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One of our Summer 2014 family trips was a road trip from our home in Pennsylvania to New England. We visited Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, and Vermont, staying for 10 nights along the way. We were able to make this trip happen thanks to our hotel points. Although there are certainly much more charming and interesting places to stay in New England (and pretty much anywhere, for that matter), we would not have been able to pay out of pocket for those 10 nights and do all of the other trips that we planned for 2014. This is how using hotel points made this trip possible for our family (and also for our friends, who did the same exact thing as us).
The trip and our itinerary worked out really well. I will go into details about things to do and places to visit in another post. In this post, I will detail which hotels we stayed in along the way.
When: August 2014
Who: 2 families. Our family of 2 adults and 2 kids (ages 8 & 10) and our friends with 2 adults and 3 kids (ages 9, 9 & 2)
Where: This map below was our road trip route:
New England Hotels Using Points
1. Hyatt Place Mystic, CT
The Hyatt Place in Mystic is a Hyatt category 3 hotel, which means that it is 12,000 points or 6,000 + $75. We were in the process of completing the Hyatt Diamond Trial, so we used the points + cash option in order for our stay to count as a qualifying night. It is also possible to use the annual free night certificate that we get from having the Hyatt credit card, but we used ours in Seattle this year.
Because of the location of this hotel, in a desirable vacation destination (especially in summer), the prices tend to be very high. They also often have 2 night weekend minimums. These were the paid prices for the dates we visited:
Hyatt Places Mystic price (that we did NOT pay) for 2 nights
Quick Hotel Review: It was a typical Hyatt Place, but a clean and friendly one at that. If you are unfamiliar with the Hyatt Place brand, you can read more about it here. Personally, I like Hyatt Place hotels for family travel. They have more space than a typical standard hotel room (ours had 2 double beds & a large sofa). The free breakfast is decent. The Hyatt Place in Mystic is in a very good location for visiting some of the tourist sites (Mystic Village is really close, and Mystic Seaport is right down the street – we were able to walk). When we went into the town of Mystic for the evening to walk around & eat dinner, we drove. I really liked the hotel & location and would definitely stay there again.
2. Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel, NH
This Sheraton is an SPG Category 4 hotel, which was 10,000 SPG points per night. Cash + points was not available at the time of our booking. We booked into a standard room with 2 double beds. At check in, I was offered club level because of my SPG Gold status. This is not standard for this hotel, however. Our friends (who checked in before we did) are also SPG Gold and were not given access to the club. They were not given free breakfast or any other amenities. This is the paid price for the room we were given:
Quick Hotel Review: I have mixed feelings about this hotel. If I had actually paid the above price, I would have been disappointed. Considering that we were able to use points, I think it was a good use of those points. The location is excellent. We were able to walk into the adorable town of Portsmouth & to Prescott Park (which was great). There are tons of restaurants and cute shops very close by. The rooms are very small and basic. The club is not very nice at all, and the woman working there was downright mean. It is very small, with very limited seating. The gym was tiny, but all I wanted was a treadmill, so it worked out for me. There is an indoor pool that the kids enjoyed. There are other chain hotels in Portsmouth, so I don’t think I would stay here again if the others were a good option.
3. Hyatt Place Portland, ME
This is a new Hyatt Place, right in the heart of Portland, Maine. It is the same Hyatt Place style as the one in Mystic, but in a city setting. It was extremely clean, and was a fabulous use of Hyatt points (8,000 points for a Category 2 – no points+ cash was available at the time of our booking). The paid nights were extremely expensive when I checked for our night. I would NEVER pay that much, but this just illustrates the point:
Quick Hotel Review: The hotel itself was new and very clean. As I said above, I like the Hyatt Place brand for family travel. The room was large, bright, and made good use of space. There isn’t enough storage for clothes, but we were not staying very long so it didn’t matter for us. We had a room with 2 double beds and the extra seating area with a large sleeper sofa. The location of this hotel is excellent, right in the heart of downtown Portland and within walking distance to tons of restaurants and bars. I had read reviews of noise because of location, but we did not have that issue at all (we asked for a quiet room). I would stay here again in a heartbeat, and would love to go back to Portland to spend more time there.
4. Bar Harbor Regency (aka Holiday Inn Resort Bar Harbor – Acadia National Park), Maine
I have so much to say about this hotel that I will be doing a separate review. What I will say here is that we used IHG points to stay here for 3 nights. At 35,000 points it was a lot, but the summer rates were really high (over $300 per night + tax). And Bar Harbor hotel choices are much more limited than they should be. This hotel was originally (and kind of still is) the Bar Harbor Regency. It is now a Holiday Inn, although almost all of the signs and printed material only say Bar Harbor Regency. The good news about that is the ability to use points for a stay at a hotel near Acadia National Park. The location was decent for visiting the park. It was a short drive into the town of Bar Harbor. It was one of the strangest hotels I have ever visited….stay tuned for a detailed review.
