Radisson 1 for 1 Promotion. So Hot right now.

Posted by Noob Master on Oct 4, 2012 in Club Carlson, Hotels, Radisson, Uncategorized | 4 comments

Radisson is at it again! Man, they really love the “buy one, get one free” marketing. Last summer, I was able to rack up 200,000 Club Carlson Gold Points by participating in their Big Night Giveaway.

This time, the promo is Radisson specific. You must stay at a Radisson Blu or Radisson property and you will receive a FREE night certificate. Yep, this time around, they are giving a certificate instead of points. At least you don’t have to worry about black out dates with a certificate like you do with points. You must use your free night in the US, Canada, or the Caribbean by Dec. 31, 2013.

It’s a bummer that you can’t use your free night certificate in Europe, because they have some really nice Radisson Blu properties. Jordan and I just burned 50,000 Club Carlson Gold Points at the Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan in Paris. Major bummer. 

• You must register by Oct. 31 and only the first 50,000 are eligible. Click here to register for the 1 for 1 promo.
• You will need to be a Club Carlson^SM member to register. Not a member? No problem, join now. Then, book a qualifying stay online at www.radisson.com or www.clubcarlson.com at any Radisson Blu or Radisson hotel in the US, Canada or Caribbean between October 1 and October 31, 2012.
• Complete your qualifying stay between October 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012.
• When you are ready to book your Free Night Award, go to www.radisson.com or www.clubcarlson.com and log in to your Club Carlson account and then search for your desired location and date. Select the 0 Point rate option in the Gold Points® column and click “Book Now.”
• You must complete your qualified stay by Dec. 31, 2013

I looked online to see what Austin Radisson was charging and it’s not going to work. I couldn’t find anything less that $280. No thank you. The Austin Radisson is not worth that. It’s actually pretty outdated (at least, the room we stayed in was). It is a good location, but you can do much better.

Anyway, I’ll have to go up to Dallas if I want to participate, but not sure it’s worth it for me. If you can find a Radisson hotel for under $80, then this is a great opportunity to get some value. I would probably be more excited if you could stay at any Radisson Blu worldwide, but I have been dying to stay at the Radisson Blu in Chicago, and that would be a steal for $80. Normally, the basic room is around $500! Maybe I will drive to Dallas and make this happen.

There’s also another promotion Club Carlson is running right now and it will net you an additional 2,000 Club Carlson Gold Points for your stay. Click here to register. If you have status with another hotel chain, you can email Club Carlson (Radisson’s hotel group) at goldpointsplus@carlson.com and ask for a status match. I was able to get my Hyatt status matched to Club Carlson’s Gold status this summer during the previous promo. Gold Status with Club Carlson gives you:

• 50% Point Bonus, 2,000 points when booked online
• Late Check-out (based on availability)
• Early Check-in (based on availability)
• Best Available Room in the category booked
• 72- hour availability guarantee
• Special points plus cash offers
• Priority full-service Member Services telephone number
• -In Europe, the Middle East and Africa, you’ll also enjoy the following
• Elite membership benefits:
• 10% off weekend rates
• Weekend Extend (2 for 1 and 4 for 2 Nights)

This isn’t as sexy as the Big Night Giveaway, but if you can find a cheap Radisson to stay in, there is still some great value. Sure, domestic Radisson Blu properties aren’t as nice as international properties, but there are still savings to be had.

Noob it up.

— Noob Master

Review: Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan in Paris.

Posted by Noob Master on Sep 21, 2012 in Club Carlson, Hotels, Miles, Radisson, Trip Reports, Uncategorized | 4 comments

Thank you, thank you Club Carlson Big Night Giveaway! Jordan and I earned close to 200,000 Club Carlson Gold points this year during the Big Night giveaway. And since we were going to Paris, I thought why not burn 50,000 on the Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan.

Outside View

We were going to be in Paris for 3 nights before we headed on to Venice, and I was using two suite certificates earned through my Hyatt Credit Card at the Park Hyatt Vendome. I think if you’re a blogger and you go to Paris and you don’t stay at the Vendome- you will be flogged. I’m not one for physical punishment, so it was the Park Hyatt Vendome for two nights and a Radisson Blu property for one night. 

