# HGVC club news - paris package



## yumdrey (Feb 24, 2010)

Today, I got an e-mail from HGVC.
Is this good deal? 2000 HGVC points/room (per night).
I am wondering which one is better - convert my next year's 14000 points to HHonors and use it to below hotel, or 2000/night/room as below??
Any comment?
Below is what they offer:

We are pleased to announce a limited time offer for all Club Members to sample the splendor of France's leading luxury retreat at* Trianon Palace Versailles, the Waldorf Astoria Collection*.

Bordering the Palace de Versailles, and only 20 kilometers outside Paris, this fashionable Ch�teau de Versailles hotel recently benefited from an artful, full-scale redesign, adding an air of tasteful, modern elegance to atmosphere of regal luxury.

Exclusive Club Member Package Includes
King Classic Accommodations in the hotel's Pavilion building
Welcome gift from The Kings Garden on behalf of the General Manager
Access to the Guerlain Spa & swimming pool as well as a 10% discount on all spa treatments
Complimentary Versailles cocktail in the Gallery Bar

Package Details
2,000 ClubPoints and/or Hilton Grand Vacations Bonus points per room, per night
Reservation Fee – $59.00
Offer valid from March 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010 and subject to availability


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## ricoba (Feb 24, 2010)

I got that email as well.  

As much as I perhaps would like to go to Europe someday, I really won't be going anytime soon.  

But I was wondering if 2000 pts per night was a good deal for a hotel room???   Seemed a bit steep to me.  But I do know that a lot of these fancy joints in Europe do cost a pretty penny on a nightly basis.  Maybe some pts expert and European traveler can enlighten me.


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## chriskre (Feb 24, 2010)

I saw the offer too.

Too rich for my measly little 5000 points contract.  :ignore: 

I'd only get 2 nights.  :annoyed: 

I think I'd just pay cash and find a deal.


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## ricoba (Feb 24, 2010)

chriskre said:


> I saw the offer too.
> 
> Too rich for my measly little 5000 points contract.  :ignore:
> 
> ...



Oh, I have that beat...for my 7000 points, I can get 3.5 nights!


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## chriskre (Feb 24, 2010)

ricoba said:


> Oh, I have that beat...for my 7000 points, I can get 3.5 nights!



At this level I don't think they are going to have too many takers unless someone just owns a ridiculous amount of points and wants to burn them all in a few days.  That's not why I bought into HGVC.


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## ricoba (Feb 24, 2010)

...all I am wondering is how I can use that "half" night!  

But seriously, this is what I am wondering too.  2000 pts per night seems very steep to me, but I am no expert on this sort of thing.


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## pianodinosaur (Feb 24, 2010)

Sounds like a bad exchange to me.  It makes much more sense to use HHonors points and Go Global.  We have had European trips using HHonors redemptions without cashing in HGVC points.


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## joegish (Feb 24, 2010)

*Cheaper than HHonors points*

HHonors points are 60k/night.  At 25:1 that's 2400 HGVC points, so the 2k point deal is a little better....not that 60k HHonors points/night is really a good deal to start with....FYI, the rooms at the Hilton Triannon run around EUR 300/night.  Ouch.


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## jestme (Feb 24, 2010)

I guess some marketting person figured people who had the money to buy a $25,000 timeshare might have enough money to pay EUR 300 / night as well. He obviously never heard of resale.


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## jsb15 (Feb 24, 2010)

ricoba said:


> ...all I am wondering is how I can use that "half" night!
> 
> But seriously, this is what I am wondering too.  2000 pts per night seems very steep to me, but I am no expert on this sort of thing.



I hear there are places in Paris you can rent by the "half night" or even the hour .


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## ricoba (Feb 24, 2010)

jsb15 said:


> I hear there are places in Paris you can rent by the "half night" or even the hour .



 :rofl: As I am sure there are in every major city!   :hysterical: 

Good one.


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## pianodinosaur (Feb 24, 2010)

joegish said:


> HHonors points are 60k/night.  At 25:1 that's 2400 HGVC points, so the 2k point deal is a little better....not that 60k HHonors points/night is really a good deal to start with....FYI, the rooms at the Hilton Triannon run around EUR 300/night.  Ouch.



You have made an excellent point.   I would not go to Paris for less than a week. I would use the Going Global codes and would pay much less than 60K HHonors points per night.  If I am going to blow a mint on airfare, I am going to spend a long time at the destination.  However, I would agree that converting HGVC points to pay for a stay at an expensive European Hotel for a week or more would be a reasonable option, especially if you don't have enough HHonors points otherwise.  I prefer to use my HGVC points for timeshare exchanges and cruises. (I know that the exchange rate for cruises is not the greatest but it does help diffray the cost when we want to cruise.)


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## Talent312 (Feb 24, 2010)

There is a certain comfort-level in staying at a high-end American chain hotel in foreign countries; however, IME, you can get a much better deal, and often a better location, by staying in a local or regional-brand 3-4 star hotel.

For Paris, I would sooner find a place with some character in the Latin Quarter _(which I have)_, even if it didn't have the refinement and accouterments of a Waldorf. That offers a far more interesting vacation, and saves my points for more mundane travel.


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## Purseval (Feb 25, 2010)

jsb15 said:


> I hear there are places in Paris you can rent by the "half night" or even the hour .



We rented a place in Madrid for 3 hours and it was a lifesaver.  Between jet lag and a crappy flight we were exhausted, it was much better than wandering around like zombies.


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## wauhob3 (Feb 25, 2010)

This isn't even in Paris but Versailles. I wonder if Priceline does Paris rooms? We had excellent luck with London rooms through Priceline at a fraction of the cost. I want to say it was $76 US dollars but was a while ago. We stayed at a Novotel overlooking the British Library sculpture gardens. I'd check and see if they do Paris and stay right in Paris if they do.


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## GTLINZ (Feb 25, 2010)

pianodinosaur said:


> Sounds like a bad exchange to me.  It makes much more sense to use HHonors points and Go Global.  We have had European trips using HHonors redemptions without cashing in HGVC points.



Does not sound like a good use of points to me either, but notice that you can use bonus points which are pretty restricted anyway .....


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