1. Paris
2. London
3. Rome
4. Venice
5. Dublin
Last week, I have written a post on strategies for booking family lodging in Europe. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback on it, and decided to research some hotels points options in various popular cities in the Old World. Above, you will see the usual suspects for a typical American family’s vacation in Europe. But why Dublin, you may ask?
I wanted to include it due to the fact that Dublin-Boston route is a sweet spot in Avios (British Airways) program. The flights cost only 12,500 miles one-way, and availability is usually very good. That’s extremely important for a family of 4 or more. So, I’m assuming you will spend one or two nights in or near Dublin before your flight back to USA.
I wanted to find hotels that would cost a reasonable amount in points, and would accommodate 4. I’m going to only highlight redemptions that can be achieved through sign-up bonuses and promotions.
Let me tell you, Paris is not a good place to use your points, but there are a few hotels that may work in certain situations. Hyatt didn’t have anything. Marriott had some suites on points, but they required expensive upgrade certificates. Other programs had a few (if not ideal) options.Without further ado:
1) Club Carlson
The only option that would accommodate 4 in one room was Radisson Blu Hotel at Disneyland Paris
Family room costs 62,500 points (no breakfast), and paid rate is 240 euros (around $320) per night. If you applied for a US Bank Club Carlson Visa, you would get a second night free. A good redemption, for sure. If both spouses got a Club Carlson card, you could get 4 nights at this resort by stacking your reservations. The offer does not pay me commission, but is a very good long-term choice card, since it gives 40,000 points each year just for renewing and paying $85 annual fee. A keeper!
This option would only make sense if you plan to visit Disneyland and don’t mind going to Paris (located 40 miles away) for a day trip.
Be aware, their calendar was showing very little availability in the summer. However, you can always call and request Club Carlson agent to manually open availability, as long as revenue rooms aren’t completely sold out. I’ve seen Summer from Mommypoints blog have success with this strategy in the past.
2) Choice Program
The only relatively central hotel on this list that would fit 4 in the room is Comfort Hotel Andre Latin
It’s located near Latin Quarter and has very good reviews. Be aware, it only gives an option to add a crib for a fourth person. I’m not sure if they mean rollaway, so email and ask to clarify. If you don’t mind carrying a compact air mattress like this one, you could possibly make it work for a young child.
The rate was 189 euros in July and award redemption runs between 20,000 and 25,000 points per night. The only way this would be a good deal is if you purchased Choice package through Daily Getaways next summer at a rate of 37 cents per point. Be aware, you can only book 60 days ahead, so this hotel is an iffy value, all things considered.
3) Hilton HHonors Program
The only option suitable for 4 people was Hilton Paris Orly Airport
Obviously, staying at an airport hotel should be your last choice when visiting Paris. Where it could come in handy, though, is if you had an early flight. Many discount European carriers use Orly airport.
The rate for a premium room was 41,850 Hilton points or 165 euros (refundable rate) per night. Nothing to write home about, so I would only redeem if you have a ton of Hilton points (which I hope you don’t) and are flying out of Orly airport.
Occasionally, there is an increased bonus of 75,000 points (right now it’s 60,000) on Amex Hilton HHonors Surpass card. That’s the only option that could possibly make sense. The card comes with Gold status, so you would get a free breakfast benefit.
4) IHG Program
Once again, all the hotels in the center of Paris have a 3 person maximum/per room policy.
There is one possible option if you want to be based in a countryside near Versailles palace, which is on the outskirts of Paris. It’s Holiday Inn Paris-VersaillesYou can fit 4 in one room and use your points for redemption. The cost is 130 euros per night or 15,000 IHG points, so it’s a pretty decent value.
That’s it, folks! Those are the only options I have found which made sense for a family of four. As I’ve mentioned at the beginning of my post, you will most likely do better by looking outside of miles and points hobby, when planning your family vacation to Europe.
