Home » Hotel Groups » Marriott Bonvoy (Page 12)
Category Archives: Marriott Bonvoy
My review of the Glasgow Marriott Hotel
After spending two nights at the Kimpton, I ran out of money and had to move to the Marriott hotel instead. The front desk staff couldn’t stop rolling his eyes when I told him so, and I can’t blame him after finding out how distasteful the Marriott actually is!
The hotel itself isn’t too far from the city centre, which is about 15 minutes’ walk. However the neighbourhood is dire, as the only view you can expect is the equally ugly Hilton hotel next door and a few high roads. There’s no shop or restaurant within easy reach.
The hotel is very tired and I didn’t bother to take many photos. Here’s how my Executive Room looks like:
Its only difference to a standard room, as suggested by some frequent guests on Flyertalk, is this fancy cactus plant:
Even by (the low) UK standard the hotel is way past its glory and in terrible need of refurbishment. It’s said that its management team has started promising a refurb ten years ago, but obviously nothing has happened at all since then.
Breakfast service is resumed in the Cast Iron restaurant starting on my second day.
Scottish breakfast buffet is served by the staff. I like haggis but hate black pudding.
The club lounge is closed and I got a few drink vouchers as a compensation.
This was the first weekend after lockdown was eased in Scotland. Whereas the Kimpton was selling for almost £300 and later sold out, the Marriott cost me only about £80 a night and the hotel is pretty empty throughout my stay. Can’t say I’m surprised and I’m sure that I’m not going to return, however it’s unfortunate that not many hotels from Marriott are present at Glasgow.
Marriott status challenge offer is back
Historically Marriott has offered status challenge opportunities to its members as a way to achieve higher status faster. The route was shut after the SPG merger, and a status match initiative was alive for a short while as an alternative last year. It appears though, that the status challenge has finally made its way back.
Marriott has an official service account on Wechat in China, which has shared the following information (HT @Invic)：
To participate, you must call Marriott’s customer service to enrol. Upon registration, you have 90 days to complete the status challenge.
- The promotion started on May 18
- You must have had at least one eligible stay with Marriott in the past
- You need 8 qualifying nights within the 90 days to upgrade to Gold, or 16 nights for Platinum
- Only paid nights count; Homes & Villas and Marriott Executive Apartments are excluded
Note that your status won’t be upgraded until you have completed the challenge, and if successful, it will be valid through February 2023.
It usually requires 50 nights to achieve Marriott’s Platinum status, and 16 nights is a good discount. Considering the substantial benefits that come with it, don’t forget to sign up if you have upcoming stays with Marriott.
My review of Kimpton Glasgow Blythswood Square
When the lockdown was over(-ish) in Scotland and Wales, I couldn’t wait to get out of London and have a change of scenary in Glasgow!
There are a few hotels to pick from in Glasgow, and Kimpton Blythswood Square appears to be the outstanding choice, seeing its eye-watering high rate! Thanks to the Ambassador BOGOF voucher that’s still sitting in my IHG account, I paid half price for the two-night stay, which drags the rate down to the level of the Marriott, Hilton and Crowne Plaza.
The hotel is conveniently located in the city centre, only five-minute’s walk away from the busiest areas, although admittedly the streets can be quite hilly sometimes.
The hotel has a very classy interior design. Compare to Kimpton Edinburgh, the hotel reminds me of the Principal York more due to it being larger, although my stay at the latter was a real disaster.
As a Spire elite member, I’m upgraded to a Deluxe Room with Garden view, which is the best non-suite room category of the hotel. Not a bad result for IHG, as they are usually less generous compared to Marriott or Hilton.
Measuring 40 sqm the room is quite spacious, but apparently worn in many parts.
I like the big bath tub.
Two bottles of water and shortbread as a welcome gift:
Nice view of the Blythswood Garden from my room. Unfortunately it’s a private garden and you can’t get in.
Hotel guests can book the hotel’s spa (“thermal experience”) for free either via the website or front desk. So far it is the BEST spa I’ve ever experienced in Europe. My phone’s camera is too bad for this so here are some stock photos from the hotel’s website:
Sauna and steam rooms are still closed due to restrictions. The Jacuzzi is amazing though:
Breakfast is £14 pp and I didn’t go for it.
Although a bit dated, the hotel is still pretty decent and I don’t doubt it being the best accommodation option in the city of Glasgow. Try to come here on a weekday though, as weekend rates are very expensive and it may be hard to get a spa slot when the occupancy is high.
Marriott points 30% off discount
If you are short of some Marriott points to make a good redemption, a decent sale has just commenced.
You can access the offer page here. Buy at least 2,000 points to take advantage of the 30%-off discount, and the offer runs until June 20. The maximum points you can buy annually has been doubled to 100,000 points for 2021.
1,000 points works out at $8.75 under this offer, which converts into £6.23. On the face of it, 30% off is a better deal compared to the 40%-bonus offer in February, but worse than the 50%- of 60%-bonus offers that we’ve seen a few times last year.
