Marriott provides many opportunities to earn free category 1-5 nights. Their credit cards each offer a free cat 1-5 night per year. They frequently run “Megabonus” promotions in which two stays results in 1 free cat 1-5 night (make sure to register!). And, the best value Marriott Travel Package results in a certificate for up to 7 nights in a category 1-5 hotel (see: 12 things you need to know about Marriott Travel Packages).
I previously posted the best places to use your 7 night travel package certificates: Top 5 Cat 5 Marriotts in the World (even if you read this before, check it out again since I’ve added a 6th property to the top 5 list).
The international top 5 (now 6) list is great, but what if you need to use up free night certificates closer to home? Are there any category 5 Marriotts in the United States worth traveling to? Personally, I don’t find any of them compelling enough to want to stay for 7 nights, but if you have one or more individual free nights from the Marriott credit cards or Megabonus promos, I found quite a few that could make for a nice weekend getaway.
I scoured through Marriott’s list of category 5 properties in the US (found here) to find the gems that were highly rated. My goal was to find hotels that appear to well located for a weekend getaway. My secondary goal was to find the properties that represented good value for your points or free night certificates, so I removed hotels that typically charge less than $150 per night. Next, based on reviews, location, and appearance, I picked the ones I consider to be the best. Note that I have yet to visit most of these, so this collection is based entirely on internet research…
Sorted by state, here we go…
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Georgia
Florida
Idaho
Kansas
Louisiana
Maryland
Michigan
Minnesota
North Carolina
Texas
Virginia
Washington
Wisconsin
Reader Input
If you have any experience with the category 5 hotels listed here or with any I missed, please comment below! Thank you!