Originally Posted by
manku
Appreciate the recommendations...but after pricing out some rewards, I'm looking to use some of my millions in points rather than bank them. They've really gone down in value over the years. For example, in 2003 (yes, a long time ago!) the last time I was in Venice, we used 48000 Starwood points (or 144000 Marriott Points converted at 3-1) to stay the Europa and Regina for 5 nights (one night free). We got a spectacular corner room overlooking the Grand Canal...even a standard room back then was over 700 euros. The St. Regis, which took over the property, is now about 400000 point plus for the same stay...probably much more for that room upgrade. Meanwhile, certain properties like Princeville are gone forever...
Comparing 2003 prices to the current inflationary environment for hotels (especially luxury properties) seems kind of pointless. I'd imagine the cash rate at StR Florence is probably in the range of 3x what it was then. 400,000 Marriott for five nights at StR Florence is a fantastic deal, considering that property regularly prices over 1500€ per night.
In Zurich, if you want best bang for your points, splurge on the PH; if you want to save time getting back and forth from the train station, stay at HR.