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My review of Palace Hotel, San Francisco
I spent my first two nights in San Francisco at the InterContinental hotel, and for a change of scenery I’m moving to the Palace Hotel from Luxury Collection for the third night. Thanks to the $200 credit from my U.S. Amex Platinum card, I paid just over $100 for the FHR stay.
The general manager sent me a few emails before my stay to ask for any special requests and offer some general information. He sent me another email to ask for any feedback on the day I checked out. Although many people may find it unnecessary, I think it’s a nice touch to show that the hotel cares.
Palace hotel is not far from the InterContinental, and right next to the Montgomery metro station. However, I find its location more handy than the InterContinental, as it’s closer to the metro station, and walkable to more local attractions including the Chinatown.
The building and its lobby have an ordinary look. The agent who checks me in is very familiar with the FHR benefits. In fact if you are Marriott Platinum or above, the main add-on is just the $100 on-property credit. Some hotels (especially in the U.S.) refuse to honour Marriott benefits when you prepay your FHR booking because it’s backed by Expedia, but this time she explicitly offers me the 1,000 welcome points since breakfast is already included.
A truffle chocolate box is offered to me as a welcome gift, then another two white chocolates at the turndown service.
The serenity of the guest room areas is reminiscent of my stay at St Regis New York.
I fared a free upgrade to the Junior Suite. I had thought about using a suite night award here, but then the so-called Superior Suite is only 480sqt, so I backed off.
When you enter the room, there’s a walk-in wardrobe on the left.
Overall the room looks very classy, and the (oversize) bed is quite comfy. The bathroom has no tub, but does have a Washlet seat which isn’t commonly seen even at five-star hotels.
Slippers are quite fluffy.
I assume it’s a board game?
The hotel has only nine floors and I’m on the fifth. If you expect a view, then the InterContinental hotel is a much better option.
You have to give some credits to their guest room, but the most prestigious thing about this hotel is far more than that. Right next to the lobby there’s an extensive and glamorous gallery:
And there’s some memorabilia on display, which tells the history of the Palace Hotel. It may remind you of museum – and there is indeed a small museum, named Landmark 18, in the gallery.
When it opened in 1875, the Palace Hotel was the biggest hotel in the world. Unfortunately the hotel was hit by a fire in 1906 and it took three years’ restoration for the hotel to reopen. In 1954 it became a Sheraton hotel and a lot of its original features were lost to accommodate the brand standard, which was then reverted in 1973 when the hotel was finally purchased by the Japanese Kyo-Ya group.
The most stunning piece of the hotel has to be the Garden Court restaurant, which became a landmark of San Francisco in 1969.
Many people come here for the afternoon tea experience, and I’m here for breakfast. FHR comes with $30 credit per person, and as I’m travelling solo that’s $60 for myself. I thought it would buy me loads of food until I saw the menu:
Yogurt for $6 and orange juice / coffee for $8, so $60 doesn’t really get you far at all, and don’t forget the tips. I didn’t notice the buffet option at the top for $43, which is probably what I should have gone for.
The $100 FHR credit can be spent at the Pied Piper restaurant, which is famous for that painting. I ordered some chicken wings and a steak, which came to 90-odd dollars including taxes and tips. If you are travelling with a partner, the $160 credit is just enough for the breakfast buffet plus a couple of drinks.
The swimming pool is on the fourth floor. Similar to the Garden Court it has a nice glass dom.
But the pool is only 1.2m metre deep, so more like a children’s playground.
The jacuzzi is broken, although the water is still warm…
Sadly there’s no sauna or steam room.
The Palace Hotel is a landmark of San Francisco, full of history, and a hotel well worth experiencing. If you happen to be in the city, I recommend popping in and have a look even if you don’t stay at this hotel.
Marriott’s dynamic pricing starts to bite (hard)
Marriott introduced Flexible Redemption Pricing for stays commencing this year, and per our recent observation it didn’t hit us that hard. It turns out that we were being too optimistic though, as some properties have seen a massive hike in redemption price overnight.
According to a Wechat tracking application that my friend maintains, JW Marriott Shenzhen has just broken their original 20K cap by a huge margin:
The property has gone up to 51,000 points on certain nights, which is a 155% increase overnight. It sets a precedent in the Marriott Bonvoy program and I won’t be surprised to see more properties joining the league very soon.
It’s saddening to see how Marriott has decided to follow Hilton’s path. You may want to make some speculative bookings if your destinations have outsize redemption opportunities.
Hotel redemption guide on London New Year’s Eve
London New Year’s Eve, thanks to the famous fireworks show, attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists every year. If you are looking for a hotel on that night, you should act as soon as possible, especially if you want to burn some points.
[Marriott]
Marriott London County Hall is the best hotel for watching the fireworks show, and redeemable with points. The redemption price has gone up a little bit this year, from 100K to 106K, but it’s still great value compared to the £1,500 NYE package rate.
Award availability is temporarily blocked right now, but my friend did manage to grab a room a few days ago. I believe more availability will be released in the future – in fact last year it was even bookable on the day.
Marriott London County Hall is inside the Fireworks Zone. The hotel will send you the wristbands a couple of days ahead by courier, which you’ll need to travel in and out of the zone freely. You can chill in your hotel room until the firework starts, and then walk to the White Zone, which is one minute away, to enjoy the show. Fireworks can be seen from rooms with London Eye view too, but don’t expect any upgrade on that day.
I have a couple of friends who stayed here on the 2023 NYE. To be honest the viewing angle from the White Zone is far from ideal, but it is an experience nonetheless.
[Hyatt]
Hyatt “poached” two Crowne Plazas last year, which happens to be the only two London IHG hotels that I liked. The former Crowne Plaza Albert Embankment, to be re-opened as Hyatt Regency London Albert Embankment, is already bookable for NYE.
