I am not one who chases elite status very much.  I have never had an elite status on an airline (not counting the Southwest Companion Pass) and my only hotel elite statuses have come through credit cards, status matches and the such.  I don’t travel for work and don’t like to pay for stays, so it’s hard to get hotel elite status the “regular” way.

I try not to get too tied up into the whole DYKWIA of status (best video ever), though I’m not always good at that

(SEE ALSO: I’m p***ed I didn’t get upgraded)

Plans are firming up for our trip to Peru in a little bit, and even though there is a government strike / huelga in Peru while we’ll be there, I wanted to get the rest of things booked up while we’re there.  We have 5 nights at the Tambo del Inka in Urubamba, but there were still 3 nights that needed to get booked.  One in Cuzco on our way back from the Sacred Valley, one in Lima before we fly back to the states, and then a night in Washington DC before we head back to Ohio.  Here’s what I ended up booking.

Cuzco – Hilton Garden Inn Cuzco

I checked prices for the hotels in Cuzco but ended up going with the Hilton Garden Inn Cuzco (image from Hilton.com)

There were other non-chain options but I figured, I’ve got the points (especially since you can get 80,000 or 100,000 Hilton points pretty easily till 5/31) so might as well use points and save cash.

It was 20,000 points vs. a cash price of $116 with tax, so 0.58 cents per Hilton point which is slightly above average (I think of Hilton points as being “worth” 0.4 cents per point.  I also considered using Barclay Arrival miles instead.

I had to book a 2 Doubles room but have requested a King room

Lima – Doubletree El Pardo Miraflores

Hotels in Lima are mostly centered in the more touristy Miraflores area.  We looked at one hotel near the airport but decided to book the Doubletree El Pardo Miraflores (image from Hilton.com)

It looked like there is a Club Lounge there so that’s an option.  One downside is that we won’t have very much time in Lima as our flight back from Cusco arrives in the afternoon and we have to fly out early the next morning.  I was hopeful to move our flight from CUZ-LIM to earlier in the day but LAN apparently doesn’t release any award availability for closein dates (or else it’s all booked up, but that seems unlikely as there are like 10 flights a day every day.

I paid 29,000 points for a standard room vs. $115, or right about my average cost of 0.4 cents per Hilton point

Washington DC – Grand Hyatt Washington DC

A few weeks ago I asked for your opinions on hotels to book in Washington.  I ended up booking the Grand Hyatt using my wife’s free night certificate.  It’s a Category 4, which normally would cost 15,000 Hyatt points.  The cash price is…. expensive 🙂

With tax, it’s $525 / night, so 3.5 cents per Hyatt point which is pretty solid value, but using a free night certificate is great.  I am a Globalist with Hyatt, so I am hopeful to get upgraded to a room with a view and Club access.  We won’t have much (any?) time to do anything too touristy at Washington, but a nice view of things would be appreciated as we have to resign ourselves to returning back to work and “real” life the next day…

Upgrades?

I have top tier status with both Hilton and Hyatt (Diamond and “Globalist”) so I am hopeful for upgrades.  The things that I look for a nice view and breakfast / lounge access.  I am hopeful to get upgraded in all 3 hotels, but we shall see.

Any recommendations on things to do with limited time in Cusco, Lima or Washington DC?