courtesy of the SPG American Express Amex Stars blogger outreach program I was invited to participate in for 2012.

Luxury hotel stays are aspirational for some travelers. After taking advantage of free hotel stays with SPG Amex Stars to visit St. Regis Princeville Kauai, St. Regis San Francisco and St. Regis Bal Harbour (Miami Beach), I have developed the opinion that I love luxury class hotel rooms, but I do not like the luxury hotel environment. The cost of nearly everything at a luxury hotel is more than I care to spend. And the commonly free items at hotels like ice and coffee can set you back $5 to $10 an order throughout your stay.

Even worse for me than the high prices at large luxury hotels are the multitude of staff. The staff members are almost always kind and engaging. There are frequently more staff than guests walking around when I am at a St. Regis. It is kind of like being in a beautiful office building. Most of the people around are employees. And all the greetings from a staff member require a reciprocal response from me. Isn’t it rude not to return a greeting?

St. Regis San Francisco Read More…

St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort property is a high profile luxury hotel and residences a few miles north of Miami Beach. I visited the hotel last week for a two night stay courtesy of SPG American Express. The St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort hosted its grand opening gala in March 2012.

This is part two of a three part post on St. Regis Bal Harbour. The first post is an introduction to Bal Harbour and Miami Beach for travelers unfamiliar with the area. This post covers the hotel property and the third post covers the hotel room. Read More…

A reminder that you can win 25,000 Starpoints or 5,000 Priority Club points from Loyalty Traveler, but you only have today and tomorrow by noon California time remaining to enter these two Loyalty Traveler giveaways.

SPG American Express is sponsoring the 25,000 points giveaway as part of my 2-night staycation earlier this month at the St. Regis San Francisco.

Holiday Inn is sponsoring Loyalty Traveler for the 5,000 Priority Club points giveaway as part of their celebration of 60 years as a hotel brand.

Be sure to read Loyalty Traveler next week when I will finish off the SPG Amex Stars 2012 giveaways with a 60,000 points sweepstakes in celebration of my stay at Starwood’s St. Regis Bal Harbour, Miami Beach.

Cozy sea lions at Monterey Fisherman’s Wharf on the first day of winter 2012.

The winner of 50,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points from my SPG Amex sponsored giveaway in conjunction with my stay at the St. Regis Princeville, Kauai last week is Betsy Wuebker. She and Pete also happen to be part of the blogger community with their website Passing Thru. 

Betsy and Pete Wuebker write about making a living with location independence by working through the internet. I asked Betsy to share a little more about her site in the hope some Loyalty Traveler readers might benefit from a bit more online business knowledge and strategies.

Betsy and Pete Wuebker

Wow! Words can barely express how exciting it is to win the Loyalty Traveler 50,000 SPG giveaway! When Ric’s email came, I responded with so many goofy exclamations that he must’ve thought I was nuts! But it IS exciting! SPG has about the coolest of everything! Now I can start scheming about just what to do with all these points! Thank you ever so much!

Ric was also kind enough to offer space here at Loyalty Traveler to introduce ourselves. We are Betsy and Pete Wuebker, and we started our blog, PassingThru, in 2008.

“Travel, Simplicity and Independence in Work and Life.” Over the past five years, we’ve created a combination of online business activities. We’ve said “sayonara” to traditional employment by integrating work with life. Now we can work from anywhere there is a web connection.

People think “work-life balance” deals with modern-day stress: commute, corporate environment, and economic insecurity. And most people keep themselves on the employment treadmill to feed a lifestyle: house, mortgage, stuff, schools, car, etc. We did, and we were exhausted.

The dirty little secret: it’s impossible to achieve work-life balance!

We were always taking from one to give to the other, teeter tottering back and forth, getting nowhere. Instead, we decided on a better approach (Work Life Balance – Forget It: Focus on Work Life Integration). “Work-life integration” means the ability to work when we want, where we want, and how we want.

We also focused long-term (Make Money Online: Be the Tortoise, Not the Hare): no get-rich-quick schemes, no cheesy scams, just day-in, day-out strategic, disciplined creation. Anyone can do this! In fact, Pete has written a couple of e-books about how to get going (they’re in our blog’s sidebar).

