TheAmericanTravelProject
Level 2 Member
So, you** have some IHG hotel certificates (or lots of points) because of their latest Into the Nights promotion and/or because of the Chase IHG card that gives you a ‘free’ night each year (after the $49 annual fee). And you have a spouse with the same amount of nights/points in his account. You weren’t sure if you should participate in these promotions because people that you don’t even know trust have varying opinions about whether or not this is ‘worth it’. And because they seem to think their ideas of worth are always correct, you doubt yourself. You need to do some research to figure out what is right for you, because you are the one who will be laying your head on that Holiday Inn pillow on 2 different Saturday nights (or at least checking into the hotel and leaving, after going in to the room to mess up the bed and make it look lived in. Just in case the hotel police decide that no one really stayed in that room last night). You decide that this is worth it to you.
But where are you going to go with all of these ‘free’ nights you have accumulated? You could stress yourself out about it. All the cool kids are using their nights at the bazillion dollar over water bungalows in exotic far away places. I mean, it’s the best value, right? But then you have to actually get there. And have the time and energy to fly for 17 hours with 2 young kids. Okay, plan B. You could go to Europe. There are tons of expensive places to use your nights there. And IHG hotels are known for being more family friendly, especially in European countries where many other hotel rooms are the size of a small doghouse. But then you remember that you have a goal to visit all 50 US states, and Europe isn’t part of the US (yet). So where, in the United States, can you find decent places to redeem these ‘free’ hotel nights? You don’t want to be one of those people who use theirs for an $80 a night hotel in a nowhere little town (even though that’s where your travel plans are taking you). You need to be smarter than that. You need to game the system and get the best.deal.ever for fear of losing your membership in the we-are-better-smarter-trickier-than-you-travel-club (otherwise known as flyertalk).
Well, my friend, you don’t have to fret. I have done all some of the research for you. If you are looking to use your nights for family travel with the USA, these are some options. Of course, it is impossible to put a value on these & I won’t even try. Your travel dates and circumstances will be different than mine, so the value of these ‘free’ nights will vary greatly. I have stayed at some of these places (using certs or points), and the value for us has always been really good. Some of the hotels were going from $300-400 per night on the nights that we stayed. Others are less expensive, and that’s OK too. You just have to do the math for your dates to decide if using points or certs makes sense.
Truth be told, when I am looking for IHG hotels, I am mostly focusing on the location. I have stayed enough times in each of their brands to pretty much know what I’m going to get. Some hotels are better maintained, cleaner, and friendlier than others, of course. I generally weed through Tripadvisor reviews to pick out any major issues (those reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt, but you get used to reading through them after a while & they can be helpful in a general way). I also like to browse through the photos on Tripadvisor because there are often hundreds of reviewer photos, which are more helpful and accurate than the professional photos taken by the hotels themselves.
As I was doing my (hours and hours of) research, I realized that there are tons of great choices. This post is specifically focused on family-friendly, USA beach locations. My other posts will focus on other types of locations. We typically travel during high season, which means school vacations and summer. That is when the rates tend to be highest and using points/rewards can be a great value.
IHG often runs promotions to make it potentially easy to earn nights/points. In case you are unaware of ways to earn these free nights with this current promotion, here are some of my favorite posts on the topic:
Also, you can (as of this writing) get 80,000 IHG points and a ‘free’ night each year (after $49 annual fee) with the Chase IHG card using this link. On the IHG website you will find a lesser offer, for only 60,000 points. My husband and I each had gotten and 80K card with that link & it was working at the time that we got the cards (things can change though, so I suggest you check this flyertalk thread for the latest info before applying).
IHG Hotels on the Beach -
(my criteria for this is oceanfront or very close to the beach)
- Holiday Inn Express Orange Beach (Alabama): Good reviews on Tripadvisor. Good location on the beach.
- Holiday Inn Laguna Beach (California): Good reviews on Tripadvisor. Good location right near the beach.
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites Pacifica (California): Good reviews on Tripadvisor. Good location on the beach with beautiful views. Near San Francisco
- Holiday Inn Express Port Hueneme (California): Very good review on Tripadvisor. Could be a good location for stopping on Pacific Coast Highway trip. Walk to beach.
- Crowne Plaza Ventura Beach (California): Decent Tripadvisor reviews. Great location on beach with great views. Older hotel.
- Holiday Inn Express Rehoboth Beach (Delaware): I have a soft spot for this place because I love Rehoboth Beach. We have stayed here and at other hotels in the area. While this isn’t the nicest hotel ever (it’s a typical older HIE), I do love the area. It is not on the beach, which is why I prefer the one in OC Maryland (see below), but I do prefer Rehoboth over Ocean City, so it’s a toss up. It’s a great deal to use points or reward certs here because hotels can be outrageously expensive on the East Coast shores & there are not tons of chain hotels. Tripadvisor reviews are decent.
