Last week I posted about my need for you to send me away for a long weekend. I gave you the opportunity to choose from a few places I suggested (Los Cabos, Alaska or New Orleans) or some other place of your choosing.
Some great suggestions came in, including San Antonio, San Diego, Austin, Las Vegas, Chicago, Nova Scotia and Honduras. And there were some ideas I loved but were just a bit too far away like Costa Rica, Oaxaca and Japan.
New Orleans got a lot of votes and the more I thought about it, the more attached I got to the idea. At the West Seattle Streetfair over the weekend, our walk through the vendor area was interrupted by a Second Line band playing Zydeco music – and I knew it was a sign.
So, with the 150,000 points that have been added to my American Express card from the kind folks at AmEx, I’m heading to Cajun country!
Now I need to find a hotel for 3 nights and would love your input!
Just leave leave a comment with your ideas about where I should stay and you’ll be entered to win a $100 gift card from AmEx.
Return flights to New Orleans from Seattle will require about 50,000 points using Pay with Points. So we’ve got plenty to work with now for hotel.
Here are my thoughts around accommodations:
- I’ll need 3 nights.
- It doesn’t have to be super fancy.
- Assume that I’ll have a rental car so staying in the city is not important. As a matter of fact, feel free to recommend accommodations way outside of town. The more remote and interesting, the more I’ll love the idea!
- Please check the Pay with Points site to see if your suggested hotel is actually available.
Here are some options I came up with and I’ve included the corresponding membership points for flights from Seattle:
- Hotel Provincial – French Quarter 3 nights – 67,000 points
- Prytania Park Hotel – Garden District 3 nights – 40,000 points
- Old Castillo Bed & Breakfast – St. Martinville (near Lafayette, Cajun country) – 3 nights 55,000 points
Have a different idea on how I can use my AmEx points? Please…
1) Go to the Pay with Points site which is not unlike other travel booking engines. Pay with Points allows you to create your own personalized journey by choosing your flights and then making additional hotel, car rental and restaurant arrangements.
All you need to do is click the Use Points to Book Now button, search for hotels for a 3-night stay and, on the final page, it will tell you how many points are required. Remember that I’ve already used 50,000 points for the flight and will need to eat, too, so save a few for a meal or two.
Note that the Pay with Points option is geared toward travel. It allows you to search across all available flights/airlines and provides the required point info on the final page.
2) You can also check out the American Express Membership Rewards site. Heads up that this is a bit more limiting in terms of options. Fewer hotels are part of this site BUT they have Open Table, which will be ideal when you’re ready to help me choose restaurants next week.
To use the Membership Rewards site, click on Use Points and then Airlines in the drop down box. If you have a destination in mind, you can click on it using the list on the left hand side of the screen.
*****
Once you’ve come up with a good recommendation for hotel stays or you like one of the options I’ve mentioned above, leave a comment and tell me where to stay. It’s that easy. Leave a comment with a hotel idea and you’re in the running for the $100 gift card from American Express!
Rules – In order to qualify for the the $100 gift card from American Express, an email must be entered for each comment so that we may contact you. Only one email/person per week, please. You may, however, enter each week for the 3 weeks for a total of 3 tries at winning. Multiple entries in the same week will be disqualified.
Each week’s contest will be closed at the end of the 7th day of that week’s post. Dates are July 11, July 18 and July 25 at 23:59 PST. (This means you cannot go back and enter your suggestion for Week 1 if you discover the contest during Week 3.)
A random winner, based on all 3 week’s comments, will be chosen on July 27th.
Winner must reply within 3 days of being notified, otherwise, a new winner will be chosen.
OK, tell me where to stay…
Travel Well,
Beth
Photo credits:
Beignets: chuckyeager
Garden District: David Paul Ohmer
Alligator: Paul Mannix
Kasey says
I like the Prytania Park Hotel (although the pool at the Provincial looks nice) – it might also have free parking? If that fits with a convenient “home base” for you.
