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.
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.
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.
We had a celebratory Saturday visiting several Carmel Valley Village wineries. There are 24 wine tasting rooms within the village walking area.
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.
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.
The room refrigerator was a bit larger than the standard room frig size.
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.
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove is a typical modest Pacific Grove hotel.
The only truly upscale boutique accommodations in Pacific Grove are Victorian B&Bs.
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.
Clarion Collection Pacific Grove
Sat November 10 room rates start at $157, but even weekend off-season room rates can top $250 per night.
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.
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.
