Napa Hotels with Points
If you love wine, you probably have traveled, will travel, or want to travel to Napa Valley, California. This stunning valley is one of the best wine regions in the world! For us award travelers, however, it is hard to find great value for Napa hotels with points. There are limited options and prices, even with points, can be staggeringly high. Most of the cheap options are not really in “Napa” and are to the south or east of Napa Valley proper. Since we travel there each year, I am constantly searching for great deals. This year, I found a gem!
The Usual Suspects
As Sarah is a Hyatt Globalist, our go-to Napa hotels with points are the Andaz Napa and Alila Napa Valley. Both of these properties are stunning properties. The Andaz is also an incredible value, ranging from 21,000 to 29,000 points per night as a Hyatt Category 6 property. As this property often goes for $500+ per night, the points value is great. However, the Andaz is known to play games with award availability and 3+ nights are typically required for points bookings and space may not open up until a few months prior. This property is completely sold out for our dates in 2024 and similar dates are shown below.
Likewise, we love the Alila Napa Valley, but the location at the far northern end of the valley makes it difficult to travel with others. The drive to downtown Napa can take 30+ minutes, even more when traffic is bad. This property costs between 35,000 and 45,000 Hyatt points per night, as a Category 8 property. Cash rates usually exceed $1,000 per night.
Marriott Hotel Options
On prior trips to Napa, we have considered the Westin Verasa. Unfortunately, with Marriott's move to full dynamic pricing, the Westin is rarely a viable option with points. For our dates, it is 309,000 Marriott points and $115. We could extend our stay for no extra cost, with Marriott's 5th night free with points, but we do not need a 5th night.
Marriott has other options in the Valley, particularly the Napa Valley Marriott Resort & Spa. We have yet to stay here, however, as the reviews are really bad and the rates remain very high (277,000 + $92 for our 4 nights).
Hilton Hotel Options
One of our go-to hotels in downtown Napa with points is the Embassy Suites. It is nothing glamorous, but usually offers good value, especially with Hilton's 5th Night Free. Over the last few years, Hilton Hotels has expanded its offerings in Napa. There are now 3 options in Napa: the Embassy Suites, a Hampton Inn, and a Hilton Garden Inn. Unfortunately, much like Marriott, Hilton Hotels has fully dynamic pricing. When cash rates are high, so are points stays. If you think our 4 night stay next year is prohibitily expensive with Hilton, you are correct! The cheapest option is the Embassy Suites and it is 268,000 points for 4 nights.
A Gem in Napa
Unfortunately, none of the above Napa hotels with points options worked for us this year, so I kept looking for properties. Voilà! I found it. Enter IHG Hotels & Resorts, which is certainly not an unheard of program, but not near the ToP of our list. The Hotel Indigo is outside of downtown Napa, but solidly in the heart of Napa Valley. Cash rates for our dates are between $1,400 and $1,500 for a 4 night stay.
Despite the cash price, with IHG's 4th night free for credit card holders, our nights only cost 122,000 IHG points. This is almost 1.25 cents per point, almost triple their “normal” or expected value! We booked this stay without hesitation and consider it a hidden gem for getting value for Napa hotels with points.
Napa Hotels with Points: ToP Thoughts
This year, we have more difficulty finding good value for Napa hotels with points. However, this difficulty led to discovering a new possibility. Moving forward, we now know of points options with the big four major hotel chains. Anytime you can get outsized value for points, it is a win. Frankly, we are shocked getting nearly 1.25 cents per point with IHG points. We'll take that any day!
Do you have any big wins with IHG points? Do you have any questions about Napa hotels with points or have a Napa hotel that you love that we missed? Come over to our Facebook group and let us know.