5. Holiday Inn Express & Suites, White River Junction, VT
We booked this hotel using one of our annual free night certificates from the IHG credit card (the $49 annual fee gets you a ‘free’ night each year). It wasn’t the best use of the certificate, but we had to cancel the night we had booked with it somewhere else (that’s another story) & it was expiring anyway. The nice thing about it was that this hotel has several different room types, including 2 room suites. We were able to choose any available room, even though the paid prices were all different. We obviously chose the largest suite available (it was going for around $200 + tax for our night).
Quick Hotel Review: I was pleasantly surprised by how nice this hotel was. We were only there for one night, but it had a large kitchen in the suite, which was nice. The hotel itself was very clean and updated. The free breakfast was decent. The staff was very friendly. The location worked out perfectly for us along our route. It is not in any town (it’s off of a highway), but it is close to lots of great places, like Woodstock, VT (a beautiful little town).
6. Hyatt House Hartford North/Windsor, CT
This hotel choice was purely based on us looking for a Hyatt hotel along our route (to break up our drive home from Vermont). We wanted to get the Hyatt night credit for our Diamond Trial (as mentioned above). The rates were higher than expected (see below for why), so we used the points + cash option (4,000 points + $55 for a Category 2 hotel) instead of paying outright.
Quick Hotel Review: We got there late, after a long day of traveling. There was a huge gathering happening at the hotel, which was kind of shocking considering it seemed more like a business hotel in a very random location. The hotel was packed. I have never seen a hotel so crowded with tons of kids running around in the lobby and probably close to 60 kids in the small hotel pool. The staff were so friendly, but completely overwhelmed by the chaos that was taking place. They gave us a room & said that it was away from the group. Because the hotel was booked up, there were no upgrades available. We were given a room with a king bed and a sleeper sofa. There were no blankets for the sleeper sofa in the room, and when we called down to the desk we were told that there was a waiting list for blankets because every room had so many kids that they were overwhelmed with requests for extra blankets. We gave our kids the blanket from the king bed, and decided we would be cold for the night (ugh!). A while later, a nice gentleman knocked on the door & gave us a comforter that he dug up from who knows where (I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually drove home and got it from his house or something). Overall, this hotel stay was a very odd experience. It was our first night in a Hyatt House. I really liked the brand. There was a large kitchen & the room was very nice. The free breakfast was decent too. I have since stayed in another Hyatt House (for the Family Travel for Real Life event) & really liked it a lot. If we are in a location with a Hyatt House in the future, I would not hesitate to stay, especially with a family.
The post Using Hotel Points for a New England Road Trip appeared first on The American Travel Project.
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The trip and our itinerary worked out really well. I will go into details about things to do and places to visit in another post. In this post, I will detail which hotels we stayed in along the way.
When: August 2014
Who: 2 families. Our family of 2 adults and 2 kids (ages 8 & 10) and our friends with 2 adults and 3 kids (ages 9, 9 & 2)
Where: This map below was our road trip route:
New England Hotels Using Points
1. Hyatt Place Mystic, CT
The Hyatt Place in Mystic is a Hyatt category 3 hotel, which means that it is 12,000 points or 6,000 + $75. We were in the process of completing the Hyatt Diamond Trial, so we used the points + cash option in order for our stay to count as a qualifying night. It is also possible to use the annual free night certificate that we get from having the Hyatt credit card, but we used ours in Seattle this year.
Because of the location of this hotel, in a desirable vacation destination (especially in summer), the prices tend to be very high. They also often have 2 night weekend minimums. These were the paid prices for the dates we visited:
Hyatt Places Mystic price (that we did NOT pay) for 2 nights
Quick Hotel Review: It was a typical Hyatt Place, but a clean and friendly one at that. If you are unfamiliar with the Hyatt Place brand, you can read more about it here. Personally, I like Hyatt Place hotels for family travel. They have more space than a typical standard hotel room (ours had 2 double beds & a large sofa). The free breakfast is decent. The Hyatt Place in Mystic is in a very good location for visiting some of the tourist sites (Mystic Village is really close, and Mystic Seaport is right down the street – we were able to walk). When we went into the town of Mystic for the evening to walk around & eat dinner, we drove. I really liked the hotel & location and would definitely stay there again.
2. Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel, NH
This Sheraton is an SPG Category 4 hotel, which was 10,000 SPG points per night. Cash + points was not available at the time of our booking. We booked into a standard room with 2 double beds. At check in, I was offered club level because of my SPG Gold status. This is not standard for this hotel, however. Our friends (who checked in before we did) are also SPG Gold and were not given access to the club. They were not given free breakfast or any other amenities. This is the paid price for the room we were given:
Quick Hotel Review: I have mixed feelings about this hotel. If I had actually paid the above price, I would have been disappointed. Considering that we were able to use points, I think it was a good use of those points. The location is excellent. We were able to walk into the adorable town of Portsmouth & to Prescott Park (which was great). There are tons of restaurants and cute shops very close by. The rooms are very small and basic. The club is not very nice at all, and the woman working there was downright mean. It is very small, with very limited seating. The gym was tiny, but all I wanted was a treadmill, so it worked out for me. There is an indoor pool that the kids enjoyed. There are other chain hotels in Portsmouth, so I don’t think I would stay here again if the others were a good option.