It costs 20,000 points which isn’t cheap, but acceptable for a special occasion. Interestingly, Twin Room with River View (priced at £500+) is available for the same amount of points, although I don’t think you can see any fireworks from the room.
Hyatt Regency London Blackfriars has a better location, but it’s not bookable yet and we don’t know its redemption category.
[Hilton and IHG]
Somehow most Hilton hotels in central London have already sold out. The only sensible redemption right now is the Westminster, a Curio hotel. It’s a newly-renovated hotel, converted from a Doubletree, but at 60,000 points it feels a bit steep.
In terms of IHG, the only economical option left in central London is Holiday Inn Oxford Circus at 32,000 points. There were many more better options when I checked last week:
- Staybridge Suites London Vauxhall – 34,000 points
- Holiday Inn Express London Victoria – 19,000 points
- Hotel Indigo Tower Hill – 25,000 points
But the availability has gone now. Keep checking as they might come back, but I’m most certain that it’s just going to get more and more expensive.
Marriott Q1 promotion: 1,000 points per night and double elite night credit
Following IHG, Marriott has unveiled its first global promotion of year 2023.
You can register to the offer here.
- Register by April 7th
- Stay between February 7th and April 23rd
- Earn 1,000 bonus points and one additional elite night credit for every paid night stayed
Certain brands such as Marriott Executive Apartments and Homes & Villas are excluded. The offer is great if you are aiming for elite status this year – the offer period covers 75 days, so reaching Platinum or Titanium status is quite doable.
Marriott ceased benefits on third-party bookings
Hotel groups have different interpretations when it comes to elite benefits on third-party bookings. Marriott for example, has made it clear in their terms and conditions that elite benefits only apply to qualifying stays.
4.1.c. Benefits of Elite membership apply to stays on Qualifying Rates (as described in Section 2.1.e.) and are reserved for Members only and apply solely to the one guest room in which the Elite Member stays.
There has been one exclusion though, although not written in the terms and conditions but it has been communicated to individual hotels through the loyal program guide: hotels in Asia Pacific should honour elite benefits even on third-party bookings.
Unfortunately, that perk has also come to an end. As shared by my friend on a Wechat post, someone obtained a copy of a recent communication from a Bangkok Marriott hotel lately.
Staring from January 16, 2023, Asia Pacific excluding Greater China will adhere to the global policy as listed on page 57 of the Loyalty Program Guide. Member benefits will only be available to members who book qualifying rates. Reservations made though third parties, including OTAs and wholesalers, would no longer be eligible for member benefits, regardless of member status. We believe this will create greater consistency with hotels globally.
If you book a Marriott hotel in Greater China via any OTA, count yourself lucky as it is now the only region in the world where your elite benefits are guaranteed. Otherwise, just hope for the best but prepare for the worst!
Wow – Marriott honours soft landing again…
As they’ve revealed recently, Marriott was going to soft land Ambassador members who didn’t qualify in 2022 to Titanium Elite, whereas not extending it to any other elite levels. Well, looks like they are now reneging on that policy…
You can see the latest help article here, which says:
Members who did not re-achieve their existing Elite status in 2022 will be offered one tier below their current status through February 2024. These members will see their new status starting in March 2023 and can enjoy their existing status through February 2023.
Basically they are extending the soft landing policy to all members, which is good news.
Not to me though – I was Titanium Elite last year and accrued 60 nights which means I was going to be Platinum Elite this year anyway. Many of friends are in the same boat, and we all feel like idiots now 😛
The quirk of Marriott’s annual choice benefit stays
Marriott has something called Annual Choice Benefit, which offers members a gift when they reach the 50- and 75-night milestones in a calendar year. When you reach 75 nights, one of the gifts you can choose is a free night award worth up to 40,000 points.
There’s something interesting about the FNA though, as its expiry date used to be one year from date when you select it. As you have until January 7th to make your choice, it means that FNAs selected in January were one year longer in expiry.
However, the terms and conditions have changed in 2022:
The Free Night Award (with a redemption value of up to 40,000 Points) must be redeemed for a stay that occurs no later than December 31, 2023.
Which made me think that they’ve fixed the bug. Well obviously it’s not the case, as a friend’s friend has just picked the FNA and the expiry is still showing as the end of 2024:
It’s not a super useful quirkiness. However, one more year’s validity gives you more flexibility at least.
Warning: Marriott to remove redemption cap in 2023
(Writing this from a two-bedroom apartment in St Regis Shanghai Jing An.)
Marriott introduced Flexible Redemption Pricing in March 2022, and we have been getting used to how it works in the last nine months. However, there’s a snag that most people may have forgotten or overlooked.
When the new policy was introduced, the price cap of most hotels (i.e. the peak pricing from the old system) were respected, with the exception of a few properties that added a new premium. However, no caps are to be enforced for 2023 stays at any Marriott hotel.
Should we expect a huge increase across many hotels globally? Probably not, as the redemption rates have been adjusting themselves in the last nine months so that they already reflect what Marriott thinks it’s appropriate to charge you for now, more or less. Therefore I don’t think a big devaluation is due anytime soon.
However, there are hotels that represent outsize redemption value which makes them really popular, and they are the ones more likely at risk. For example, Courtyard Oxford City Centre used to be the best redemption option in the UK, starting from only 10,000 points per night.
When the dynamic pricing was introduced, its cap was raised to 20,000 points. For some 2023 dates however, the rate goes to as high as 21,000 points now:
It’s not a massive devaluation, but more are to come. If you have speculative travel plans for next year, and are not short of Marriott points, consider locking in some rooms now.