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Hilton Q1 promotion: double points & 1k new brand bonus
Hilton is the first one to reveal their 2023 Q1 promotion, and you can sign up here.
- Stay between January 1 and April 30
- Earn double points on all eligible stays
- Earn an additional 1,000 points for each brand you stay with
Note how the brand bonus is different to Marriott’s promotion: if you stay with 5 brands during the promotion period, you will earn 5,000 bonus points instead of 4,000.
Existing bookings count. If your check-in date if before January 1 but your check-out date is before April 30, you are still eligible for the bonus.
GHA Giveaway: D$, free night and Titanium status
GHA has started a new sweepstake. It’s easy to sign up and there are some good prizes.
Don’t be misled by languages such as Qualified Stay Dates on the promotion page. You don’t need any hotel stay to enter the draw, nor will it increase your chances of winning.
You earn one entry for simply registering, and additional entries by:
- Opting in to push messaging from the GHA DISCOVERY app and entering via promotional messaging sent the week of 12 December
- Following GHA DISCOVERY on Instagram and engaging in the competition that will take place the week of 26 December
Prizes include:
- 10 D$1,000 prizes
- 5 Titanium statuses and D$300
- 5 1-night stays and an Experience (D$550)
- 4 GHA DISCOVERY swag boxes and D$250
- 25 D$100 prizes
- 8 Platinum statuses and Experiences (D$250)
- 3 Titanium statuses and 1-night suite stays (D$3,000)
Personally I don’t value Titanium status much, as it’s very easy to qualify. Free night stays and D$ on the other hand are very worthwhile.
IHG Cyber Monday: 10k points for every two nights
As we have revealed earlier, IHG has now started their lucrative Cyber Monday offer.
The offer page is here, and you can register here.
- Book on November 28 and 29
- Stay by December 31
- Earn 10,000 bonus points for every two qualifying nights
A qualifying night is a paid reservation booked via official IHG channels and the nightly rate should exceed $30. It is a great offer, especially considering that it could stack with the current global promotion, which means you earn 30,000 bonus points for every four nights stayed.
There are two other Cyber Monday offers:
Up to 25% off select catalogue items. However it is still one of the worst ways to spend your IHG points.
25% off Points & Cash bookings:
- Book by December 2
- Say in January & February
- 25% off the cash component of Points & Cash bookings
As we’ve discussed many times, such sales present an opportunity to buy cheap IHG points. In theory it could be as low as 0.42c per point this time, but the usual suspects (InterContinental hotels in Macau) are not open for reservations.
(UPDATE: the following hotels may be available on certain dates:
- Holiday Inn Express Tianjin Airport East 0.46c
- Holiday Inn Express Preston South 0.45c Feb 27
- Holiday Inn Warsaw City Centre 0.46c Jan 21
- Holiday Inn ANA Sendai 0.43c Feb 23
Try other dates if the cheap rate isn’t available anymore on the specified date.)
Save an additional 20% at UK Kimpton hotels
This year’s Black Friday is a bit of a lacklustre and nothing got me really excited. However, if you live in the UK and is an IHG fan, there is a Kimpton deal that could be useful.
Three Kimpton hotels in the UK are promoting their gift vouchers:
- Kimpton London Fitzroy promo code KFL20
- Kimpton Manchester Clocktower promo code KCT20
- Kimpton Edinburgh Charlotte Square promo code KCL20
You get 20% discount on all vouchers. What I recommend is to buy the Monetary Gift Vouchers, which can be redeemed for accommodation or dining at the respective hotel. If you book via IHG you should still be able to use the voucher, as long as it’s a pay-at-hotel rate, not prepaid.
It should work in addition to whatever discount rate you book on ihg.com, for example the BOGOF voucher via InterContinental Ambassador. Also IHG has an exciting offer coming up this Cyber Monday.
Note that the voucher is valid for 12 months, and must be redeemed in full so choose the value carefully.
My review of Hotel Indigo Belgrade
Having stayed two nights at the very tired Metropol Palace, I needed some fresh air and thus moved to the Hotel Indigo, which opened in October 2021. It is very centrally located in the shopping district, neighbouring a Courtyard and a Radisson Individual hotel.
Unlike most hotels it’s not at the storefront. There is a small entrance that leads to an alley, where there’s an elevator that takes you to the lobby of the hotel. This is a very unique feature, and kind of isolating the hotel from the busy crowd outside.
The art pieces, paintings and other decorations are so beautiful. It feels more like a Kimpton than an Indigo in my opinion.
You can have a drink at the rooftop terrace.
My reservation was upgraded to Premium the second day, then to Queen Suite one week before but then downgraded to Premium again before my arrival. The hotel has only one suite, so not sure if it was booked or upgraded for someone else.
However, my Premium room more than does its job already. Unfortunately I can already see some wear and tear, but overall it’s a very clean, comfy and functioning room.
Unlike the Indigos that I’ve visited in the UK, minibar here isn’t free (or cheap). There’s a supermarket right in front of the hotel so I suggest to top up there.
The hotel restaurant, on the other hand, is very reasonably priced and I had a simple dinner here.
Breakfast is free for Diamond members, which otherwise would cost €15 per person. The spread may not be the richest, but it’s carefully curated and food quality is excellent.
You can order one item from the menu for free too.
The hotel is pretty small but still has a gym.
