Ever since Citi added the ability to double your points when transferring to Choice Privileges (details here), I’ve been on the hunt for great uses of Choice points. Towards that end, I’ve looked at Choice’s Ascend Collection, Nordic Choice hotels, and the ability to redeem Choice points for Preferred Hotels & Resorts. Now, I’ve turned my eye towards the final upscale Choice brand: Cambria Hotels. Cambria Hotels cost, at most, 35,000 points per night. This means that it’s possible to book any Cambria Hotel with as few as 17,500 Citi points per night (since Citi points double when transferred to Choice, as long as you have a Citi Premier or Prestige card). That can be a good deal when cash prices are over $200 per night, and a great deal when over $300.
I’ve only ever stayed in one Cambria hotel: Cambria Hotel LAX. It was a steal for only 10K points per night at the time (the price has since gone up to 25K – 30K), and I enjoyed the stay (details here). It wasn’t a luxury hotel by any means, but it was comfortable, beautifully styled, and served the purpose of offering a nice place to sleep. And, it had a cool magic mirror:
For this new post, I looked at the Cambria Hotels listed on Choice’s website (here), and briefly researched the ones that appeared to be in an interesting location. For each of those, I looked at reviews and in most cases only picked out the ones where the reviews were overwhelmingly positive. One exception was the Cambria Hotel Ocean City. It had mixed reviews, but appears to offer incredible point value compared to summer cash rates (often over $500). Other exceptions include a couple of properties that haven’t yet opened, but appear to be really nice (one in Detroit and one in Savannah).
California
Cambria Hotel Calabasas
- Book suites with points? No
- Points Price: 20K or 30K
Apr 24, 2022 – Jul 2, 2022: Sun – Thu 20,000/Room Fri – Sat 30,000/Room
Jul 3, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 30,000/Room Fri – Sat 30,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $278 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 0.92 cents per point
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 1.84 cents per point
Cambria Hotel Napa Valley
- Book suites with points? No (but you can book deluxe rooms with points)
- Points Price: 25K, 30K, or 35K
Apr 24, 2022 – Jul 2, 2022: Sun – Thu 25,000/Room Fri – Sat 35,000/Room
Jul 3, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 30,000/Room Fri – Sat 35,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $436 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 1.25 cents per point
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 2.49 cents per point
Cambria Hotel Sonoma Wine Country
Drew B says: “We lived next to the Cambria wine country. Just know that it’s about as “in wine country” as the Hyatt regency wine country. Both by the freeway 30 min away from Napa, Sonoma etc. At least the Cambria isn’t surrounded by homeless drug users so I’d give it the win.”
- Book suites with points? No
- Points Price: 16K, 25K, or 30K
Apr 24, 2022 – Jul 2, 2022: Sun – Thu 16,000/Room Fri – Sat 30,000/Room
Jul 3, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 25,000/Room Fri – Sat 30,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $270 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 0.9 cents per point
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 1.8 cents per point
Florida
Cambria Hotel Fort Lauderdale Beach
- Book suites with points? No
- Points Price: 30K
Apr 24, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 30,000/Room Fri – Sat 30,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $262 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 0.87 cents per point
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 1.7 cents per point
Cambria Hotel St Petersburg-Madeira Beach Marina
- Book suites with points? Yes
- Points Price:
Apr 24, 2022 – Jul 2, 2022: Sun – Thu 25,000/Room Fri – Sat 35,000/Room
Jul 3, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 30,000/Room Fri – Sat 35,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $296 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 0.99 cents per point
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 2.0 cents per point
Georgia
Cambria Hotel Savannah Downtown Historic District
- Book suites with points? Unknown (Available for bookings beginning Sep 1 2022)
- Points Price: 20K
Apr 24, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 20,000/Room Fri – Sat 20,000/Room - Hotel opens for bookings September 1, 2022
Kentucky
Cambria Hotel Louisville Downtown – Whiskey Row
- Book suites with points? No
- Points Price: 25K or 30K
Apr 24, 2022 – Jul 2, 2022: Sun – Thu 30,000/Room Fri – Sat 30,000/Room
Jul 3, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 25,000/Room Fri – Sat 30,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $149 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 0.5 cents per point (poor value with points)
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 0.99 cents per point (poor value with points)
Louisiana
Cambria Hotel New Orleans Downtown Warehouse District
- Book suites with points? No
- Points Price: 20K or 30K
Apr 24, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 20,000/Room Fri – Sat 30,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $259 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 0.86 cents per point
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 1.7 cents per point
Maryland
Cambria Hotel Ocean City – Bayfront
- Book suites with points? No
- Points Price: 35K
