Choice Hotels Choice Privileges Clarion Monterey MRY Monterey Peninsula

$329 junior suite for 8,000 points Clarion Collection Pacific Grove review

a yellow flowers on a rocky shore

Friends coming to town for my wife’s birthday party on the same weekend as the Monterey Jazz Festival meant room rates on the Monterey Peninsula were even higher than their normal September peak season weekend rates.

95 degree days in the inland valleys brings Californians to the coast for cool weather. The trifecta of normal weekend tourism, hot weather inland driving tourists to the cooler coastal climate of the Monterey Peninsula and a major cultural event like the annual Jazz Festival raised local hotel rates sky-high.

Choice Privileges points to the rescue.

8,000 Choice Privileges purchased a Queen Bed Suite at Clarion Collection Pacific Grove – Wilkie’s Inn priced at $329 after tax for Saturday night.

a sign in front of a building at night
Wilkie’s Inn – Clarion Collection Pacific Grove in thick-o-fog of night.

Choice Privileges Points Plus Cash reward rates allow a member to buy 8,000 points for $60. That is quite a discount rate compared to paying $329 for a Queen Suite room.

a screenshot of a website

Pacific Grove is a town founded as a Christian retreat in the late 1800s. Many of those traditional ties  linger on in a town known for its rocky coastal environment and Asilomar Beach, Monarch butterflies, Monterey pine trees and fog. Pacific Grove, or P.G. as locals say, is not the party town on the Peninsula, unless you bring your own.

a yellow flowers on a rocky shore
Pacific Grove coast is less than 15 minutes walk to this point from Clarion Collection.

We had a celebratory Saturday visiting several Carmel Valley Village wineries. There are 24 wine tasting rooms within the village walking area.

a group of bottles of wine on a table
Boekenoogan Winery – Carmel Valley Village.
a road with trees and grass
Carmel Valley country road and country life.

A couple of Carmel pubs at night for dinner and drinks fulfilled our party needs before arriving at the Clarion Collection Pacific Grove after dark for a post-celebration bed.

a sign on a wall
Hog’s Breath Inn, Carmel-by-the-sea

 

Comfort Inn Carmel-by-the-sea would have been a more ideal location for a hotel room also at 8,000 Choice Privileges points for weekend nights through November 30, but that hotel with $400+ room rates was only available Friday and Sunday nights, not Saturday.

a bed with a brown headboard
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove Queen Suite
a room with a bed and a couch
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove Wilkie’s Inn Queen Suite
a microwave on a shelf
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove – large tv and microwave.
a chair under a desk
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove desk chair

The room refrigerator was a bit larger than the standard room frig size.

a small refrigerator in a room
Refrigerator large enough for standard size wine bottles.
a heater in a room
Space heater?

Those from away often find the Monterey Peninsula and especially frequently foggy Pacific Grove a cold environment. Kelley never met a room temperature that was too cold for her.

a black rectangular object with a rectangular frame and a rectangular outlet
Bedside USB ports are a convenient feature I like to find in hotel rooms.
a closet with a iron and clothes on the wall
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove iron and board in closet.
a bathroom with a mirror and sink
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove bathroom
a toilet with a roll of toilet paper on the tank
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove bathroom
a shower with a white curtain
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove bathroom
a towel on a rack
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove bathroom towels

Clarion Collection Pacific Grove is a typical modest Pacific Grove hotel.

a building with cars parked in front of it
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove two-story hotel, no elevator, exterior hallways.
a table and chairs in a room
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove upper floor seating area.
a room with tables and chairs
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove outdoor seating area beside hotel lobby.

The only truly upscale boutique accommodations in Pacific Grove are Victorian B&Bs.

a yellow house with a white fence
Seven Gables Inn, Pacific Grove, California.
a couple of people on a beach
Asilomar Beach, Pacific Grove is about a 15 minute walk from Clarion Collection hotel.

Clarion Collection Pacific Grove rates were extraordinarily high for the trifecta date we picked to stay. However, this hotel and most of the dozens of other modest hotels on the Monterey Peninsula have rates under $100 per night during weeknights in the off-season. November is the typical start of off-season for this part of Central Coast California.

Clarion Collection Pacific Grove

Tue November 6 room rates start at $88.

a screenshot of a website

Clarion Collection Pacific Grove

Sat November 10 room rates start at $157, but even weekend off-season room rates can top $250 per night.

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a screenshot of a hotel ticket

Good news is Choice Privileges allows a far cheaper way to secure a weekend getaway room in Pacific Grove for the next few months.

Clarion Collection Pacific Grove Choice Privileges reward rates

  • Sep 16-Nov 30, 2018 = 8,000 points every night.
  • Dec 1-Jan 31, 2019 = 8,000 points Sun-Thu; 12,000 points Fri-Sat.

a screenshot of a computer

Choice Privileges currently has a promotion that earns 8,000 points with two stays Sep 12- Nov 9, 2018.

My hotel stay at Clarion Collection Pacific Grove is just one example of the kind of high value hotel room 8,000 Choice Privileges points can buy.

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