However, don’t forget that Pound Sterling is very strong against USD at the moment, and the points are actually cheaper this around compared to when we saw 50% bonus last year. It may not be a bad time to top up your Marriott account if you are looking to redeem soon.
You could also read my posts about redeeming your points for UK and European hotels, although they may not be very up to date…
Sheraton London Park Lane Grand Suite for £280
Sheraton Grand London Park London is having a “secret sale”, should you be interested in staying in a big suite in central London!
To book, simply visit the hotel’s website and search for any date. The rate should pop up if the suite hasn’t been booked out yet, and it’s available on many dates including next year.
You’ll need to look under the Prepay & save tab. The best room available in the hotel, Grand Suite, is only selling at under £300 which is the same as a standard room. People have reported seeing as low as £217, and the original rate is ~£2000.
You can expect a 1000-sqft one-bedroom suite, overlooking Green Park with executive lounge access.
By “secret sale”, I was referring to an error fare of course as the hotel definitely didn’t put out such a low fare on purpose. The rate is non-refundable if cancelled more than 1 day after your booking, although changeable until 2 days prior to arrival.
To be honest, the hotel is unlikely to honour the reservation and may just reach out to cancel it soon, however you could try your luck and see what happens if you are truly interested.
Are There Any Good Deals at Hotel Week London?
In a bid to encourage (domestic) travellers to visit and stay in London, the capital city is hosting a Hotel Week London event which intends to offer some attractive hotel deals.
You could find more information here. The event is from May 28 to June 6, although most hotels will run the promotion for stays up until the end of June.
There are around 30 participating hotels at the moment, most of which belonging to major hotel groups such as Hilton and Marriott, together with a handful of independently operated ones.
Before you get too excited, I’d recommend to read through the terms as many of the so-called deals are laughable. Novotel Canary Wharf wants £189 for a standard room – without breakfast even, and the hotel was typically priced at under £100 for a weekend night pre-Covid. Pullman St Pancras, which is also an Accor hotel, has an asking price starting from £190, and it usually sells for circa £120 during sales.
That said, there are still a few highlights that may be interesting.
100 Queen’s Gate, a Hilton Curio Collection Hotel
- Book a two-bed Family Room, and enjoy a complimentary second night
- Upgrade to Duplex Suite Family Room subject to availability
- Free breakfast for up to 4 pp
- £50 hotel credit per stay
- Guaranteed late check-out
You can book on Hilton’s website directly for the first night, and then contact the hotel to add the second. The price I was quoted was £462, which isn’t bad for the package.
London Marriott Hotel Park Lane (Rate Code 12092)
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel (Rate Code 12092)
- 25% off if you book two rooms
- Includes breakfast, early check-in and late check-out
- Complimentary upgrade to Executive Room for the first room
Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill
- 20% off Best Flexible Rate
- Breakfast and £25 hotel credit included
- 10am check-in and 6pm check-out
The Tower Hotel (promo code LDNHOTELWEEK)
- Special price of £99 per night for a standard room
- Reduced price of £79 for May 28th, 29th and 30th
Earn Double Elite Night Credit on Marriott Reward Stays!
Marriott currently has a Q1 global promotion where you earn double elite night credits and points on paid stays. If you haven’t registered yet, sign up here.
Like all previous Marriott promotions, only paid stays are eligible for the bonus. There’s a trick to work around it this time though, if you read Marriott’s FAQ page:
Does a Cash and Points Stay qualify for this promotion?
A Cash and Point reservation for multiple nights comprising of both a paid rate and points.
Example:
Providing all Promotion terms were met and your Stay was for 6 Nights (5 Booked on Points and 1 Paid Night for a total of 6 Nights). You will earn a Bonus of 6 Elite Night Credits (5 for the Redemption Nights and 1 for the Paid Night) 6 for Base + 6 Bonus =12 Net Total. You will earn Double Points on the Paid Night
As it reads, your stay qualifies for double elite night credits as long as one of the nights is paid, and the rest can be on points. This is great news for reward stays.
To book such a cash and points stay, simply tick Use Points / Certificates when you book on marriott.com:
On the booking page, click Customise Payments and pick a day (with the cheapest rate) before proceeding:
All done! The cash rate appears to be equal to the lowest flexible rate available, which isn’t too bad. And of course it combines nicely with the “Buy 4 Get 1 Free” benefit for reward stays.
40% Bonus When You Buy Marriott Points
Marriott’s points sale is back, although not as good as the offers from last year.
You can access the offer here. Now through March 22, you can benefit from 40% bonus when you purchase at least 2,000 Marriott points, which is equivalent to 28% off. The purchase limit has also been doubled for 2021, which means you can buy up to 100,000 points (excluding bonus).
The unit price is the same no matter how many points you buy, and on the top end you can pay $1,250 for 140,000 points. This equates to $8.9 or £6.4 per 1,000 points.
The discount isn’t great, as we saw 50% and 60% bonus towards the end of the last year. It may still make sense to buy a few points though if you have immediate use of them, especially since the category change is taking place on March 3 soon.