Hilton’s Devaluations were huge as the top price went up to 95,000 points for a single night. However, Categores 1 & 2 are only 5,000 points & 10,000 points. 5,000 points for one night is a fantastic deal.
So we made an interactive map with every Hilton HHonors Category 1 & 2 Hotel. We’ll then give suggestion for what the best hotels on this map are, and then a complete list of the hotels at the end. Enjoy. 😉
The Map
With the map above, you can check and uncheck another category of hotels. So if you want to see only category 1 hotels, just uncheck the category 2 options (international & domestic). You can also make the map full screen by clicking the full screen symbol in the top right of the map.
It isn’t perfect down to the street, but hopefully it has the right zip code.
Why This Is Awesome
Part of the reason 5,000 points is such a steal is because it’s so easy to earn HHonors points. There are 4 credit cards, but what’s really interesting is that the Surpass card gives 6 points per dollar at “U.S. restaurants, at U.S. supermarkets, and at U.S. gas stations”. And both the Surpass and Reserve give 3 points per dollar everywhere.
I don’t want to go into this too much, but essentially you would have to spend $834 on a credit card at a gas station or grocery store to earn 5,000 Hilton HHonors points. And I can pretty well earn 6,000 points for $10.
Essentially I can confidently get a Hilton Category 1 hotel for $10 and a Category 2 for $20.
This is awesome.
Best Category 1 HHonors Hotels
Again, I’ll include a list below, but there are a few hotels that stand out on the category 1 list.
First though, any of these for $10 a night is a great deal. Period.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Johor Bahru, Malaysia
If this is nearly as nice as the DT in Kuala Lumpur, this could be the nicest hotel on the list. It’s a no brainer if you’re here.
Am I going to plan a vacation here? No. Nothing draws me to the city, but if I was in the area, this is a killer deal.
Hilton Alexandria Corniche, Egypt
This hotel has good reviews, it’s always over $100/night, and it looks nice. I’d love to check out Alexandria. All the hotels in Egypt look nice, although the economy is a little down right now and paid nights are pretty cheap.
Hilton Salalah Resort, Oman
Based on my little knowledge and google searching… this seems like an odd place. I just don’t know what to make of it. Some pictures of waterfalls make it look like Hawaii (ish), and others make it look barren.
Based on the sometimes high prices and decent TA reviews, this looks like a real steal for 5,000 points. I mean, this looks like a real resort.
No idea what to think.
Hampton by Hilton Panama
This hotel is in downtown Panama City. It’s only $80/night regularly and is a 3-star hotel. But it looks decent and has a great location for being a category 1 hotel.
Other Cat 1 deals:
- Hilton Garden Inn Tucumán, Argentina
- Hilton Pyramids Golf Resort, Egypt
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Queretaro, Mexico
- Batang Ai Longhouse Resort, Managed by Hilton, Malaysia
- Anything in the UK
- Anything in USA
- Anything in China (because it will be nice and new)
Best Category 2 HHonors Hotels
Hilton Sibiu, Romania
Didn’t get here on my trip to Romania, but I wish I did go up into Transylvania. I only hear good things, and on my next trip, if I have the Hilton points I’ll give this place a stay.
Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
This is a great hotel with a club lounge that has a view of the Petronas Towers. For whatever reason, I prefer this part of town and I enjoy being in a tall hotel that’s part of a skyline. If you’re in KL, this is a great choice.
Other Cat 2 deals:
- Rames Hilton Cairo, Egypt
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Aqaba, Jordan
- Hampton Inn & Suites Mexico City – Centro Historico, Mexico
- Hilton Garden Inn Hanoi, Vietnam
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Beijing, China
- Anything in Europe (except Bratislava)
- Anything in the USA
Conclusion
Before I give the complete and very long list of Category 1 & 2 hotels, I’ll sign off.
And I don’t want to be lame and keep saying, “they’re all great deals”, but… I mean, $10 a night. Actually, it doesn’t matter how you get your points, think of it this way.
Book a $100/night hotel for 5,000 points, OR book a $400/night hotel for 95,000 points?
