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Hotels as Vacation Rentals
While utilizing a vacation rental certainly can bring an air of independence to your vacation, sometimes there aren’t feasible options with points. Here is where our family loves to utilize hotels that function as mini-vacation rentals. Hotels as vacation rentals have the benefit of consistency of service and more options.
Hyatt
To pay for Hyatt you can use Hyatt points or transfer points from Chase.
Hyatt House
We stayed at a Hyatt House in Northern San Diego last year and it was such a nice property. The one bedroom had plenty of space for us to spread out and also came with a kitchenette. The Hyatt house near Disneyland is a common grab for points and miles fans because it is such a good deal compared to the other hotel chains surrounding the park.
Hyatt Residence Club
Hyatt Residence Club is first and foremost a timeshare organization. You can book some of the Hyatt Residence Club properties through the Hyatt website if you search for it and select points. They will have an insignia over the picture that says Hyatt Residence Club. These are much less widely available.
Hyatt Place
While there is no kitchenette, Hyatt place is known for having more spacious rooms with a couch, and most host a pool. For our kids, a hotel pool is always a must, and the extra roominess of these rooms is invaluable with a family.
Marriott
To pay for a Marriott you can utilize Marriott points, or transfer points from Chase or AMEX. Within Marriott your choices for a more vacation rental feel are:
Residence Inn
Residence Inn generally houses a kitchen in each room. Although the newer updated ones do not include a full oven, just a cooktop and a microwave. However, this allows you to keep costs down considerably by offering cooking flexibility at the location. There is also generally a good amount of recreation options at Residence Inn locations like pools, basketball, mini golf, etc. Free Breakfast is standard, and in our experience expansive at Residence Inn locations.
Springhill Suites
Springhill suites does not house a kitchen, but it does include a separated “living room” type area with a workspace that our family has enjoyed using to spread out a bit more than a standard hotel room. This also often includes free breakfast.
Towneplace Inn and Suites
Towneplace is typically a smaller room than a residence inn, but they still offer the kitchenette space. We have also found a lot of success with Towneplace hotels accepting pets.
Marriott Vacation Club/Sheraton Vacation Club/Westin Vacation Club
These are timeshare units. The units that are studios will likely have a standard microwave, coffee maker, fridge combo. The units that are one bedroom or more will generally have a small kitchenette so you can cook in your room. These units are bookable through Marriott for non-timeshare users for unbooked dates. While researching I found a lovely unit for 39,000points per night.
These are harder to find, and I would recommend booking far in advance if this is your goal property. I would also recommend finding the site for the individual location you are looking at and searching for the month you are looking at with flexible dates, then selecting the use points option.
Hilton
Hilton points are only transferable from AMEX, but they transfer at a 1:2 rate. This means if I have 50,000 AMEX points, that equates to 100,000 Hilton points. Hilton also has their own cards that frequently offer incredible signup bonuses. The only catch is that you generally need to use the free night offers on these cards within the year you apply.
Embassy Suites
Embassy suites do not have kitchenettes, but they have a separate living area in each room, which provides extra space for the kiddos to sleep or a place to sit while your kids go to sleep (that’s not the hotel bathroom!). Embassy suites also has free breakfast and evening snacks and drinks, as well as an on-site restaurant, making this an attractive option for less eating out costs.
Homewood Suites
Homewood Suites are an exceptional option for a family looking for a more vacation style rental. All their rooms are suites, and they come with a kitchenette where you can cook meals. They also include free breakfast. These two perks make this a hard-to-pass-up option.
Home2
Have pets? Then this is the pick for you. Not only are these hotels pet friendly, but they contain a kitchenette in each room (with induction cooktops available from the front desk). They also have free breakfast. The studio rooms are divided by a curtain so if you’re looking for more privacy, you might want a different option.
IHG
IHG hotels are a great option if you have points to transfer from Chase. IHG also has some great Credit Cards of their own. Another points option here is to buy points. Consistently, IHG offers really great deals to buy points, and they are ACTUALLY good deals. A lot of times when you see offers to buy points the prices are ridiculous, but watch these deals if you have an IHG stay in your future.
Candlewood Suites
Candlewood Suites are considered a long-term stay hotel. This means they have kitchenettes in their rooms (although not full ovens, just cooktops). They also check the pet friendly box.
Holiday Inn Club Vacations
This is a complicated one to book, but they have some awesome hotels if you can make it work. This is another timeshare. The only way to book using points is to go to the Holiday Inn Club Vacations website.
And from there you will select your location, and select “Reward Nights.” This will then allow you to look at points or points+cash pricing. Not all of these contain the kitchenette, but most of the resorts have fun waterparks or other elite amenities.
Staybridge Suites
Staybridge Suites are a top choice for families. They have studio, one, and two bedroom units. Not only do they offer complimentary breakfast, and check the pet friendly box, but they also have a complimentary happy hour Mon-Wed, free laundry, free storage spaces, and a kitchenette in-room. Free laundry? Yes please! This was a place designed for families.
Wyndham
Wyndham points are transferable from Capital One and Citi. While Wyndham gets forgotten about often, they have an expansive portfolio. We also learned earlier that we can use Wyndham points for Vacasa.
Hawthorne Suites
Hawthorne Suites all include a kitchenette in your room. They also host a free breakfast, and a complimentary social hour*. They do have cash laundry facilities, which can always be helpful when traveling with children.
Conclusion
Well that was a fire hose of hotel information, but I hope you can utilize this as a resource for your own travel planning so that your family can make the best decisions to spread out and save money via points and miles. The points and miles opportunities here are many, and all the various transferable points cards will transfer to many of these hotels, leaving you with choices for your family to spread out.
*Varies by location
Vacation Rentals – Homes and Villas by Marriott
Vacation Rentals – BlueGreen Resorts through Choice
