My favorite part of luxury hotels is not the luxury, but the location. Sometimes the hotels are in grand beautiful historic buildings on the main square and I can’t help but think, “only Ritz Carlton could afford to buy that building”.
Also, I love going to cities and I love seeing the city by foot. For me, being in the city’s main square is the best feeling. And there are wonderful locations that aren’t what I’m talking about. I absolutely love the view from the InterContinental Hong Kong (and Grand Hyatt) but it’s my favorite location for the view, not because of location (although, I do walk outside and watch the light show). This is also about city hotels, the InterContinental in Fiji is beautiful but not “downtown”.
Not all cities have a main square, and sometimes there are multiple. But here are 7 hotels where I feel as soon as you walk out the door, you are there. These are all hotels I’ve either stayed at, or stepped foot in because I’m kind of weird and curious. Therefore, I vouch for all of em, I’m not googling this stuff.
1) Radisson Blu Style Hotel Vienna – 50,000 Club Carlson points
I’ve said before that Vienna is one of my favorite cities because walking down the cobble stoned streets looking up at these historical imperical buildings makes me actually feel like I’m walking through another world.
The Radisson Blu is in an old 1800s bank but incredibly modern on the inside. The hotel is great, but the location is wonderful. Stepping through the front door is stepping through a time machine.
1b) Park Hyatt Vienna – 25,000 Hyatt points
Just as an FYI, the brand new Park Hyatt is two blocks away and I’m sure it deserves its $500/night price tag.
Park Hyatt Sydney – 30,000 Hyatt points
This is a popular way to spend the two free nights from the Hyatt credit card as the hotel seems to consistently go for $1,000 a night for a basic room. But what is the stunning thing about the hotel is the view of the Sydney Opera House. Nothing can make you feel more in Sydney than that.
Besides the view, because that isn’t the point here, this part of town is really happening. On a Saturday night we were the most under dressed people on the streets and the streets were happening til late in the night.
2) Hotel Bristol Warsaw – 10,000 SPG points
Warsaw in my mind is two parts, Old Town and not Old Town. And Old Town Warsaw is probably the most underrated city I’ve been to. I was expecting nothing but its historic part of town (a UNESCO World Heritige Site) is incredibly charming. It’s different than the aura in Vienna or Paris, of a once incredible empire. Charming and old is a better way of saying it.
We actually stayed at the IC Warsaw (which was a great hotel) because I generally find the best use of SPG points for airline transfers. However, passing this hotel, I was totally envious of being in the beautiful old town.
3) Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur – 15,000 Hyatt points
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here’re two downtowns of KL, the area near the Petronas Towers and the area of KL Sentral. In my opinion, the feeling of “I’m here” was the view from the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur looking across to Petronas Towers and down to the park below.
This part of town is clean, and a nice change of pace from the other parts of SE Asia we visited this last trip. And this hotel was incredible not just because of the location and view, but because of the hotel. The lounge is simply amazing.
4) JW Marriott Cusco – 30,000 Marriott points
Truly, this hotel wasn’t there when we were in Cusco but we spent almost two weeks in Cusco and I know the town well and this is right in the center, near the Plaza De Armas.
5) InterContinental Paris Le Grand – 50,000 IHG points
We cashed in on a free night cert for this hotel and perhaps there are a number of redemptions in Paris but this location was more than awesome. Outside the doors of this hotel is the Paris Garnier – the Opera House – which is a magnificent building that dates back to 1861 and down the street from La Madeleine, which dates back to 1841.
These are incredibly grand buildings, although Paris is full of them. If you took away all the cars it would be as beautiful as Vienna!
6) Ritz Carlton Central Park – 70,000 Marriott points
Possibly a huge waste of points on my part, and the least “like-me” redemption. Regrettable. Yet, pretty awesome. The hotel is on Central Park which is more novel as it’s something only the wealthy get to enjoy.
Although I must admit my favorite part of town is the area between the bottom and midtown, where there aren’t a lot of hotels. And my favorite hotel in NYC so far has been the Conrad. So I’ll give an alternative.
6b) Ritz Carlton Battery Park – 60,000 Marriott points
This hotel overlooks Battery Park and has a view of the Statue of Liberty. The Conrad is a little out of the way and if I could try any hotel in NYC next, I’d try this one. But I can no longer justify such splurges.