Is $100 worth only 1/19th in “value”? No. It’s insane, imo, to spend 95,000 points when you could spend 5,000. Not only because of false understanding of “value” but because then you have to pay for 18 more nights.
If none of these hotels suit you, or if you’re in no shortage, then do what you need. If you have the chance, these hotels are way better redemptions no matter how you do the math.
Complete List of Category 1 Hotels
Argentina
- HILTON GARDEN INN TUCUMAN
China
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL CHONGQING WANZHOU
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL JIAXING
- HILTON GARDEN INN SHENZHEN BAO’AN
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL ANHUI – SUZHOU
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL WUHU
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL WUXI
Egypt
- HILTON PYRAMIDS GOLF RESORT
- HILTON ALEXANDRIA CORNICHE
- HILTON ALEXANDRIA GREEN PLAZA
- HILTON HURGHADA RESORT
- HILTON SHARM DREAMS RESORT
- HILTON SHARM WATERFALLS RESORT
India
- HAMPTON BY HILTON VADODARA-ALKAPURI
Indonesia
- HILTON GARDEN INN BALI NGURAH RAI AIRPORT
Malaysia
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL JOHOR BAHRU
- BATANG AI LONGHOUSE RESORT, MANAGED BY HILTON
Mexico
- HAMPTON INN BY HILTON CHIHUAHUA CITY
- HAMPTON INN BY HILTON CIUDAD JUÁREZ
- HAMPTON INN BY HILTON MONTERREY-AIRPORT
- HAMPTON INN BY HILTON MONTERREY/GALERÍAS-OBISPADO
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL QUERETARO
- HAMPTON INN BY HILTON QUERETARO TECNOLOGICO
- HILTON GARDEN INN QUERETARO
- HAMPTON INN BY HILTON REYNOSA/ZONA INDUSTRIAL
- HILTON GARDEN INN TUXTLA GUTIERREZ
Oman
- HILTON SALALAH RESORT
Panama
- HAMPTON BY HILTON PANAMA
Russia
- HAMPTON BY HILTON SAMARA
Turkey
- HAMPTON BY HILTON BURSA
- HILTON GARDEN INN DIYARBAKIR
UK
- HAMPTON BY HILTON CORBY/KETTERING
- HAMPTON BY HILTON NEWPORT/EAST
USA
- HAMPTON INN CLARKSVILLE
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES CLEBURNE
- HAMPTON INN COLUMBUS-AIRPORT
- HAMPTON INN FLORENCE-MIDTOWN
- HAMPTON INN JACKSONVILLE-I-95 SOUTH
Complete List of Category 2 Hotels
China
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL BEIJING
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL HAIKOU – MEILAN
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL HANGZHOU EAST
- HILTON HEFEI
- HILTON GARDEN INN LIJIANG
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL PUTIAN
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL SHENYANG
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL JIANGSU – TAIZHOU
- HILTON ZHONGSHAN DOWNTOWN
Egypt
- RAMSES HILTON
- HILTON SHARM EL SHEIKH FAYROUZ RESORT
India
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL AGRA
Jordan
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL AQABA
Malaysia
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL KUALA LUMPUR
Mexico
- HILTON GARDEN INN BOCA DEL RIO VERACRUZ
- HAMPTON INN BY HILTON GUADALAJARA/EXPO
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES MEXICO CITY – CENTRO HISTORICO
- HOME2 SUITES BY HILTON QUERETARO, MEXICO
- HAMPTON INN BY HILTON SALTILLO AIRPORT AREA
Poland
- HAMPTON BY HILTON GDANSK AIRPORT
- HILTON GARDEN INN RZESZOW
- HAMPTON BY HILTON SWINOUJSCIE
- HAMPTON BY HILTON WARSAW AIRPORT
Romania
- HAMPTON BY HILTON CLUJ-NAPOCA
- HILTON SIBIU
Slovakia
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL BRATISLAVA
Turkey
- HILTON GARDEN INN KUTAHYA
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL MALATYA
- HAMPTON BY HILTON ORDU
- HAMPTON BY HILTON SAMSUN
UK
- HAMPTON BY HILTON DERBY CITY CENTRE
