Sponsored: Three Weekends Away
Summer’s here, and my buddies and I are restless for three reasons. Reason number one: it’s time to hit the road. Reason number two: we’re overdue for a guy’s weekend. Reason number three: hockey won’t be back until October.
Fortunately, there’s a single solution to all three problems: my Starwood Preferred Guest Credit Card from American Express. I have enough Starpoints that we can travel in comfort and style, and I can use my Starpoints to bring along friends or transfer those points to my friends. There’s just one problem: with hockey not coming back until October, where do we go?
Why travel to a tiny town in Wisconsin, of all places? Easy—at the end of August the Packers host the Oakland Raiders. American football is a spectacle to behold, and what better place to enjoy it than the home of the last small-town team in the league? Of course, since Starwood has hotels practically everywhere, we can stay at the Aloft Green Bay for a scant 7,000 Starpoints a night. There’s a gym on site to keep us in shape, even after we check-out Wisconsin’s own craft beer and internet access everywhere in case one of us misses the point of a vacation.
Do I need to say more than the word ‘Hawaii’? If we want to go all out, we could be staying at the St. Regis Princeville Resort for 30,000 Starpoints a night. Worth it? Oh yes. There are two world-class golf courses nearby. The Makai is an 18-hole, par-72 course through native woodlands, green hills, and scenic cliffs, against the backdrop of both volcanic mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Then there’s the Prince, also 18-holes and par-72, a links style course designed to challenge even advanced players. Each hole has five sets of tees, so we could play the course a whole bunch of ways and have a different experience every time. The hotel has other great stuff to, like an infinity pool and all the luxury details you’d expect from a St. Regis hotel, but we’re stuck on the golf.
The only downside of Boston I can think of is that my buddies and I will spend the whole time doing Good Will Hunting impressions—which isn’t exactly a bad thing, I guess. I’ve always wanted to have a hot dog in Fenway, and the Red Sox have a tonne of home games this August. That’s the only time I want a hot dog, though—the rest of the time, I want to take advantage of Boston’s awesome seafood and sophisticated cuisine, and a sweet home base for that would be the Liberty: a Luxury Collection hotel by Starwood Hotels. The building began life as a nineteenth century jail, but now it’s full of swank rooms and high-end bars—which will be exactly what we want after a Red Sox game. I’ll also be able to use my card to redeem Instant Awards such as upgrades to my suite, spa packages or even dinner at one of the Liberty’s restaurants, Clink, which just so happens to be located within their restored jail cells.
Get the sense that I could go on? Well, yeah—my Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Card gives me access to nine hotel brands with over a thousand hotels worldwide at the tip of my fingers using their mobile app to book any hotel. There are a tonne of sports weekends out there just waiting to happen.
Boom—three great weekends, three great sports, three great choices. So, we want to know, where would you go? Would you choose the heartland football experience, golf in paradise, or a Fenway frank accompanied by a side of baseball? Let us know in the comments section below!
This post was sponsored by Amex Bank of Canada. The views and opinions expressed in this article, however, are purely my own.
