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Bad Rate :: Suite Miles Promotion at Caravelle Hotel

Where: 19 Lam Son Square, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

[Ed. Note: Welcome to our Good Rate/Bad Rate feature where we look at hotel prices in the same city and decide which is better worth your hard-earned benjamins. The screenshot here was taken on August 29, 2006 and rates are subject to change.]

We get all kinds of mileage promotions in our e-mail boxes and most of them don't make much sense. Take, for example, this "Suite Miles" deal being offered by several airlines and WorldHotels. Book a suite at one of the featured hotels and you will receive 5,000 airline miles per night. That sounds pretty enticing until you pull up the web site and look at the prices for various cities.

One of the most audacious examples is the Caravelle Hotel in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City, more commonly known as Saigon. As this screen shot shows, the rate for a suite there is a staggering $468, plus you still have to pay $16 each for breakfast and you'll get hit with 15% in taxes and fees on top. The nightly total comes to $538 before breakfast. This for a hotel where many of the rooms come with an unusual view--of other guests in the neighboring Sheraton.

Anyone who has been to Vietnam knows it would take a real sucker to pay over $500 for a night in a suite (unless it's a palatial Presidential Suite that takes up half a floor). Most of the time you can slip a $20 and a smile to the right person at a locally-owned hotel and get upgraded to a suite if one is open. Even if you want to book it in advance, you would only pay $173 at the Sheraton, $117 at the historic Grand Hotel (with gold plated bathroom fixtures!), and $236 at the Sofitel Plaza Saigon.

You would be far better off staying elsewhere and just buying some mileage with the money you saved. There's nothing sweet about this "Suite Miles" deal.

Related Stories:
· Caravelle Hotel Reviews [TripAdvisor]