Now we have online businesses that provide diversified income. We’ve got far less economic vulnerability and maximum personal freedom. This has paved the way for lots more travel! We’re posting about all this over at PassingThru. Come visit and follow us along as we anticipate our upcoming move to Kauai!

Much appreciation to Ric and SPG for this awesome giveaway! – Betsy and Pete Wuebker

Betsy and Pete are relocating to Kauai in 2013. I am sure they will find good use for 50,000 SPG points.

St. Regis Princeville, Kauai

Stay tuned next week for my 25,000 SPG points giveaway in conjunction with a stay Kelley and I had this week at St. Regis San Francisco sponsored by SPG American Express as part of the SPG Amex Stars program for 2012.

Winter days and nights may be colder and bring periodic showers in coastal California, but the days between rain offer the clearest skies of the year. Summer is frequently fog city and not so great for photography. I have some fantastic photos of San Francisco scenery taken on perfectly crystal clear sky days in the city to share with readers from my staycation Starwood Hotel stay in San Francisco.

Ric Garrido, writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.

Yesterday, five days after returning to Monterey from Kauai I caught the last part of the George Clooney film The Descendants, where the family goes to Kauai and stays at the St. Regis Princeville. I saw the film once before and I did not realize there were scenes filmed at the St. Regis hotel and along the beaches of Hanalei. The weather was mostly cloudy during their filming at the St. Regis too.

Infinity pool at St. Regis Princeville.

Kauai is a trippy place with only about 68,000 year-round residents, yet there are many times that number of tourists annually visiting the island. The area of Princeville with around 2,500 residents can fill with more than 10,000 tourists in the busiest weeks. I read there are traffic congestion problems on the limited roads. That was not too much of an issue during the first week of December.

The north coast beaches of Kauai around Hanalei and Princeville average around 80 inches of rain and typically have about twice the annual rainfall of the Poipu resort area on the south side of the island. March 2-9, 2012 Hanalei set a weather record with 42 inches of rain in one week.

The rain only came down heavy on the last night of my stay with a brilliant lightning storm. I kept the windows open and watched the mountains light up in flashes.

Surf’s up. I watched one person surf a wave for about 30 seconds across hundreds of yards on Hanalei Bay.

The pool at the St. Regis is open 24 hours. There were generally only a few people in the pool at any one time.

The weather was in the 70s in early morning and pool swimming was comfortable anytime.

Floor 1 rooms at the St. Regis could be your dream room or a location to avoid at all costs depending on your desire to be adjacent to the pool area and hot tubs.

There are three dining areas at the St. Regis Princeville. Lunch was only offered at the pool area Nalu Kai Grill & Bar during my stay. This is a nice location with a shaded area outside, but no indoor seating if the weather is too hot and muggy for your comfort.

Nalu Kai Grill & Bar, St. Regis Princeville

Listening to the birds and surf was a pleasant dining experience. The place was kind of packed at the time I ate lunch with this restaurant the only place open for dining.

I ordered the $8 coffee milkshake at Nalu Kai.

John Travolta in the movie Pulp Fiction goes on about the $5 shake Uma Thurman ordered:

VINCENT:Goddamn, that’s a pretty fucking good milkshake!

MIA: Told you.

VINCENT: I don’t know if it’s worth $5, but it’s pretty fucking good!

Swordfish ($27) was a tasty meal too. Although, I don’t think I would pair fish with a milkshake again.

Catch of the Day at Nalu Kai Grill & Bar.

Nalu Kai Grill & Bar on right with activities desk straight ahead for beach rental equipment.

Apparently these beachside cabanas can be rented for a private dinner. During the day there did not seem to be an issue just sitting here for a while.

This hammock is just a few steps away from the pool bar.

The St. Regis resort maintains a small strip of grass lawn next to the beach if sand is not your thing. The area was popular for families with infants.

The beach at the St. Regis Princeville is not very big. You can walk along the sand a few hundred yards until the large rocks block the beach before the Hanalei River outlet.

Hanalei Pier

Away from the hotel the beach is narrow and bordered by mangrove forest.

Coconut on the beach, weathered and colored by the sea.

This is not the white sand beach you will find in other locations on Kauai.

