Prince Edward Island, Canada is a place I visited on a week long 1,500 mile road trip drive from Amherst, Massachusetts during Memorial Weekend 1993. I had an Isuzu Trooper SUV and celebrated the end of my first year graduate degree studies at UMass Amherst with a generally indeterminate destination road trip north to check out the Maritime Provinces of Canada for the first time. I specifically recall sitting in my car in Shediac, New Brunswick staring at the Atlantic Ocean, feeling like I was truly sitting at the edge of North America.
In Shediac, New Brunswick I had a choice to make. Drive north another 600 kilometers along the coast aiming for the Gaspe Peninsula of Quebec or drive 70 kilometers southeast to Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick and take the car ferry to Prince Edward Island.
I chose PEI.
Until writing this article I was unaware the 12.9km Confederation Bridge opened on May 31, 1997 connecting New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. Construction of the bridge started October 1993, five months after my ferry trip to PEI in May 1993.
Turned out Prince Edward Island was still a month away from real tourist season. Outside of Charlottetown there were few services open.
Hotels were not an option on my grad student travel budget. Just about all my money went to pay for gas. The entire trip I generally slept uncomfortably on the hard corrugated metal in the back of my SUV in a space, when the back seat was folded up, proved just a couple inches shy of allowing me to stretch my legs comfortably.
PEI was bitterly cold and windy. Driving around the island was a contrast of green grass landscapes with sand beaches and sea colors. Beaches and what small towns there were around the island were mostly vacant. Fortunately, this meant plenty of empty parking lots at beaches around the island were available for me to stay as a rough sleeper. Local police never bothered me during my stay.
Choice Privileges points value on Prince Edward Island
My rough sleeper days are behind me now, unless I count long-haul economy class flights in that category.
There are some great hotel deals in Canada using Choice Privileges points through the month of June. Based on my one time experience visiting Prince Edward Island all those years ago, the best value for these hotels is the last half of June when tourist season starts revving up.
Prince Edward Island has three Choice Hotels, all in or around Charlottetown:
Quality Inn & Suites, Cornwall (Charlottetown suburb).
- SUN – THUÂ 10000Â /ROOM
- FRI – SATÂ 12000Â /ROOM
- SUN – THUÂ 30000Â /ROOM
- FRI – SATÂ 30000Â /ROOM
Quality Inn & Suites Downtown Charlottetown
- SUN – THUÂ 12000Â /ROOM
- FRI – SATÂ 16000Â /ROOM
- SUN – THUÂ 30000Â /ROOM
- FRI – SATÂ 30000Â /ROOM
- SUN – THUÂ 16000Â /ROOM
- FRI – SATÂ 20000Â /ROOM
- SUN – THUÂ 30000Â /ROOM
- FRI – SATÂ 30000Â /ROOM
Quality Inn & Suites Downtown Charlotteown
Sun June 23 – Fri June 28, 2019
5 nights for a King Bed Suite with kitchenette totals $972.38 CAD / $722.00 USD.
Or 60,000 Choice Privileges points for a 5-night stay.
The cost to buy 60,000 Choice Privileges points this weekend is $462.00 for a room rate savings of $260.00 on this stay.
Basically you can book a $144 USD per night suite in Charlottetown for $93 per night buying Choice Privilege points.
There are deals available at the other two hotels on PEI too.
Loyalty Traveler – Buy Choice Privileges to May 27 for $7.70 per 1,000 points, up to 120,000 points.
2 Comments
Comments are closed.