Like having choices when you travel? Loews Hotels' "Winter as You Wish" promotion allows guests at 17 Loews Hotels to choose the perk they'd like most:  food-and-beverage credits or an upgrade to a full or partial ocean view room at its beachfront properties. (There is a third option, a golf package which bundles in one or two free rounds of golf, there is a maximum occupancy of two people per room. In other words, not for families.) The "Winter as You Wish" offer is good at participating Loews properties through April 12. 

Which choice offers the best deal for families? We did the math:

Food and beverage credits: For this option, you must book a minimum of two nights at Loews "best available rate," which varies by location and starts at $139 a night. The amount of your credit is calculated on a sliding scale, based on the number of nights booked: $50 for a two-night stay; $100 for three nights; $150 for four nights; $250 for five nights; $300 for six nights and up to $500 for a seven-night stay.

Note that the per-night credit amount increases with an extended stay. When you stay two nights, the $50 credit works out to $25 a night. When $100 is spread over three nights, that's $33 worth of food and drinks per night. Stay five nights, and you'll get $50 in credit for each night you stay. And so on, up to $71 a night if you stay seven nights.

We tested this package for a weekend stay in late January at the Coronado Bay Resort, located in San Diego, pictured above. When we price-checked the deal for a family of four, we found a deluxe room with two double beds available for $229 a night. For a two-night stay, the food-and-beverage credit is worth 11% of the room rate. For a five-night stay, the credit is worth twice as much—about 22% of the room rate.

Room upgrade: At four Loews Beachfront Resorts (Loews Coronado Bay Resort, Loews Don CeSar Beach Resort, Loews Miami Beach Resort or Loews Santa Monica Hotel) you'll receive an upgrade to a full or partial ocean or bay view room, plus two cocktails served poolside (worth up to $15 each).

This also does not appear to be an option for families. When we tried to book a room at the Coronado  Bay Resort for a family of four, the hotel's online booking engine indicated that there was no availability from January through April 12. Not a single night. We then tried the same booking for two adults minus the two kids, and the booking calendar showed three months of clear sailing. We're guessing that the package is programmed for rooms with a maximum occupancy of two. Grumble grumble.

Deal or no deal? It depends. A food-and-beverage credit can be nearly as good as cash back, but what's important is the per-night amount. In the current travel climate, it's commonplace for hotels to offer deals with savings of 20% or more on normal rates. So the Loews package makes sense when the per-night credit is worth at least 20% of the nightly room rate. If you want to stay at the Coronado Bay Resort, for example, you'd need to stay at least five nights for this deal to be worth your while.

Note: Loews also offers a flat 20% discount for bookings 60 days or more in advance (which, alas, can't be used along with the deal above).