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A few weeks ago, I pondered how to spend our two free IHG anniversary certs from our IHG credit cards. Originally, we had booked two nights in Boston to see the Laver Cup. But with that event canceled, we needed to find another use for them before the end of 2020.
Well, I got desperate and spent one of them on a very local hotel.
Pool Staycation for the Win
With no neighborhood pool opening in sight, I decided to use one of the free nights at a very local Holiday Inn Express and Suites. I looked online to see which local hotels had outdoor pools, and I picked the closest one. Before I booked it, I stopped by and checked out the pool to make sure it looked clean and uncrowded.
My sons were busy with other activities, so this pool staycation was just for me and my daughter. Since my husband would still be at home, we didn’t have to pay for pet sitting. It was a very inexpensive getaway.
We arrived around 3:00 p.m. The hotel had some Covid-19 precautions in place, like plexiglass at the check-in desk and a 3-person/1 family rule for the elevators. We threw our stuff in our room and headed to the pool.
There was only one family with 3 kids in the pool when we arrived. The hotel posted that due to social distancing, a maximum of 10 people are allowed. So we shared the pool for a bit, but then the family left and we had it all to ourselves.
This pool was nothing fancy. It was just a plain rectangle, with the depth ranging from 3 1/2 feet to 5 feet. But, it felt perfectly refreshing.
We swam, raced and played games in the pool. Later, we ordered dinner delivery (Pizza Hut, her choice). Then we went back into the pool after dinner and again had the whole pool to ourselves.
Being there reminded me of all the road trip vacations my family used to take when I was growing up. We once went on a 30-day road trip across the U.S.A. The highlight for me and my siblings was always the hotel pools, which were pretty basic like this but fun nonetheless.
No Regrets
In terms of dollar value, this hotel was obviously not a great use of our anniversary free night certificates. We pay $89 for the card’s annual fee, and this hotel was not much more than that for the night. But, based on our limited travel this year, I have no regrets.
My daughter had a blast on her special hotel getaway. And who knows, maybe we’ll do it again before the summer is over!
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
My son, who lives on the other side of the country, was moving from one share-house to another. The way the lease worked out he had two nights without a place during a weekend and was really worried about where to stay during Covid. I booked him some really nice properties using my Hyatt and IHG credit card free night benefits and a potentially stressful situation turned into a nice staycation for him. I’m really happy how it turned out and a great use of certificates.
@LTMagnun That’s a great use of those free nights!!
At this point it’s best to get some use out of it than nothing. I just have my stepson a week in Arizona because with a new job and Covid I’m just not comfortable traveling right now.
@Boonie That’s what I was thinking, I’d rather use it than lose it! I understand about not being comfortable with travel right now. I thought things were starting to look up, but the numbers where I live in Texas are trending the wrong way now.
Sounds like a perfect use of your Certificate! Things are different for the time being so we have to be creative. My husband used a free night Certificate while we were down near Palm Springs for a couple of months this winter. I saw the writing on the wall with COVID-19 so he used our “expiring in May” cert. in Barstow for a day of riding his quad and hiking. (Hotels are surprisingly expensive there.) I would never have done that before all this, but felt good that it was at least used.
@Tricia Those sound like great uses of the free night! I’d like to hold out hope that I could use the 2nd certificate over the winter holidays in San Antonio, but I’m losing hope that Covid-19 will be gone by then. I thought it would be gone by now!
quality time with your daughter – priceless!!
@Lynn Yes! We had a great time!
Sounds like a fabulous getaway with your daughter thus a great use of the certificate. Now you have me thinking!
@Denise It was a very simple and relaxing getaway for sure! Not quite Bora Bora, but I’ll take it.