This past week saw the first major—and I mean major—storm system of the year roll through Colorado’s ski resorts across the I-70 corridor. With some places getting over 4 feet of snow, it’s safe to say that winter has arrived.
Last week, we explored how to get to Colorado’s ski resorts in our inaugural entry in the guide to ski resorts that we’ll be running this winter. Whether you’re visiting the centennial state or a local staying closer to the mountains on powder days, you’ll need a place to rest your head and a hot tub to soothe your aching legs.
While most things in resort towns don’t come cheap, especially during peak season, it is possible to try to offset your lodging costs using points and miles. Let’s take a look at what each of the three major hotel chains (Hyatt, Marriott, Hilton) has to offer in Breckenridge.
Using Points At Breckenridge: Hyatt
Hyatt Residence Club Breckenridge
Hyatt’s only offering for using points at Breckenridge is the Hyatt Residence Club, located at 505 South Main Street. While more towards the south end of Main Street, this location is perfectly situated for quick access to lifts—only about a 5-minute walk in ski boots from The Quicksilver SuperChair that provides access to Breckenridge’s Peaks 9 and 10.
Although the Hyatt Residence Club—formerly the Vacation Club, rebranded in 2009—is technically a timeshare property, you are able to book a room using points. That makes this a great option for staying in town as the rooms are equipped with kitchenettes that can help save money by eating breakfast at home. You could even hop off the hill for lunch if you wanted—it’s that close to the lifts.
As far as I’ve been able to find, the hotel only offers points stays in studio rooms. As it’s a category 6 hotel, stays are priced at 25,000 points per night. Keep in mind this will change with Hyatt’s peak and off-peak award pricing, starting in March 2020. But for now, with cash prices hitting close to $500 during peak season, this is a pretty good deal.
The room comes with a king bed and a queen murphy bed, so you could ostensibly fit 4 people in here, although with gear, it might be a tight fit. The room also comes with a fireplace, jacuzzi spa tub (remember those sore legs?), a host of normal amenities you’d expect at a Hyatt, and the aforementioned kitchenette.
The Residence Club does operate slightly differently than other Hyatt properties. Unfortunately, because it’s also a timeshare operation, the Residence Club does not honor normal World of Hyatt benefits.
Some of the World of Hyatt membership benefits are not available at Hyatt Residence Club properties. This includes complimentary upgrades, late checkouts, complimentary bottled water, waived Resort or Facility fees and more.
While you’d normally be able to avoid that pesky resort fee, you’re stuck paying the $15. Having said that, it does include self-parking. This is not a bad deal for downtown Breckenridge, which mostly has paid parking anyway.
Earning Extra Hyatt Points
World of Hyatt points are fairly easy to accrue. The sign-up current offer for Chase’s World of Hyatt Credit Card is for up to 50,000 points—25,000 after spending $3,000 in three months and an additional 25,000 after spending $6,000 within the first 6 months. The card also comes with a free night certificate for category 1-4 properties, although it would not be valid at this particular property.
World of Hyatt is also a transfer partner of Chase Ultimate Rewards, which is extremely to rack up points on various credit cards in the Ultimate Rewards ecosystem.
Using Points At Breckenridge: Marriott
Marriott has two properties in Breckenridge, the Category 5 Residence Inn Breckenridge and the Category 6 Marriott’s Mountain Valley Lodge at Breckenridge. We’ll break this down by each property.
Residence Inn Breckenridge
Image courtesy of Marriott
As this is a category 5 property, rates begin at 35,000 points per night for either a 2 queen or king studio. Both rooms feature sofa beds that double as the living area. Like the Hyatt (and other Residence Inns), this property comes equipped with a kitchen so you can also save money there.
The location is just across and down Main street from the Hyatt. While it’s still walkable, you might not want to leave the mountain for lunch.
Marriott Mountain Valley Lodge at Breckenridge
Image courtesy of Marriott
Marriott’s Mountain Valley Lodge is part of its vacation club—again like the Hyatt Residence Club, this is a timeshare property. However, Marriott does release condos for stays on points starting at 50,000 points per night (category 6) for a studio queen, and 55,000 points per night for a 1-bedroom villa featuring a king bed and 2 bathrooms. Both rooms will come with a sofa bed.
Again, both have with kitchenettes and are even closer to the lift than the Hyatt, making it easy to stop back at your room for lunch between runs. It’s also on the southern end of Main Street and a short stroll to Breckenridge’s famous après bars, including Breckenridge Brewery, a personal favorite.
Earning Extra Marriott Points
Since the Residence Inn Breckenridge is a category 5 property, it falls within the certificate earned after each year’s annual fee with Chase’s Marriott Bonvoy Boundless Credit Card or the Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card. While the Chase card earns 75,000 points as a sign-up bonus after spending 3,000 in the first 3 months and comes with a $95 annual fee, the Amex version comes earns just 50,000 points after spending in $1,500 in three months and comes with a $120 fee. The Chase card also earns 6x points per dollar spent at Marriott properties, versus the Amex’s 5x points.
If you are under 5/24 and can afford the minimum spend, this is a no brainer—choose the Chase card.
Available from American Express is the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant American Express Card, which earns 75,000 points after spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. The Brilliant is American Express and Marriott’s premium card offering and comes with a $450 annual fee. It also comes with considerably more perks than its entry-level counterpart, which include a $300 statement credit, $100 property credit, a free night up to 50,000 points (category 6), Priority Pass Select membership and Bonvoy Gold Elite status, among others.
Using Points At Breckenridge: Hilton
Image courtesy of Hilton
Hilton officially has two properties in Breckenridge—The Valdoro Mountain Lodge and the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Breckenridge.
The Valdoro Mountain Lodge
The Valdoro is part of Hilton Grand Vacations which is…you guessed it—a timeshare. I searched using the flexible dates function on Hilton’s website and came back with no availability (even for paid rooms) on any dates throughout the winter and into March and April
For all intents and purposes, there’s just one Hilton available in Breck—the DoubleTree.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Breckenridge
The DoubleTree is located actually in the village just north of the Beaver Run SuperChair on Peak 9. This property is actually the closest to the lifts out of all of the ones that we’ve taken a look at so far. While this is not a condo style property, that just means that you’ll have to (be able to) eat at some of Breckenridge’s famed restaurants during your stay.
Now for some bad news: as with most Hiltons, the award rates on some of these rooms are absolutely outrageous for using points at Breckenridge. While the standard rooms (including 1 Queen bed, King Bed and 2 King beds) start at a mild 60,000 points, prices for other rooms (2 King beds with a sofa bed and alpine view) skyrocket to 190,000 points. With room rates hovering around $500, this is getting less than .3 cents per point, which is frankly not worth it.
Earning Extra Hilton Points
While it’s fairly easy to earn Hilton points, even the 150,000 point sign up bonus on the Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card, wouldn’t be enough for one night in one of the more expensive rooms.
The Upshot
There’s no shortage of places to stay—this article only scratches the surface with three of the major chains and using points at Breckenridge.
When skiing, it’s always nice to have a little bit more space to unwind after a long day or to cook some meals. For that reason, I recommend either the Hyatt Residence Club or either Marriott property in Breckenridge. Or, you could check out an Airbnb. Be sure to book with a card with which you can erase travel charges, like the Capital One Venture Rewards Card. No matter where you stay, Breckenridge is sure to be great time filled with sun, snow and skiing.
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