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Alila Marea coming to California in 2021
Alila hotels are absolutely phenomenal, and as a part of the 2018 Hyatt acquisition of Two Roads Hospitality, they became a part of the Hyatt portfolio. Currently, there are only 16 Alila hotels in the world, and just one in the United States: The Alila Ventana Big Sur. If you’re a part of the miles and points, you’re well aware of this property since it’s one of the best Hyatt point redemptions you can make ( possibly the best – it’s all inclusive with rates between $1k-$2k for a base room ). But, that all changes with Alila Marea.
Alila Marea
Earlier this month, Hyatt announced that a brand new Alila would be built in Southern California: Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas. Encinitas is roughly an hour north of San Diego, and a neighboring town of Del Mar and La Jolla. If you’re a golf fan, you’ll realize how incredible this is since Torrey Pines is just a stone’s throw away – the US Open will be held there again in 2021 ( Tiger Woods won in 2008, the last time the event was held there, and just before his career imploded ).
The Hyatt website has the resort opening January 2021, which if they can stay on track, would mean that the hotel would be open for the 2021 US Open, and I’d highly recommend keeping an eagle’s eye on this development. It would be an incredible place to stay during the tournament.
Alila Marea will feature a 130 coastal and garden view rooms and suites. The design aesthetic seems to resemble that of Alila Villas Uluwatu with a sleek, modern, and minimalist approach to design that blends in with surroundings. I had the great fortune of staying at the Alila Villas Uluwatu in the summer of 2019 using points to stay in a pool villa.
Likely a Category 7
I would be surprised if this was priced at anything other than a category 7 hotel. With the all inclusive Alila Ventana still requiring just 30k points a night, it would be a shock to see this come in at Hyatt’s relatively new Category 8 pricing, but I’d also guess this will be a $500+ a night hotel, and category 6 pricing seems like a fantasy. We shall see what happens in the next few months, but if you’re thinking about going to the US Open in 2021…keep a close eye on this property.
*all images courtesy of Hyatt.com
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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