We took an elevator upstairs only to find a single bed in the room. An hour and a half later, we returned and were given a key. “No problem,” we said before storing our luggage and going out to grab a bite to eat. The cab dropped us off at the Renaissance Aruba an hour shy of check-in time, and the elite desk clerk in the open-air lobby informed us that our island-view room with two beds wasn’t ready yet. My friend and I caught a redeye flight from Salt Lake City to Philadelphia, spent the wee hours in The Centurion Lounge and arrived in Aruba in the early afternoon. I invited my girlfriend, and we left the Utah winter behind to chase the sun on the Dutch Caribbean island. A few hotels piqued my interest, but I chose the Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino as a tropical vacation destination. I had enough points to book four nights at a Category 5 property (plus the fifth night free), and I had some choices to make. So, at the risk of being # Bonvoyed, I decided to strike first and redeem my Marriott points before I got struck with the so-called enhancements to the award chart.

You don’t have to be a genius to predict that the calendar would likely include more peak than off-peak dates once the change is implemented. The rates would apply to rooms booked on points, and they would fluctuate based on whether it’s peak travel season or low travel season for each property. When Marriott announced it would add Category 8 redemptions to its newly revised post-merger award chart, the chain also said that it would add peak and off-peak pricing in the new year.

Renaissance island aruba hotels