3. Hyatt Place Portland, ME
This is a new Hyatt Place, right in the heart of Portland, Maine. It is the same Hyatt Place style as the one in Mystic, but in a city setting. It was extremely clean, and was a fabulous use of Hyatt points (8,000 points for a Category 2 – no points+ cash was available at the time of our booking). The paid nights were extremely expensive when I checked for our night. I would NEVER pay that much, but this just illustrates the point:
Quick Hotel Review: The hotel itself was new and very clean. As I said above, I like the Hyatt Place brand for family travel. The room was large, bright, and made good use of space. There isn’t enough storage for clothes, but we were not staying very long so it didn’t matter for us. We had a room with 2 double beds and the extra seating area with a large sleeper sofa. The location of this hotel is excellent, right in the heart of downtown Portland and within walking distance to tons of restaurants and bars. I had read reviews of noise because of location, but we did not have that issue at all (we asked for a quiet room). I would stay here again in a heartbeat, and would love to go back to Portland to spend more time there.
4. Bar Harbor Regency (aka Holiday Inn Resort Bar Harbor – Acadia National Park), Maine
I have so much to say about this hotel that I will be doing a separate review. What I will say here is that we used IHG points to stay here for 3 nights. At 35,000 points it was a lot, but the summer rates were really high (over $300 per night + tax). And Bar Harbor hotel choices are much more limited than they should be. This hotel was originally (and kind of still is) the Bar Harbor Regency. It is now a Holiday Inn, although almost all of the signs and printed material only say Bar Harbor Regency. The good news about that is the ability to use points for a stay at a hotel near Acadia National Park. The location was decent for visiting the park. It was a short drive into the town of Bar Harbor. It was one of the strangest hotels I have ever visited….stay tuned for a detailed review.
5. Holiday Inn Express & Suites, White River Junction, VT
We booked this hotel using one of our annual free night certificates from the IHG credit card (the $49 annual fee gets you a ‘free’ night each year). It wasn’t the best use of the certificate, but we had to cancel the night we had booked with it somewhere else (that’s another story) & it was expiring anyway. The nice thing about it was that this hotel has several different room types, including 2 room suites. We were able to choose any available room, even though the paid prices were all different. We obviously chose the largest suite available (it was going for around $200 + tax for our night).
Quick Hotel Review: I was pleasantly surprised by how nice this hotel was. We were only there for one night, but it had a large kitchen in the suite, which was nice. The hotel itself was very clean and updated. The free breakfast was decent. The staff was very friendly. The location worked out perfectly for us along our route. It is not in any town (it’s off of a highway), but it is close to lots of great places, like Woodstock, VT (a beautiful little town).
6. Hyatt House Hartford North/Windsor, CT
This hotel choice was purely based on us looking for a Hyatt hotel along our route (to break up our drive home from Vermont). We wanted to get the Hyatt night credit for our Diamond Trial (as mentioned above). The rates were higher than expected (see below for why), so we used the points + cash option (4,000 points + $55 for a Category 2 hotel) instead of paying outright.
Quick Hotel Review: We got there late, after a long day of traveling. There was a huge gathering happening at the hotel, which was kind of shocking considering it seemed more like a business hotel in a very random location. The hotel was packed. I have never seen a hotel so crowded with tons of kids running around in the lobby and probably close to 60 kids in the small hotel pool. The staff were so friendly, but completely overwhelmed by the chaos that was taking place. They gave us a room & said that it was away from the group. Because the hotel was booked up, there were no upgrades available. We were given a room with a king bed and a sleeper sofa. There were no blankets for the sleeper sofa in the room, and when we called down to the desk we were told that there was a waiting list for blankets because every room had so many kids that they were overwhelmed with requests for extra blankets. We gave our kids the blanket from the king bed, and decided we would be cold for the night (ugh!). A while later, a nice gentleman knocked on the door & gave us a comforter that he dug up from who knows where (I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually drove home and got it from his house or something). Overall, this hotel stay was a very odd experience. It was our first night in a Hyatt House. I really liked the brand. There was a large kitchen & the room was very nice. The free breakfast was decent too. I have since stayed in another Hyatt House (for the Family Travel for Real Life event) & really liked it a lot. If we are in a location with a Hyatt House in the future, I would not hesitate to stay, especially with a family.
Our New England road trip was one of our favorite family travel experiences we’ve had, and we could not have afforded it without using our hotel points to make it happen. It is just another reason why I love this hobby!
The post Using Hotel Points for a New England Road Trip appeared first on The American Travel Project.
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