Originally Posted by cmtlatitudes

Interesting data point this morning. I was considering a last minute 3 night long weekend at Pont Grace (Turks and Caicos), instead of something local. It's a property I've stayed at many times and know the pros (beautiful, charming, nice rooms, great restaurant, and on arguably one of the best beaches in the world) and cons (service levels are definitely laid back and on the "Caribbean" side - but if you tip profusely, you'll get better service standards - and there's also currently some construction potentially onsite and nearby.)

Thought was to make a quick hit on the 2X earnings for Hilton before it went away. Here's how the rates stacked up for three nights:

Book Direct through Point Grace: $1760 + tax & fees = $2235
Book through SLH: $1760 + tax & fees = $2235
Book through AA Hotels: $1760 + tax & fees = $2235
Book through Hilton: $2156 + tax & fees = $2738

This was pretty sobering. There's no way I'd pay an extra $500 for Hilton Points. Even for 2X the Points. Perhaps they're banking that a Hilton loyalist who'd get the additional 14X points on the Hilton credit card booking might?

I'll certainly go through this exercise for every property stay I'm considering, going forward. And look at a few additional random properties tonight I've stayed at or would want to stay at & see how they stack up. What attracted to me to get more serious about Hilton elite status initially was the addition of the SLH properties. But not if they are all at price point differentials comparable to this one.