Over the last 13 years, I’ve been fortunate to have booked some amazing award flights and hotel stays, thanks to miles and points. I started dipping my toes into the space during my corporate travel at the start of my career. It has been over a decade now and I’m glad I’ve never looked back. While the game has evolved a lot, it’s still a lot of fun. Here are my top 5 hotel stays over the last 13 years.
Top 5 hotel stays – selection criteria
At the outset, I’d like to state that the simply looking at cents per point value isn’t the purpose of this list. I’m looking at the overall experience and how much I still cherish the stay after 13 years in the space. So, here’s a list of factors that made a property join the top 5 list, in no particular order of preference:
- Uniqueness
- Location
- Quality of service
- Cents per point redemption value
- Repeatability (would I still go again?)
Grand Wailea – a Waldorf Astoria resort, Maui, Hawaii, USA (2014)
This was our very first trip to Hawaii and one of the very first ‘luxury property’ bookings that we’d made using points. We had booked a 4 night stay using a combination of free night certificates and points.
Firstly, we loved the location. The hotel isn’t close to the airport, it’s about a 30 minute drive down south once you head out from the airport. Secondly, we loved the vast expanse of the property, in addition to some amazing restaurants and pools. What really was the icing on the cake was the fact that we got upgraded to a room with a view of the ocean, thanks of my Hilton Honors Gold status back in the day. The quality of service met our expectations. Would I go there again? Probably yes, but it’s not a deal that’s sealed for sure.
If you look up a dummy booking for April 2025, this property now costs 110,000 Hilton Honors points per night. With an average price per night of over $1,100, you will easily get close to 1 cent per point when you book using Hilton Honors points.
Conrad Koh Samui, Thailand (2015)
In terms of uniqueness, this really stood out. Back in 2015, we flew from Mumbai, India to Singapore. After spending some time in Singapore, it was now time to fly to Koh Samui, an island located on the southern side of Thailand, near the gulf of Thailand. Similar to our stay at the Grand Wailea, we booked a 4 night stay again, using a combination of points and free night certificates.
Firstly, what really stood out about this property for us was the amazing location. Rooms at the property had stunning views of the gulf of Thailand and each room was equipped with its own infinity pool, making our experience truly memorable.
Secondly, the food and service was next level, making our stay truly confortable. I’d love to go back again some day.
When I looked up a dummy booking for March 2025, I found the average price per night close to $800, with the points price being 95,000 points per night. If you’re looking to use Hilton points, then this is a decent return, netting you close to 0.8 cents per point.
Taj Lake Palace Udaipur, India (2022)
After Covid-19 restrictions were slowly lifted by the end of 2021, one of our very first trips in 2022 was to Udaipur, India. For many years, I’d heard stories about this property from friends and family members.
The history, the grandeur and the quality of service at the property, left us awestruck. In this case, we paid cash and then redeemed Amex Membership Rewards points at a rate of 1.1 cents per point using my Schwab Platinum Card by American Express.
The stay exceeded our expectations. The location was pristine. A 17th century royal palace located in the middle of lake Pichola, with grand views of Udaipur City. Since we booked via the Fine Hotels and Resorts Program, we also got a nice upgrade to a corner palace room with lake view.
In this case, we’d booked a cash stay. A 3 night stay cost us $2,000 and I used 182,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to ‘pay’ for it. As the trip was about to get over, I didn’t want to leave. I missed the stunning location, the service was top notch and the food was simply amazing, You can read a full review of the property here.
Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, Maldives (2022)
This was our very first trip to the Maldives. We loved it so much that we went there again in 2023, albeit to a different Hilton property.
What really stood out for me at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island was my very first seaplane experience.
In addition, we got a complimentary upgrade to an overwater villa, thanks to Hilton Honors Diamond status via the Hilton Aspire card. Moreover, the views were pristine each day and the service was top notch. We were fortunate to miss any of the rain that was hitting the islands during that week.
Since I had 3 free night certificates (thanks to extensions granted during Covid-19), I used all 3 of them to book a 3 night stay. If you look up the property on Hilton’s website, you’ll pay 120,000 Hilton Honors points per night if you book a stay for next month, with cash rates around $1,000 per night. This is a pretty decent redemption as you’ll get close to 0.9 cents per point with your booking.
Phulay Bay – a Ritz Carlton Reserve, Krabi, Thailand (2024)
This was our most recent stay using miles and points, at the end of 2024. What’s unique about the Phulay Bay property is that it’s a Ritz Carlton Reserve property, one of only six such properties in the world.
What it meant was that the location was magnificent and that the service was truly personalized. The hotel had a really low guests to staff ratio. This meant that wherever we were on the massive property, we always found someone to assist us.
The concierge, personal butler and the amazing location of the property left us really impressed. One of my favorite daily activities was to spend at least an hour at the stunning infinity pool at the hotel, which was indeed a treat for our toddler as well.
In terms of points, the stay was not cheap. We spent 400,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to book a 5 night stay. Thanks to the 5th night free benefit, we spent nothing for the fifth night, as the per night cost was 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points. In this case, cash rates were well over $1,200 per night, netting us an amazing value of 1.5 cents per point on our Marriott Bonvoy points.
The ones didn’t make the list
As I said at the outset, 13 years and counting. The miles and points space has evolved and while some deals are dead, there are always some new opportunities. Here are some properties which may be part of a longer list, but for the moment, I had to exclude them with a heavy heart.
- Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
- Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri, Italy
- Ritz Carlton Langkawi, Malaysia
- Conrad Bali, Indonesia
- DoubleTree by Hilton Queenstown, New Zealand
- Hyatt Ziva Los Cabos, Mexico
- Hyatt Regency Dharamshala Resort, India
- Hilton Molino Stucky Venice, Italy
The Pundit’s Mantra
If you’ve been using your miles and points, I’m pretty sure you’ve collected some amazing memories over the years. I’ve been really fortunate to have traversed 6 continents using my miles and points.
While the space always keeps changing and there are new changes and challenges that show up, one cannot help but continue to be grateful for the number of opportunities on offer with different hotel chains and thousands of hotel properties all around the world.
If you were to make a list, which hotel stays would you put in your top 5? Tell us in the comments section.
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