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Hotel Stay Summary
Ever since I started this credit card rewards journey, I had built up points across the major hotel chains, and before this trip I made fairly thorough preparations.
- Budapest: 3 nights at Hilton Budapest, 30,000 Hilton points per night, 90,000 total.
- Barcelona: 3 nights at Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona, 60,000 Hilton points total for the first two nights, and the last night booked with UR.
- Tenerife: 3 nights at Tenerife Ritz-Carlton, redeemed with 3 free night certificates.
Most of the Hilton points came from the Citi Hilton credit card (now discontinued) and the AMEX Hilton credit card. The free night certificates came from the signup bonus on the Chase Ritz-Carlton credit card. Right now the AMEX Hilton Surpass credit card has a 100,000+1 Weekend Free Night bonus, which can be quite valuable when used at hotels in Europe.
Hilton Budapest
Hilton Budapest is located in the Castle District, where many of the main attractions are concentrated, right by the Danube and about 5 meters from the church. Overall, the location and views are unbeatable, and the service was also very good.
Here’s another exterior shot of the hotel.
It’s right next to the cathedral. The church hosts several concerts each week, and you can just buy tickets at the door. Listening to a concert in the church was a really relaxing experience.
Even though this was an award stay, I was upgraded to a newly renovated river-view room thanks to matched Diamond status. Take a look at the view outside the window.
A shot of the room interior view (my own photos didn’t turn out well; this one is also from online, but it really did look like this, probably because it had just been renovated).
The small welcome snacks we received at check-in (more of a token gesture, really :))
About 10-plus meters from the church is a bus stop, where you can catch a bus across the Danube to the other side of the city. (Budapest was originally two separate cities, Buda and Pest, divided by the Danube, and later combined into one city.)
Since I had Diamond status, breakfast and lounge access came with it, so we handled most breakfasts and dinners at the hotel, which saved quite a bit of money. The lounge also had plenty of local specialty snacks, and LD and I happily sampled quite a few of them.
Tips 1: Spending 3-4 days in Budapest is absolutely no problem. The hotel front desk may recommend some 1-day side trips, but those excursions really can’t compare with Budapest itself. If your time is limited, I’d recommend staying in the city instead of heading out, especially since I saw other guests from the U.S. come back from those day trips and complain at the front desk.
Hilton also has another property in Budapest, Hilton Budapest City, not far from the train station. That one is more of a business hotel, and its location and views can’t compare with Hilton Budapest.
Hilton Barcelona
Since I still had 60,000 Hilton points left, I decided to stay with Hilton again in Barcelona. The DoubleTree closest to the main sightseeing area was already sold out, so I had to choose a Hilton a bit farther away: Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona. This property is closer to the beach, but transportation is a little less convenient. Since I only had 60,000 points but needed to stay 3 nights, I booked 2 nights with points and 1 night with UR. Based on my research beforehand, if you don’t book this hotel directly through the official website, you usually won’t receive elite benefits. So I emailed the hotel 1 week in advance to ask them to combine the reservations and, ideally, extend benefits as well. The manager replied 3 days later: no problem.
Tips 2: If you run into a situation like mine where you need reservations combined or want to try to secure benefits, it’s best to email in advance. Your chances are much better that way.
First, here’s an exterior photo of the hotel. It’s a pretty standard business-style hotel. Right across the street is a very large shopping center, and there are lots of restaurants on the 3rd floor, so you have plenty of dining options.
The lobby bar and seating area. We arrived late on the first night and grabbed a little food here. The bar stays open until 2 a.m.
Here’s a room photo. It’s fairly ordinary overall, but the key point is that you can watch the sunrise over the sea from the room, and we caught some beautiful sunrises all 3 days.
The outdoor view from the hotel’s executive lounge is also quite nice.
The pros of this hotel are the seaside views and the adjacent shopping center, but the downside is that it’s relatively far from the main attractions and city center, requiring more than 20 minutes on the subway.
Tenerife Ritz-Calton
Tenerife is located in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Mauritania and Morocco in Africa, but it belongs to Spain.
This was the highlight of our New Year trip, so I saved it for last. The 3-night stay really was one of a kind. The hotel sits right by the ocean, covers a large area, has its own beach, has a golf course, and has two Michelin-starred restaurants.
First, a panoramic shot.
You could say that beyond the mountains and beside the sea, there’s a Ritz-Calton. Its red exterior has a strong Spanish flair, even though it’s already on the Africa-facing side.
Here are two closer exterior shots (the second one is from online).
Because we booked with the free nights from Chase, we didn’t get a chance to stay in the villa section, though I imagine that would have felt even more special.
On the first night, they sent up red wine and fruit, which felt very generous.
Because this hotel is pretty isolated (basically in the middle of nowhere...), it offers shuttle service into town. Of course, you can also rent a car directly from the hotel, and the pricing is fairly reasonable.
A beach resort stay here really means spending your time on the beach. The hotel’s beach is not very large, since Tenerife is a volcanic island and does not have many wide sandy beaches. Still, the beach sits inside a small bay, which makes it quite relaxing. You can walk down the steps, or take the “elevator” instead (I accidentally dropped my phone into the pool, so this photo is also from the internet...).
The hotel has two Michelin-starred restaurants, and both were genuinely very good. I’ll just show a few photos here for now, and maybe I’ll do a separate post about the restaurants later.
Overall, this is an excellent hotel. Dining, lodging, transportation, and activities all score above 4.5/5, and the service is also fantastic. Highly recommended.
Finally, here’s a scenic shot of Tenerife to wrap up the post.
Recommended Hotels
Budapest
Hilton Budapest: The hotel stayed at in this post.
InterContinental Budapest: Only 35,000 points, which is an outstanding value compared with the 60,000 points that are common in North America. It is also located along the Danube.
Four Seasons Hotel Budapest: Not far from the InterContinental, but the most luxurious option in Budapest.
Boscolo Budapest, Autograph Collection: Elegant and classic, with a strong European medieval feel.
Barcelona
Hilton Diagonal Mar Barcelona: The hotel stayed at in this post.
Marriott’s Cotton House Hotel, Autograph Collection usually costs a little over 300 euros, or 45,000 points. US News ranked it No. 1.
W Hotel: The building itself is one of Barcelona’s iconic sights and well worth trying.
Tenerife
Tenerife Ritz-Carlton: The hotel stayed at in this post.
Jardines de Nivaria - Adrian Hoteles: Great views and very highly rated.
IBEROSTAR Grand Hotel Salome: One of the best-known hotels in Tenerife, though it is indeed expensive :) This hotel is adults-only~~~ Rating: 9.7/10