Good morning everyone, I hope you had a great weekend. In a few weeks, Laura and I will head to Ireland for her spring break (she is an assistant principal, so we can only travel during school breaks). As I wrote about a few days ago, there are 8 Radisson Blu properties in Ireland and 1 property in Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom). We plan on staying at 5 different Radisson Blu properties on our roadtrip, including Belfast, Sligo, Limerick, Cork, and then Dublin Airport. In this post, I will show you the point redemptions and share a photo of the hotels from the Radisson Blu website.
Here are the 5 Radisson Blu properties we will stay at on our roundtrip around Ireland and Northern Ireland. There are only a few photos of these hotels online, so I am hoping these properties are impressive.
-
- Belfast! Image source: https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-belfast
-
- Sligo! Image source: https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-sligo-spa
-
- Limerick! Image source: https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-limerick-spa
-
- Cork! Image source: https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-cork-spa
-
- Dublin Airport! Image source: https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/radisson-blu-dublin-airport
Here are the hotel names, local price, the price converted to US Dollars (USD), the number of Radisson Rewards Points per night, and the cents per point (CPP) value per hotel. These 5 hotels cost a total of $500+ and I redeemed a total of 202,000 Radisson Rewards Points. My CPP redemptions ranged from 0.22 CPP to 0.36 CPP, with an average redemption of 0.26 CPP.
| Hotel Name | Local Price | USD Price | Points | CPP |
| Radisson Blu Hotel, Belfast | GBP 75.60 | $97.65 | 44,000 | $0.22 |
| Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Sligo | EUR 85.50 | $93.18 | 38,000 | $0.25 |
| Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Limerick | EUR 92.70 | $101.03 | 38,000 | $0.27 |
| Radisson Blu Hotel & Spa, Cork | EUR 124.20 | $135.36 | 38,000 | $0.36 |
| Radisson Blu Hotel, Dublin Airport | EUR 98.10 | $106.92 | 44,000 | $0.24 |
| $534.14 | 202,000 | $0.26 |
That sounds really low, but the overwhelming majority of my Radisson Rewards Points came from the anniversary points from my 3 US Bank Radisson Rewards credit cards. To give you an idea of how much the Radisson Rewards points cost, I receive 40,000 Radisson Rewards Points when I pay the $60 annual fee on my US Bank Radisson Rewards Business Credit Card (0.15 CPP) and 40,000 Radisson Rewards Points when I pay the $75 annual fee on my US Bank Radisson Rewards Visa Signature Credit Card (0.19 CPP). Both of those values are lower than the average 0.26 CPP redemption for the 5 Radisson Blu properties.
I have always had really good experiences at Radisson Blu properties, especially in Europe, so I am excited to check out these 5 locations. A few years ago, I stayed at and reviewed the Radisson Blu Royal Dublin. If you stayed at any of these properties recently, please let me know what your experience was. If you have any questions about these Radisson Blu properties, please leave a comment below. Have a great day everyone!
Hey Grant. That’s great you’re able to use some of your points. Like you, I have a stash of about 375,000 Radisson points that I mostly have through the annual bonus. I don’t use the card much at all. I haven’t stayed in Radisson’s in many years. Last fall I spent $30,000 to get the 3 free nights in the USA so I’m anticipating getting 3 free nights for any US hotel and will try to use it at expensive hotels in NYC.
I figure the annual fee is worth it and like you plan to use them in Europe at a Radisson Blu once I’m use it. Have fun!
You are way overdue on cashing in your Radisson Rewards Points. I’ve heard good things about the Radisson hotels in Chicago and NYC. Hopefully you can use the points in Europe, the land of great Radisson hotels.
Definitely. I also heard there are a few properties in South America that I might try in the near future. I am a Hyatt Globalist and was busy staying at those properties and taking advantage of all the great benefits for the past two years. I don’t think I will make it this year with the Corona Virus I’ve cut down my travels quite a bit so probably won’t make it this year. :(
I know how you feel. Lots of bad news about the coronavirus. Hopefully the situation gets better and international travel becomes safer. In addition to Ireland, I have a trip booked to Africa in the summer (Victoria Falls, South Africa, and Madagascar) that I hope does not get affected by the virus.
I also built a lot of Radisson points from the credit card(s). But, I also stayed at a Country Inn a lot for business, They offered some great bonuses on that too. I remember going there after work at the main HQ one day and they had a banner, cake, etc. I’d hit the one million point level – the first time they’d seen it there.
Now that I’ve retired this was going to be my year do some major traveling to Europe, Asia., etc. Now I’m not quite so sure, Maybe later in the year. Maybe instead a long domestic road trip in the Spring/Summer. Drop the top on the Mustang, and take a break from flying.
We’ll see how things go.
You might be one of only a few people to earn 1 million Radisson Rewards Points mostly from stays. That is quite the accomplishment. A nice road trip does sound like an excellent way to see the country and redeem your points. Have a great trip.
I’ve redeemed and stayed at the Limerick and Cork properties a few years ago. Both are nice. The Cork property is very unusual. It’s like a country estate with a nice pub and well located along the highway. The Limerick property is also well located with a nice restaurant but a little bit more outside of the main part of town. The Radisson Blu in Dublin didn’t make your list but is very nice. If you hold the credit card you likely have Gold status with Radisson which these hotels will recognize a bit more than in the USA.
I would try to visit the Titanic museum and Cathedral in Cobh if you get a chance while in the Cork area. A lot of tourist experts like Mr. Steve’s will tell you to skip Bunratty castle (near Limerick). Yes it is a bit touristy but we found it to be fun and easy to stop at along the road. There is also a nice restaurant across the road.
The strangest place you might run across on your road trip is the weird “Barack Obama Plaza” truck stop at Junction 23, M7, Moneygall, Co. Tipperary, E53 F342, Ireland. I’m not sure it’s in Atlas Obscura but should be. Apparently it was built during the Obama hysteria and somehow ties his family to that area of Ireland.
Thank you for the mini reviews on those 2 Radisson Blu properties. I know there is a Titanic museum in Belfast but I didn’t realize there was another museum in Cobh too.
I stayed at the Radisson Blu Royal in Dublin before and it was a great hotel, but now it costs a lot of points. I’m hoping my gold status will get us something decent.
Thank you for the other travel tips, I added them to my Google Map.
$97/44000 is $.0022 per point. Your chart says $.22 per point when you mean .22 cents per point.
You’re right, sorry, my decimal is in the wrong place. It should be $0.0022 cents per point.
Pingback: I Cancelled My Trip to Ireland
Pingback: Keep or Cancel - US Bank Radisson Rewards Business Visa - and Did We Get a Retention Offer? – Middle Age Miles