Why the Le Metropolitan?

I chose the Le Metropolitan hotel for a couple of reasons.

1) The location was terrific. It was right down the street from the Eiffel tower. You could actually see the Eiffel tower from many of the room windows (not ours) and once you walked out of the hotel, there it was. Just a 7 minute walk away. How surreal is that? It’s a crazy thing to wake up and see the Eiffel tower right when you walk out of your hotel. I felt pretty grateful in that moment.

View as you walked out of the hotel.

2) The decor was modern. In most Paris hotels, you will get more of an antique style of decor. I prefer the mod style myself. I know little about the official names of these things (I leave that to Jordan).  I just know I like the modern look better than the look of yesteryear.

The rooms.

Since I had my status matched with Club Carlson – I’m a Gold member. This opens up room upgrades for me on my stays. Yippee. I didn’t get upgraded to a suite on this stay, but if it helps, I was told if I was staying with them a week earlier I would’ve been. Ouch, but we were upgraded to a larger room, which is huge in Paris.

Even though we were upgraded to a larger room, it was still barely big enough to get our bags in and shut the door. But the room was very sleek and had a great bathroom with a walk-in shower. Yeah, I love a good shower. There was even a little couch in our room offering some additional seating.

Small, but nice.

We arrived much later in the evening since our flight from Frankfurt to Paris had been canceled and then our bags got lost in the vortex. So we were more than happy to have a nice room with a cool ac, good shower, and comfortable bed.

That will do.

The hotel.

Everything at the Le Metropolitan was very well maintained and polished. I enjoyed the modern design inside the hotel and could’ve been very happy staying there for our entire stay in Paris. There were some tight spaces and they had the tiniest elevator known to man, but it’s Paris.

I was infatuated with the little stair case with purple carpet. Not sure why, but it held a special place in my heart. Could’ve been the jet lag.

Very Nice!

The service at the hotel was phenomenal. All the staff members we came in contact with were very helpful and polite. We always ask for recommendations from locals and staff members wherever we stay, and we were provided with some really good tips. We always appreciate that, especially when we are in another country.

We also ordered room service, because we were famished when we arrived and couldn’t be bothered to leave once we showered. We ordered the burger and a pasta plate and both hit the spot. We were delirious, so who really knows if it was good (but I’m pretty confident that it was).

Final touches

I would definitely recommend burning 50,000 Club Carlson Gold Points for a night stay at the Radisson Blu Le Metropolitan in Paris. It’s a terrific value, since normally the room we stayed in is between $375-$650. And we only paid $80 for our Radisson stay in Dallas to qualify for the 50,000 Club Carlson points. If you didn’t play the Big Night Giveaway this year, then wake up and be prepared next year. The value is redic!

— Noob Master

Help Me Pick the Right Radisson Blu.

Posted by Noob Master on Aug 3, 2012 in Club Carlson, Radisson | 12 comments

Like many of you, I played the Radisson Big Night Giveaway this year. Now I’m looking to burn the Club Carlson Gold Points I earned. Jordan and I have a trip next month to Europe and here are the Radisson Blu properties I’m checking out.

Let me know if I’m leaving any out, or if you have some insight on any locations, please share. And if you have a bounty of Club Carlson points, then maybe this will give you some ideas as well.

Champs Elysees, Paris

This hotel runs 300 Euro a night for a standard room, and is located in the famous Golden Triangle neighborhood.

What a view!

Le Dokham’s Hotel

This beauty usually runs 255 Euro a night for a standard room, and is a quick walk away from the Eiffel tower. I do love the layout and design of this hotel. Classy.

Classy All the Way.

Dubrovnik Sun Gardens, Croatia

This is also another option for us to burn our Club Carlson Gold points. Balling.

Oh, Croatia is calling my name.

Radisson Blu es. Hotel, Rome

I think the picture says enough. Not sure if we will make it over to Rome, but just in case.

Can I be there now?

These are the four options I’m currently thinking about. I know- first world problems, right? I’m just grateful I have the opportunity (points) to go to Europe, and I’m sure I would be happy at any of these locations. But please let me know if you have stayed at any one of these properties or have other suggestions.

Have a great Friday!

— Noob Master