- HAMPTON BY HILTON LIVERPOOL/JOHN LENNON AIRPORT
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL NEWCASTLE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
- HILTON NEWPORT
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL SHEFFIELD PARK
- HAMPTON BY HILTON SHEFFIELD
Vietnam
- HILTON GARDEN INN HANOI
USA
- HAMPTON INN DALLAS-ADDISON
- HAMPTON INN ALAMOGORDO
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES BAKERSFIELD/HWY 58, CA
- HAMPTON INN BATESVILLE
- HAMPTON INN HOUSTON/BAYTOWN
- HAMPTON INN BEAUMONT
- HAMPTON INN BOWLING GREEN
- HAMPTON INN BRYANT
- HAMPTON INN CANTON
- HAMPTON INN CARTERSVILLE
- HAMPTON INN PORTLAND/CLACKAMAS
- HAMPTON INN CLINTON
- HAMPTON INN CLINTON
- HAMPTON INN CLOVIS
- HAMPTON INN COLORADO SPRINGS-AIRPORT
- HAMPTON INN ST. LOUIS-COLUMBIA
- HAMPTON INN CORNELIA
- HAMPTON INN DEMING, NM
- HAMPTON INN DOUGLAS
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES ATLANTA/DULUTH/GWINNETT COUNTY
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES DUMAS
- HAMPTON INN DYERSBURG
- HAMPTON INN EL DORADO
- HAMPTON INN ENTERPRISE
- HAMPTON INN ATLANTA-FAIRBURN
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES FARMINGTON
- HAMPTON INN FAYETTEVILLE-I-95
- HAMPTON INN FRANKLIN
- HAMPTON INN FREEPORT
- HAMPTON INN GAINESVILLE
- HAMPTON INN GREENWOOD
- HAMPTON INN GRIFFIN
- HAMPTON INN GUNTERSVILLE
- HAMPTON INN HILLSBORO
- HAMPTON INN HINESVILLE
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES CHICAGO/HOFFMAN ESTATES
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES HOLLY SPRINGS
- HAMPTON INN PETERSBURG/HOPEWELL
- HAMPTON INN HUNTSVILLE
- HAMPTON INN JACKSONVILLE-I-295 EAST/BAYMEADOWS
- HAMPTON INN JONESBORO
- HAMPTON INN KEOKUK
- HAMPTON INN KINSTON
- HAMPTON INN LA JUNTA
- HAMPTON INN LAGRANGE NEAR CALLAWAY GARDENS
- HAMPTON INN LAURINBURG
- HAMPTON INN LINCOLN
- HAMPTON INN LIVINGSTON
- HAMPTON INN LORDSBURG
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES MANSFIELD
- HAMPTON INN MANSFIELD/ONTARIO
- HAMPTON INN MIAMI
- HAMPTON INN MILLEDGEVILLE
- HAMPTON INN MONROE
- HAMPTON INN MOREHEAD
- HAMPTON INN ATLANTA-SOUTHLAKE
- HAMPTON INN ATLANTA/PEACHTREE CORNERS/NORCROSS
- HAMPTON INN OTTUMWA
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES OXFORD-ANNISTON
- HILTON GARDEN INN OXFORD/ANNISTON, AL
- HOME2 SUITES BY HILTON OXFORD, AL
- HAMPTON INN OZARK
- HAMPTON INN PAMPA
- HAMPTON INN PRINCETON
- HAMPTON INN RALEIGH MIDTOWN
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL RICHMOND AIRPORT
- HAMPTON INN RICHMOND – AIRPORT
- HILTON GARDEN INN RICHMOND AIRPORT
- HOMEWOOD SUITES BY HILTON RICHMOND – AIRPORT
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES SCOTTSBORO
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES SCOTTSBURG
- HAMPTON INN SELMA
- HAMPTON INN SEYMOUR
- HAMPTON INN GREENVILLE/SIMPSONVILLE
- HAMPTON INN SOUTH HILL
- HAMPTON INN SPARTANBURG-NORTH I-85
- HAMPTON INN SPRING HILL
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES STEPHENVILLE
- DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL TULSA DOWNTOWN
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES TULSA SOUTH-BIXBY
- HILTON GARDEN INN TULSA SOUTH
- HAMPTON INN TUPELO
- HAMPTON INN UNION CITY
- HAMPTON INN VAN BUREN
- HAMPTON INN RALEIGH/TOWN OF WAKE FOREST
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES WAXAHACHIE
- HAMPTON INN WAYCROSS
- HAMPTON INN FALL RIVER/WESTPORT
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES WIGGINS
- HAMPTON INN & SUITES WINNIE
Excellent post once again, Drew. Many thanks.
