mster

Missing the 8000 point europe stays (got 3x nights in Stockholm for 24k on that one) and have 160k+ points left to burn. Are there any other award night point sales for nice choice properties going right now? Anywhere in the world?

Thanks!

sdsearch

I don't know about "sales", but (a) all Choice hotels have different rates per season, and I'm sure some often them just "normally" have good rates in the "low season", and (b) almost all hotels in Scandinavia are always 16k/night, and for the more expensive ones (often $200+) this still a great value, especially since you can sometimes even book at least a junior suite for the same number of points.

The brings up another thing: Choice, unlike most other programs, lets you book suites at the same rate, no a non-sale rate at a given hotel might be great value if you can get the suite. But that has to be found on a hotel-by-hotel basis actually checking out the rooms avialable, so it's not practical to do until you have your precise desitination in mind. (I've booked junior suites for the same 16k/night in the past at Clarion Collection hotels in Bergen, Norway, and I booked suites twice on my recent stays at a Comfort Inn & Suites in the suburbs of San Juan, Puerto Rico for the normal 10k/night there).

BigLar

Unfortunately, this varies a lot by individual property. It's no trick at all to find a hotel with plenty of suites, junior suites, "superior" rooms, etc. available for sale, but only "ordinary" rooms available for points.

This appears to be in contradiction with the franchise T&C's, but Choice doesn't seem to do much with enforcing their own rules.

Still, we've gotten some very nice rooms with points (Dublin, Paris). The best (in some sense) deal was when the Clarion in Lisbon made everything available for points. And not many points, either. I believe one of our FT'ers got a nice big suite in Lisbon for 6000 points/night. Fantastic!

BigLar

Well, you could do what we would do:

1. Log onto your Choice account.
2. Select a city, and search by selecting "Choice Privileges Reward Night" and see what comes up.
3. Rinse and repeat.

Unfortunately, they don't have a category called "anywhere in the world", so you'll have to narrow it down a bit.

lwildernorva

Having just returned from the Clarion Hotel IFSC Dublin at the beginning of December, I am very enthusiastic about this redemption at 8K. To save space here, here is my review. The 8K rate is in place until mid-April and has been advertised at 25K during the peak travel season but was available at 8K at the end of last summer. The other Choice properties in Dublin follow the same redemption pattern, but the Clarion IFSC is more centrally located than the other two Choice properties around Dublin.

I stayed at the Comfort Hotel Bolivar in Rome last February for 10K, a rate also available currently through mid-April. Review here. Many others here have mentioned the Quality Hotel Nova Domus as an alternative, also at 10K, especially if you're looking to be closer to the Vatican. There are several options at 8K but those seem less centrally located (two are at Rome's airports) and not worth it to me for the 2K difference in redemption cost.

I also stayed at the Comfort Inn Hyde Park in London in December 2011. My review. It was 8K then but seems to have moved to 10K where it will apparently stay until mid-April (it's very logical to expect all of these redemptions to go up to 20-25K beginning in mid-April). Still a good value at that redemption cost. London, like Rome, is immense so there's no good way to be convenient to everything. If you're looking to save, stay here and take advantage of the Tube location just around the corner.

The Dublin IFSC is my favorite--unlike my comments about the Bolivar and the Hyde Park, the IFSC room was spacious and at a level well above what you might otherwise expect. If you understand the Choice value proposition, nothing about either the Bolivar or the Hyde Park will disappoint you, but you'll feel you got an absolute steal with the Dublin IFSC.

BigLar

I've got two pair of kids and their SO's (4 adults) going to Europe next year for our annual (hopefully!) family reunion, and they're landing in Rome first, before we all get together.

I've been considering both the Bolivar and Nova Domus but, as we all know, there's a new kid in town there, the Pricipessa Isabella which also looks like it has a good location. TA also seems somewhat positive on the place.

