Check out my weekly column over at TravelSort.com. This week I share what I consider to be the best uses of Starwood Preferred Guest points.
It’s time for a reader photo. Thanks to Rahul for sending in this one.
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If you’d like your photo featured, please email it to me at onemileatatime@hotmail.com, along with the correct answer.
(Full disclosure: The hotel comped my one night stay)
If you have elite status with a hotel chain, chances are you don’t look all that far outside of your preferred chain when considering hotels at a destination. The benefits of elite status can be amazing. Then again, at the weekend I was looking at staying in Paris the Park Hyatt didn’t have availability on points and was running over 1,000 Euros per night, while no Starwood hotels had rates under 500 Euros either. Lastly, both InterContinentals were sold out. I guess that’s what you should expect in Paris in summer.
But oftentimes I’d say we’re missing out by only considering major hotel chains, when there are plenty of other great options out there. Furthermore, if you don’t actively participate in hotel loyalty programs, you’re probably best off staying somewhere local, since chain hotels in major cities usually charge a huge premium over local places, not to mention are often “sterile.”
So when the opportunity to stay at Le Pavillon des Lettres presented itself I jumped on it.
The hotel is certainly intriguing and refers to itself as a “literary hotel.” It has 26 rooms, each assigned a different letter of the alphabet.
As a point of reference, rooms usually go for 250 Euros per night, which is very reasonable for Paris in summer.
The hotel has a great location not far from the Champs Elysees. Getting there turned out to be an adventure since it’s somewhat hidden and I’m challenged when it comes to directions, though I’ll save that for the next installment about “exploring Paris,” given that half of my exploring occurred on my way to and from the airport thanks to how many times I got lost. 
The hotel has an unassuming exterior and is located on rue des Saussaies, a quiet street that’s minutes from the action but still peaceful enough to get some rest.
Hotel entrance
Once inside I was warmly greeted at the modern reception by several agents.
Lobby
I was escorted to my room on the second floor, which was room “Q.”
The hotel has both an elevator and a beautiful staircase. Since I had bags I took the elevator the first time around.
Staircase
My room was at the end of the hallway.
Room entrance
For whatever reason, I instinctively associate small hotels or bed and breakfasts with being “classic” and not especially modern. That’s what surprised me the most about the room. It was incredibly modern yet charming, as I think the pictures show.
Hotel rooms in Europe are notoriously small, so I’d say this room was average in size, and definitely comfortable for one person.
The bed in the room was comfortable with soft sheets and firm pillows.
Room “Q”
The wallpaper is pretty cool in that it’s “literary,” with different literary texts in each room.
Bed
The room also had a desk near the window. The hotel offers free high speed wifi, and when I say high speed I really mean high speed. That’s pretty rare in European hotels, in my experience (both the speed and it being free).
Despite the hotel being “literary” it wasn’t short on other technology. The room featured a huge flat screen TV with lots of international channels, and also offered iPads to guests for the duration of their stay. They’re available at no additional cost at the reception, which I thought was pretty cool.
Safe and minibar
The bathroom offered all the features you would expect. The shower had good water pressure and temperature, and offered Plantation shower amenities.
Bathroom
Sink
Toilet
The view from my room was of rue des Saussaies. While it’s not a view of the Eiffel Tower, I enjoyed overlooking a quiet street so I could open my window and enjoy the fresh air without too much noise, given how nice the weather was.
View from my room
After a good night of sleep and rising early, I decided to have breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, which cost me a very reasonable 12 Euros. I was there right as they opened at 7AM, and was the only guest for the whole time I sat there. While I’d usually venture outside of a hotel’s restaurant in a city like Paris which has some of the best pastries and bread, I quickly saw just how fresh the bread was. As I was seated a local bakery came by to drop off the bread and pastries for breakfast, so it was fairly obvious that the food wasn’t coming from Dunkin Donuts’ freezer (not that I would expect that).
Hotel restaurant
As soon as I was seated I was offered coffee and orange juice.
The buffet setup was great, with cereal, scrambled eggs, baguette, pastries, meats, cheeses, etc.
Breakfast buffet
Cereal
Scrambled eggs, baguette, and pastries
Breakfast was delicious, and I was good to go until later in the afternoon when I met fellow blogger Matthew for lunch.