Thanks Kumar!
This is AWESOME. Fast, responsive, creative. Truly upping the standards.
Well done guys!
Agree with the upping the standards.
Original material that is useful.
Excellent.
Thanks guys!
Completely agree with the above – very much appreciate the work that goes into producing helpful, informative, useful original content like this. Kudos!
Perhaps I missed something. If $800+ at a gas station nets you 6,000 points, then how are you getting 5,000 points for $10? Where are you earning 500 pts/$ …?
Manufactured spending, google it and explore!
http://frequentmiler.boardingarea.com/
What’s wrong with the DT Bratislava?
Oh, I’m just kidding because I’m not much of a fan of blatislava… but such amazing cities surround it. :-p Personal preference.
Dree, was considering a stay in Bratislava so curious what you don’t like about it? Thanks, great content as alwaysA,
I thought there were a few beautiful blocks in Bratislava and the rest was bleh. My friend calls it blahtislava. But I have another friend who really likes it. It’s grimey outside the center. But we had a negative experience, partly with the hotel (Park Inn).
Excellent tool, thank you, Drew! More astonishing deals across Egypt, Oman, & Turkey.
Certainly great deals in Egypt and Turkey across the board. I got more of these coming too. :-p
thank you for this post. Your site continues to be extremely high quality and really stands out among the the travel bloggers.
Thanks David! Very glad to hear the content is appreciated.
Drew
I think the most interesting Cat. 1 hotel in the world is the Batang Ai Longhouse, about 4 hours from Kuching in Borneo. It’s a bit faded, but quite unique (the last half hour is by boat). Free full buffet breakfast for golds, and the open air restaurant is quite affordable for dinner. Lots of not-too-expensive excursions.
I have gone back and forth on this hotel, especially since we were just in asia. Thought about a trip, but… the reviews we’re awesome. So I can’t decided if I would love it or be bored.
I better go find out for everyone else sake. :-p
I’ve been trying to book the Batang Ai Longhouse for a while but there’s never any availability. Not ever for paid nights. I’ve checked on both the HHonors site directly and on Expedia et al. Nothing.
Also, Hilton credits stays on awards. So, throw a “stay 4 in 90 days and get gold” promo in and you have gold and 4 stays for $20.
Good point!
Yea and I didn’t touch on it, but with gold status at a doubletree, your $8 would come with lounge access and breakfast. 😉
So, to clairify….
I can obtain status at Hilton by making award(unpaid) stays?
I live close to Columbus, OH so I checked “Hampton Inn Columbus-Airport”. It’s a category 4 and needs 30000 points/night.
Odd, I got it from Hilton.com’s category 1 list:
http://hhonors.hilton.com/en/hhonors/rewards/search_result_reward_levels.jhtml?countriesOnly=US&_D%3AcountriesOnly=+&hhonorsRewardLevel=1&_DARGS=%2Fen%2Fhotels%2Fsearch%2Fresults_head_hhonors_reward_levels.jhtml.2
You arent the only Columbus… It’s Columbus, GA
Speaking of Columbus, GA, it’s the home of Ft. Benning, and the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center, currently in the running for Best Free Museum in America according to a survey by USA Today!
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Beijing is wonderful property and an absolute steel when i stayed there last year for 5000/night. I got upgraded to a quite too plus free breakfast as a gold. Best deal I have ever had. It is a bit far out but taxi is cheap and perfect for day trips in and around Beijing. The Supermarket is right under the hotel for more savings!!!!
