klakhav

Greetings all,

I ended up in a city where there were not many choices of good hotels. Ended up staying at a Radisson Blu for 7 weeks. This meant I got over 300K points and Gold Status.
I would like to take a week or two of vacation and enjoy these points (I also have plenty of air miles to go any where in the world).
So am looking for suggestions for Best Club Carlson properties.
Please feel free to post here.

Thanks

Jasper2009

It depends on your definition of "best".

Best value for your points?
Best value for points when including the value of elite benefits?
Most luxurious Radisson hotels?

Using points in expensive cities such as London, Paris, New York, Sydney has traditionally been a good deal (though somewhat less so since the price for many properties has increased from 50k points to 70k oints).

Ther are also various rather nice / unique Radisson Blu hotels in Scandinavia such as the Raddisson Blu Polar Hotel Spitzbergen.

ORD-TGU

I have yet to stay at a Radisson that is a solid 5 star hotel, but many are decent, so dont have too high of expectations. Radisson has a lot more properties in Europe, so you will have more options there. I liked the Radisson Nice. Also Chicago, Toronto Harbourfront. A handful in UAE.
Overall, I find the best value in Radisson Points is that there is always inventory, even in high demand dates, and that you can book almost 2 years in advance.

Also, do you want a city vacation or a beach vacation? I use my Radisson points to do road/rail trips in Europe.

craigthemif

There aren't too many Club Carlson properties that are competitive in terms of luxury with some of the other chains. And even if you try one of the better ones, you might end up with a lousy room, such as the one I received at the Mayfair using points and having Gold status at the time. But 300K won't go far if you have to spend 70K per night...

The more interesting choices are places where no other chains are present. Scandinavia for example...

Jasper2009

Agreed. I tend to use my CC points in locations where:

1) there are no other chain hotels and regular rates are quite expensive: quite true for various places in Scandinavia, for instance

2) the CC redemption rate offers excellent value. Hotels I recently booked include the Park Plaza Kudamm, Berlin, Germany (15k points/night) and the Radisson Narita, Japan (15k points / night). Were either of those hotels over-the-top luxurious? No. But the redemptions were excellent value.

3) hotels are generally expensive and CC Gold benefits are good. E.g. I've used points at the Park Plaza Tel Aviv: not necessarily luxurious, but as a Gold member I usually receive a nice room, lounge access and free breakfast. Certainly a decent deal at 44k points/night.

travelexpert

Two come to mind as being outstanding.

1. Radisson Grand Canaria. We booked into a superior room (75K points/nt), and paid 40 Euros per night to upgrade to a one bedroom superior suite. Regular rates for same suite were around 320 Euros/nt. All rooms are oceanview (though first few levels will mainly see garden and pools, with ocean in distant background). Our suite was on the fifth floor towards the beach side--spectacular. Stayed there this past June heading towards peak season. Breakfast was included (and pretty good)--I believe that is the case for all guests. My status is Gold from my Club Carlson credit card

2. Plaza on the River - Club and Residence in London. We booked into a one bedroom suite (75K points/nt), and paid 50 Euros per night to same room format with view of Thames and Houses of Parliament. Stayed January 2015, in low season.

Danimalito

I also stayed in June in Radisson Gran Canaria, paid 50k points / night , was upgraded to superior. Had a great stay, it's probably one of the best hotels on the island. Cheapest cash rate was 230 eur/night i think.

klakhav

Great follow up questions! Thanks!
I was looking for something on East Coast where I can take my family for vacations. So Best value for the points would be good but I am not certain if I can find any hotel for less than 28K/night so something closer to either a beach or amusement park with free breakfast would be nice.

Thanks

Adam1222

There are no luxury Radisson properties on the East Coast of the U.S. Both Radisson Blu hotels have been reflagged.

You can look on the Club Carlson website and find some Country Inns in the Carolinas and such that meet your needs, but they are not going to be the nicest hotels in the world.

christianj

A quick search of the forum would have revealed this thread and I don't think much has changed:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/carls...tel-world.html

Adam1222

Actually, much has. Several of the properties in that thread are no longer Club Carlson properties. (I.e., Le Dokhan's Paris, Aruba). Moreover, it turns out the OP was focused on the Northeast US, and that thread had nothing to do with that.

SanDiego1K

May Fair in London is solid with an excellent location.

Radisson Blu Style, Vienna, also has a great location in the inner ring. We paid an up charge for a junior suite and were very happy.

I didn't stay there, but look at the Radisson Prague. It has a one star Michelin restaurant.

Edit: I see the OP wants NE USA hotels. I'll leave this here for others who have a broader geographic interest.

christianj

Yes, there have been hotels that dropped out but that happens in all programs and with CC there haven't been that many additions so I thought it was a good idea to reference that post.

OP was NOT looking at Northeast US initially, that was a follow-up question later in the thread. Thread title says "around the WORLD!"

Adam1222

Right, but you didn't bump the thread to scold the OP and refer him to an unhelpful thread until he clarified what he sought.

Doesnt seem like bumping a thread from a while back just to scold the OP and provide info we know is outdated and irrelevant to what the OP wants to know is superhelpful. Shrug. The OP hasn't been back on quite in awhile so why don't we assume his question is either answered or he has moved on rather than criticize his posting.
Cheers.

KathinJax

The Radisson in Melbourne, Florida is on the beach and most rooms are a 2 room suite with a balcony that overlooks the ocean. It goes for 44,000 points/night. I was there a couple of years ago and it is a solid 3 star hotel. Looking around Easter next year, it is between $200-$250 per night, so you could have a one week stay.