I did one major MR redemption recently - 250k for 120k AA + 7 nights on Kauai. I personally value my AA miles at 1.5 cents and I personally value 1 bed for 1 night on Kauai at $150. (That's probably what I could get a room for if Marriott points were not part of my life.) Multiply that all out and I get just a little under three grand. Or, a little over a penny a point.

I also completed several small award stays this year. A Cat 1 TPS in downtown Minneapolis - nice, new property - 20,000 points for 3 nights. Worth $67/nt? IMHO, for our needs, yes, and maybe a bit more... A Cat 3 Pointsaver R.I. - also in Minneapolis - 3 nights 27k pts. Worth $90/nt.? I'd say so... So even on the small ones, I look for what I consider to be worth a penny a point or a little more.

The value you get from MR points depends partly on what kind of money you ordinarily spend on hotels for leisure travel when hotel points aren't part of the equation - and partly on whether you can quickly earn large amounts of points to get into the top-end awards.