Where Should I Redeem My Free Hilton Nights?

Earlier this month, I received my two Free Weekend Night certificates from Hilton after spending $2,500 in four months on my Citi Hilton Reserve card.

Hilton has some incredible properties around the world that cost as much for a night as my rent costs for a month, so I want to use my two free nights for truly aspirational stays I could otherwise never afford. And I want you to help me pick a property, since I’m sure MileValue readers have stayed at all these properties.

I decided that I only wanted to redeem my certificates outside of the US at either a Category 9 or Category 10 hotel–why settle for less, especially when it’s free? I want to take a nice trip next summer, so I am looking at redeeming the certificates for a consecutive Friday night and Saturday night stay in June. I came up with five finalists.

What are my options? Where should I stay?

Each of my two certificates is valid for one free weekend night (Friday, Saturday, or Sunday) at most category 1-10 Hilton hotels. The list of all Hilton hotels is here, and the very short list of hotels that are excluded from redemption with these certificates can be found here.

Note: When pricing these hotel rooms, I used the Easy Cancellation price. The free weekend night certificates allow you to cancel your reservation and refund your certificate, so the Easy Cancellation price is the closest equivalent.

Conrad Koh Samui Resort & Spa, Thailand (Category 10)

I have heard incredible things about the Conrad Koh Samui Resort and Spa in Thailand, and I was encouraged to check it out by commenters on my previous post. The resort offers trips to surrounding islands, diving excursions, and some pretty breathtaking views.

The standard room at the Conrad Koh Samui is the One Bedroom King Ocean View Pool Villa, and it sounds exactly like the type of place I would want to spend the weekend relaxing. Here is the room description, from the hotel’s website.

The price to book this room for June 13 and June 14 is $693/night, or a total of $1,386 for the weekend.

Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort & Spa (Category 10)

I have always wanted to travel to the South Pacific, and a free stay at the Hilton Bora Bora Nui Resort and Spa would definitely encourage me to check that destination off of my list. Days here are passed snorkeling, sailing, and soaking up the sun on those white sand beaches. Seriously, have you ever seen such beautiful water?

Unfortunately, the certificates will not get you into one of the signature overwater villas that you see in 90% of pictures of Bora Bora.

However there’s no reason you can’t use the certificates then contact the hotel directly about paying to upgrade to an overwater villa. Have any readers tried this? Sounds like it is worth a shot!

The room that the certificates are good for is the King Guest Room.

For a June 13-15 stay, this room costs $583/night, putting the two night stay at $1,066 plus tax.

Conrad Tokyo (Category 10)

For those who want a little more hustle and bustle than is offered on a tropical island, the Conrad Tokyo seems like a great place to see a little slice of Japan. The hotel looks luxurious, with views of both the city and the water.

The certificates get you into a King Room with a city view.

This room is priced at $407/night, or $814 for the weekend plus tax, in the middle of June.

Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri (Category 9)

A number of people in this FlyerTalk forum said that they loved their stays at the Waldorf Astoria Rome Cavalieri, so I thought it would be worth checking out.

In addition to standard amenities, the Rome Cavalieri houses its own art collection and offers gladiator training (!) and tours of the private Vatican gardens, access to which is normally highly restricted.

The King Deluxe room is priced at $551/night when checking in on June 13th and checking out on June 15th. A weekend stay would cost $1,102 plus tax.

London Hilton on Park Lane (Category 9)

The London Hilton on Park Lane hotel is located in the Mayfair neighborhood of London, close to Hyde Park and a number of upscale restaurants and shops. I have never visited London, and I think that this hotel would be a great place to stay and see all of the famous landmarks (and perhaps a Royal baby sighting?).

In June, the King Hilton Deluxe room is priced at $548 a night, for a weekend value of $1,096 plus tax.

Other Considerations

I’m not going to take a two-day international trip, so my pick needs to fit within a larger trip that won’t include every night in such luxury.

London and Rome would be very easy to get to with miles, and either could be part of a larger two week trip to Europe. Similarly Tokyo is very easy to get to with miles.

Koh Samui would be a little tougher. There are flights on Thai and China Southern that could be part of an award, or I could buy a cheap ticket on Bangkok Airways. Either way Koh Samui is very manageable as a two-day stay on a longer trip to Southeast Asia.

Bora Bora would be the hardest to get to for a weekend. There are no award flights to Bora Bora. (I could use miles to Tahiti and pay cash for the flights to Bora Bora.) And French Polynesia is not very easy to combine with other places as part of a larger trip. This one may be a pipe dream for me.

Recap

You can find a PDF list of all Hilton properties here, and those hotels that are excluded from redemption with the to free weekend nights certificates can be found here.

Stays at the hotels that I looked at varied in price from $814 to $1,386 for two nights during the weekend of June 13-15. But I can get the nights for free from opening one credit card.

Where should I book my stay? Did I overlook any can’t-miss properties?

Application Link: Citi Hilton Reserve