SPG Hot Escapes Great Picks for September 16, 2015

The weekly SPG Hot Escapes list is out. Back in June, the SPG Hot Escapes list suddenly changed to a “new and improved” format that I wrote about and you can read more about here.

I didn’t care for the changes, and was pleased to discover that there was a bit of a loophole that allowed me to continue to see the “old” format every week. Ah ha! I offered readers www.book.spghotescapes.com/all which went to the easy-to-navigate list, while the “new” advertised Hot Escapes address was www.spghotescapes.com. Today, the book.spghotescapes automatically forwards to the new one so it looks like the back door has been closed. I tend to think the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” applies in this case, and I will continue to offer the full property list to save you time.

How useful is the new format?

There were features added such as the ability to sort by savings, price or guest rating, all of which I found pretty useless. The “savings” aren’t based off of the rate in relation to price history of the property so it gives a somewhat false sense of which ones are an exceptionally good deal that week.

Guest ratings on SPG’s website don’t color my thoughts on a hotel at all. Here are two examples, for a Four Points property. As with many hotel reviews on multiple sites, there is not much information about the reviewer so while I enjoy reading comments (especially the funny ones on Tripadvisor), I take reviews with a grain of salt.

You can also now sort by different criteria, none of which I would use but some readers may find helpful.

My biggest issue though, is that the list can no longer be viewed in its entirety or sorted alphabetically. Even clicking North America on the map resulted in 19 properties sorted by either savings, price or guest rating. They could not be rearranged into alphabetical order.

Here’s a link to this week’s Hot Escapes selections.

Here is the full list of properties on offer this week –

Africa and Middle East Division

Algeria

Le Méridien Oran Hotel & ConventionCentre
Oran, Algeria
was USD 144
SPG Member rate:
USD 109

Egypt

Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel &Spa
Cairo, Egypt
was USD 64
SPG Member rate:
USD 49

Nigeria

Sheraton LagosHotel
Lagos, Nigeria
was USD 259
SPG Member rate:
USD 197

United Arab Emirates

Le Méridien Al Aqah BeachResort
Fujairah, United Arab Emirates
was USD 182
SPG Member rate:
USD 139

Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa,Dubai
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
was USD 1,294
SPG Member rate:
USD 983

The St. Regis Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
was USD 169
SPG Member rate:
USD 128

Ajman Saray, a Luxury Collection Resort,Ajman
Ajman, United Arab Emirates
was USD 190
SPG Member rate:
USD 145

Asia Pacific Division

China

Four Points by Sheraton Taicang
Suzhou, China
was USD 104
SPG Member rate:
USD 79

Hong Kong

Le Méridien Cyberport
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
was USD 181
SPG Member rate:
USD 137

Indonesia

Le Méridien Jakarta
Jakarta, Indonesia
was USD 160
SPG Member rate:
USD 103

Sheraton Senggigi Beach Resort
Lombok, Indonesia
was USD 110
SPG Member rate:
USD 80

The Laguna, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa
Nusa Dua, Bali
was USD 165
SPG Member rate:
USD 125

Keraton at The Plaza, a Luxury Collection Hotel
Jakarta, Indonesia
was USD 255
SPG Member rate:
USD 194

Malaysia

The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa
Langkawi, Malaysia
was USD 200
SPG Member rate:
USD 123

Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
was USD 93
SPG Member rate:
USD 62

Four Points by Sheraton Puchong
Puchong, Malaysia
was USD 58
SPG Member rate:
USD 44

The Westin KualaLumpur
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
was USD 134
SPG Member rate:
USD 102

Four Points by SheratonPenang
Penang, Malaysia
was USD 58
SPG Member rate:
USD 44

Singapore

Sheraton Towers Singapore
Singapore, Singapore
was USD 220
SPG Member rate:
USD 136

W Singapore – Sentosa Cove
Singapore, Singapore
was USD 314
SPG Member rate:
USD 239

Thailand

The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa,Phuket
Phuket, Thailand
was USD 139
SPG Member rate:
USD 66

Vana Belle, a Luxury Collection Resort, KohSamui
Koh Samui, Thailand
was USD 605
SPG Member rate:
USD 329

The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa,Phuket
Phuket, Thailand
was USD 416
SPG Member rate:
USD 230

Sheraton SamuiResort
Koh Samui, Thailand
was USD 158
SPG Member rate:
USD 98

Le Méridien Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Golf Resort &Spa
Samut Prakan, Thailand
was USD 147
SPG Member rate:
USD 101

Le Méridien Bangkok
Bangkok, Thailand
was USD 144
SPG Member rate:
USD 103

Royal Orchid Sheraton Hotel &Towers
Bangkok, Thailand
was USD 118
SPG Member rate:
USD 90

Sheraton PattayaResort
Pattaya, Thailand
was USD 133
SPG Member rate:
USD 101

Plaza Athénée Bangkok, A Royal MéridienHotel
Bangkok, Thailand
was USD 170
SPG Member rate:
USD 129

Europe Division

Belgium

Sheraton Brussels Hotel
Brussels, Belgium
was USD 107
SPG Member rate:
USD 80

Croatia

Le Méridien Lav,Split
Split, Croatia
was USD 119
SPG Member rate:
USD 90

France

Le Méridien Nice
Nice, France
was USD 189
SPG Member rate:
USD 143

Sheraton Paris Airport Hotel & ConferenceCentre
Paris, France
was USD 224
SPG Member rate:
USD 170

