Hotel news: Club Carlson in Mauritius, Hilton at Schiphol, stunning new InterCon Bordeaux

News in brief:

Radisson opens two resorts in Mauritius – good Club Carlson redemptions

Radisson Blu, part of the Club Carlson loyalty scheme, has opened two beach resorts in Mauritius.

These are the Radisson Blu Azuri Resort & Spa (100 rooms) and its adjacent Radisson Blu Azuri Residence & Suites (57 residences) and the Radisson Blu Poste Lafayette Resort & Spa, Mauritius (100 rooms, adults only).   Both are existing resorts, previously independent, which have been rebranded.  Both opened within the last three years.

Azuri is 50,000 Club Carlson points per night whilst Poste Lafayette is 38,000 points per night.  Neither of these resorts is hugely expensive so you are getting around 0.3p per Club Carlson point – my typical valuation.

As American Express Membership Rewards points transfer at 1:3 into Club Carlson, you would be getting around 0.9p per Amex point.

New Hilton opens at Amsterdam Schiphol

The new Hilton hotel at Amsterdam Schiphol is now open.  The funky looking stucture, see below, is a replacement for the existing Hilton property which will now be demolished.  There is direct access to the hotel from the terminal.

The specification looks impressive and there is even a spa.  If you stay before 29th February you will earn double Hilton HHonors points, which would presumably stack with the ‘Double Your HHonors’ promotion which runs from 1st January.

Hilton HHonors redemptions will cost 50,000 points per night.  This is a pretty awful deal, to be honest, given that cash rates are as low as €126 at the moment.

The hotel website is here if you want to find out more.

New InterContinental opens in Bordeaux

Finally, InterContinental Bordeaux – Le Grand Hotel has opened in France.

This is a landmark property in the town, situated in the Place de la Comedie.  It was previously known as the Grand Hotel de Bordeaux & Spa although InterContinental has overseen improvement works.  Intriguingly, Gordon Ramsay has been brought in to oversee all of the food and beverage operations.

For a weekend in June, even a non-refundable standard room runs at €340 per night.  Given that this hotel costs just 40,000 IHG Rewards Club points per night – compared to the 50,000 charged by most top InterContinental hotels – it looks like a great potential redemption.The website is here.

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IHG One Rewards update – March 2025:

Get bonus points: IHG is offering double base points on cash stays until 31st March 2025. This kicks in from your second cash stay during the offer period. Read more in our article here and click here to register.

New to IHG One Rewards?  Read our overview of IHG One Rewards here and our article on points expiry rules here. Our article on ‘What are IHG One Rewards points worth?’ is here.

Buy points: If you need additional IHG One Rewards points, you can buy them here.

Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from IHG and the other major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.