- Holiday Inn Express Bethany Beach (Delaware): This is another beach town that I love, and it is close to Rehoboth. I haven’t stayed here, but have seen this hotel. It is within walking distance to the beach, but is not on the beach. The Tripadvisor reviews are very good.
- Holiday Inn Sanibel Island (Florida): We had booked this hotel using points at one time, but ended up staying somewhere else (Marco Island Hilton) on that trip. We did spend a day on Sanibel, and I am dying to go back. When we do, we will surely stay at this hotel, as it was a great value using rewards. The hotels (in prime season) are extremely expensive here, so this can be a major value. Tripadvisor reviews are good and indicate a great location on the beach.
- Holiday Inn Sarasota Lido Beach (Florida): Good Tripadvisor reviews. Older hotel, across from beach with ocean views
- Crowne Plaza Melbourne-Oceanfront (Florida): Great location right on the beach, older hotel, good Tripadvisor reviews
- Holiday Inn Club Vacations Cape Canaveral Beach Resort (Florida): I tend to like timeshare resorts because of the amenities, pools, and extra space the rooms usually have. I wouldn’t actually buy a timeshare, but I love using points for them. This one gets really good Tripadvisor reviews and looks to be in a good beach location.
- Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Clearwater Beach (Florida): I love this part of Florida, although the location in Indian Rocks is more laid back (but not on the beach). I haven’t stayed at this hotel, but have seen it. It is right on the beach and gets good reviews.
- Crowne Plaza Z Ocean Hotel South Beach Miami (Florida): Gets excellent reviews, and seems to be a great location. Can be pricey so rewards nights can be a great value.
- Holiday Inn Miami Beach – Oceanfront (Florida): Gets good reviews & seems to be a good, family friendly option. Location right on beach
- Holiday Inn Resort Fort Walton Beach (Florida): Gets very good reviews. Right on the beach. Has a neat looking pool.
- Holiday Inn Resort Panama City Beach (Florida): #1 of 43 hotels on Tripadvisor. This looks like a great beach hotel. In fact, I’d like to plan a trip here & this one is now on my list after doing this research.
- Holiday Inn Express Pensacola Beach (Florida): Excellent reviews, excellent location right on the beach. This one is going to the top of my list!
- Holiday Inn Resort Pensacola Beach Gulf Front (Florida): This one’s reviews are second only to the one above. Same location right on the beach, and this one has a lazy river.
- Holiday Inn Resort Jekyll Island (Georgia): This is a new hotel opening January 2015 & looks to be a great location (and in a place I’ve been wanting to visit)
- Holiday Inn Resort Waikiki Beachcomber (Hawaii): Great reviews mention location as a positive to this hotel. We’ve stayed at a different hotel very close by & the location was great.
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites Ocean City (Maryland): We have stayed at this hotel several times, and it is a great value in the summer using points. We have stayed with friends while they paid $400+ per night and we paid nothing. There are a few Holiday Inns in this area, and this is definitely the best one. It is right on the boardwalk/beach with a fun pool. All of the rooms are suites. We have been given upgrades to oceanview every time we have stayed.
- Holiday Inn Wrightsville Beach (North Carolina): This looks like an excellent location, right on a beautiful beach. The reviews are very good also.
- Holiday Inn Resort Beach House Hilton Head (South Carolina) : We stayed at this hotel a few years ago, and it is a fabulous location right on the beach in Hilton Head (which is a great place, and we really want to go back). The reviews are good as well.
- Holiday Inn Oceanfront Surfside Beach ( South Carolina): This looks like an OK hotel, but it’s in a great location right on the beach. It’s in a place that we’ve been wanting to visit, and the reviews say that the location is really fabulous.
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites South Padre Island (Texas):This hotels gets great reviews and is in a beach location in a place that we would like to visit
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites Port Aransas Beach Area (Texas): I’m not sure about this one because of the mixed reviews, and I don’t know much about this area. It is within walking distance to the beach, so I included it on my list.
- Holiday Inn Club Vacations Galveston Beach Resort (Texas): This hotel gets excellent reviews and is in a place that I would like to visit. I also like the Vacation Club properties because they tend to have a lot to do for kids & good pools.
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites Rockport (Texas): This hotel gets really good reviews, and it is within walking distance to the beach.
- Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Virginia Beach – North Beach (Virginia): There are a few choices in Virginia Beach. This one gets the highest rating among them on Tripadvisor. We’ve been wanting to take a trip to Virginia Beach, so this is an option for us.
- Holiday Inn Virginia Beach Oceanside (Virginia): Another Virginia Beach choice with very good reviews.
- Holiday Inn Express & Suites Virginia Beach Oceanfront (Virginia): Yet another Virginia Beach choice with very good reviews.
**when I say ‘you’, I actually mean me
The post Best Places in the USA to use your IHG Free Nights – Beaches appeared first on The American Travel Project.
Continue reading...