Despite only staying for one night, I had a fantastic stay. Admittedly as someone that is obsessed with loyalty programs, I often don’t have a need to pay for hotels in expensive cities. Usually I can plan far enough in advance so that I can secure a points booking. In this case, though, no other hotels were available at a reasonable price, so I’m really happy I was able to try the Le Pavillon des Lettres.
I would recommend this hotel in a heartbeat, especially for those that don’t have elite status with a hotel chain (which is 90% of people out there — though maybe not on this blog!). 250 Euros during peak season is a rate that’s tough to beat, especially for a hotel as cool as this, and one that doesn’t charge for wifi or even iPads. But even if you do have points, this place delivered a unique experience which I wouldn’t have gotten at a major chain, as if I was a guest in someone’s house.
This past summer Delta started seasonal service to Iceland, which was pretty exciting news for me. I’ve always wanted to visit Iceland, so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so.
However, last November I noted how beyond crappy Delta’s award availability was to Iceland. The route hadn’t even launched, though they were only releasing mid and high level business class award space, even though the cabins were wide open.
Well, based on what I’ve heard coach has been packed on these flights while business class has been wide open, resulting in operational upgrades. That seems to be reflected in their award availability for next summer. Take a look at how much low level (green) award availability they have in business class for next summer:
Availability is even great for two people on each flight in business class, so I’d say that’s quite good.
Iceland has always interested me, and after a trip report I recently read on FlyerTalk about Iceland (and in particular the Blue Lagoon), I’m absolutely sold on taking the trip next sumer.
Now admittedly New York to Iceland is only a 5-6 hour flight, so it’s no different than a flight from New York to the west coast. Many would say it’s not worth the premium to fly business class, especially since the cost is 100,000 miles, which is the same as business class to Europe.
Maybe it’s all in my head, but for whatever reason when a passport is required and I’m looking at taking a “big” trip, there’s just something nice about being in a premium cabin, even if it’s “only” a 5-6 hour flight.
And through Delta’s current transfer miles promotion, you can essentially buy 100,000 miles for $1,100, plus the roughly $50 in taxes and fees on the ticket. So given the total price of $1,150 I’ll gladly “pay” the premium for business class over coach.
All that being said, I’m actually leaning towards buying 100,000 US Airways miles for under $1,500 and booking a business class ticket to Iceland via Europe. SAS flies to Iceland out of Oslo, and I’ve never visited Denmark, Norway, or Sweden. Through them I could fly SAS to Sweden and spend some time there (which would be awesome with 19+ hours of sunlight per day) on a stopover, and then continue on SAS to Iceland via Oslo.
Anyway, just figured I’d throw those two options out there in case anyone else is tempted to go to Iceland.
It’s hard to believe that we’re less than two weeks from the 10th anniversary of 9/11. I might have been in middle school back then, but I still remember it like it was yesterday.
I’ve written about the Dahl Scholarship Fund in the past, which is in memory of Jason Dahl, who was the captain of United 93 on 9/11. Captain Dahl wasn’t just a pilot but someone that loved everything about aviation, from what I hear, and because of that the fund provides scholarships for students that want to attend flight training at accredited universities in the US.
Anyway, FlyerTalk is hoping to raise at least $5,000 for the scholarship fund, and if they reach that goal, one person will be randomly drawn to get a ride in the Radial Velocity T-6 trainer, which is pictured here.
The more you donate the more “chances” you get to win (not just in absolute terms, but proportionally), so check out this post for full details on how to make a donation and enter by September 10.
Anyway, I find this to be a truly worthy charity which I’ve donated to in the past and plan on donating to again this year. While the above is a nice bonus, 9/11 was a day that hit everyone hard, especially those in the airline industry. This is a small way to recognize those that were hit the hardest, so if you have the means to donate, I encourage you to.
Through September 12, Bose is offering 150 Delta SkyMiles for watching a video about their Quiet Comfort 15 headphones.
Just watch the one minute video and on the next page you’ll be prompted to answer one (really) easy question and enter your SkyMiles information.
The terms and conditions say that the points will post in 6-8 weeks, and you’ll receive an email confirmation acknowledging the bonus within a few minutes of completing the activity.