They also reserved a taxi to the airport for me, which cost only 1800 dinars by metre. I am very satisfied with my two-night stay and can highly recommend Hotel Indigo Belgrade if you visit the city. From what I learned the Courtyard has a similar vibe, but obviously if club lounge and swimming pool are important to you, you need to look elsewhere.
IHG Cyber Sale preview: 10K bonus points for every two nights
IHG has just sent out an email hinting on an upcoming Cyber Monday Sale, referring to it as the biggest member event.
Although we don’t know anything about 2 & 3 yet, details on the first mystery offer has already been revealed on InterContinental Perth’s offer page.
- Book between November 28 and December 2
- Stay by February 28
- Enjoy 10% discount, and earn 10,000 bonus points for every two nights stayed
It is in line with other allegedly leaked information that I saw earlier, although the booking window spans across 5 days which is inconsistent with what the email suggests. My speculation is, the five day window is for the 10% discount, whereas the bonus points offer has a shorter booking window, presumably November 28 and 29.
(UPDATE: I just saw a screenshot of the 10k offer registration page:
- Booking window: November 28 – 29
- Stay by: December 31)
It should stack with the other ongoing global promotion, which means you’ll earn 30,000 bonus points for every four nights stayed!
Book St Regis Marsa Arabia Island Doha’s premium suite for 31,000 points
World Cup is happening in Qatar, and although I don’t follow football at all some interesting articles have surfaced recently about what new hotels have opened, and which hotel each team is staying etc. I did a bit research myself, and it turns out that Doha has become a great location for a bargain holiday in luxury hotels, by using points of course.
The outstanding property is the new St Regis Marsa Arabia Island, The Pearl Qatar.
It is a brand new hotel set to open its doors in December. It occupies a private island, owns a private beach and has seven restaurants for dining. Most importantly, it’s an all-suite hotel which means you never need to worry about being trapped in a small room even if no upgrade is provided.
Ready for some even better news? Premium Suite, which is two-level above the entry-level suite, is available for redemption for the same price.
The suite measures 122 sqm, with sea view and a terrace. It’s retail price is roughly 3,600 QAR (£837) a night, whereas for the Christmas period redemption costs only 37,000 points. It gets to as low as 31,000 points on some January dates. It is no doubt one of the best Marriott redemptions in the world – at least for now, as with Marriott’s dynamic redemption system the price could shoot up drastically any time.
There are a couple of more Marriott hotels worth mentioning:
- Le Royal Meridien Doha – new hotel in the West Bay, costing only 20,000 points a night or lower
- Ritz Carlton Doha – all room types including suite are available for redemption. Club Room (with lounge access) costs 44,000 points or 28,000 points + 300 QAR, great value if you are looking for an all-inclusive stay
My review of Metropol Palace, Belgrade
I’m spending four nights in Belgrade and decided to split it into two stays. In terms of hotel chains there aren’t that many options in Belgrade:
- Crowne Plaza and Hyatt Regency are in the new town, so not ideal for tourists. The Hyatt Regency is a Category 1 property though so great value for spending points
- Hilton and Metropol are in the old town, both old and uninspiring from the pictures I’ve found
- Hotel Indigo and Courtyard are new and extremely central
- Square Nine (a LHW hotel) looks very fancy but also is very expensive
I went with two nights at the Metropol Palace and two nights at the Hotel Indigo in the end. The Metropol Palace, branded Luxury Collection, has been a very popular property with the Marriott audience for long time as it used to cost as low as 2,000 points in the good old SPG days.
It’s no longer that cheap though, and paying cash is often better as the rate usually hovers around just €100. If you book via the Marriott Stars & Luminous program you get €100 credit to spend as well which is fantastic.
It’s a half-an-hour ride from the airport by taxi. The location isn’t super central as it takes you about 20 minutes to walk into the town centre, however it’s by the main road so easy to find a restaurant or shop etc.
The hotel building and its lobby look very “retro”. Online reports suggest wide range of welcome amenities including fruit basket, wine and spa voucher but I didn’t receive anything.
They don’t accept Marriott’s suite night award, but it’s a very big hotel so upgrade tends to be generous. I received a Family Suite in the end, which is one level above Junior Suite. It’s essentially still a Junior Suite but slightly larger.
It’s very dark so pictures probably don’t fully do the room justice, but trust me they are not much better in real life.
The bathroom has a long and narrow shape which is strange. There is no bathtub.
My room is on the third floor with no view. I read some reviews afterwards and some of the rooms have a great view of the old town. I probably should have enquired about a better room at check-in.
Breakfast on Sunday morning is total chaos. I’m basically on my own trying to find any empty seat and cutleries.
Food is also mediocre at best and not replenished quickly enough, which is disappointing as it’s a five-star hotel serving hundreds of guests. The only highlight is probably the Prosecco, which you don’t see often on a breakfast table.
It’s much more organised the next day when the breakfast is less busier.
The hotel has a rooftop restaurant but I didn’t try it. When I arrived in the evening I was fairly hungry, and the in-room dining menu looks reasonably priced so I ordered beef soup, croquettes and beef linguine. They taste good and the total is about £28.
The spa is one main reason I chose this hotel. The swimming pool is very cool:
The jacuzzi is a bit too small and fits only three people.
Steam room and sauna:
In summary I think the Metropol Palace meets my expectations as a cheap-ish old five-star hotel, and if you have a booking with $100 credit it’s a great deal. However, in my mind the Luxury Collection should be on a par with St Regis and Ritz Carlton, but the Metropol Palace is obviously a long shot from that standard.