Before the combined rewards programs becomes effective on 18 August between Starwood Preferred Guest, Marriott Rewards and Ritz Carlton Rewards, I thought it would be a good mileage run attempt to stay in SPG hotels while I was in Singapore for one week last month.
Singapore Nights from Courtyard Marriott Novena
To qualify or maintain for an SPG Gold elite status is quite achievable as I’d only need to fulfill either 10 stays or 25 nights in a calendar year.
The perks of having a hotel elite status are:
- Multiplier points
- Room Upgrades
- Early Check-In
- Late Check-Out
- Complimentary breakfast (at certain properties)
- Special line at check-ins
I initially became loyal to SPG not because of these perks, but because the fact that SPG points is transferable to over 30 airline partners including Japan Airlines, Singapore Airlines, American Airlines and many more. I’ve covered the value of becoming an SPG member in the past and how I love this universal hotel rewards program.
I had flown in a number of premium cabins thanks to SPG points – among them are:
With the 25 percent bonus points for every 20,000 points transferred, this is a very generous bonus as no other programs would offer this kind of transfer bonus on a regular basis.
Another experience we’ve benefited from the program was for our trip last year in the East Coast when we stayed in 4 cities and 4 hotels for free (Boston, Providence, Cape Cod Bay and New York City).
The advantage of the recent SPG acquisition by Marriott, is the status match benefit, which means if you’re a Gold elite status with SPG you’ll be a Gold at Marriott, and vice versa.
Here’s a link to a more detailed explanation on the combined rewards effective in August 2018.
I’ve highlighted the 3 hotels that we’ve stayed in in the photos below, one hotel is a winner for the pool and facilities, one other hotel has a great sizable room and immaculate service, and the other offers a unique experience but had an OK room, so none of the three really exceeds in all factors.
Courtyard Marriott Novena (Marriott Rewards)
This hotel has an extremely humble entrance right behind Novena Square and next to Mt Elizabeth Medical Center.
The hotel lobby itself is located on the 22nd floor and the ambience completely changed into a luxury hotel once you’ve reached this level.
With my husband’s current platinum status with Marriott Rewards, we were assigned a room in the top-floor with a great view overlooking the city.
I was quite surprised with how small the room was considering there’s 4 of us staying in the room.
Unfortunately the room sizes in this hotel were all the same size so we couldn’t get upgraded to a larger or suite room, which is something I had missed when making a reservation.
However this property is one of the affordable Marriott hotels in Singapore during this high season of the school holidays, so budget worked for us quite well.
Highlight from this hotel is the rooftop pool and breathtaking view of the city.
St Regis Singapura
As glamorous as this hotel is, I’m personally not a fan of a classic palatial look and prefer a modern or eco-friendly type of hotel.
But this hotel does offer a first class service the moment we arrived.
Highlights from this hotel is the personalized Butler service, gym facility and location.
Le Meridien Sentosa
Le Meridien Sentosa is located right across the Imbiah Station Monorail. One of the best ways to get around Sentosa Island is by monorail and this hotel offered just that.
Right at check-in, the reception immediately identified my husband’s SPG Platinum status and organized for a free room upgrade to a suite with an outdoor jacuzzi.
Part of the benefits of becoming a Gold or Platinum member is the 4PM late check-out perk which they offered straight away but had to decline since we’ll be flying out around midday anyway.
It was pretty impressive how the room has a generous size of outdoor space and Japanese onsen experience, but the guest bedroom itself was pretty ordinary, including the bathroom.
The highlight of this hotel was the breakfast selection and of course the jacuzzi, but other than that the hotel itself was a little outdated and room sizes are not as spacious as other hotels.