If you are visiting Paris for the first time, I recommend you go with more central/paid options, unless you absolutely can’t afford them. In that case, it’s better to see Paris in a day, than not see it at all.
Stay tuned for other cities and points options reviews in the upcoming months.
Readers, does anything here look remotely appealing to you?
Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
I have a general question about hotels in Europe. Do rooms usually have one queen size bed? Many hotels here offer 1 queen and 1 double sized bed. I went to Europe many years ago and stayed in hostels (those were the days…) so I’m not familiar with hotels. Now that I’m a miles and points enthusiast and have a husband and daughter, I’m thinking about venturing there again. I know in your series you talk about a family with 2 kids, which is fine as that’s a common situation. I have no desire to sleep with husband and daughter in the same bed but I wonder if it’s common to have a sleeper sofa or some type of sofa she could use to sleep. She’s 6 years old.
Thanks,
Leticia
Leticia, in general, finding a place that fits 3 in one room in Europe isn’t super challenging. Each hotel is different, so I recommend you contact and double check on the bedding arrangements ahead of time. Most places will have 2 twins and a sofa bed, or a king size bed and a rollaway. Sometimes hotels will have 3 twin beds, it just depends. They won’t make you share one bed.
You definitely have more options than a family of four. For example, Hyatt Vendome will let you put 3 in one room. The cost per night is $1,000, but you can get 2 free nights after signing up for Chase Hyatt Visa (plus $50 when doing it through their website). It doesn’t pay me commission. Here is some info for Hyatt Vendome https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt/reservations/roomsAndRates.jsp?xactionid=14c79e49155&_requestid=44227 It looks like you have an option to get a king size bed and a rollaway (upon request).
Choice program has quite a few bargains in Europe. I suggest you look at http://www.choicehotels.com and do a search to see what each hotel runs. This Friday they will be selling points packages at a discount rate. However, I don’t recommend buying speculatively. Plus, you can’t make a reservation more than 60 days ahead for international locations.
I absolutely recommend you consider taking your family to Europe. Cards like Chase Hyatt Visa, Chase IHG, US Bank Club Carlson (and others) can significantly offset your out-of-pocket expenses. Feel free to email me with any specific questions, I would love to help.
I am in early stages of planning a family of 5 trip to Europe next summer. I realize we’ll have to do a mixture of paid, points and apartment rental most likely since we’ll need 2 rooms/night. Yikes! Enjoying your multipart series. Hope you’ll include a transportation part as well. We are wondering what’s the most economical way to get from country to country for a large family. Rail or rental or flights?
@Stacy Thanks for your kind words! As far as transportation goes, it really depends on the route. I recommend a website http://www.rome2rio.com because it will show you various options.
I would say, for long distances, you’ll probably be better off using discount airlines like http://www.ryanair.com and http://www.easyjet.com They usually don’t release schedules till 6-8 months ahead, but prices are normally very good. I once booked a one-way ticket for my in-laws’ for $50 (all in) from London to Rome.
Also, check out http://www.whichbudget.com for your specific route and see what airlines pop up. Sometimes, miles can come in handy. For example, AAdvantage charges 10,000 miles for a one-way ticket within Europe. Avios can be great for short routes. See my post here for more on this topic https://milesforfamily.com/2014/09/15/using-aadvantage-and-avios-programs-for-our-intra-european-flights/
Hotel points can be useful, especially for stays of 1 or 2 nights. Otherwise, for a large family, apartments just make more sense, no question about it. I hope this helps, and feel free to email me with any other questions.
RE: the Club Carlson 2nd night free with their charge card. Do you have to have enough points to cover 2 nights and then get a refund or is it ok to book 2 nights when you only have enough points for one night using your club carlson charge card?
Hilde, I asked around because I wasn’t sure. Summer from Mommy Points has this card, and she said that you do NOT need enough points for 2 nights. I guess, your account would have the info that you got Club Carlson Visa. Hope it helps!
thank you for the info
No problem! Contact me anytime with questions.