While no one ever called me Mr. Fancy Pants, the truth is that I like fancy hotels. If not fancy, I certainly tend to favor unique and perhaps trendy over basic and practical. Think W, or Kimpton. But longer term stays change the equation for me. Longer term in my book is anything over a week. I didn’t make it crystal clear on the blog, but starting in mid-October I basically relocated to another city for an intense work project. Believe me, it was not a given that I would even get to leave for the short anniversary cruise I’d booked. Ultimately, I did get to go, but that didn’t stop me from working at sea. đŸ™‚ I digress.
Longer-term stays mean that I look for different things in a hotel. I’m far more inclined to look for the closest Residence Inn or Homewood Suites type of lodging than anything fancy. I look for things like comfortable furnishings, kitchenettes and a normal refrigerator than a vibrant bar/restaurant scene. For anything over a week, I am going to be far more likely to stay in for a few nights, perhaps do some work, and just relax and decompress. I can’t eat out every night for 2 weeks in the same town….at least I don’t like to. That’s why I looked to the Residence Inn Pentagon City just outside DC for my most recent longer term stay. I booked a studio room, which turned out to be just about perfect for me.
My room was clean and comfortable with creature comforts like a large sofa and living area that make a longer term stay more comfortable. Wi-fi was fast and free. The hotel offered a free basic wi-fi service and a faster pay service for $6.95, which was still free for me by virtue of my Marriott Gold status. The room was also equipped with lots of power outlets. Score! Better yet, when I did want to escape the hotel at night I was just 2 blocks from a Metro station and Pentagon City Mall.
When I am looking at a longer term stay, I definitely favor practical, and maybe even homey over fancy and vibrant. This Residence Inn fit the bill for me very well.
-MJ, November 3, 2013
typo: I would give up Residence Inn …
You earn 5X + 25% bonus at Residence Inn. If you choose a Springhills or Fairfield, you earn 10X + 25% bonus including free breakfast. The difference is evening reception on weekday, Mon through Thursday. I would not give up Residence Inn just because it offers less reward points. That said, when I choose to earn miles (in response to Marriott mileage promotion, which happened in 1Q2012), I choose Residence Inn because in term of mileage, both Residence Inn and Spring Hills offers the same mileage.
Hyatt Place is great for longer term stays. But I just can’t bring myself to not check-in and check-out to increase the stay bonuses đŸ™‚
What was YOUR rate there, how much did it cost you?
Best I remember, 99 over the weekend. 199 rest of the time.
Agreed. Staybridge and IHG brand is just a nice basic hotel chain for me. With the Chase IHG card giving instant PLAT status makes it even better.