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Choice Privileges has launched a new set of Sweet Spot Rewards – properties where you can book discounted award nights through the end of June.
With hotels in the US, Canada and France on the list, as well as quite a few of them being Choice’s higher end brands like Ascend and Cambria, the list is worth a look.
The Deal
- Book discounted award nights at 29 participating Choice Privileges properties that are on their Sweet Spot Rewards list.
- Direct link to offer.
Key Terms
- Valid on stays through June 30, 2024.
Quick Thoughts
There’s 29 eligible hotels in this latest list of Sweet Spot Rewards; 24 are in the US, three are in Canada and the other two are in France. Almost a dozen of the properties are either Cambria or Ascend which are Choice’s nicer choices, so this isn’t just a bunch of roadside Quality Inns.
The Quality Hotel La Marebaudiere-Vannes in France caught my eye seeing as it’s only 10,000 points. Despite growing up in the UK and visiting France several times, I’d never heard of Vannes. However, having taken a quick look at the town on Google Street View, it looks like an incredibly cute place to visit, with the hotel being within walking distance of downtown and only a couple of miles from the beach.
The Elevate Hotel At Sierra Blanca Ruidoso (an Ascend Hotel Collection property) in New Mexico is another hotel that caught my eye as New Mexico has been my favorite state we’ve visited on our 50 state road trip so far (we’re at state 44 now, so there’s not many states left that could dislodge it). Ruidoso is only an hour or so away from White Sands National Park which is one of the most fascinating National Parks we’ve visited, not to mention that you (and your pups if you like seeing as it’s dog-friendly) can go sledding down the sand dunes.
There are several other noteworthy properties due to the types of rooms/suites you can book with points:
- Columbia River Hotel, Ascend Hotel Collection property in Dalles, OR has two bedroom suites bookable for only 16,000 points
- Inn At I’On, Ascend Hotel Collection in Mount Pleasant, SC (just outside of Charleston) has suites available that include a full kitchen for 25,000 points per night
- Cambria Hotel Burbank Airport has 1 bedroom suites for 20,000 points per night
- Country Inn & Suites By Radisson, Shoreview, MN has a suite with a kitchenette for 12,000 points per night
- Cambria Hotel Portland Downtown Old Port, ME has 1 bedroom suites for 25,000 points per night
Before rushing to book award nights though, be sure to check the cash pricing because even with the discounted award pricing it might not offer great value versus the regular room rate.
Don’t forget that you can transfer Citi ThankYou and Wells Fargo transferable points to Choice on a 1:2 basis.
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Is it the people, food and landscape in New Mexico that make it your favorite so far? Or is it something else in particular people might not know about the state?
I was wondering the same thing. I spent 3 nights in Albuquerque and didn’t have that same reaction. I did enjoy the ghost walking tour in downtown ABQ, but maybe the beauty of NM lies outside ABQ.
New Mexico landscape is an acquired taste. Try the Hyatt Tamaya resort located outside on Albuquerque. I do like the food.
Our family like the unique natural landscapes of NM very much. The view on the road trip is amazing and local food around Santa Fe is amazing. When we were at the White Sands NP 7 years ago, my daughter (Around 5) loved it so much and we are still talking about to go back there right now. Esp. since Stephen just mentioned that White Sands NP is dog friendly, I am sure that our puppy will definitely love it too.
Your puppy definitely will love it too! I don’t know if you learned about the sand while you were there, but it’s gypsum sand that never gets hot. That means that even in the summer, your pup’s paws shouldn’t get burned walking around on the sand (although there’s not really much shade for them from just being out in the sun either!)
The answer is: yes. Also, one of the weirdest states to drive through.
Sandia Peak is magical.
It’s everything! We’d stayed a couple of weeks in Albuquerque in mid-to-late March 2020 to hunker down right when COVID was closing things and so we didn’t really explore the area much other than Petroglyph National Park. To be honest though, I hadn’t gotten a great first impression and hadn’t initially been fussed about returning to Albuquerque.
However, we did return and in all have spent something like 8 weeks in New Mexico across several visits over the last few years. Although ABQ didn’t wow me initially, I love it there now. There’s quite a few reasons we love NM – it’s an incredibly beautiful state with amazing scenery. That’s particularly so in the top half of the state, but the bottom half has Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands National Park, etc. too, so it’s not all bad in the southern part of the state scenery-wise.
NM has so much history, not just in terms of the wild west but Ancestral Puebloan history too dating back ~1,000 years. The food is very good, especially seeing as you can get red and/or green chilis with a lot of food to spice it up. My wife also swears by the prickly pear margarita at La Posta De Mesilla in Mesilla.
There’s so much to do there that’s interesting as well, particularly if you like history.
In terms of food and drink, some highlights were:
If you like hiking, New Mexico is a beautiful place to do that. For a unique hike, there’s the Domingo Baca trail in Albuquerque which leads you to the crash site of TWA 260 which occurred in 1955. There’s still parts of the plane wreckage on the mountain you see at the end of the trail.
The La Luz trail is a very strenuous hike up to Sandia Peak, but the views are incredible along the way. The Pyramid Rock trail in Gallup is beautiful, the Pino Trail in Albuquerque is nice and hiking around White Rock near Los Alamos has some lovely views too.
We just have endless fun memories from our time in NM, so it had been a serious contender for me for where we’d settle once we finish our road trip. However, property prices there are too high for what we’d be looking to pay. The state’s slogan is The Land of Enchantment and it really did enchant me – there’s something magical about it there.