Trip Report: Annapolis, Eastern Shore, & DC Wharf
Recently, my husband and I took our ten week old baby on his first vacation to mark the end of my husband’s paternity leave.
Beach view in Ocean City, MD
Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay
Originally, we had planned to go to the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay. I booked the trip because this Hyatt was set to increase from a category 4 to category 5 hotel (making it ineligible for a free night certificate), and I wanted to be able to use my free night certificate before the change.
I had two free night certificates that I was planning to use from (1) completing the brand explorer challenge by staying at five unique Hyatt brands, and (2) by reaching the 30 night milestone reward last year. Unfortunately, we had some changes in our schedule and I had to cancel the original stay that I booked. Since the category changes had already taken effect, I couldn’t rebook for different dates using my free night certificates. One day I’ll get to stay at this hotel, but unfortunately we didn’t have any Hyatt points banked up to stay there for this trip because we are saving our Hyatt points for a trip to Cancun in December.
Cinnamon roll pancakes from Ms. Shirley’s Cafe
Annapolis
Now that we had our hearts set on a trip, I took stock of my point balances and looked at some destinations within close driving distance. We decided to spend one night in Annapolis to start. I used a Marriott 35k free night certificate to book a night at the Westin Annapolis.
I earned this free night certificate through the Marriott Business card. One night at this hotel costs 30k points or ~$250. Since the card has an annual fee of $125, I got about $125 of value from this certificate.
We enjoyed the Westin, but it didn’t stand out for any particular reason. Next time, I would probably prefer to stay in a B&B or a local independent hotel. But since this was a non-essential trip, I really wanted to book it fully on points/free nights and this was a very good option for that.
While there, we had an amazing lunch at Preserve. I would definitely go out of my way to eat here again. We also enjoyed ice cream from the Annapolis Ice Cream Company on a hot afternoon. Unfortunately my Gold Elite status with Marriott did not earn me a free breakfast at the Westin, so we got breakfast about a block away at Ms. Shirley’s Cafe. They had a lot of decadent novelty breakfast items to choose from and it wasn’t crowded at all on a Monday morning.
Ocean view from the balcony of our Corner King Suite at the Hilton Oceanfront Suites
Ocean City
After breakfast, we headed to Ocean City, Maryland, where I had booked one night at the Hilton Oceanfront Suites, using the resort credit on the Hilton Aspire card.
Ocean City is not the best family oriented beach, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to most people. However, it does have the only chain hotels close to nearby Rehobeth and Bethany beaches, so I may recommend it as a good place to find a hotel if you are seeking a points stay. But don’t plan to eat at restaurants or go shopping in Ocean City itself.
The Hilton Oceanfront Suites is the only hotel that made it on the list of Hilton resorts in Maryland, so it was a great option for me to use my resort credit. The hotel felt pretty old. However, we did get upgraded to a corner King Suite due to my Hilton Diamond status from the Aspire and the room was quite spacious. This could be a very good family hotel because the suite included a full kitchen and ocean views.
Diamond status includes a $15 food and beverage credit per person, so we ate breakfast in the hotel restaurant before heading out. I’d eat there again for a free breakfast. Since the room rate was only $168 and we had the full $250 resort credit to use up, I charged a room service lava cake and coffee from the lobby Starbucks to the room. I didn’t quite use up the full credit but got fairly close after loading up on water bottles and coffees. I would estimate the value of the resort credit at ~$200 based on how much I spent.
River view from our corner King Suite at Hyatt House DC at the Wharf
Hyatt House DC at the Wharf
After returning home from the beach, we realized that one of the Hyatt free night certificates that we originally planned on using at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay was about to expire. Rather than letting it expire, we decided to use it on a local staycation later that week.
There are many category 1 - 4 Hyatts in DC that would make a great option for a staycation, but we decided to stay at the Hyatt House at the Wharf because we hadn’t spent much time in that area before. This was a great choice and I’d definitely go back. We were upgraded to a corner suite with a river view due to my Globalist status which was beautiful, although I think all the rooms would be nice because the hotel is brand new.
This hotel would now be my go-to recommendation for visitors to DC looking to use Hyatt points. The cash rates that I saw were ridiculous ($500+) but at 20,000 points, the hotel makes a great use of a free night certificate. Hyatt House rooms also have kitchens, so it could help you save money if you brought in groceries to cook with. If not, the hotel is surrounded by restaurants. And it’s less than a mile walk from the National Mall. All World of Hyatt members (free to sign up) also get free breakfast at Hyatt House, and it was pretty good.
Before heading out of DC, we stopped by District Doughnut and A Baked Joint for some treats and lunch.
How to Book
To recap how we made this trip happen:
Free night certificate from the Bonvoy Business card. This card is currently offering 100,000 Marriott Bonvoy points when you spend $5,000 in three months.
Resort credit and Diamond status from the Hilton Aspire card. This card is currently offering 150,000 Hilton Honors Bonus Points after you spend $4,000 in three months.
Free night certificate from Hyatt Brand Explorer challenge. This doesn’t require a credit card sign up! Stay at five different Hyatt brands to earn your free night. Log in to your World of Hyatt account to check your progress.
Anyone else planning a short road trip this summer? How can you use points to make it happen?