That is the great part about China is category 1 & 2 hotels with most chains. Well, cat 1/2s that are super nice! Holiday Inns in Shanghai downtown for 10,000 is a good deal. A nice doubletree is a great deal.
Most Cat 1 properties look like you also get complimentary bed bugs with your award night.
lol, guess I’m young enough that the doubletrees are still alright with me.
Excellent map, thank you!
I notice that Hilton Garden Inn Quetararo (actually located in Mexico) shows to be in north Texas.
Yea, the HGI Quetararo moved to Texas recently. You didn’t hear? 😉 jk
Thanks for pointing that out. I’ll fix that now.
This post has some great mechanics. I will say about Egypt, though, it’s obviously not their economy you need to be concerned about.
Well, the economy is why it’s good to go. The political turmoil is a reason the economy is low. But that stuff doesn’t bother me. 😀
Thank you for this great resource. Thank you for staying creative and keeping your content top-notch, unlike the majority of blogs out there..
Glad you like it. And there’s more where this came from. 😀
Hampton Inn Columbus-Airport is NOW a category 4
not sure where you saw that as a category 2
Category 1 on Hilton.com
http://hhonors.hilton.com/en/hhonors/rewards/search_result_reward_levels.jhtml?countriesOnly=US&_D%3AcountriesOnly=+&hhonorsRewardLevel=1&_DARGS=%2Fen%2Fhotels%2Fsearch%2Fresults_head_hhonors_reward_levels.jhtml.2
Awesome. You rock and yours is one of the few blogs I read anymore. Just booked the DT in KL for 5 nights. What a steal.
Just an FYI, the Hampton Inn Jacksonville South (Cat. 1) will be rebranding soon to a non-Hilton property.
The Columbus-Airport, is for Columbus, Georgia everyone….
Thanks for the work. Some new hotels in China since I last looked… wouldn’t knock the 95K hotel though. 19 avg hotels can’t give you the same experience.
True. It’s not like the other chains have category 1 hotels in Bora Bora. I’ll just use the reserve nights for those. 😀
Any link to a USA map where it shows category 3 Hiltons? Thanks.
Not yet. Soon though… in the next month or so at least.
Did this ever get made? I’m very interested
Please update this list 2/17…
Excellent information!
FYI Warsaw Airport is listed as Cat2, but the redemption level is 5000.
Another point, even though Warsaw says it’s a Cat 2, it rings up as Cat 1 (5K points)! Verify everything you see on a Hilton award chart there are always mistakes
I just returned from the Hilton in Salalah after using my points, its a great resort with a great beach, nice pool, good beach bar and food was also very good. I will be going again
That region in Oman is considered a more dangerous area.
By far, the two best deals are the KL and Panama City, because they are real destinations people are actually likely to visit, if only in transit. All of the other locations are a pretty big stretch IMO. Unless you’re trying to live out of a hotel on the cheap because you don’t have an apartment, maybe, but otherwise, I cannot imagine being at any of these places. The KL location is even better because it’s literally at the main train station, and it makes the airport to hotel transfer pretty easy. Obviously, the train has to be running (it stops a little after midnight I think)
This site has a strict no-promoting-fear policy. – http://travelisfree.com/2015/03/11/the-fear-of-traveling-is-not-logical/
Just was at the DoubleTree in Beijing. Great hotel.
Been to the one in KL a couple times. Don’t remember the train station anywhere nearby. It’s walking distance to the subway station, but still a couple blocks away if I recall.
DOUBLETREE BY HILTON HOTEL RICHMOND AIRPORT is no longer a Hilton property.
I really hate that the US list doesn’t consistently list the state
Is there anywhere in this article where you mention how you actually get the 5,000 points for $10? It seems very vague.
Missed a lot of good hotels, I found the cat 1 reviews on http://2017holiday.com far more informative. The sharm waterfalls and garden Inn Bali should be way up in the list.
Can u explain how to get 10$ and 20$ hotel please. Thank you