Triangle Trip

I signed up for the Starwood’s (SGP) free weekend night promotion (here’s a link to Captain G’s original post) and had two stays at two SPG properties.  According to the Free Weekend Promotion FAQ, you are supposed to get your Free Weekend Night credit after 3 to 5 days. My last stay at the SPG hotel was May 5, 2009 — more than a week ago.

I have been checking online at spg.com and waited for an email notification of the free weekend night (SPG is normally very good at emails).  After a few more days, I saw nothing so I gave Starwood a call.  The representative informed me I did indeed have a free weekend night, but I can’t see it online. The representative also told me SPG does not plan on sending out notifications.  I have learned the following:

1.  You have to call and find out how many nights you have earned – no status will be provided online

2.  You also have to call to redeem your free weekend night rewards.  When you call to redeem your free weekend nights, you should mention Award ID: 9FWFN to the agent in case he/she is not aware of your award status.

Normally I would find this a bit annoying, but Starwood representatives have been courteous and helpful most of the time.

Priority Club, with Intercontinental Hotel as the flagship hotel, has joined Starwood’s (SPG) to free hotel nights after each hotel stay. Here’s the link to the Priority Club offer. In case you are interested in the SPG free night’s offer, here’s the link again.

The Priority Club offer is as follow:

* Stay 2 nights from May 4 to July 3, 2009 and get 1 night free
* Maximum of earning 4 free nights which can be redeemed from July 3 to December 26, 2009

The SPG free weekend nights offer is much better than Priority Club’s free nights’ offer. Below are the reasons why:

1.  SPG’s free weekend nights’ offer allows you to earn unlimited free weekend nights after two hotel stays from May 1 to July 31, 2009. In addition, SPG’s offer period is two weeks longer than Priority Club’s. However SPG is looking for two hotel stays which means you may need to check-in and check-out of hotels to maximize your rewards during the promotion period. For those who are not familiar with the hotel stay concept, an eligible stay is one or more consecutive nights at a particular hotel. SPG will not give you credit for a multiple hotel stays if you check-in/check-out on consecutive nights at the same property .

2.  There are no blackout dates for redemption. As long as it’s a Friday, Saturday or Sunday and rooms are available, SPG will allow you to use the free weekend night.

3.  SPG’s properties are generally nicer than Priority Clubs’ properties. SPG properties are also in metropolitan locations.

Here are a few minor setbacks on the SPG offer:  Priority Club’s 4 free nights can be redeemed on any day – not just weekends. Another minor downside on SPG free nights offer is SPG’s free nights expiration date: September 30, 2009 compared to Priority Club’s December 26, 2009.

Given the two minor setbacks, SPG’s free weekend nights’ offer is superior to Priority Club’s offer. Below are links to two other offers which may be attractive to you:

*  Hilton’s 1000 Bonus Point offer

*  Marriott’s Double Nights Offer

Here’s a link to my original post regarding the SPG offer.

If you are a travel expert and are familiar with Starwood hotel brands, you would always choose to stay at a Westin over a Sheraton. However if you are ever stuck at one of the worst airports in the US, you should pick the LAX Sheraton over the LAX Westin. The other SPG property around LAX is the ghetto Four Points which you should not even consider.

So why is the LAX Sheraton (known as Sheraton Gateway) better than the LAX Westin? Below is a detailed analysis:

1.  Room – The Sheraton Gateway rooms are newer top to bottom compared to the Westin LAX. The LAX Sheraton has newer bathrooms, flat screen LCD TV and newer carpets. The LAX Westin still has big old tube TV with dirty carpets and dingy bathrooms.

2.  Club Lounge – The LAX Sheraton Club Lounge offers free breakfast with oatmeal, fresh fruit, cereal, broiled eggs, coffee and juice. They also offer cocktail in the evenings. The LAX Westin has a lounge that only offers coffee and tea throughout the day. Internet is also spotty inside the LAX Westin.

3.  Food/Bar – Shula’s restaurant is inside the Sheraton Gateway. Enough said… The LAX Westin is on par with the Sheraton Gateway bar, but it cannot be compared to having Shula 347 Grill inside the hotel.

4.  Shuttle buses from airport – I think the shuttle buses are operated by the same operator but there seems to be more buses that go to/from the LAX Sheraton than the LAX Westin. Perhaps it is because the LAX Sheraton is closer to the airport. I also noticed the LAX Westin buses are more full as many people use the LAX Westin Parking facility as an alternative to expensive LAX Airport Parking but more convenient than LAX long term parking.

5.  Price – Although the Sheraton Gateway and Westin at LAX are similar in price, you would assume to get more amenities when you are at a Westin. With corporate/client discounts, the LAX Sheraton is at times cheaper than the Westin. Despite the being the weaker brand, the Sheraton at LAX will give you a better value.

The above reasons are why you will see the LAX Sheraton Gateway is a Starwood Category 3 hotel and the LAX Westin is only a Starwood Category 2 hotel.