Germany

Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and ConferenceCenter
Frankfurt, Germany
was USD 134
SPG Member rate:
USD 102

Sheraton Frankfurt Congress Hotel
Frankfurt, Germany
was USD 111
SPG Member rate:
USD 85

Greece

Sheraton Rhodes Resort
Rhodes, Greece
was USD 107
SPG Member rate:
USD 82

Poland

Sheraton KrakowHotel
7 Powisle Street, Krakow, Poland
was USD 111
SPG Member rate:
USD 83

Portugal

Pine Cliffs Residence, a Luxury Collection Resort,Albufeira
Albufeira, Portugal
was USD 290
SPG Member rate:
USD 193

Spain

The St. Regis Mardavall MallorcaResort
Mallorca, Spain
was USD 700
SPG Member rate:
USD 475

Castillo Hotel Son Vida, a Luxury Collection Hotel,Mallorca
Mallorca, Spain
was USD 237
SPG Member rate:
USD 165

Ukraine

Four Points by SheratonZaporozhye
Zaporozhye, Ukraine
was USD 72
SPG Member rate:
USD 47

United Kingdom

Sheraton Heathrow Hotel
London Heathrow, United Kingdom
was USD 115
SPG Member rate:
USD 88

The Park Tower Knightsbridge, a Luxury Collection Hotel
London, United Kingdom
was USD 536
SPG Member rate:
USD 407

Le Méridien Piccadilly
London, United Kingdom
was USD 352
SPG Member rate:
USD 267

W London – LeicesterSquare
London, United Kingdom
was USD 422
SPG Member rate:
USD 321

AloftLiverpool
Liverpool, United Kingdom
was USD 106
SPG Member rate:
USD 81

Latin America Division

Argentina

Park Tower, a Luxury Collection Hotel, BuenosAires
Buenos Aires, Argentina
was USD 299
SPG Member rate:
USD 227

North America Division

Canada

Four Points by Sheraton TorontoMississauga
6090 Dixie Road, Mississauga, ON, Canada

was USD 79
SPG Member rate:
USD 60

Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel & ConferenceCentre
801 Dixon Road, Toronto, ON, Canada

was USD 82
SPG Member rate:
USD 63

Four Points by SheratonEdmundston
100 rue Rice, Edmundston, NB, Canada
was USD 79
SPG Member rate:
USD 60

United States

Four Points by Sheraton Fort Myers Airport
13600 Treeline Avenue South, Fort Myers, FL, United States
was USD 100
SPG Member rate:
USD 67

W Atlanta -Midtown
188 14th Street, NE, Atlanta, GA, United States
was USD 186
SPG Member rate:
USD 140

W Chicago – CityCenter
172 West Adams Street, Chicago, IL, United States
was USD 311
SPG Member rate:
USD 236

Four Points by Sheraton Louisville Airport
2850 Crittenden Drive, Louisville, KY, United States
was USD 119
SPG Member rate:
USD 90

Aloft New OrleansDowntown
225 Baronne Street, New Orleans, LA, United States
was USD 109
SPG Member rate:
USD 83

Sheraton College Park NorthHotel
4095 Powder Mill Road, Beltsville, MD, United States
was USD 119
SPG Member rate:
USD 90

Four Points by SheratonKalamazoo
3600 East Cork Street Court, Kalamazoo, MI, United States
was USD 119
SPG Member rate:
USD 90

AloftHarlem
2296 Frederick Douglass Boulevard, New York, NY, United States
was USD 215
SPG Member rate:
USD 163

Aloft CharlotteBallantyne
13139 Ballantyne Corporate Place, Charlotte, NC, United States
was USD 125
SPG Member rate:
USD 95

Four Points by Sheraton Charlotte -Pineville
9705 Leitner Drive, Charlotte, NC, United States
was USD 109
SPG Member rate:
USD 75

Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at StationSquare
300 W Station Square Dr, Pittsburgh, PA, United States
was USD 199
SPG Member rate:
USD 151

Four Points by Sheraton Philadelphia CityCenter
1201 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA, United States
was USD 144
SPG Member rate:
USD 109

Four Points by SheratonRichmond
9901 Midlothian Turnpike, Richmond, VA, United States
was USD 109
SPG Member rate:
USD 83

Four Points by Sheraton RichmondAirport
4700 South Laburnum Avenue, Richmond, VA, United States
was USD 108
SPG Member rate:
USD 82

Four Points by SheratonCharleston
Charleston, WV, United States
was USD 109
SPG Member rate:
USD 83

Sheraton Old San Juan Hotel &Casino
100 Brumbaugh Street, San Juan, PR
was USD 145
SPG Member rate:
USD 110

Magic of Miles’ great picks for September 16 –

I enjoyed my stay at the St Regis Abu Dhabi, and it is at a great low rate this week of $128 for September 30.

The Laguna in Nusa Dua, Bali is offered at $125 for both September 28 and 29th.

Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa in Malaysia has a great SPG member rate of $123 for October 26.

Sheraton Towers Singapore is $136 for almost all the weekends in the next 5 weeks.

Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel and Conference Center in Germany has a great low rate of $102 for Saturday October 17, 2015. I’ve stayed and written about this property which you can read about here.

Sheraton Toronto Airport Hotel & Conference Centre in Canada is at $60.

If you are looking for some low-priced properties to earn stay credits for status, there’s just one this week – Four Points by Sheraton Fort Myers Airport in Florida at $67.

That’s it for this week’s picks!