Hanalei Bay is filled with coral reef making the water on calm days a good place for snorkeling. There are beach signs warning visitors not to walk on the living coral.

The Reef is Alive.

Related posts:

St. Regis Princeville, Kauai Part 1 (Room and lobby description)

Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Villas

I will likely write a third post on St. Regis Princeville to show more photos of the hotel interior. I found the interior design of the St. Regis Princeville quite attractive.

Disclosure: My two night stay room rate was complimentary from Starwood Preferred Guest American Express as part of SPG Amex Stars travel blogger campaign in 2012. The room rate was $360 per night during my stay. Airfare and all other expenses for my Kauai stay were covered by me.

Ric Garrido, writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.

I walked into the lobby of the St. Regis Princeville and immediately thought to myself “this place meets my expectations for a hotel with great views”. Large windows look out over Hanalei Bay to reveal sea, sky and the lush green mountain cliffs.

View from 8th floor restaurant.

The lobby level of St. Regis Princeville is the 9th floor of the 11 floor hotel. The main building with hotel rooms, restaurants, the lobby and spa is cliff top. Hotel rooms are located in two other buildings containing floors 4-7 and floors 1-3 near the large pool at beach level.  Read More…

Watching the surf roll into shore while taking a shower in a luxury hotel room is a very different experience than my last stay on Kauai 35 years ago when I lived on the beaches of Kauai.

Hanalei Bay view from St. Regis Princeville, Kauai.

In 1977 I flew from California to Honolulu with a 6-inch hunting knife in my carry-on backpack and in my possession was an open date ticket to fly standby between the Hawaiian islands of Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii. The times have changed travel and me. I have no memory of what airline I flew to Hawaii back then.

For the weeks I stayed in Kauai I lived on the beaches seen in the distance in the photo I snapped today. In 1977 I hiked the infamous Na Pali coast to Kalalau Valley where I was out of reach of Hawaii Five-O, the beach police who harassed me frequently arguing I was not allowed to camp without a state camping permit as I argued back that the State of Hawaii would not allow me to purchase a camping permit since I was a minor at 17 years old.

I’ll probably share more about my youth in the coming days as I reminisce about life on Kauai and the major alterations of travel in general and my personal travel style specifically.

The Bar, St. Regis Princeville

Where will you go with 50,000 Starpoints?

This post is my SPG Amex Star giveaway while I am staying at the USA Starwood Hotel of my choice. 50,000 Starpoints, to be precise, is what I have been authorized to give away to one lucky reader who can use the points for their own special hotel getaway.

One of the hotel stays as part of my SPG Amex Star contract benefits was two complimentary nights at any Starwood Hotel I desired in the USA.

St. Regis Princeville on Kauai was my Starwood Hotel preference of any Starwood Hotel in the USA. I picked this location in combination with an American Airlines ticket I purchased to pick up double elite qualifying miles and double redeemable miles on a trip that will earn me American Airlines 50,000 mile Platinum elite status for 2013.

Flying over the vast Pacific Ocean on American Airlines to Lihue, Kauai.

In addition to picking up American Airlines AAdvantage Platinum elite status, this stay is my third stay at a Starwood Hotel this week in my quest for SPG Platinum elite status for 2013.

Enough about me and my loyalty plans. It is time for you to think about what you would like to do with 50,000 Starpoints.

Rules to enter the Loyalty Traveler 50,000 Starpoints Sweepstakes:

1. Follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter.com.

2. Post a tweet sharing which Starwood Hotel in the USA you would choose to stay with 50,000 points. NOTE: Winner of this prize receives 50,000 Starpoints and there are no restrictions to how you use the points. You can stay in any Starwood Hotel you choose or transfer them to airline miles or whatever. I simply am interested to know which hotel you would choose, if like me, you had to choose one hotel in the USA for a Starwood Hotel stay.

3. Use the hashtag #SPGAMEX in the tweet and use @LoyaltyTraveler in the tweet. This allows me to filter tweets and see all the entries on Twitter to pick a random winner.

4. Eligible entries accepted from 9 pm Pacific time Monday, December 3 through 11:59pm Pacific time Friday, December 7, 2012. Note #2: This giveaway is open to SPG members worldwide.

