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In the past week Starwood has added 10 more Design Hotels to its Starwood Preferred Guest rewards network. 8 of the properties are found in Asia, one in Europe and one in the Middle East.
It was around this time last year that Starwood announced a plan to incorporate the Design Hotels brand into its hotel portfolio…..but with a slight twist thrown in. Unlike Starwood’s other brands (W Hotels, Westin etc…) the Design Hotels continue to operate independently of Starwood and continue to be managed by their leadership team in Berlin.
The idea appears to be that Design Hotels get the benefits of being part of the large network that Starwood, and in particular SPG, offers and SPG members get to have more hotels at which some of their elite benefits are recognized.
The full list of Design Hotels that are participating (or that are scheduled to participate) in SPG is HERE and these are the latest additions to SPG:
Asia
Hong Kong:
- Mira Moon Hong Kong (SPG Cat. 5)
The Mira Moon Hong Kong
- The Mira Hong Kong (SPG Cat. 5)
- Ovolo Southside, Hong Kong (SPG Cat. 3)
Bali:
- Luna2 studiotel Seminyak (SPG Cat. 5)
Luna2 Studiotel Bali
Taiwan:
- Hotel Proverbs Taipei (SPG Cat. 5)
Thailand:
- Casa de La Flora, Khao Lak, Phang Nga (SPG Cat. 5)
Casa de la Flora Thailand
- The Library, Koh Samui (SPG Cat. 5)
- The Naka Phuket (SPG Cat. 5)
Europe
Italy:
- STRAF, Milan (SPG Cat. 5)
Middle East
Israel:
- Elma Arts Complex Luxury Hotel – Zichron Ya’akov (SPG Cat. 5)
Thoughts
All the hotels look like pretty good additions to the SPG family but, for me, three stand out:
1 – The Mira Moon Hotel in Hong Kong is rated very highly on TripAdvisor…..
….and it looks like the best SPG option for travelers wanting to stay on the Hong Kong Island side of Victoria Harbor.
Add to that the fact that its a Category 5 property which will only require 12,000 Starpoints for an award night and that the nightly rates look like they can be pretty reasonable…..
…and that all adds up to a nice option for SPG (and Marriott Rewards) members.
2 – The Luna Studiotel in Bali gets even better reviews than the Mira Moon…..
…..and it looks pretty funky:
Luna Studiotel Bali
Once again the prices are pretty good – the rates for a standard room appear to hover around $240 – and you get a 710 sqft room for your money.
If the prices are too high for you an award night will only set you back 12,000 Starpoints (it’s another Cat. 5 property) which isn’t bad considering what you’re getting.
3 – Casa de La Flora, Khao Lak, Thailand is the one that I like the look of most.
It gets fantastic TripAdvisor reviews:
It looks fantastic:
Casa de La Flora
Casa de La Flora
And, even though room prices can easily hit $500+ in the popular months, award nights start at just 12,000 Starpoints and they’re not that hard to find. If you make the most of Starwood’s 5th night free benefit then you can get a 5 night stay down to just 9,600 Starpoints/night.
SPG Benefits At Design Hotels
I mentioned at the beginning that SPG Elites only get some of the SPG benefits recognised at Design Hotels so here’s the list of what you can expect.
- 2 Starpoints per eligible US dollar spent (with a 50% bonus for SPG Gold and Platinum members, and 100% bonus for Platinum members with a minimum of 75 Eligible Nights)
- Night and stay credit toward elite status
- On-property benefits of internet access and bottled water in room
- Gold Preferred and Platinum Preferred Members will automatically receive a Starpoints bonus as their Welcome Gift.
Per Starwood other on-property benefits such as upgrades, late checkout, Your24 or Suite Night Awards are not available at Design Hotels.
Here’s a list of FAQs about Design Hotels’ participation in SPG.
Bottom Line
Ok, so you don’t get all the SPG benefits when you stay at Design Hotels but that still shouldn’t be putting too many people off. Some of the latest additions look really good indeed and, at 12,000 Starpoints per night, they would make very nice redemptions for anyone looking for a cheap vacation without sacrificing style or comfort.
