SacTownGuy

What's the best cat 4 within 2 hours of NYC?

allset2travel

JW Beijing, JW Grand Rapids, Ren Bangkok.

Alas, JW Nagoya was bumped up from Cat4 to 5.

ljknecht570

FS Long Beach Marriott is great. Offer breakfast voucher on weekends for golds and plats.

JJOTraveler

Doing the same thing as the OP - 3 free 1-4 nights, plus 200K points over Dec 18-Jan2 - any idea's suggestions welcome....

I checked into the BKK, and Bucharest (wife won't do Moscow/Russia with 2 kids in winter)

The only catch I am dealing with, is that is has to be somewhere on the AA world flies to....

Thanks in advance....
JJO

ridgepath

Also are there any to avoid? Thanks

TvlPeach

Not sure what "not south" means. If you want info on just Atlanta properties, the Marriott Marquis is a cat 4 and it's a decent property. What part of Atlanta are you trying to be in or close to?

CJKatl

Agree that the Marquis downtown is the best Level 4 property in ATL.

The Buckhead Marriott isn't the greatest hotel, but its location across the street from Lenox Square and close to Phipps and MARTA would be a plus for many people.

The Waverly is pretty nice, too, if you don't mind being all the way up in that area.

Retired FF

I am a Marriott PLAT and will be staying at the Marriott Marquis for 4 nights during Easter weekend with a mix of paid and cert. stays. There will be lots of friends staying at other nearby hotels to attend the same wedding as us. Would love to be able to get a 1 BR suite to have some extra space for when friends might drop in.
How is the Marquis for upgrades and does any one have email of the GM so that I can drop a line in advance to request an upgrade!! Thanks in advance..

lbayne

We're thinking about taking a vacation to the LA area in August. We're interested in doing a lot of the "touristy" things - Universal Studios, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Disneyland, etc.

I have 2 Category 4 certificates and 1 Category 5 certificate. What suggestions do you have for where to stay? I know absolutely nothing about the area.

I've read a lot of recommendations for the Renaissance Hollywood. Are any of the Category 4 hotels in the LA area worth it? Or should I use my certificates for other purposes and just pay for the room in LA?

Thanks!

SkiAdcock

Ren Hollywood is a Cat 6. Residence Inn Bev Hills is a Cat 5, as is Courtyard LA/Bev Hills. RI gets good reviews.

Are you Gold or Plat? Presumably you'll have family w/ you.

I'd probably use the certs just to save $$, as LA area hotels can be pricey. Hard to tell w/o knowing your dates.

I used a Cat 4 at LAX Renaissance. Decent property & if you use it during the week days, the exec lounge is open for food/drink. And it's not far from the freeway, so that you could hop on to go down to Disneyland or head up to Universal. Parking's a bit pricey, unless you find a place on the street. There's also a Townplace Suites & Springhill Suites in Manhattan Beach (both Cat 3s) that are also close to freeway, so easy to hop on/off. Free parking.

And if you're interested in the beach, you're only 10 minutes away at all 3 properties. Downtown Manhattan Beach, the pier, the sand etc is fun. Also the AVP pro volleyball tourney is usually in MB during August.

Cheers.

dbuckho

I have used some Cat 4 certs for family at the Courtyard Westside, Courtyard Marina Del Rey, and Courtyard Sherman Oaks (the first two closer to me in Santa Monica, the latter closer to my brother in the valley). LA is very spread out, so you will probably be driving quite a bit anyways. All three of these have relatively good access to the roads. None of them are in the middle of the action like the Ren Hollywood - but as mentioned LA hotel rooms can be pricey, so using the certs here is a decent value.

I think the Courtyard in Long Beach is also a Cat 3. A little bit farther from the main LA activities, but Long Beach has the aquarium and many restaurants, plus you listed Disney on your attraction list. So that might be a decent base to explore the area from and splitting a little of the distance between LA and Orange County.

TvlPeach

Stayed there approx 2 years ago to attend my son's college graduation. Hubby is and was Plat at the time. It was over a weekend and other than taking points other than a Plat arrival gift, there were no perks to being a Plat. We were put on the executive lounge floor but the lounge was closed for our entire visit and our room was a standard size---on the small side. We also had others with us and the best we could do was to congregate in the lobby area to visit. We had just returned from a trip to Paris where the Rive Gauche had treated us like royalty two weeks prior so the sparse Plat treatment was a disappointment but technically they didn't have to do anymore than they did. Since you are there 4 nights, you should be able to use the lounge part of your visit. We used points for our stay at the Marquis btw.

Retired FF

hmm, that does not sound too promising..I was aware of the lounge being closed, so have booked a bkfst. rate for a couple nights and the other two are using cat-4 certs. I had received from an earlier promotion..I will try to find the GMs email address and drop a line before going and will hope for the best. Thanks for your response...

TvlPeach

I wish you better luck than us. We told the hotel in advance that we were there for a family celebration. Then upon checkin, rode the elevator with one of the managers. We asked very nicely why the lack of amenities for Plats and he very curtly told us that they didn't do that. Of course, that was almost two years ago but just want you to be surprised in a positive way not negative if that makes sense. This hotel seems to handle a lot of groups and sometimes I've noticed at hotels that handle groups, the group leaders tend to get the upgraded rooms.

Retired FF

will let you know if we have a better luck at an upgrade...