5. Limit of one tweet entry per calendar day.

6. Prize winner will be chosen at random.

7.

Sample Eligible Tweet:

@LoyaltyTraveler St. Regis Monarch Beach #SPGAMEX

Here are some Twitter Guidelines I read over to help with this sweepstakes:

• Creating multiple accounts on Twitter to win a contest can result in all your Twitter accounts being suspended. I discourage you from doing this.
• Posting the same tweet over and over is discouraged by Twitter. Try and change up the order of words or hotel. One #SPGAMEX tweet per calendar day for my Loyalty Traveler sweepstakes is acceptable. Posting more than one tweet per calendar day for this contest is discouraged and may result in your elimination from the prize.

Every winner is surprised. Back in 2000 I won a prize for 50,000 Starpoints. It happens. But, I have not won any big prizes since.

Good luck.

Lobby view at St. Regis Princeville, Kauai, Hawaii

Ric Garrido, writer and owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.

JohnnyJet is giving away 25,000 points as part of his SPG Amex Stars Starwood staycation at the St. Regis New York.

Leave a comment on JohnnyJet’s blog post: Win 25,000 Starpoints by sharing your dream destination.

Contestants must either subscribe to Johnny’s newsletter or follow him on Facebook or Twitter.
Only one entry per person, and a winner will be chosen at random. All official contest rules apply.

Johnny Jet 

Comment entries will be accepted by JohnnyJet through 6pm Pacific time Tuesday, November 13.

I’ll be living the 1% life with St. Regis in December

I am also a SPG Amex Star blogger for 2012. My planned time-spaced travel schedule initially included being at the St. Regis Bal Harbour Miami Beach last week, Boston’s Liberty Hotel at Thanksgiving and St. Regis San Francisco in December.

That has all changed.

I did not follow my advice I posted Monday, Nov 5 for a cheap mileage run to Boston to earn American Airlines Platinum status for 2013 on a single $280 roundtrip ticket from Monterey: Planning out AA mileage runs for 2x EQM/RDM. I opted instead for a trip to Kauai via San Diego for $410.

Loyalty Traveler is staying Coast to Coast to Coast in December

Now I am booked for three 2-night stays in December at St. Regis Princeville, Kauai, St. Regis San Francisco and St. Regis Bal Harbour. This will be my biggest ever dip into luxury hotel travel.

While I’ll be swimming with the 1 percenters, my plane travel will still be flying with the masses in coach.

Illogical cancellation policy at St. Regis Kauai

One of the strangest cancellation policies I have ever seen came to my attention with the St. Regis Kauai reservation.

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel between 11/09/2012 and 4:00 PM hotel time on 11/11/2012, there will be no forfeiture amount. If you cancel after 4:00 PM hotel time on 11/11/2012, the forfeiture amount will be a 3 night stay.There may be additional applicable charges and taxes.

St. Regis Princeville Resort

The cancellation penalty within 30 days of a reservation at St. Regis Princeville is the amount for a 3-night stay even if your reservation is only booked for a 2-night stay.

What’s up with that?

Anyway, I will be offering three Starpoints giveaways over the next seven weeks for 50,000 points, 25,000 points and 60,000 points associated with my three St. Regis stays in December.

Check out JohnnyJet’s 25,000 Starpoints giveaway now. Look for my 50,000 Starpoints giveaway blog post in a couple of weeks in conjunction with my St. Regis Princeville hotel stay.

Blogger disclosure: Starwood Preferred Guest American Express is providing me with the three complimentary St. Regis hotel stays in December.

The randomly selected winner of the #SPGAMEX 50,000 points sweepstakes on Loyalty Traveler was someone who entered in the first hour of my posting the giveaway. With nearly 1,500 entries through comments on this blog, Facebook “Likes” and Tweets the random.org tool came out with a really low number. Hey it’s random.

The winner is Raj who selected the Phoenician Resort for four nights.

Raj has been contacted by email.

Loyalty Traveler will have another SPGAMEX Stars sweepstakes in September to coincide with New York Fashion Week.

Ric Garrido, writer and content owner of Loyalty Traveler, shares news and views on hotels, hotel loyalty programs and vacation destinations for frequent guests. You can follow Loyalty Traveler on Twitter and Facebook and RSS feed.