(the site wouldn’t let me search with “New Orleans” as keywords? weird)
Sharon says
For a stay in New Orleans, I recommend Maison Dupuy on Toulousse. If you’re heading out of town toward the Lafayette/Atchafalaya area, I can highly recommend Maison Des Amis Bed and Breakfast in Breaux Bridge (http://www.maisondesamis.com/). It’s right around the corner from Cafe Des Amis (Sunday zydeco band for breakfasy – highly recommended).
Here’s some great reviews on the B&B: http://www.bedandbreakfast.com/louisiana-breaux-bridge-maisondesamis-reviews.html
And, don’t forget about Steamboat Warehouse in Washington, LA. The setting is historic and the back deck is just wonderful. The food, some of the best in South Louisiana (including New Orleans and their award-winning chefs). The crab cakes are the best I’ve ever had and if you ask them nicely, they’ll make some Steak Monica for you. ๐
BRITTANY says
http://WWW.HOTELMONTELEONE.COM
http://WWW.LEPAVILLON.COM
I WILL ADMITT BOTH OF MY CHOICES ARE A BIT ON THE PROCEY END OF THE SPECTRUM BUT BOTH ARE WELL WORTH IT. I’M A LOCAL SO IF I AM GOING TO STAY IN A HOTEL ROOM IN THE CITY IT IS GOING TO BE A TREAT. BOTH PROPERTIES ARE LOCATED IN THE FRENCH QUATER BUT ARE ON THE LIST FOR DIFFERENT REASONS. HOTEL MONTELEONE HAS ONE OF THE BEST HOTEL BARS I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED INFACT IT IS UNFAIR TO CALL IT A HOTEL BAR. THE ROOMS ARE PLUSH AND YOUR ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ACTION. A QUICK WALK FOR ANY OF THE FRENCH QUATER SIGHTS AND AN EASY WALK TO THE STREETCAR TO HEAD TO THE GARDEN DISTRICT. IF YOU DO RENT A CAR ITS NOT A MAJOR CONCERN BECAUSE THEY HAVE VALLET. LE PAVILLON IS ALSO A SPECIAL PLACE AND THEY HAVE THE BEST PB&J SANDWICHES EVER AND AT 12AM THAT CAN BE A BEAUTIFUL THING. iTS A BIT MORE OUT SIDE THE ACTION EASY TO ACCESS OFF THE INTERSTATE AND YOU WILL FEEL OH SO SPECIAL THERE. WEEKEND GETAWAYS AT LEAST FOR ME ARE ABOUT THE COMFORT AND STYLE AND BOTH OF THESE PLACES WILL GIVE YOU JUST THAT.
Beth Whitman says
Brittany – I LOVE that you talk about PB&J sandwiches at midnight. That says so much about the NOLA experience (though I might prefer begneits over PB&J, the important factor is midnight – as in the city that never sleeps).
Beth Whitman says
After looking over these excellent choices, here’s what I’ve come up with:
Maison des Ami and the Steamboat Warehouse are not available using Pay with Points. The following are, however:
Le Pavillon – 65,000 points for 3 nights
Maison Dupuy – 67,000 points for 3 nights
Hotel Monteleon – 99,000 points for 3 nights
See next week’s post for what I settled on ๐
Martha says
My vote is absolutely for Maison Dupuy. French Quarter landmark? How can you say no! Such a lovely building, well located and the rooms look to die for.
67,000 points for 3 nights.
Totally worth it, I’d say.
marthasweeps at gmail dot com
Amber Smith says
My sister’s sister-in-law (try saying that a few times fast, lol) stayed at the Old Castillo Bed & Breakfast during a conference and said if feels like something out of an old movie. I had a great vacation where I stayed only at B&B’s and found them much more relaxing than a large chain hotel. The service is so much more personal and really feels like family. Sometimes the owners will hook you up with discounts for the local attractions if you let them know a few places you would like to visit.
Beth Whitman says
Oh, now I can’t wait!
Beth Whitman says
I didn’t even know it was such a landmark!