January 5, 2014

2013 Year in Review - Hotels

I spent some time over the holidays compiling a few stats from 2013.  We stayed in some awesome hotels (and had some great flights) all over the world.  There was less business and more personal travel  I ended the year with 55 total nights across Starwood, Hyatt, Hilton, and IHG.  About 8 of the nights were business travel and I earned 10 total "night credits" with my Starwood American Express credit cards.  I closed out the year with four "mattress runs" to re-qualify for Starwood Platinum for 2014.

The four incremental stays brought me to 25 nights and cost about $250.  I'll have more on on the value of Starwood Platinum in a future post but for me...the combination of the renewal gift, free internet, upgrades, and free breakfast during each stay for the next 14 months far outweighs the $250 spent to re-qualify at the end of this year.

Here are a few of the highlights and pictures from 2013:


  • 15 Starwood stays across 6 brands
  • 5 Marriott & Ritz Carlton stays across 3 brands
  • 4 Hyatt stays across 2 brands
  • 1 Hilton stay
  • 1 IHG stay
2013 Hotel Stays



Best hotel stay:

Hands down, the best stay of the year was at the Grosvenor House in Dubai.  We stayed in one of the Tower II (new tower) suites (by using the last of our SPG suite nights) that was absolutely stunning.  When Starwood moved their corporate HQ from White Plains, NY to Dubai for a month, the entire management team stayed at this property.  Everything from the complimentary airport transportation to the suite to the lounge was phenomenal. 

Grosvenor House Dubai Exterior

Grosvenor House Dubai logo on sheets

Suite Living Room

Suite Bedroom
 Best Upgrade:

We received a complimentary upgrade to the famous "Spa King" room at the Park Hyatt Istanbul during our stay in November.  The hotel and room were stunning.  The bathroom contained a double vanity, toilet and bidet with a separate sink, rainfall shower head, full size bathtub, and a steam room!  The steam room was pretty awesome after our long flight from Denver.  We also used it every afternoon after walking around the city which was really cool.

Park Hyatt Istanbul "Spa King" Bathroom

Park Hyatt Istanbul Bedroom

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