Hotels
Thanks to the recent merger and acquisition between Starwood Hotels, Ritz Carlton Rewards and Marriott, members can now have a unified points system following the new Marriott Rewards rule.
The points ratio between Starpoints and Marriott Points was 1:3. For example, 10,000 Starpoints is equal to 30,000 Marriott Rewards points.
For existing SPG or Ritz Carlton members, their points should have been automatically converted into Marriott Rewards and the membership can now be managed from one wallet.
Hotel #1: Boston, Massachusetts & the check-in drama
The Liberty Hotel, A Luxury Collection Hotel in Boston is a member of Starwood Hotels (Category 6).
The cost of redemption for a one night stay is 20,000 Starpoints or USD 544 – a bit on the high side for us for a double queen room, so we’re glad we were able to cover it using points and no additional tax.
This is a beautiful hotel converted from an old prison building (as scary as it sounds), but the view is quite unbeatable looking over Charles River and you get to have a front row seat to catch the sunset.
Hotel #2: Providence, Rhode Island
Taking the Amtrak train from Boston Back Bay (BBY) to Providence (PVD) was completely hassle-free and took only 30 minutes. In total it had only cost us USD 36 for 4 coach seats! It was definitely an easy trip, especially with the use of the Amtrak App which allows you to book and modify reservations instantly.
Our hotel the Renaissance Providence Downtown is located right across the Providence State House, an easy 3-minute walk from Providence station.
The cost for award redemption at this hotel is 35,000 Marriott Rewards Points or USD 278 per night. If you have more points in your SPG account, you can easily convert 12,000 Starpoints to 36,000 Marriott Rewards Points.
It is half the cost of The Liberty Hotel in Boston, both in points and cash rates.
The check-in process at this hotel was a breeze, my husband was able to check-in using the Marriott app and the room key was immediately ready to be collected at the front desk.
The building and the hotel lobby is a classic grandeur style and the guest rooms design is classic contemporary.
We enjoyed staying in this hotel because of the strategic downtown location and close proximity to the train station. The room designs were adequate, we didn’t get a chance to experience a full service hotel since we only stayed here for one quick night and checked out early the next day.
Overall, if we ever go back to Providence we will definitely stay here again.
Hotel #3: Raynham, Massachusetts
One of our main missions on this trip was to visit the Edaville Family Theme Park for our toddler who is obsessed with Thomas the Train. Edaville is located in Carver, Massachusets about 50 miles (80 km) from either Boston, MA or Providence, RI. It would take about one hour to drive from either of the cities.
We decided to stay about 20 minutes away from Carver and we knew the points required for redemption would be much less if we stay out of the major towns.
Courtyard by Marriott Boston Raynham was an ideal accommodation for a quick overnight stay after a whole day of driving around Cape Cod and it’s located right across a giant Walmart as convenient as it was at the time.
The cost of award redemption was 15,000 Marriott Rewards Points or USD 175 per night.
Photo source: Marriott.com
Hotel #4: New York City
Choosing a hotel in NYC can be a hit and miss when you don’t know which area to stay in.
I wrote about How To Choose A Hotel in NY in the past and since we were planning to redeem our stay using Marriott Rewards points (NY hotels aren’t cheap), our options were limited to Marriott or SPG Hotels, which is still plenty of options, but the points required are extremely varied.
Comparing locations, type of rooms, age of hotels and where to get the best views of the city (at an affordable price & points) – we decided to redeem our nights at Courtyard Marriott Manhattan / Central Park.
The cost of redemption for this hotel is 40,000 Marriott Rewards Points or USD 344 per night. We stayed for 2 nights at the cost of 80,000 Marriott Rewards Points and no additional tax.
We’ve stayed in this hotel in the past and was happy with the location (walking distance to subways and Central Park) and it’s a new building with amazing floor-to-ceiling views of New York.
Photo source: Marriott.com
I’d recommend booking a corner room as it offers one of the best views of the city and the room size is much more decent than the standard room.
Summary
For 5 nights:
- Boston – 20,000 Starpoints = 60,000 Marriott Rewards Points
- Providence – 35,000 Marriott Rewards Points
- Raynham: 15,000 Marriott Rewards Points
- New York: 80,000 Marriott Rewards Points
Total points redeemed: 190,000 Marriott Rewards Points
Our total savings: Approximately USD 2,300 with taxes and fees.
If you think hotel stays are not worth the points, we’ve proven otherwise. Not to mention the ability to convert your hotel points into airline miles for premium cabin redemptions!