They’re also offering 350 SkyMiles for an in-store demonstration, though I doubt that’s worth anyone’s time unless you’re at a Bose store anyway.
*Gets on first-world-problems pulpit*
I love being an InterContinental Royal Ambassador. It’s quite possibly my favorite top tier status. As a Hyatt Diamond and Starwood Platinum I feel like I’m usually treated like a United 1K, while as an InterContinental Royal Ambassador I feel like I’m treated like a Global Services member. That’s not a jab at Hyatt or Starwood — the fact is, they have a lot of top tier elite members.
Maybe it’s the fact that Royal Ambassador is an “invitation only” elite tier, or maybe it’s the fact that there are fewer InterContinentals, which means there are fewer people qualifying for elite status with them.
At least that’s how they treat you. Most of the time.
My one major frustration with InterContinental is that they don’t honor elite benefits on award stays. Gary has written about this several times, including here and here. As Gary always says, “I am not my rate,” and I couldn’t agree more with that — if you’re supposedly a “guest” of a hotel brand, you should be treated based on your overall loyalty to the chain and not your value to the company on a single transaction.
This is especially true on award stays. You earned those points through your loyalty to the chain, and it’s a bit of a slap in the face to essentially say “you’re one of our most valued customers… except when you redeem points that you earned from us for your stay.” And this is probably why every other major hotel chain honors elite benefits on award stays.
But the real reason I’m making this post now is because I stumbled upon a post on FlyerTalk that couldn’t sum up the issue any better. A FlyerTalk member emailed the InterContinental Melbourne and asked whether they would honor Royal Ambassador benefits on an award stay (because some hotels do, and some don’t). Their response?
When booking on the points no benefits will apply as by using the points that is a benefit in itself.
I couldn’t have summed up the chain’s view of award redemptions any better myself…
I have a lot of Priority Club points, but I’m scared to redeem them. Some hotels honor elite benefits, but often it’s as a courtesy or “one time exception.” I don’t want the hotels to have to do me a favor by letting me use my hard earned points for stays with them. But unless they change their policy, that’s how it’ll continue to be.
*Gets off first-world-problems pulpit*
A few weeks ago I posted some speculation about American improving their international first class product with pajamas and proper turndown service, and it looks like the program is finally official.
The program will first be rolled out on September 1 on American’s flights from the US to London Heathrow.
The new offerings are described as follows:
Beginning Sept. 1, customers traveling onboard American’s flights between the U.S. and London Heathrow (LHR) will be among the first to enjoy the new offerings. First Class customers traveling onboard Boeing 777s between the U.S. and Heathrow will receive a quilted bed topper custom-designed to fit American’s popular Flagship Suite, pajamas and slippers as part of the airline’s new turndown service. A lightweight day blanket, new premium duvet and pillow, and an amenity kit featuring a bag with an authentic Eames Office® design pattern and containing Dermalogica® skincare products and other travel necessities complete the new suite of amenities.
Furthermore, business class passengers will receive a new duvet and pillow, slippers, and new amenity kit.
The new offerings will roll out on all other longhaul international routes starting October 1.
It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes United to match.
The real gems here, however, are the marketing photos I came across while trying to find the press release. Take a look at this marketing photo, and in particular the agent’s screen. Looks like she’s really busy.
Check out this hilarious clip from last week’s episode of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” where Larry is flying first class and tries to use the coach lavatory:
Love it!
Starwood has just announced the details of their latest promotion, Triple Up, which will run from September 6 through December 18. Through this promotion Starwood will offer members that register double points for all stays, and triple points for any stays that include a Thursday or Sunday night (many hotels are not participating in the promotion). Registration opens on September 6, and later today more details on the promotion can be found here.
It’s something, though not nearly as exciting as the promotion they ran earlier this year, which offered one free resort night after every three stays.
This announcement also comes just 24 hours after Hyatt announced the details of their promotion, which offers 5,000 bonus points after every three nights.
Suffice it to say that my local hotels won’t be seeing a whole lot of me for the rest of the year!
It’s time for a reader photo. Thanks to wxguy for sending in this one.
Correct Answer: Boca Raton, FL
Winner: Sandbagger2
If you’d like your photo featured, please email it to me at onemileatatime@hotmail.com, along with the correct answer.
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