I am always excited when the Conde Naste Gold List comes out every year! It’s always interesting to see which hotels from previous years are still on the list and which new ones have been added. When I browse through the hotels, it always makes me want to start planning my next vacation. As I look at the list this year, I actually have five of these hotels on my “personal” list… hotels that I personally plan to stay at even though I don’t have my vacation dates set just yet.
The three Park Hyatts and Starwoods on the list are very affordable with points. The Chase Hyatt Credit Card offers two nights at any Hyatt worldwide. The Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express and Starwood Preferred Guest Business Card from American Express each offer 25,000 points as a sign-up bonus. I have not been to any yet, but the Park Hyatt – Vendome is certainly on my list. After reading the list for years, I’ve had my eye on Starwood’s Blue Palace in Crete for a while and it just happens to be the top ranking points hotel on the Gold List. Starwood’s Grande Bretagne in Athens may just be my pick for my visit to the capital city of Greece for a trip tentatively planned for 2015.
Starting with my favorite continent: Europe… here are some European hotels on the list where you can stay with points and their scores. Each hotel is scored out of 100 for the following categories (where available).
Rooms
Service
Food
Location
Design
Activities
France: Park Hyatt Paris -Vendome (93.0)
How to stay: 30,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points a night or two nights with the Chase Hyatt co-branded credit card.
Conde Naste’s review: Park Hyatt Paris – Vendome
Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome
Germany: Park Hyatt Hamburg (90.7)
How to stay: 15,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points a night or two nights with the Chase Hyatt co-branded credit card.
Conde Naste’s Review: Park Hyatt Hamburg
Park Hyatt Hamburg
Greece: Hotel Grande Bretagne, Athens (91.3)
How to stay: 12,000 Starwood Preferred Guest Points a night in low season or 16,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points a night in high season (May 31 – October 17, 2014). When redeeming Starwood points for hotels, the fifth night is free.
Conde Naste’s Review: Hotel Grande Bretagne
Hotel Grande Bretagne, Athens
Greece: Blue Palace Resort, Crete (96.4)
How to stay: 20,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points a night. When redeeming Starwood Preferred Guest points, the fifth night is free.
Conde Naste’s Review: Blue Palace Resort, Crete
Blue Palace Resort, Crete
Spain: Hotel Alfonso XIII, Seville (94.3)
How to stay: 20,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points a night in low season and 25,000 Starwood Preferred Guest points a night in high season.
Conde Naste’s Review: Hotel Alfonso XIII, Seville
Hotel Alfonso XIII, Seville
Turkey: Park Hyatt Istanbul Macka Palace (92.9)
How to stay: 20,000 Hyatt Gold Passport points a night or two nights with the Chase Hyatt credit card.
Conde Naste’s Review: Park Hyatt Istanbul Macka Palas
Park Hyatt Istanbul Macka Palas
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