7) Radisson Blu Salzburg – 50,000 Club Carlson points
Salzburg is a very small town so our stay at the Crowne Plaza wasn’t too far away but the Radisson Blu is in the heart of of the city and right on the river. One of the most beautiful towns in the world, and from up on the castle (near the hotel) you have a wonderful view of the alps.
Honorable Mentions & Conclusion
- Park Hyatt Hamburg – This hotel wows me just like every Park Hyatt I’ve stayed at. Truly a great hotel and without a doubt, in the best part of town.
- InterContinental Bucharest – Bucharest doesn’t wow me like Budapest or Vienna, but we did get a room on the 15th floor looking down at the city… which was awesome.
- Radisson Blu Edinburgh
- InterContinental Mumbai
- InterContinental Kiev
- InterContinental Mark Hopkins San Francisco
- anywhere near Westminister in London. I love that area.
It’s a little harder for me to say “downtown” in many Asian cities for whatever reason. We’ve stayed at nearly a dozen hotels in Bangkok and each location seems near something different. Or in Saigon, every street is equally filled with 5 billion motorcyclists.
What other hotels are in great locations?
Obviously, I haven’t been everywhere (yet). So what city hotels are awesome locations I and others should really check out?
Radisson Blu Ankara is a very nice location, the museum, citadel, etc are easily walkable.
Only 15,000 points too. Thx.
Nice! I would add the Marriott in Ghent, Belgium. It opens onto the no-cars canal-centric gorgeous old town Ghent, while the backside connects to modern Ghent. Because it’s just on the edge of the walking-only part of town, you can even drive to the Marriott and park underneath, and then emerge in the gorgeous walking area for a waffle and a trappist beer (not necessarily in that order..) 🙂
Never been to Ghent but that sounds awesome. When you say “no-cars”, that’s my area of the city!
It’s funny you mentioned hotel Bristol in Warsaw. We’ll spend one night there, and need to book 2 hotel rooms. I’m debating on whether to use SPG points or certs for IHG Intercontinental. On one hand, 20,000 SPG points is an obscene amount for just one night, but the hotel does look nice. I can’t decide on which way to go. Your take?
Oh BTW, Warsaw old town is completely rebuilt. It was leveled during WWII and was later painstakingly reconstructed based on photos and drawings. You probably know that, but I thought I would mention it anyway.
Boy, I don’t know. See the weekend rate for the IC was 60 Euros a night when I booked! And I needed an IC for each of for the Big Win at the time. So the IC was an easy decision.
I loved the IC hotel for where it was, but I’m telling you old town IS where you want to be. So, if the SPG hotel is a big step up in price for you, ya know, due to having more IHG or less miles, or what not… then I’d say be willing to taxi there.
Because it’s not worth not spending most of your time there. So either pay for the taxis or pay for the hotel.
That’s my opinion.
The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel Brussels (50,000 points) is very close to the Grand Place! When you come out of the hotel, you turn to the right and enter the Galeries Royal Saint Hubert (covered passage with shops) and you exit right at one of the entrances to the Grand Place. In addition, you are near the train station and close to most of the other sights.
The Comfort Hotel Diana is very close to St Mark’s Square in Venice. (10,000 Choice Points) We actually stayed at the Best Western Montecarlo years ago. You can’t beat 1 1/2 blocks to St Mark’s square.
Hotel Indigo St George is in the Campo de fiori district in Rome (my preferred location). It is 45,000 points a night. I will be there later this year and can report on it then.
Just google-mapsed the Radisson Blu and not only is it near the Grand Palace it’s actually 44,000 points. That would be a fantastic location.
I wish I had the choice points when we were in Venice. And for Rome, I can’t decide where I’d like to stay when I return, as there are so many parts of town with interesting rich history. But I agree, that’s a great location.
I recommend the Quebec City Marriott Downtown (35,000 points). Great rates (~$115 USD) when I went during the holidays to see the Christmas decorations. Some rooms overlook the Place D’Youville (where there is a public ice skating rink in winter), Saint Jean gate, the UNESCO world heritage site of the Old Town and 400 year old walled city.
