If you fill it, will they come? With gas prices still hovering close to $4 a gallon, hotels have figured out that one big obstacle to having lots of guests is simply getting them there. As a result, many hotels are offering free gas as an incentive. The latest is the Hilton Garden Inn Carlsbad Beach, just north of San Diego, which is offering a Fuel Up Package through the end of 2011.
The 161-room hotel—about five minutes from Legoland—is across the street from a beach and it has a pool, seasonal dive-in movies and plenty of gear (lawn chairs, sand toys, umbrellas) to tote over to the beach. Carlsbad is also about 30 minutes or so from SeaWorld and the San Diego Zoo, and a little over an hour from Disneyland.
The Fuel Up package promises rates that start at $229 a night through September 6, or $199 a night from September 7 to December 30. The deal includes:
- A full made-to-order breakfast for two (worth about $40/day)
- a $50 gas card (or about 16 gallons—at press time, gas in San Diego was averaging about $3.80)
When we checked some August dates, we found even lower prices for this package than is advertised: $214 a night for a room with two queens and partial ocean view, compared to a regular rate of $184 a night for the same room.
Deal or no deal? The old road-trip joke of “eat food, get gas” works out to your benefit here. If you stay just one night—the minimum—you'd get $60 in added value, a cool 22% in savings, assuming you're going to buy breakfast and a tank of gas no matter what.
But here's yet another case where, the longer you stay, the less you save. For two nights in the room, your savings come to $70, a drop to 14% of your total spend. Stay three days and your savings go down to just 11%. Our advice? Take advantage of this offer for an overnight stay or quick two-nighter.
The Fuel Up Package is good for stays through December 30. You can book online (click on the specials page, and then make sure the “Fuel Up” box is checked under your dates) or call 760/476-0800.
