Planning a New England Trip with Points

[Lydlady]

I'm trying to plan a trip to New Hampshire and Vermont using Marriott points. Can anyone make any suggestions on places to stay? I'm thinking 3 to 4 days in each place. We will also be spending 5 to 6 days in Maine at a friends'.

I've never planned a points trip so any suggestions would be welcomed.

The trip is for 2009.

 

[KathyPet]

Not a lot to choose from in those two states. Mostly Courtyards, Fairfield Inns, Towne Place Suites. The best of the lot is Wentworth by the Sea which is on the New Hampshire coast and is a Inn and spa resort. i suggest you look at Marriott.com and select from the Find Hotels window and enter the states you are interested in. Everything will then display for you.

 

[kjd]

A few suggestions

You are traveling to areas that are not blessed with quality TS nor are you staying in any one place for 7 days. That makes this a perfect trip to use points. We do at least two of these trips a year. Here are some suggestions.

1. Fly to a major city near the area you are visiting in order to get a lower air fare.

2. Rent a car at the airport and drive to your first destination.

3. Reserve your hotel rooms well in advance (at least 6 mo)

4. When you do a Marriott search you will find that some hotels won't take MRP's at certain times. When doing the search check the box that says using points. Then un-check the box to see the difference.

5. If your stay spills over into a weekend make two reservations. One with points for during the week and then get a weekend rate by paying cash. MRP's are worth .0125 PP and some hotels offer weekend rates that are cheaper than the points. I have found this to be true in some of the business hotels like Courtyard. Higher weekend rates can make things more difficult and it may be better to use points in that case. California for one, has a lot of higher weekend rates in many places.

6. Fairfield generally takes less of your points for a stay. A Residence Inn is usually a higher category. They both have advantages such as the RI free breakfast. I usually look for a Fairfield if I only want to stay 1 or 2 nights.

7. Airport locations can be cheaper on weekends if you are paying cash. If you use points it doesn't matter.

8. I have had a few hotels accept points instead of cash when I checked out even though I had made a cash reservation.

Hope this helps.

 

[Lydlady]

Thank you both for your suggestions

 

[pwrshift]

If you include Boston as part of New England there are now two Category 7 hotels there. You should do your selection by category as Cat6 hotels are sometimes even better IMO and there are plenty of great Cat5 hotels to consider too. Here is the Category section .. just change the category number in the top right hand corner and check the states of interest.

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/pointsGridPopUpPropertyList.mi

I agree with the Wentworth (Category 6) ... booked it for 7 nights last year and took my dog. Loved it and booked it (again with points) for 7 nights for late summer this year. www.wentworth.com

Newport RI is also a great place to visit, but not pet friendly. America lost the America's Cup here years ago. If you like boats ... and wonderful Vanderbilt home tours, this is the place.

http://www.newportstay.com/

In CT there's the Marriott Mystic - a Cat 5 full service hotel. Highly rated on TripAdvisor.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re..._Mystic_Hotel_and_Spa-Groton_Connecticut.html

There are a pile of 4 & 5 Category hotels to look at too.

The more nights you stay up to 7 the better use of your points, as you can see. 4 nights in a Cat 7 will cost you 95,000 MR points (23,750 per night) but for 7 nights it's 18,571 per night. If you stay 7 nights you can buy a air+hotel package with airline frequen flyer miles .. best deal of all. Scroll down this page to see the packages.

http://www.marriott.com/rewards/usepoints/morepack.mi

Brian

 

[kamumma1]

Burlington, VT

Burlington, VT has a Cat 4 Courtyard Marriott that is very nice. It is new and has just been renovated. The rooms are big, richly decorated, as are the bathrooms. Nice pool and hot tub too. There are views of Lake Champlain, Burlington, and the Adirondack Mountains. The lake is right across the street from the hotel. Church Street, which is a brick street for pedestrians only, has lots of great restaurants and shops. In the summer there are lots of street performers as well. It is only a few blocks walk from the hotel. We live nearby and used our VISA free night stays here twice. I would say it is an upscale Cat 4 and look forward to going again.

W/in driving distance there are lots of things to do: Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury, the VT Teddy Bear Factory in Shelburne, the Shelburne Museum, Shelburne Farms, ECHO - Burlington's Science Center, and lots of outdoor stuff to do - kayaking, hiking, rock climbing, canoeing, biking, sailing, etc. It's a great town.

 

[pcgirl54]

Lisa
We have used Marriott points to stay at Residence Inns in the Portland Maine area which are of Marriott. There are 1 and 2 bedrooms and a living area, kitchen and a hot breakfast.

There is a lot to do in Portland ME and great seafood. Kennebunk,Rockland(tall ships) ,LLBean and Kittery Outlets are within a 1-2 hour drive.

http://www.marriott.com/hotel-search/united-states/new-hampshire/residence-inn

In N H there is one in Portsmouth and Nashua.

http://www.marriott.com/hotel-search/united-states/new-hampshire/residence-inn/

Marriott points and catergories change so you much watch them. I have seen them jump from a Cat 3 or 4 to a 5 or 6 needing more points. I saw this happen closer to a holiday weekend.

I have yet to stay at Wentworth by the Sea but it is on my to do list. Summer rates are over $300 but in off season it was $189.

 

[Lydlady]

Thank you everybody for more great ideas! Sounds like I better include Wentworth by the Sea. I'm not planning on going for at least another year so I can't book yet, but I'm going to copy these suggestions and save them.

 

[Beverley]

Wentworth is a lovely hotel, but you should know that it is a bit off the beat trail ... in a residential area a bit away from the hub bub of the downtown Portsmouth area.

I would suggest Residence Inn also since they have kitchens.

It is true that New England has limited opportunities for hotel point stays because the hotels are limited. You may want to consider a timeshare or two if you have any available units. I have stayed at the Inn Season Resorts in Pollard Brook and they were very nice. I also stayed at the Falls in Ogunquit and it was a nice place too (a little small but very clean and updated). Possibly heading up to Burlington VT and then heading towards Conway NH may give you some possibilities. Portland ME has a good hotel (Marriott Sabal Palms) and a good Fairfield Inn (fairly new) the one near the Maine Mall. These may be possibles if your sister lives farther up.

Good luck and happy travels.

Beverley

 

[pcgirl54]

Maine

I can also vouch for Marriott Sabal Palms in Maine and also used the Residence Inn I mentioned. We stayed there on a Maine trip.

Ogunquit is a charming Maine town that has a terrific beach and ocean walking path plus a bakery we love called Bread & Roses with a gourmet grocer next door.