As a frequent visitor to Los Angeles with a strong predilection for staying on the Westside (near the beach) I have long found a dearth of luxury hotels for which I can use points.
There’s a Marriott right on the beach, but it’s (in my opinion) not great. There’s a wonderful Hilton hotel (the LXR Oceana Santa Monica – Review). And there a Marriott branded Proper hotel not too far from the beach. I mentioned recently that Hyatt will add a Hyatt Centric, but I’m *really* not a fan of the location for a visiting tourist.
I have therefore waited with baited-breath the transformation of the former Loews hotel into an IHG “Regent” (their most upscale brand) resort, the Regent Santa Monica.
They finally have an opening set for next month, September 2024, and I took a look at what a 4 night stay would cost me with points as I have a bank I’ve been saving for a 4th night free redemption (the 4th night is free when you have an IHG credit card – probably the best feature of the cards).
Well, a base room goes for around $1,000 plus tax and resort fees this is roughly the same as the equally luxurious LXR Oceana from Hilton (which has a $45 plus tax resort fee).
And where Hilton’s LXR is generally priced at 120,000 points a night, I’m seeing the Regent in a range of about 130,000 – 190,000 points a night!
That was enough to shock me – but then I got shook….
A daily resort fee of USD 90 plus 15% occupancy tax and .37% California Tourism Assessment is charged and includes the following services and amenities: Daily resort credit of USD 50 for use on dining experiences or at the Guerlain Wellness Spa.
Now it’s great that you get about half of that back as a resort credit (not that I love being forced to eat on property or use the spa to get back half of a fee I feel is ridiculous to being with).
For those that don’t want to do the math, with taxes on the resort fee, you are shelling out an additional $107.33 a night whether you pay with cash or points (since IHG does not waive resort fees on awards as a matter of policy, though I have occasionally had it waived at a property level on a free night).
Honestly, I didn’t dig much into the property after seeing this. I did glance the pictures on the website and I definitely would have given it a shot on my next trip, but both the points rates AND the resort fee is ridiculous. Actually, the resort fee is insulting.
It seems to be testing just how far a property can go before there is significant guest pushback. Even very wealthy people don’t like getting taken advantage of and that is frankly what a resort fee of this size is.
And while they have certainly courted press (I will assume non-paid?) from many leading publications, none of them mentioned this resort fee.
NOTE:
At publication time, I thought this was the most expensive non-member hotel resort fee at $90 + tax but I stand corrected by MilesTalk Facebook group member Jordan C. that a Marriott branded (but seemingly not IN any Marriott “brand”) resort called The Resort at Pelican Hill in Newport Beach, CA actually tops it by $5 at $95 + tax. Insane.
PS: Many articles point to the Fisher Island Hotel and Resort with a $160 resort fee, but that appears to be a private club.
Thoughts?
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Just don’t go there. It should be illegal to lie about orices like that.