Quebec doesn’t hold the allure of overseas luxury travel but, if you live in the Northeast the ability to drive to “Europe” for a weekend is an amazing get away.
My wife blogged about our trip, in the second photo you can see the photo of the ice skating rink and Saint Jean gate from the front steps of the Marriott. The view at night from our hotel room is even more breathtaking.
http://the2seasons.com/2013/12/09/our-romantic-get-away-to-quebec-city/
The photo looks beautiful. Carrie and I visited Quebec very briefly years ago. Before we had any Marriott points, but I don’t think we were ever in this area. Looks amazing.
For the bucket list… Hotel Abbasi, “the world’s oldest hotel” – Esfahan, Iran. “half the world,” and more. “Pardis” on earth, could be. http://www.abbasihotel.ir/MainEn.aspx?p=52 (I was there last in 1992)
That looks amazing. I checked it out on youtube and just googling it. Definitely reminds me of some of my favorite museums, like the one in Berlin with Nebuchadnezzar’s wall … Or is that from Iraq?
I looked, and there are definitely no points hotels in Iran. lol. Although I suppose it’s not too expensive there?
glad you liked the view. You’re right about no apparent international chain hotels in Iran — partly a legacy of the revolution. Yet I could be out of date on that. I do know Iran has been really pushing/investing in tourism lately, at least with European markets….. (and afaik, there’s nothing saying that even American$ would not be welcome.) Re. costs, expenses, and ever shifting exchange rates, much….. in flux. Stay tuned. personally, I’m optimistic….. mid-term, that doors will yet open wider.
The comfort inn Diana is very close to st mark’s and I just stayed there for 5 nights but I must say its not a luxury hotel (nice but small n tight)
That’s alright. Venice is kind of tight itself. :-p
If I go back back anytime soon, that’s probably where I’d stay.
To be slightly contrarian, I submit the Gran Hotel Bolivar in Lima. It is in the old, historic downtown center, the one many say is quite dangerous after dark, or even during the day. As far as I know, there are no point-redemption possibilities, and ought not matter for such an awesome property. Most tourists in Lima want to stay in Miraflores or perhaps the more business-oriented San Isidro. The Hotel Bolivar is the real deal, preserved in aspic but not in any way prettied up, and within a cat’s swing of many museums and other historic sites enjoyable during daylight. There is a Ford Model-T in the lobby. The hotel is very clean, but it does not appear as if any room fixtures have been updated since the Eisenhower or Kennedy eras. The bathroom fixtures are all toothpaste-colored, and the nightstand has a built-in radio, a built-in AM-only radio. Bribe your way into one of the very few (maybe only one or two) rooms with terraces, enormously vast terraces onto which one can move the bedroom furniture likely older than your parents before making your own cocktails and overlooking, central Lima, which most North American tourists ignore. I think I paid a $20 sort of bribe to check in early at 8AM on a $25 reservation for the room with a terrace. I’ve been fortunate enough to have stayed at a number of legit 5-star hotels, but they left much less of an impression on me than the Gran Hotel Bolivar. The place currently rates itself as a 3-star hotel on its website. When opened in the 1920s, it was the premier Lima hotel and frequented by diplomats, artists, and various dignitaries (I’m not getting into how Hemingway, Nixon, and Jagger are all at least a bit lame in their own singular ways).
I must admit that I’m one of those who didn’t leave Miraflores when I went to Lima. However, the pictures of this part of town look great.
I guess it is a little contrarian. As it’s not a points hotel and people tend to skip Lima. But I think you re-qualify when you say you got it for $25. How?
I just rechecked my records (gmail). In 2010, I initially paid U$D26 but messed up and accidentally booked a single room. An email to Agoda resulted in an extra U$D2.70 a night to add the formerly significant other and secure a double reservation. I just searched some random dates, and it is more costly, like twice as much as then. Guess I don’t have much of a deal here anymore, but the hotel does have/did have character. The pictures seem to show somewhat updated rooms.
Armenia Marriott Hotel Yerevan – a beautiful cat. 3 hotel in the center of downtown Yerevan with various live night activities, walking distance to almost every museum.
Way to resist the temptation to Vendome us.