The Starwood Chocolate Factory

If you’re a serious Starwood stayer you probably know what I’m talking about when I say there’s a Starwood Chocolate Factory.  Sure, they don’t actually have a factory, but they sure send out chocolates frequently!  Sometimes those chocolates come with special surprises.

At Christmastime I got a box of chocolates. There were 9 chocolates in the box, 1 for each brand, but they were all the same flavor.  For my birthday, in February, I got another box (same as the holiday box.)  Then I got another box – this time the box was a slightly different. Nine chocolates, one per each brand but they each had their own flavor.   This box came with a card that said “You really get around.”

The card went on to explain that since I’d stayed at every Starwood brand in 2012, Starwood was giving me 3 free award nights! Yes! The nights are good at any category 1 – 6 hotel for a standard room and can not be used at a hotel that does not have standard rooms.  There are some really fabulous category 6 hotels including The Westin Princeville Ocean Resort Kauai, Hawaii;  The St Regis Punta Mita Resort, Punta de Mina, Mexico;  The St Regis Mauritius Resort, Le Morne, Mauritius;  The St Regis Osaka, Japan and so on.  There are also dozens of amazing category 5 & 6 hotels to chose from.

My first reaction when I got the box was, “I stayed at all 9 brands?” Wow, I can’t remember staying at a Four Points.  So I had to take a look at my account. Here’s where I stayed:

• St Regis Bangkok 
• Sheraton Krabi
• Sheraton Ho Chi Minh City
• W Bangkok
• Le Meridien Bangkok
• Le Meridien Khao Lak
• Sheraton Langkawi
• Le Meridien Kuala Lumpur
• Le Meridien Angkor Wat
• Westin Siray Bay
• Westin LAX
• Sheraton CLT
• W Atlanta Midtown
• Sheraton Frankfurt
• The St Regis Singapore
• Sheraton Incheon
• Hotel Des Indes, The Hague (Luxury Collection)
• Hotel Pulitzer, Amsterdam (Luxury Collection)
• Sheraton Elk Grove Chicago
• Four Points Charlotte
• Westin SFO
• Westin Macau
• Westin St Francis
• St Regis NY
• Element Times Square
• Sheraton Royal Orchid
• Le Meridien Koh Samui
• Aloft Brussels
• Sheraton Brussels
• Le Meridien Brussels
• Le Meridien Piccadilly
• Sheraton Park Lane
• Four Points Sydney
• Westin Sydney
• Westin Bangkok

So, it seems I stayed at two Four Points hotels and 1 Aloft, which I didn’t even remember. It’s also pretty amazing, looking back that I stayed at so many hotels in 1 year and even though I only stayed at 35 hotels, I had 105 nights at those hotels.  A vast majority of them coming from the Le Meridien Bangkok, Sheraton Park Lane and Sheraton Brussels.

This year (2013), I’m not off to a great start…I need to start thinking about how I’ll stay at all 9 brands again! So far, I’ve stayed at

• Le Meridien Bangkok 
• Sheraton JFK
• Westin Times Square
• Sheraton Tysons Corner
• Westin LAX
• SLS Hotel Beverly Hills (Luxury Collection)
• Four Points by Sheraton Tempe

So, I need a St Regis stay, an Aloft Stay (got that booked in September), an Element stay and a W stay.  Time to start earning some points and making some reservations!