What You Need to Know About the Changes to SPG’s Hot Escapes List
SPG’s weekly list of Hot Escapes came out this morning, and it looks a little different than usual. Here’s what you need to know about the changes, a look at the full list of properties on offer, and Magic of Miles’ picks for the week.
At first the changes look subtle. The front page looks slightly different, and when you scroll down you’ll find an added feature – an interactive map highlighting where all of the Hot Escapes properties are.
Map of this week’s Hot Escapes
Next, when clicking on “All 40 Deals” to see all the properties at once the next page has them laid out in bunches, rather than a single continuous list. Although the Hot Escapes list frequently has hundreds of properties, this week there are only 40. I’m not sure if the list just happens to be slim this week or if it is a sign of overall reduced Hot Escapes offerings.
Once you select a country or state to see those particular deals. Using Egypt as an example, here’s how it used to look –
Here’s how it looks now –
It is a bit more graphics heavy, but the basic outline is the same.
Once selecting “Book” next to a property, a calendar would pop up. The SPG member Hot Escapes rates were easy to see with a gold colored background. You could also see the best available rates easily for dates that didn’t offer Hot Escapes, in grey. Here’s how the calendar used to look –
Here’s how it looks now –
Similar, though you’ll only be able to see one month at a time instead of two. It has the SPG member rate Hot Escapes dates denoted with a small gold corner rather than the entire box.
SPG members save an extra 5% on Hot Escapes and earn points for the stay. To be honest, I’m not sure why anyone would want to search specifically for rates without the 5%. It is free to become a member and if you’re going to book a stay you may as well join. Perhaps SPG finds that non-members searching decide to join after they see the extra savings. In any case, there is a box at the top of the calendar that you can select to see all of the Hot Escapes rates minus the extra 5% savings. Only the dates with the gold triangle change price since the other dates are already the best available rate.
Checking the list of properties, it seems that the rates are all within the same range as before. As an example, the Sheraton Towers Singapore is frequently on the Hot Escapes list at $153. Today, it is on the list for $153, the same as usual. That’s great news for anyone worried that rates increased a little with the changes to the look.
Those of you familiar with Hot Escapes know that South Korea has been listed on Hot Escapes every week but due to a glitch in the system there has rarely been a property actually offered.
That glitch has been fixed, and this week the Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel is on the list with an SPG Member rate of $143.
The deals will still come out every Wednesday at 6am EST so no change there. New properties are sometimes added to the list during those dates, and all bookings must be done by that Saturday for stays during the following six weeks. As an SPG member, you also save an extra 5% and earn points for the stay.
Reservations are still prepaid, and if you change or cancel a fee is involved. There are no changing to the booking process.
Some may find the website updates useful, since there are now more features that allow you to search for properties with specific amenities like a pool, or by brand.
I preferred to see the entire list all at once, to quickly scan and see if there were any great rates that I wanted to take advantage of.
Clicking around on the maps and lists today, I couldn’t figure out how to view the entire list at once. There is an option where you can view properties based on the map but not all.
Here’s a link to this week’s Hot Escapes selections.
Here is the full list of properties on offer this week, with some good picks at the bottom –
Africa & Middle East
Algeria
Le Méridien Oran Hotel & ConventionCentre
Les Genets, Chemin de Wilaya, Route 75, Oran, Algeria
USD 115
was USD 152
SPG Member rate:
USD 110
Egypt
Sheraton Dreamland Hotel & ConferenceCenter
Wahat Road, 6th of October City, Egypt
USD 51
was USD 64
SPG Member rate:
USD 49
Le Méridien Pyramids Hotel & Spa
El Remaya Square – Pyramids, PO Box 25 Pyramids, Cairo, Egypt
USD 55
was USD 69
SPG Member rate:
USD 52
United Arab Emirates
Le Méridien Al Aqah BeachResort
Dibba Road, PO Box 3070, Fujairah, United Arab Emirates
USD 82
was USD 102
SPG Member rate:
USD 78
Al Maha, a Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa,Dubai
Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, Dubai – Al Ain Road, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
USD 762
was USD 953
SPG Member rate:
USD 724
Sheraton Dubai Mall of the EmiratesHotel
Sheikh Zayed Road, al Barsha 1, Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
USD 130
was USD 162
SPG Member rate:
USD 123
China
The St. Regis Sanya Yalong Bay Resort
Yalong Bay National Resort District, Sanya Yalong Bay, CNHP, China
USD 188
was USD 290
SPG Member rate:
USD 179
The Westin Beijing FinancialStreet
9B Financial Street, XiCheng District, Beijing, CN11, China
USD 204
was USD 254
SPG Member rate:
USD 193
Sheraton Hangzhou Wetland Park Resort
1 Westbrook Resort, Zijingang Road, Hangzhou, ZHE, China
USD 169
was USD 211
SPG Member rate:
USD 160
Four Points by Sheraton Taicang
No. 288 Shanghai East Road, Taicang, Suzhou, CNJP, China
USD 85
was USD 106
SPG Member rate:
USD 81
Hong Kong
Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers
20 Nathan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