Apr 24, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 35,000/Room Fri – Sat 35,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $581 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 1.7 cents per point (excellent value with points)
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 3.3 cents per point (great value with points)
Michigan
Cambria Hotel Detroit Downtown
- Book suites with points? Unknown (bookings open Oct 15, 2022)
- Points price: 20K. Apr 24, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 20,000/Room Fri – Sat 20,000/Room
- Hotel opens for bookings October 15, 2022
Cambria Hotel Traverse City
- Book suites with points? Yes (all rooms are suites)
- Points Price: 25K, 30K, or 35K
Apr 24, 2022 – Jul 2, 2022: Sun – Thu 25,000/Room Fri – Sat 35,000/Room
Jul 3, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 30,000/Room Fri – Sat 35,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $485 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 1.4 cents per point (excellent value with points)
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 2.8 cents per point (great value with points)
New York
Cambria Hotel New York – Chelsea
- Book suites with points? No (but deluxe rooms can be booked with points)
- Points Price: 30K or 35K
Apr 24, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 30,000/Room Fri – Sat 35,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $259 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 0.7 cents per point
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 1.5 cents per point
North Carolina
Cambria Hotel Downtown Asheville
- Book suites with points? No
- Points Price: 25K, 30K, or 35K
Apr 24, 2022 – Jul 2, 2022: Sun – Thu 25,000/Room Fri – Sat 35,000/Room
Jul 3, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 30,000/Room Fri – Sat 35,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $338 before taxes (Aug 5th)
- Choice Point Value: 1.1 cents per point
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 2.3 cents per point
Tennessee
Cambria Hotel Nashville Airport
- Book suites with points? Yes
- Points Price: 25K or 30K
Apr 24, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 25,000/Room Fri – Sat 30,000/Room - Sample Cash Rate: $200 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 0.7 cents per point
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 1.3 cents per point
Cambria Hotel Nashville Downtown
- Book suites with points? No
- Points Price: 30K or 35K
Apr 24, 2022 – Sep 15, 2022: Sun – Thu 30,000/Room Fri – Sat 35,000/Room
(Note: I’m seeing rates of 30K per night on weekends, not 35K) - Sample Cash Rate: $341 before taxes (July 29th)
- Choice Point Value: 1.1 cents per point
- Citi ThankYou Point Value: 2.3 cents per point
Reader Input Requested
If you’ve stayed at a Cambria Hotel, please let us know your experience. Which one did you stay at? Was it particularly good or bad? Please comment below!
Conclusion
There are quite a few nice looking Cambria Hotels across the U.S., and many are a steal when starting with Citi ThankYou Points. When planning stays, though, don’t forget that there are lots of other great choices (pun intended) for spending your Choice points:
- Choice’s Ascend Collection Gems
- Nordic Choice Sweet-Spots
- Preferred Hotels & Resorts:
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So for years I’ve been buying discounted Choice points in the annual Daily Getaways promo. I’ve stayed in a few Cambrias with them. I have mixed feelings about this brand. They are obviously a significant step above a typical Choice hotel, and a little bit better than a decent Holiday Inn Express. But HIX gives you breakfast and Cambria doesn’t. So I don’t value Cambria much above what I can pay (on points) for a HIX. The oddball Choice program also has this annoying habit (suspended last year but returning this year) of pricing lots of properties at 30,000 points for the summer. That makes many of them bad redemptions and others — like Cambria — “meh” redemptions. Bottomline, I’m not rushing to stay in Cambrias for 30,000 points.
Thank you so much for this post. I’m going to Italy in September and this is a great find for high end hotels!
GREG-
FWIW, I was looking at Cambria, as well, and they are supposed to be opening a brand new property in Portland, ME and it is only 10,000 points!
This would be truly be a steal for the summer, and what is more, it says on the web site that it offers FREE PARKING — which can be pricey in Portland, ME.
Just wanted to give you and the readership a heads up!
It’s 20,000 Choice points, think you meant 10,000 Citi points before transferring.
20K points for the new Cambria in Portland ME this summer WOULD be an excellent redemption.Choice usually offers a “promo redemption rate” on their new properties. This hotel will almost certainly cost more next summer, especially since Portland hotel rates are sky high now.The problem is that Choice doesn’t seem certain the hotel will open in July and I don’t think they’re currently taking reservations. There is an Ascend Hotel in Wells that’s a good value at 20K if that works for you.
Greg – you obviously have never seen or visited the new Cambria hotel in Calabasas. It’s advertised as “Contemporary Malibu Beach”, when in fact it is directly adjacent to the noisy 101 Freeway in the Valley (one of the busiest freeways in LA), and shares a driveway with a Mobil gas station. Your readers would be extremely disappointed to show up thinking they are in Malibu by the beach, when it could take 30-45 minutes through a two lane canyon road during a nice warm day. The temperatures during the summer are in excess of 100 degrees, versus 75 degrees Malibu. It’s walking distance to a Taco Bell and a McDonald’s, not the beach.
