This is a third installment in my series of posts on our recent trip to South America. See my previous posts Back from our family trip to Peru and Easter island: Bumpy start, awesome memories and Flying in LATAM economy to South America and Easter Island
For the most part, I consider flying and layovers as the means to an end. It’s all about the destination itself. That’s why you won’t see me gushing over airport lounges or choosing illogical routing just so we can fly upfront. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it’s just not my thing. That said, because I tend to cram a lot into each trip, I try to make the “commute” as humane as possible, so my husband doesn’t veto my craziness going forward. Provided it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, of course.
One such splurge is using certificates or points on hotels that are located inside of an airport or right next to it. I fondly remember staying in Hyatt Regency Orlando (MCO) before our 8 AM flight and simply walking to our gate in the morning. Ahh, that’s luxury right there! Sadly, Hyatt caught on and that’s why they bumped the hotel to Category 5, making it inaccessible via credit card certs.
Anyway, on our recent trip to South America I had a chance to stay in two such properties, and wanted to write a short review on each one.
Wyndham Costa Del Sol Lima airport
How I booked this property: I used a total of 30k Wyndham points on 2 rooms, obtained from renewing two Wyndham credit cards ($138 all-in). Revenue rate runs at $175 per room, so you can say that we got a huge discount by using points.
I was really debating on whether to shell out points in this case. You see, our flight from Miami was set to land at 6 AM, and the connecting flight to Cusco would not leave until 2 PM. So, essentially, we would only use hotel to nap, get breakfast and maybe use the pool area. I’m so glad I didn’t let my cheapness win. This splurge was worth it 100%. Sure, if I had to pay $350, I would pass on this option. But at $138 it was a no-brainer indeed.
After getting our luggage and going through immigration, we simply walked across the street from the airport. So, by 7 AM we entered our rooms. I can’t stress enough how nice it was to get a shower and relax in an actual room for a few hours. Sure, we could have used a lounge three hours before the flight, but that’s like comparing apples and oranges. Let me tell you, lounges in Lima airport are nothing to write home about. Plus, they don’t have beds.
The room was fairly basic, but who cares, right? Unfortunately, they have triple occupancy, so I was forced to get two units.
I will say, noise insulation isn’t great, so keep that in mind if you are planning to spend the night. Our rooms faced a parking lot and it was super loud (honking etc). Having a noise machine is essential, in my opinion. If possible, ask for rooms that face the airport, as crazy as it sounds. Btw, you can see Holiday Inn nearby, but to the best of my knowledge, it’s not walkable from the airport. Still, if you have an extra IHG cert, this could be a decent alternative.
Our award rate included free buffet breakfast, which was more than OK. Certainly better than airplane or lounge food, that’s for sure. Coffee was good.
After getting breakfast, everyone in my family decided to take a nap, while I went down to the pool area. I can’t sleep during the day and am jealous of those who can.
The spa area isn’t all that great. The pool is super cold, while jacuzzi is merely lukewarm. I did appreciate the jets, though. There is also a sauna, which I very much enjoyed.
It’s nothing spectacular, but I did enjoy a few hours here and would go again since it’s complimentary with your room rate. After sitting on a red-eye flight for almost six hours, my middle-aged body welcomed this treat.
Bottom line: if you need to spend a night near Lima airport, you won’t find anything more convenient than this hotel. Even using it for few hours during a morning layover could make sense. I certainly have no regrets. Since we had another flight to Cusco, followed by a 2-hour drive to Sacred Valley, getting some rest and decent food for the whole family beforehand was totally worth $138.
Holiday Inn Santiago-Airport Terminal hotel
How I booked this property: I used 3 IHG credit card certificates and 24k IHG points to reserve two rooms for two overnight stays. The certs were from grandfathered IHG credit cards and cost $49 each to renew. When paying cash, the room runs at $200 per night, so using points (24k in my case) is also a good option.
One cert was from my MIL, so I added myself as an additional guest and contacted the property ahead of time, to make sure there won’t be any issues. At check-in, the hotel clerk was a bit confused, but we worked it out. In US it’s not usually an issue, but for international stays, I always recommend reaching out to the manager via email.
Since we had a 9 AM flight from Santiago to Easter island, and a return flight set to arrive at 9 PM, this property was truly an ideal option. It’s located right next to domestic terminal (used for Easter island) and just a short walk away from international terminal that we used for our flight to Miami the following morning.
Overall, it’s considerably nicer than Wyndham property in Lima. In fact, compared to Peru, Chile seems like a wealthier neighbor. The rooms definitely had a “Holiday Inn” vibe, which isn’t a negative. One thing I really didn’t like was polyester sheets. I hate those with a passion and consider it a travesty. I just sweat more at night when sleeping on polyester sheets and feel gross in the morning. But aside from that, I have no complaints about our two stays.
During our first layover we got connecting rooms, but not the second time. I think the hotel worker misunderstood me and thought I wanted rooms next to each other, which we got. I should add that rooms can technically fit four people, but sharing a double bed is a deal breaker. We could do it if absolutely necessary, but it would mean being uncomfortable, which defeats the purpose.
We didn’t hear any noise at night, despite close proximity to the airport, so that’s a positive.
The spa area in this hotel is very nice, and I highly recommend taking advantage of it if time permits. The water in the pool was pleasantly warm and jacuzzi was properly hot. 
Breakfast isn’t included in the award rate, though we really wouldn’t have a chance to take advantage of it anyway. Kids do eat free here, as is the standard policy at Holiday Inn.
Final thoughts
While neither property qualifies as an aspirational redemption, this is a good example of leveraging hotel points and certificates to get a huge discount off revenue room rate. More importantly, staying at these two hotels made our grueling/fast paced trip infinitely easier. Even though I tend to be stingy with using miles on business class, I consider airport-adjacent hotels to be splurge worthy when it comes to using points.
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.
@Christian That’s a great deal for a Cat.1 since hotels located next to airports are always more expensive than nearby counterparts. As they say, location, location, location.
The Hyatt Regency BKK is a category 1, has a really nice little club lounge and great swimming pool and public areas although the rooms themselves need an update. It’s also very easy to catch the nearby train into town.