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IHG hotels can now cost fewer than 10,000 points a night
Prior to the introduction of dynamic pricing recently, we know that IHG had fixed award prices for each individual hotel, which started at 10,000 points. There were also regular Pointbreaks promotion where award night redemption was reduced to as low as 5,000 points.
With dynamic pricing in place, this is no longer the case and Pointbreaks has become a page in the history book. Interestingly, as a side effect it appears that the 10,000-point floor has also been broken.
Here are some examples in China. Holiday Inn Express Kaifeng City Center costs only 5,000 points per night, whereas the best flexible rate is around £34:
Holiday Inn Express Zhangjiakou Park View:
Holiday Inn Express Foshan Nanhai:
Unsurprisingly these are all the select-service Holiday Inn Express hotels, and hotels in Asia tend to be cheaper than the rest of the world. It’s good to see the dynamic pricing doesn’t only go upwards anyway, and hopefully we’ll see more of such in the future.
My Review of Park Tower Knightsbridge, a Luxury Collection Hotel
We’ve finally been able to travel freely (-ish) again in England since last week. Whilst I’ve been fairly busy moving to my new flat, I’m adamant that the year end is coming and I must stay a few extra nights to hit Marriott Titanium!
My first stop is the Park Tower hotel at Knightsbridge, obviously due to it being on the Amex-£400-offer list, and thanks to my friend who gifted the offer to me. As with the Westbury Hotel at Mayfair, it also belongs to the Luxury Collection brand of Marriott.
The hotel is only one-minute walk from the Knightsbridge tube station, surrounded by Harrods, Harvey Nichols as well as other luxurious accommodations 🙂 The shape of the hotel however, hmm let’s say I don’t see the beauty in it at all!
Just re-opened its door one week ago, the hotel is a bit understaffed at the moment and some of them have to act multiple roles. The reception was empty and the guest relations manager ended up helping me with the check-in. She was very nice.
I was upgraded to a Panoramic Room on the 15th floor (17 in total). As you can see from the floor plan, every room on this floor is more or less panoramic I guess 🙂
I don’t think there’s much difference between the room and a standard one, apart from its aspect and being on a higher floor. There isn’t any nice touch I could sense, which is a shame as I thought PTK was a better hotel than the Westbury Mayfair.
The view is very nice admittedly.
I received a chocolate three-pack as a welcome gift.
I had problems with the wi-fi: it just never connects on my laptop although everything works fine on my mobile. I ended up using the wi-fi from Mandarin Oriental instead – they are just opposite the street and I’m glad they have very strong wi-fi signal 🙂
Breakfast is served in a banquet room on the first floor temporarily. Today is the first day the service returns since the first lockdown, so I’m the very first guest of their breakfast buffet since March 🙂 To be honest I’d prefer in-room dining if it was free.
As a Platinum member the breakfast the complimentary. Unfortunately the porridge and coffee are not tasty, however I really like the pancakes.
The fitness centre is open but by appointment only. There isn’t a swimming pool as far as I know.
Overall I’m not very impressed by the stay. The room is okay but nothing really stands out, which is something I’m looking for when paying £250 for a night. Hopefully I’ll get to try the other Marriott’s in the area and report back 🙂
IHG 3-for-2 UK & Europe Sale
IHG has launched a new Night On Us sale in UK & Europe – well, “launch” isn’t the correct word, as similar deals have been coming round in the last six months or so.
- Book by 31 December
- Stay by 31 March, 2021
- A minimum stay of three nights is required
- Enjoy 34% off the Best Flexible Rate
- Non-refundable first-night deposit is required
- Changeable up to 48 hours before arrival
And here are some rates I found in London (per night):
- InterContinental London Park Lane £175
- InterContinental London The O2 £93
- Crowne Plaza Kings Cross £56
- Crowne Plaza London Kensington £76
- Hotel Indigo Paddington £69
- Holiday Inn Regents Park £60
- Holiday Inn Express Hammersmith £29
Some of the rates are quite good. However, beware that there’s a non-refundable deposit for the booking, so make sure your trip is going ahead before reserving anything.
Free points daily via Accor’s Advent Calendar
Accor has a tradition of having an online advent calendar promotion every year, and this year is no exception. You can access the offer here.
Note that all information in French, and the competition is meant for French residents in selected countries only. However, I had no issue participating despite my address being in UK, and other people on Flyertalk have reported similar results.
Simply enter you membership number (without space) and email address and then you are good to go. There’s only one question to answer and even a hint next to it! My question was “How can you accrue Accor points” which was super easy.
Unfortunately I only won an extra entry to the final competition (3-night stay voucher for two at any Accor hotel in France). Many people managed to win 250 points (€5) straightaway.
Besides nearly six millions points to give away, other prizes include free night vouchers (brand specific), bags and cabin luggage etc.
Double Accor points for Europe stays
Accor has launched a good rewards offer for hotel stays if you intend to travel in the next month.
You can sign up to the offer here.
- Book by 8 January
- Stay by 10 January
- Your stay(s) will earn double reward points
Note that you must register before making the booking, and the stay must be in one of the following countries: Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia And Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Ireland, Poland, Republic Of Macedonia, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
Accor is terrible in writing terms & conditions, and in following them. In the t&c it sounds like the offer may only be valid only once, however I won’t be surprised if it’s valid every time instead.
Back in stock – Heavily discounted Melia points vouchers
We wrote about the dirt-cheap Melia points vouchers on Amazon a couple of weeks ago, which sold out very quickly. They are back online finally, at the same very reasonable price.
The link on Amazon UK is here. You can buy 55,000 points for £161 (0.29p per point) and delivery will take place in approximately two weeks.
The link on Amazon DE is here. You can buy 55,000 points for €179 (0.29p per points) and it’s currently in stock so shipping will be faster. However there’s a four euro charge to post to a UK address.
There points behave like normal Melia points (12-month rolling expiry, convertible to miles / Avios). I’ve written a lot about the valuation of Melia points so won’t elaborate here, but I genuinely think it’s a great deal.
[Black Friday] Marriott 40%-off Sale in Europe, Middle East and Africa
Marriott has started its Black Friday sale, which is valid for stays in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
You can access the offer here.
- Book by November 30
- Stay by January 10, 2021
- 40% off best flexible rate at participating hotels
- Certain brands, including Ritz Carlton, St Regis, Luxury Collection and Design hotels are excluded
- Some hotels may only have availability for weekend stays
You could search on Marriott’s homepage as usual with code QRI to filter the results.
I was shocked when I saw the stay-by date – what the hell is in their mind to think that people would rush to travel in the next six weeks, with the pandemic still going so strong?
Here are some example rates in London:
- W London – £213
- London Marriott Hotel County Hall – £189
- JW Marriott Grosvenor House London – £219
- Residence Inn London Bridge – £83
- London Marriott Hotel Kensington – £113
To be honest they don’t look 40% off to me – the hotels might have adjusted their best flexible rates in time for the promotion.
[Black Friday] 50% extra on IHG Bonus Points Package
In addition to its hotel sale, IHG is also giving Bonus Points Package bookings a boost this Black Friday.
You can see its mention on the BF promo page here, and details about Bonus Points Package here. If you book any package by the end of this year, and stay by 31st March 2021, you’ll earn 50% extra on the package. For example if you book a 5000-points package, you’ll earn 7500 bonus points for the booking in total.
And IHG has made it crystal clear on the promo pages – these points count toward status. With this promotion it may be fairly easy for you to hit Spire next year, although it doesn’t have many solid benefits unless your stays are mostly in Asia.