Hi there,
I just stayed at the Cambria Hotel in Napa, CA a few months ago. It is located near the heart of Downtown Napa, where there’s lots of wine tasting bars and wineries. Oxbow Market and Napa River. The place is clean, with a veneer of elegance and for what I paid I consider it a steal $109 with taxes. Perhaps I got lucky but I would stay here again just to go wine tasting in Napa. I don’t think you can find a better place nearby for the price.
It is reasonable compared to other hotels in napa,,near downtown but no real views just of the construction site across from it
I haven’t stayed in any but the one in Madeira Beach, FL looks good.
I recently stayed at a new Cambria build in Southlake TX (near DFW). Excellent with great “Great American Roadtrip” artwork throughout & inspiring Texas details. $120 worth of points for a $225 upgraded Suite with Diamond status. Good restaurant for good breakfast food & a full bar.
I will be staying soon at the just-opened Cambria Nashville Airport. Looking forward to the guitar-shaped saltwater pool! Nashville room rates are through-the-roof, so this Cambria is some much-needed relief, esp for a new hotel.
It sounds like since you might also be doing a few Cambria stays of your own to maybe look into getting a Status Match for better rooms. Or a special Cambria Diamond Elite Status Jump just for Canbria stays. See Choice’s links below for both & for what Diamond benefits will provide you. I’ve found it well worth it. https://www.choicehotels.com/choice-privileges/rules-regulations
Choice’s current Cambria promo is:
“Enjoy 20% off when you check in on a Sunday-Wednesday and stay 3 nights or more. Book by May 18 and stay by May 25, 2022.”
Cambria stays also earn several hundred extra Choice points if Elite along with extra perks like coffee cards and shopping credits for weekday stays.
Cambria has 70 more properties in the pipeline. Outstanding value for the product (esp with Citi point transfers) – I look forward to more upcoming reviews of their new openings!
The one in Philly is good, fairly new, and right in the middle of downtown to boot. Walkable to everything, right above the subway (which has express service to the stadium area for games), and close to places like City Hall, midtown village restaurant row, and the Reading Terminal Market.
Cambria in downtown Pittsburgh is a great property. Within a few minutes drive of all the stadiums. Went to a Steelers game on a Monday night. 4 adults can be accommodated comfortably. Cash rates were $400, only 30K choice points
We lived next to the Cambria wine country. Just know that it’s about as “in wine country” as the Hyatt regency wine country. Both by the freeway 30 min away from Napa, Sonoma etc. At least the Cambria isn’t surrounded by homeless drug users so I’d give it the win.
Thanks Drew. Good to know! I added your comment to that section of the post.
I think it is worth mentioning that even if you do not have the Premier/Prestige, you can transfer 1000 TYP to 1500 Choice. The value-per-TYP is obviously not as good, but if you have no plans to add Premier later and your next-best-option is cash out at 1 cpp, the above can represent good values. E.g. the no-fee-TYP value of Cambria Hotel Nashville Downtown from Greg’s analysis comes in at 1.7 cpp … well above 1 cpp.
Today I also noticed a one-time/infrequent backdoor to more TYP for some people. I have a Citi Dividend (downgraded from an AA card several years ago) with $200+ in Dividend Dollars waiting to cash out, and am growing that balance this quarter with 5% on groceries. Citi wants to change me over to a Custom Cash and the terms indicate those will auto-change to TYP. So if you have (or can get) a Dividend and max the Q2 Grocery-&-Drug-Store 5% with GCs or whatever, you could have a quick 30K TYP on $6K spend with no AF and no new credit impact (5/24, etc.).
Ooh, neat trick! Thanks for sharing.
I stayed at a Cambria in Baltimore for a work trip in October. It was uniformly great… attentive and kind employees, clean, comfortable room with nice design, convenient location. The hotel restaurant also has a great soup and grilled cheese trio. The manager was consistently checking on the group and the catered lunch was delicious. I would 100% stay again and be willing to try other locations of the brand.
Good to hear!
While I didn’t actually stay there, I did check in to the Cambria Houston Convention Center to achieve Diamond status through the status match program. Houston is one of the cheapest hotel markets in the USA, so rooms at this hotel can often be had for $120 or 20,000 Choice Privileges points. This is not a great points value, of course, but is served it’s purpose. This property is located in what I would describe as a “transitional” area. The building is old and the recent renovations are welcome, but lack the luster of a full on restoration. My room felt modern and updated, but the lobby and common areas seemed like this pig needed a little more lipstick. In short, Houston has some great hotels. The Cambria is not one of those. Had it not been for the status match promo and I were actually staying in Houston, Cambria would not be my first Choice. (Choice) See what I did there?
Thanks for sharing. It’s always good to get confirmation that it was right to leave out certain hotels from this post 🙂