Citi ThankYou Choice Transfers – Clarion Hotel Copenhagen Airport Review
Back in October, 2021 Citi ThankYou added Choice Privileges as a transfer partner at a 1 TYP to 2 Choice points ratio. Many in the hobby at the time made jokes about being able to redeem Citi points for stays at Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn properties (admittedly those jokes are funny to me), but the truth is Choice has some decent brands/properties. That statement is especially true in Europe and Scandinavia specifically.
My Go To Hotel Programs in 2022
Coming into this year my hotel search strategy involved Hyatt first, Hilton second, Marriott 3rd and then IHG. With the introduction of IHG One Rewards I think IHG sort of moved up into a tie with Marriott for me, but Choice has also been a program I search in almost every city now. And thankfully I feel like I struck gold in Copenhagen.
Clarion Hotel Copenhagen Airport – Incredible Redemption!
One of the biggest issues in Europe is room occupancy not to mention the overall small size of hotel rooms. Room occupancy has been an issue I have worked around successfully throughout my travels, however this year inventory is tight and it has seemingly become more of an issue. So when I saw that I was able to book a family room at the Clarion Hotel Copenhagen Airport for only 20,000 Choice points (10,000 ThankYou points) I was excited but skeptical.
This hotel was once a Hilton, but was taken over by the Clarion brand. Clarion Hotels in the United States are considered mid-tier (although I’ve seen some terrible ones), but in Scandinavia it is more of an upscale brand. And wow did I get my money’s points worth here. To start, the cheapest room in this hotel is about $300 per night, but the family room that I was allowed to book for the standard 20K rate came is well north of $400 per night. Better yet, the hotel includes a full breakfast buffet (more on that in a minute) in the rate.
Before I go into the hotel and give a quick review I wanted to address why we are staying at the airport. Basically the rooms in this hotel are huge compared to competitor hotels and the airport Metro stop is right outside of the door. In less than 15 minutes we are in the city center, we have breakfast included, the room is great and the price was right!
Clarion Copenhagen Airport – Lobby & Public Areas
Upon coming in I could immediately see this was a nice hotel. We arrived from Spain at around 10am so I wasn’t expecting a room to be ready, but the front desk agent worked to find me one. She explained the sofa bed wasn’t yet made up, but they would do that for us later. I was just excited to get into our room so early, especially considering I don’t have any Choice status.
The lobby and public areas of this hotel feel very Scandinavian and upscale. It doesn’t feel like a corporate hotel in the U.S. and I think that is a good thing. There are plenty of places to sit and the decor including in the restaurants is very attractive. Overall I am happy with this part of the experience.
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Citi ThankYou Choice Transfers – Best Free Breakfast in any Hotel?
Now let’s talk free breakfast before I show you the room. When you hear they offer a free breakfast what comes to mind? Some powdered eggs and cold pastries perhaps? Here the buffet is very much like a high-end paid one you will find in luxury hotels except it is included in the price. It has an omelette station, so much fresh juice, yogurts, pastries, all the normal hot items, high end meats and cheeses, Scandinavian breakfast dishes and even a HUGE selection of premium teas not to mention a cappuccino maker. Good stuff!
Clarion Hotel Copenhagen Airport Room Review
Now for the good part. The room here is spacious, comfortable and is much bigger than the closet I stayed at in the Radisson Blu Copenhagen in 2015. To be honest this hotel and that Radisson Blu don’t even belong in the same sentence. The bed is comfortable, the sofa bed is of high quality and there is plenty of room. The bathroom also has a separate tub and shower and to be honest this room feels more like an American sized room with Scandinavian touches than anything else. Perhaps that is the Hilton heritage shining through.
Citi ThankYou Choice Transfers – Clarion Hotel Copenhagen Airport Review – Bottom Line
While I admittedly have searched for Choice Hotels in other cities and chosen other properties, the addition of them as a Citi transfer partner is a big deal and a good reminder that you shouldn’t sleep on Choice Hotels redemptions. When I was younger I had my fill of Rodeway Inns in the United States, but that doesn’t mean I won’t stay at a Clarion in Denmark and love every second of it.
Have you made any Choice redemptions since Citi added them as a transfer partner? Let’s talk about it!
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Stayed 28 nights on American road trips last year with Choice points from getting 210,000 bonus points on the AM all inclusive deal in December 2020. Some great, some not, but consistently average and fine for sleeping. Status means little to nothing, so no pressure there, and normally, buying points for stays at the best bonus is way cheaper than paying cash.
Just came across the Choice use a few weeks ago… Used in Charleston at an Ascemd property for 30k per night for a 1 bedroom, 2 floor suite with full kitchen….Rooms rates were 463 per night . Couldn’t be happier
I can’t wait for my next good find. Glad to have this as another option!
I could also vouch for this hotel. My husband and I have stayed here many years ago when it was still Hilton. I could remember vividly how glorious our breakfast was in all days that we stayed there.
I expected it to be decent but really liked it! The airport location might seem odd but it is still very convenient for getting into the city.
5x on different cats on 4 Citi Custom Cash Cards = 120k TYPs/yr (when max out $500/mth spend). Transfer 100,000 TYPs to Choice along with a Rewards+ card, get 10k TYPs back & 200,000 Choice points.
I just had a great redemption at an Ascend property in Jekyll Island GA. 2-br Suite with full kitchen for 30k Choice points/nt!
Too bad Skt. Petri dropped out of Choice Privileges redemption options for Copenhagen. That had been my preferred Nordic Choice Hotels stay for Copenhagen for several years at 20,000 points per night. I redeemed points there when rates were over $600 per night.
Wow that stinks. Glad to still have a nice option. Being at the airport sounds strange on the surface but it wasn’t an issue for us given how fast we made it into the city. There is also a grocery store about 5 minutes away so that helped as well.