If you like your hotel news in one tidy package, this week delivered plenty to chew on. Hyatt's upscale camping brand is heading somewhere new, a surprisingly affordable Hilton has landed at one of America's priciest ski resorts, and New York and Southern California both scored notable openings.
The headline grabber is Under Canvas in Santa Fe, launching next April. The luxe tented-camp operator already runs sites near places like Yosemite and in New Hampshire's White Mountains, and this will be its first New Mexico property. It's also a series of firsts for the brand itself: the first location to offer saunas, and the first planning temperature-controlled, hard-sided cabins, which will arrive later. Guests can already book cash rates from $224 a night, though World of Hyatt award redemptions aren't open yet. For anyone pairing a desert-and-art trip to Santa Fe with a night under canvas but not exactly roughing it, this is one to watch.
Out west, Canopy by Hilton Deer Valley has opened at the base of Deer Valley in Park City, Utah. Lifestyle brands rarely bother with ski resorts, which makes the 180-room property something of an outlier — and a rare value play in a market where nightly rates can be eye-watering. It sits steps from the Jordanelle Express Gondola and minutes from Deer Valley East Village, with four bars and restaurants, a sauna, steam room and gym. Off-season cash rates start around $181, climbing past $600 once ski season kicks in. Hilton Honors members can redeem from 58,000 points per night off-season, or 85,000 points in peak winter.
In New York, IHG's Crowne Plaza brand has a new flagship in Times Square, housed in a building originally constructed for the 1964 World's Fair. The reimagined hotel has 685 rooms and the Fifty-First Street Social restaurant, plus upgraded 'Manhattan Level' rooms and suites with skyline views. Rates start at $194, or from 30,000 IHG One Rewards points a night — reasonable for the location.
Down in Orange County, California, the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa in Dana Point is getting a multi-million-dollar refresh and will reopen as The Ocean Cliffs at Dana Point, a JW Marriott Resort. The roughly 40-year-old property's 371 rooms will be renovated, alongside a new pool, a 6,000-square-foot ballroom, an expanded lawn and a signature restaurant. The hotel stays open throughout, with work phased to minimise disruption; no finish date has been announced.
Loyalty programme changes are also in play: Wyndham Rewards' revised award chart went live on September 15, moving from three tiers to four. The cheapest nights now start at just 5,000 points (down from 7,500), while a new top tier caps out at 45,000 points per night, reserved for a small number of the chain's most elevated properties.
Why does this matter? Points-and-miles travellers get fresh redemption options at every price point — a cheap Wyndham night, a mid-range Times Square stay and a glamping tent bookable into Hyatt's ecosystem. Skiers, meanwhile, finally have a sub-$200 option near Deer Valley, at least outside peak weeks. Book early for the winter months; the deals above all have a habit of disappearing once the snow arrives.
