Trip Doctor: Arrive Early, Stay Late at Hotels
What’s the easiest way to get the most out of your next hotel room? Extend your stay by arriving early and checking out late. Fortunately, hotels are making it easier for you to hold onto that room key as long as possible.
If you’re angling for an early arrival, some properties will let you pay for the privilege. For $30, you can check in as early as 9 a.m. at Aria and the Bellagio, in Las Vegas. Guests at the Peninsula Beverly Hills get their room whenever they like and stay as late as they please—even if it’s more than 24 hours later—just by calling in advance. Similarly, Starwood’s most loyal guests (those who log 75 nights a year) can check in at any time and keep the room for a full 24 hours. Top-tier members of the GHA Discovery Program (which includes Omni Hotels and Kempinski Hotels) are rewarded with a 9 a.m. check-in when available. Even if you don’t have elite status, it never hurts to ask. Phone ahead with a polite request and you may be accommodated.
When it comes to sleeping in, Westin has your back. The global hotel group recently rolled out a program that lets guests stay until 3 p.m. on Sundays at all 193 properties. (As a further bonus, it also extended 'breakfast' hours until 3.pm. throughout the weekend.) Novotel grants Sunday check-outs as late as 5 p.m., subject to availability. Radisson Blu, meanwhile, lets guests stick around until 6 p.m.—either for free or a percentage of the room fee, depending on availability. Clients of Virtuoso travel agents get priority treatment—including late departures—at roughly 1,000 luxury properties. American Express (T+L’s parent company) Platinum Card members can keep their rooms until 4 p.m. when they book through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts, which includes more than 750 properties. Most loyalty programs offer late departures to high-status members: Hyatt Gold Passport grants 2 p.m. checkout to platinum-level guests; diamond-tier members can stay until 4 p.m. Guaranteed 4 p.m. checkout also comes with Leading Hotels of the World’s top-tier program, though that costs $1,200 per year.
Have a travel dilemma? Need some tips and remedies? Send your questions to news editor Amy Farley at tripdoctor@aexp.com. Follow @tltripdoctor on Twitter.
By Amy Farley