Would love to see a trip report on that place before I commit to anything.

lwildernorva

Maybe if I get adventurous, I'll consider a stopover here on my next trip to Rome in February. Looks promising and would force me to explore another part of the city.

mster

Love being able to book suites / nicer rooms for the same # of points at Choice properties - especially with the early 75 day award booking window for Platinum members

Also, interesting that Dublin is still 8k. Any other good 8k properties left? Maybe somewhere warmer?

lwildernorva

You'll find several in the Orlando area at 8K after the holidays, but the offseason hotel rates in that area are so low, I think it's an even better deal there to just pay for a room and earn more points.

sdsearch

160k divided by 8k would be 20 nights. Do you have 3 weeks to spend in Choice hotels by the end of 2013? (I presuem by "left to burn" you mean those points will expire at the end of 2013. If not, what's the hurry?)

If I had that many points but didn't have 3 weeks available to travel (to locations with Choice hotels), I wouldn't worry about whether a hotel is 8k or 10k.

Yet you've been told about 10k hotels in warm places, and you keep ignoring those posts and asking if there are more 8k hotels!

For the record, San Juan Puerto Rico has 8k hotels, I think even a 6k hotel, and that's even warmed than Orlando (and yet you still don't need a passport). It's just that the 10k hotel was nicer (but further away though, so if not renting a car like I did, you might prefer the closer location that's only 8k).

mster

Don't get me wrong - I really appreciate all the suggestions! Just trying to figure out a more complete list of regions still discounting award stays. Hrmm... that could be sticky thread material...

sdsearch

It's not always by region, and it's not always a discount. The CHoice redemption amounts have always been quarterly at every Choice hotel, and it's always been the case (long before any sale) that some hotels varied greatly between high season, low season, and maybe shoulder season.

The "sales" have not so much been change from that. What they've done more is change the seasons: Make "low season" rates be available in "shoulder season" or sometimes momentarily even in "high season".

But that's the point: "momemntarily".. The true sales come and go faster than you can usually book. Last year I had to pounce on a Europe sale for a Vencie hotel before I had the flight planned, and I was only able to because I had enough status for the "window", and if I had waited just a few more days the hotel would have been sold out already. (As it was, I had to structure the dates of my trip around the days the hotel was available back when I did book. It owuld never have worked for me had I not booked the hotel first.)

So if you wait for alist to be really full, but the time it's full, the ealirer entires may no longer be on sale!

(Meanwhile, some of these properties, like the San Juans I mentioned, aren't necessarily "on sale" at all. Those may just be their normal redemptions. Just like 16k/night, even for expensive-on-cash hotels, is the normal redemption rate, year in year out, for most hotels in Scandinavia.)

lwildernorva

Your best bet is to search for hotels in potential destinations to see what might be available. Log into your account. Enter the first four letters of a destination (or any four letters) and you should get a list of destinations, including some that you might not have considered (who knew there's a Quality Inn in India or a Comfort Hotel in Lithuania that looks a lot like an Aloft Hotel?). Enter some dates far enough out so that you don't run into availability problems (3-6 weeks should be sufficient).

Under "Select Rate," choose "Choice Privileges Reward Night." Click "Find Hotels." You will get a list of possibilities with the number of points required per night listed.

Or, if you're just interested in low-cost redemptions, consider this at 6K: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/19953912-post147.html.

That should give you some motivation to conduct your own searches!

Winnipegger

Hello everyone. I have read these hotel forums for the last couple of years and find them to be a great source of information. It appears that a lot of you seem to be business travellers, but I am strictly in the tourist class and am always looking to maximize my points to get the most free nights. While reading this post, I decided it is time to register so that I could make this reply. Hopefully this is not something that is old news. If you follow the link below it will direct you to a page that lists all of the Choice hotels available at the 6000 and 8000 point redemption levels. For the US they will be listed by state. For other countries, it will list all hotels in that country. Hope this helps in your searches, it is sure a lot easier than typing in 15 different cities in each state to find the lowest redemption levels. I wish all of the hotels in this forum had a similar method of making things simpler for us.
http://www.choicehotels.com/ires/en-...M.YDW9Og1yL.10

BigLar

Winnipegger - welcome to FlyerTalk! Great first post!

I've been looking for something like this. But .. how did you get there? It would be nice if I could key in a point level and see the list.

Also, click on a country and see all the properties available there - I think our friend sdsearch came up with this, but I've forgotten.

Senior moment and all that, you know.