USD 196
was USD 245
SPG Member rate: USD 186
India
Aloft Bengaluru Cessna Business Park
Cessna Business Park, Sarjapur – Marathahalli Outer Ring Road, Kadubeesanahalli, Bellandur Post, Bengaluru, KA, India
USD 88
was USD 110
SPG Member rate:
USD 84
South Korea
Sheraton Seoul D Cube CityHotel
662 Gyeongin-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, Korea (South)
USD 151
was USD 188
SPG Member rate:
USD 143
Malaysia
Le Méridien KualaLumpur
2 Jalan Stesen Sentral, Kuala Lumpur Sentral, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
USD 67
was USD 128
SPG Member rate: USD 64
The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa
Jalan Pantai Dato Syed Omar, Kedah, Langkawi, Malaysia
USD 144
was USD 222
SPG Member rate: USD 137
Singapore
Sheraton Towers Singapore
39 Scotts Road, Singapore, Singapore
USD 161
was USD 230
SPG Member rate:
USD 153
The Westin Singapore
12 Marina View, Asia Square Tower 2, Singapore, Singapore
USD 227
was USD 283
SPG Member rate:
USD 215
Thailand
The Naka Island, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa, Phuket
32 Moo 5, Tambol Paklok, Amphur Thalang, Naka Yai Island, Phuket, Thailand
USD 265
was USD 479
SPG Member rate:
USD 252
Le Méridien Suvarnabhumi, Bangkok Golf Resort &Spa
789 Moo 14, Bangna-Trad Road, Km 10.5, Bangpleeyai, Bangplee, Samut Prakan, Thailand
USD 92
was USD 148
SPG Member rate:
USD 87
Le Méridien Chiang Mai
108 Chang Klan Road, Tambol Chang Klan, Amphur Muang, Chiang Mai, Thailand
USD 83
was USD 118
SPG Member rate:
USD 79
Europe Division
Belgium
Sheraton Brussels Hotel
Place Charles Rogier, 3, Brussels, Belgium
USD 69
was USD 88
SPG Member rate: USD 65
Bulgaria
Sofia Hotel Balkan, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Sofia
5 Sveta Nedelya Square, Sofia, Bulgaria
USD 67
was USD 84
SPG Member rate:
USD 64
Netherlands
Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center
Schiphol Boulevard 101, Amsterdam, Netherlands
USD 124
was USD 155
SPG Member rate:
USD 118
Slovakia
Sheraton Bratislava Hotel
Pribinova 12, Bratislava, Slovakia
USD 100
was USD 125
SPG Member rate: USD 95
Switzerland
Hotel President Wilson, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Geneva
47, Quai Wilson, Geneva, Switzerland
USD 334
was USD 466
SPG Member rate:
USD 317
Ukraine
Four Points by Sheraton Zaporozhye
Shevchenko Boulevard 71A, Zaporozhye, Ukraine
USD 49
was USD 71
SPG Member rate:
USD 47
United Kingdom
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel
Heathrow Airport, Colnbrook Bypass, London Heathrow, EN, United Kingdom
USD 79
was USD 113
SPG Member rate:
USD 75
Latin America Division
Dominican Republic
The Westin Puntacana Resort & Club
Playa Blanca at Punta cana Resort & Club, Punta Cana, 11, Dominican Republic
USD 158
was USD 197
SPG Member USD 150
North America Division
Canada
British Columbia
The Westin Resort & Spa, Whistler
4090 Whistler Way, Whistler, BC, Canada
USD 123
was USD 153
SPG Member rate:
USD 117
United States
Florida
The Westin Key West Resort & Marina
245 Front Street, Key West, FL, United States
USD 215
was USD 269
SPG Member rate: USD 204
Illinois
Sheraton Lisle Hotel
3000 Warrenville Road, Lisle, IL, United States
USD 81
was USD 101
SPG Member rate: USD 77
Minnesota
Sheraton Minneapolis Midtown Hotel
2901 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN, United States
USD 87
was USD 109
SPG Memer rate:
USD 83
New York
Aloft Buffalo Airport
4219 Genesee Street, Buffalo, NY, United States
USD 98
was USD 123
SPG Member rate:
USD 93
North Carolina
Aloft Charlotte Ballantyne
13139 Ballantyne Corporate Place, Charlotte, NC, United States
USD 79
was USD 99
SPG Member rate:
USD 75
Tennessee
Four Points by Sheraton Memphis East
5877 Poplar Avenue, Memphis, TN, United States
USD 91
was USD 114
SPG Member rate:
USD 87
Texas
The Westin Galleria Houston
5060 West Alabama, Houston, TX, United States
USD 103
was USD 129
SPG Member rate:
USD 98
The Westin Dallas Fort Worth Airport
4545 W. John Carpenter Freeway, Irving, TX, United States
USD 79
was USD 99
SPG Member rate:
USD 75
Element Dallas Fort Worth Airport North
3550 Highway 635, Irving, TX, United States
USD 68
was USD 85
SPG Member rate:
USD 65
Virginia
The Westin Alexandria
400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA, United States
USD 103
was USD 129
SPG Member rate:
USD 98
The Westin Washington Dulles Airport
2520 Wasser Terrace, Herndon, VA, United States
USD 72
was USD 89
SPG Member rate:
USD 68
St Regis Sanya Bay in China is at $179.
Sheraton Hong Kong Towers is $186, which is quite good.
Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa has the lowest price we’ve seen since last year, at $137.
Sheraton Towers Singapore has consistently been around $153, which is again on offer this week.
The Naka Island in Phuket is $252, and all villas at that resort come with pools too.
Le Méridien Chiang Mai was down to $58 in early December last year. The SPG member rate this week is $79, which is still a decent rate.
Sheraton Brussels hotel is $65, which is the lowest we’ve seen this property at since mid 2014.
Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center is at $118, at little up from March when it was at $104 but still a decent rate.
The Hotel President Wilson is a mainstay on the Hot Escapes list. We saw it in the $280 range back in January and the rates are a little higher now but still a good deal at $317.
Sheraton Heathrow Hotel is convenient for layovers, and the SPG member rate this week is convenient too at $75.
The Westin Washington Dulles Airport may be good for a mattress run, at a rate of $68.
What do you think about the changes? Not a big deal, helpful or distracting?
