iflyjetz

The things that I listed are some items that I notice; there are plenty of other things big and small. Those items aren't necessarily the most important to me, but a decent bed and a quiet room are very important to me - I forgot to mention comfortable bed. There will be a difference in the things I listed between budget and luxury hotels.

Are you going to Paris? Do you have free credit card nights? If you've got the Hyatt Visa free nights, stay at the Park Hyatt Vendome. Outstanding hotel. I went there as a Hyatt Diamond and was given a suite along with free breakfast - if you're not a Diamond, you won't get as many perks as I did. I wouldn't pay cash for the hotel, but it was a great use of my free credit card nights.

If you are going to Paris, I already mentioned a night in Versailles. I'd recommend that because the lines to get into Versailles get very long.

I don't recommend staying outside of Paris other than the one night in Versailles due to the travel time. Unless you're comfortable with the extra travel time, I'd stay near the Louvre/champs elysees/Eiffel Tower/Arc De Triomphe. Most hotels are going to seem both basic and expensive. It's a tradeoff between travel time and hotel costs. If it's going to take a couple of extra days to see everything if you're in the outskirts, it's probably cheaper to have a centrally located hotel room. And it's nice to be able to stop by the room at different times of day to rest a bit.

That's how we did it; round trip train from Florence. It was a relaxing short train trip/half day.

sosamo

The ritz carlton uses $1500 memory foam pillows, $150 bathroom towels. $1000 sheets, etc. I know because Obama was there, and they news ppl were talking about it. Then I went to the store, Fretes ( or something like that) they makes then in italy...yup expensive stuff.

Fly1Away1

Wyndham announced that as of May 11, award nights at every property will be 15,000 points. The wyndham credit card earns 2x points. $7,500 spend for a top tier hotel room is awesome. the only wyndham properties I stayed at were the free ones from their best rate guarantee days, but they seem to have some $500 rooms according to thepointsguy. a wyndham cc and club carlson cc would be good combo to ms.

thewhitezone

SPG Amex - To MS or not MS. If not otherwise motivated to MS on another card to meet a minimum spend, I'm tempted to MS on SPG mainly as a way to get to the next 20k point increment in the event I want to transfer to airline partners. Those SPG points are just a pain to earn through everyday spend otherwise when there's so many other cards. Once you use your other 2x or 5x cards for category bonuses that doesn't leave a lot of opportunity for the SPG to gain wallet share.

littlewinglet

Who's the troll? The topic was which hotel card is best to MS on, you derailed it into how every hotel sucks unless it's a top of the line Hyatt or Conrad. Ever heard of the popular slang "vendoming" ? That's what you're doing with this post.

Anyway, I've stayed in Radisson Blu Champ Elyssees, and the Park Hyatt, didn't notice any difference in soundproofing, linen quality, towel quality etc. Decorations are more posh at Hyatt but who cares. I got great sleep at both. I've also stayed at several Westins that suck, and a Doubletree in KL which was wonderful. There's no correlation between brand name/ and perceived opulence, and the actual quality of the hotel.


Yes definitely enhances my enjoyment of Paris or London. How can anyone possibly stay in a sub-7-star hotel....it would totally ruin the vacation.

Radisson only has towels and bedsheets with holes and bedbugs, to go along with their leaky roofs. Not worth even for free IMO.

littlewinglet

I hope it's not an April fool's joke, because at my MS costs, I could stamp out free nights for around $60 or less.

I've stayed at some pretty good mid-range Wyndham hotels in otherwise expensive destinations. This could be the next Club Carlson-like deal, but with hopefully larger world footprint of properties.

iflyjetz

I repeat. I asked the OP specifically what he was looking for in hotels. It's pretty obvious what his target hotel is. So rather than give the OP useful information, you've chosen to make this a thread all about Club Carlson because you think it's the best hotel MS credit card, even though the OP clearly had no intention of staying at a Club Carlson.
If the thread were titled 'What's a nutritious drink?' and the OP later disclosed that he was lactose intolerant, you'd continually scream that MILK's a nutritious drink. True, but it's not a proper solution. Just as Club Carlson credit card is a good hotel MS card, it does not fit the OP's needs. Your repeated response: but the OP simply asked the best hotel MS card, not the best for his particular needs in the title.

pointchaser93

I agree and will probably start MSing an SPG amex. With no bonus categories there is no point in putting much regular spend on an SPG card. However the points are so valuable and flexible almost everyone wants more of them. Therefore it's a great card to MS. With the 25% bonus for 20k point transfers, it's really a 1.25 earning rate, which isn't bad for non-bonus category spend. I'd like to transfer points to AS to book tickets to Asia on their amazing partner award charts.

sosamo

A lot of great info. I think pretty much what I am looking for in the hotel I am staying at is for the "wow" factor or....(a little vain), but for my SO's friends to say,"wow..she's staying there, her man is spoiling her". So I know that the high price doesn't mean it's a better hotel than the lower priced one.

Right now I am Msing a little from each card: SPG (only 2k CL), Hilton, and Hyatt.

I would Ms Carlson, but I don't have the card, and was denied already.

sosamo

The Wyndham 15k a night thing is intriguing. I will look into that

iflyjetz

If you had answered that you were looking for something other than top tier hotels, I would have recommended Club Carlson but it's not a good fit for your planned vacation.

Do not discount the value of status (depending on the program). I recommended the Hilton credit cards because you can get Diamond through the card. I've totally spoiled my wife and daughter with hotel status perks.
Keep an eye on Hyatt. There's rumblings that they may award Diamond with $50K annual spend. If they do that, it would be huge. Diamonds get 4 suite upgrade certs per year, lounge access, and free breakfast. I've found Hyatt's elite treatment to be better than Marriott, Hilton, and Starwood.

Very intriguing.

sosamo

I guess I should have worked on getting Diamond for Hilton...too late now that I am leaving for Europe next week. I didn't bother trying to get Diamond since many said there isn't a big benefit between Gold and Diamond. Could have MS 40k in about 2-4 months. Oh Well...

Too bad I lowered my CL on the Hyatt from 21k to 5k I will take longer to MS 50k if that change every happen with Diamond Status.

Wyndham, Cabo San Lucas, would be one of my choices to use the 15k per night award.

Wyndham CC is Barclay?....nevermind. I won't get approved. I was lucky that they approved me for an Arrival+ recently (had to move credit line around) when I still had the US Airways, and Arrival.

farwest101

I disagree. I'd spend more than one night at Versailles if one is going to make the effort, when the alternative is an easy day trip on the SNCF trains from Paris (just pay attention on the weekends as some lines don't run). About an hour each way and a reasonably pleasant ~15 minute walk to Versailles.

Hilton has the Waldorf Trianon Palace at Versailles - looks like a nice property with good reviews. Number 1 on TripAdvisor. That's where I'd use my HH points with my Diamond status courtesy of MSing on the Surpass....

sosamo

Mannn..Now I am kinda kicking myself for not trying for Hilton Diamond, which is very doable. Staying at 3 Hilton in Europe. Hilton Stucky Milano, Hilton Florence Metropole, and WA in Rome Live and Learn.

I saw on the other tread. The Wardorf Astoria in Rome doesn't provide free breakfast for Gold status?

rtraveler

The Stucky Molino is nice because they provide free shuttle service to the main island. They have free breakfast and snacks in the afternoon. The rooftop pool was nice too. The WA Rome has the best free breakfast buffet I ever saw. I was gold and it was free. The location is not great because you have to take the shuttle to city center but it was nice.