I was having a conversation with a friend who thought it was absolutely wild that anyone would pay $1,000 per night to stay in a hotel. Now let me preface this by saying that I’ve stayed in quite a number of hotels where the price would cost at least $1,000 per night — depending on the room and time of year visited — but almost all of these bookings were either with points or split with a friend.
Some of the hotels that I’ve stayed at where the room cost $1,000 per night or more include:
- The Peninsula Beverly Hills
- Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam
- Conrad Tokyo
- The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort
- Andaz Maui at Wailea Resort, by Hyatt
- Hakone Gora Byakudan
- The Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne, Miami
- Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale
- Conrad Maldives Rangali Island
- Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal
- Conrad Bora Bora Nui
- Zuri Zanzibar
- Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort
- Conrad Punta de Mita
After giving it some thought, I wanted to give my take on whether, and when, it’s worth spending $1,000 per night on a hotel room (and for the purpose of this article, I’ll focus on actually spending cash for these types of stays, rather than using points).
First ensure that you have the finances to justify the spend
I mentioned this when I joined BoardingArea and I’m planning to write about it more, but I’m part of the FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement, which is basically based on reducing your spending and increasing your investments as much as possible so that you can retire early.
While it may not seem that someone on the path to financial independence and early retirement would ever encourage spending $1,000 per night or more on a hotel room, it’s entirely justifiable if you have the financial ability to and place enough value on the stay to make it worth the splurge.
Everyone’s financial circumstances are different, but my general guidance is — whenever possible — have 3-6 months in savings for emergency expenses, put at least 30% of your pay aside for retirement and investments, pay off all your credit cards and expenses, and whatever you have left is free to use however you’d like. It’s only worth considering paying $1,000 per night for a hotel room if you have funds leftover after taking these steps and will not be going into any debt for the hotel stay.
If you do have the financial ability to book a stay where rooms cost over $1,000 per night, below are some times when the price can be worth it:
Resorts where you’ll spend most of your time at the property
Looking at the list of hotels I’ve stayed at where the room can cost $1,000 or more per night, I realized that most of these properties had one thing in common: they are properties that I rarely, if ever, left during my stay.
If you’re staying at a hotel the entire day — whether you’re lounging by the pool, playing tennis, at the hotel’s beach, etc. — it makes sense that you’d want to stay at the nicest property that you can afford.
With that, I think it’s important to consider how much time you’ll be spending at a property and avoid spending $1,000 per night for a hotel room if you’re mostly just planning on using the room as a place to sleep.
Special occasions
A special occasion, like an anniversary, honeymoon, or milestone birthday, can more than justify the cost of a $1,000 per night hotel stay.
Often, luxury hotels will have small touches that will help enhance your stay if you let them know about your special occasion, like champagne, complimentary upgrades, chocolates, and more to help you celebrate.
Once-in-a-lifetime trips
If you’re going on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, like a safari or a trip to Bora Bora or Bhutan, I think it makes sense to splurge if you think the hotel will really add to your experience.
In 30 years, you likely won’t remember the $500 per night you saved by going to a cheaper property, but you will remember having one of the most amazing trips of your life.
If it’s a property you’ve dreamed of visiting for years
A lot of my readers are likely travel junkies and have properties they’ve dreamed of visiting. For me, some dream properties include Ceylon Tea Trails (in the Owner’s Cottage), Six Senses Zil Pasyon, 1 Hotel Hanalei Bay, and a couple of Amans — and I could easily see myself spending $1,000 or more per night for a stay at these properties.
If there’s a property you’ve been dreaming of visiting for years and the price is $1,000 per night or more, I think it’s worth the price (although maybe pair it with a special occasion so you kill two birds with one stone).
When not to spend $1,000 per night on more on a hotel
While there are some times that you can easily justify spending $1,000 per night or more on a hotel, below are some reasons not to (some of which I’ve mentioned above):
- If it would affect your retirement or savings goals, debt paydown, or you can’t pay for the trip without going into debt.
- If you won’t be spending a lot of time at the property itself and will, instead, just be using the room as a place to sleep.
- If you can find ways to book the same property with points.
- If there are nearby properties for less with great reviews, that offer a similar level of service and amenities.
Have you ever spent $1,000 per night or more on a hotel room? Let me know where and if it was worth it in the comments.
