Hotels in the US tend to be expensive, which is why I prefer to splash some of my points here. It doesn’t seem easy in Seattle however, as there aren’t many options to start with. Hilton redemption values are poor, whereas Marriott and IHG may have a dozen of options combined.
I didn’t find anything that’s near ideal, but went with the Kimpton Monaco hotel eventually. 107,000 points for two nights isn’t cheap, but the hotel is quite well located, and it’s right after the new IHG One benefits came into effect so I want to see how it plays out.
The Monaco brand appears to be a chain itself, as it’s present in other cities like Washington DC, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The Seattle one is very close to the University Street station, so around half an hour by train to the airport.
The building looks quite tired, and to be honest the W opposite doesn’t look any younger.
The lobby has an Arabic style.
To my disappointment the hotel restaurant is operating at limited capacity and isn’t open during my stay, which means I can’t choose breakfast as a Diamond welcome amenity. However they are running a special promotion, so I’ve got 600 welcome points + 5,000 bonus points instead.
(I forgot to say the Kimpton password :()
There’s a small refuel corner in the lobby for snacks and drinks. If you choose the $20 welcome credit instead you can spend it here.
eStandby was offered online on IHG’s website. The suite upgrade offers are very attractive, and I opted for Premier Monte Carlo Suite which costs only $25 per night. It’s the second-best suite this hotel has (there’s an Ambassador Suite which you must consult the hotel directly for booking).
The top three floors (9, 10 and 11 if I remember correctly) are the so-called Premier Floors. It’s similar to what some hotels have as an Executive Floor – no tangible benefits, but only a dedicated express elevator.
It’s actually a big room split into a living room and a bedroom by a curtain, so not a proper suite in the real sense.
This is the living room with sofa, desk and TV.
And the bedroom:
Nothing to see here in downtown Seattle.
The drapes aren’t black-out at all, which annoys me in the morning.
One thing I like about the UK Kimptons is that all rooms have a yoga mat. I didn’t find one here though so I guess it’s not a global standard.
What they do offer is a daily happy hour (6pm-7pm), which means free drinks for all hotel guests.
I don’t recall if you can order cocktails (for free) too, but from the display I guess it’s possible.
It’s a nice touch of the Kimpton brand.
There’s a gym at the lower ground level.
The hotel advertises a destination fee but I wasn’t charged, not sure if it’s due to the restaurant not open or me booking with points. My total bill is the $50 for eStandby upgrade (no extra taxes).
When I checked out I mentioned the 5,000 promotion points didn’t hit my account. The manager told me it’s actually misinformation and the promotion is double points (1,200 points) or double credit ($40), but since I was told so they’d acknowledge it and award me the bonus.
Two weeks after I checked out there’s still no sign of the 5,000 points and I had to raise it with IHG’s customer care. It was confirmed again – and to my surprise a batch of three 5,000 bonus points landed at my IHG account a couple of days later. I guess they were just a bit slow 🙂
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