In the summer of 2011 we took an amazing trip out west. We spent our first 3 nights in San Francisco. After 3 fun-filled, activity packed days in San Fran, we made the 3.5 hour drive to Lake Tahoe, the most breathtaking place I have been to yet.
Guess what? In each of these amazing locations, we stayed for free!!!!!
In San Francisco, we used Starwood points to stay at The Palace Hotel. The Palace Hotel is part of Starwood’s Luxury Collection and an SPG Category 5. The price for a standard room in the summer is about $400 per night. We used 12,000 Starwood points per night instead. We saved about $1,200!!! I should note that when we stayed here, I felt the hotel was a bit dated. But we barely spent anytime in the room anyway. We had too much to see in San Francisco!!
In Lake Tahoe, we stayed in Incline Village at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino. This Hyatt is a Category 5 Hyatt Hotel and the price for a standard room in the summer is also about $400 per night. We used 20,000 Gold Passport points per night instead. Here we saved about $2,000!!!
The Hyatt was great. It is right on the lake with its own private beach. From the beach you can rent boats, jet skis, paddle boards, etc. We spent much of our time at the hotel on the lake. The Hyatt is also centrally located in Incline Village. From there we took many day trips to South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe City and Squaw Valley. We hiked, biked, water skied, tubed, white water rafted and explored. It is one of my most favorite places I have ever been to. I can see why so many people retire there!!!!
Note-I wrote this post back in September, 2014. The point redemption requirements for a free night may differ from what I received back in 2011.