Hilton pulled off the coup of the year when it stole the chain of Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) away from Hyatt, eventually adding nearly 400 additional hotels to its portfolio. Now, you can book an amazing Caribbean all-inclusive with pool villas, a cliffside Amalfi Coast resort, a private island retreat in Nicaragua, and more – all using Hilton points.
But some of those top-rated (and most expensive) SLH properties will now suddenly cost you more Hilton Honors points. Over just the last few days, we've noticed Hilton is quietly hiking standard award night rates at some of the best SLH locations.
A few examples include:
- Hermitage Bay, an all-inclusive resort on the Caribbean island of Antigua, jumped from 130,000 points per night to 150,000 points per night
- Sailrock South Caicos on the southern island of Turks and Caicos saw an increase from 130,000 points to 140,000 points
- Milaidhoo Maldives, an incredible Maldivian property that even includes roundtrip plane transfers, jumped from 130,000 points a night up to 150,000 points a night
- Canaves Oia Suites on the dreamy Greek isle of Santorini went up slightly, from 140,000 points to 150,000 points per night
- Grand Hotel Victoria on the coast of Italy's Lake Como was originally 120,000 points per night. Now, it'll cost you 140,000 points nightly
- Furore Grand Hotel on the Amalfi Coast saw an even bigger jump: It previously cost 120,000 points per night but now vaulted to 150,000 points per night
- Cap Rocat in Mallorca went from 130,000 points a night up to 150,000 points
- Wentworth Mansion, a beautiful property in Charleston, saw a minor increase, too: from 100,000 points to 105,000 points
Odds are there are even more rate increases we haven't yet caught. And we wouldn't be surprised if even more are on the way.
It's a disappointing development … but not a huge surprise.
Back when news broke that Hilton would steal away the SLH chain, we all braced for the worst: Hilton's reputation for valuable points redemptions is mixed at best. But that integration has surprised everyone, adding tons of cool properties – and shockingly excellent award redemptions – into the mix. It's been so good, in fact, that we're wondering if Hilton Honors is threatening to dethrone World of Hyatt as the best hotel loyalty program.
Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers who opted into our new Hotel Alerts add-on have benefitted from some of these amazing deals featuring nearly a dozen SLH properties – including a handful that just saw some substantial increases.
For example, how could you top Hermitage Bay? What's not to love about a boutique all-inclusive in the Caribbean with five-star service, fresh sushi nightly at a beachside bar, amazing meals and cocktails? Oh, and a VIP airport meet-and-greet to whisk you through immigration upon arrival in Antigua (ANU), then a free ride to the resort and back, too?
This property typically sells for north of $3,000 a night … and yet it was bookable for 130,000 points: a phenomenal redemption for anyone with Hilton points. Now, that's jumped up to 150,000 points a night.
A 20,000-point-per-night increase isn't the end of the world. While the points rate has increased, they're still bookable with Hilton free night certificates from cards like the Hilton Honors Aspire Card. And, at least for now, Hilton's standard award night rates remain capped at 150,000 points a night … though the hotel chain's dynamic pricing means you may also see “premium” nights selling for close to 1 million points or more.
Even after these increases, this SLH redemption and countless others remain stellar. Still, it hurts to see.
Bottom Line
Devaluations always hurt. While many of these increases may seem fairly minor for the time being, only time will tell how far they'll spread.
