Kim, Lucas and I have enjoyed staying at Radisson Blu properties around the world. When it comes to finding locations in the US, its slim pickings.
With only four Radisson Blu’s in the United States, those picking are about to get 25% slimmer.
I just found out that Radisson Blu Warwick Philadelphia will be leaving the Club Carlson family of hotels and it’s happening very soon.
According to my friend @jetsetnom, the property will be leaving Club Carlson on April 1, 2016.
When you go to make a booking at the Warwick, you’ll notice the message above on the Find A Hotel screen.
The message states “Leaving the Radisson Blu Brand on 4.1.16 to become Independent.”
This is definitely bad news.
When news hit that the Club Carlson credit card’s stay 2 benefit was going away, I booked a couple of stays at the Radisson Blu Warwick. We stayed at the property in October and really enjoyed the hotel, mainly due to its location.
I also booked another future stay for November of 2016. I am now hoping that the reservation is honored! I’ll probably give Club Carlson a call at some point to see what they have to say regarding future booked stays at the property.
If my stay is not honored, I will ask for them to extend the stay 2 benefit for a different reservation or give me some sort of other compensation. It would be very unfortunate to lose out on my last stay 2 bookings due to a hotel leaving the brand.
Philly is a great, close option for a weekend away from where we live (Brooklyn, NY). There are many excellent museums and tons of top-notch dining options too. Between Kim and I, we have 3 Club Carlson free night certificates to use by August. If we aren’t sure where to use them, the Radisson Blu Warwick was going to be a solid backup. Now that option is gone…
After the Warwick leaves, the remaining Radisson Blu’s will be:
- Radisson Blu Mall of America- Bloomington, Minnesota
- Radisson Blu Aqua- Chicago
- Radisson Blu Minneapolis Downtown
We stayed at the Mall of America location the first year it was open and had a very nice stay. It would nice to see more Radisson Blu’s opening in the US. Sadly it looks like the chain’s numbers are going in the wrong direction.
How do you feel at about the Warwick leaving the Radisson Blu brand? I think it’s a big blow to the chain.
Check out Radisson Blu hotels here.
Nathan- Def great to hear about the hotels being built in Philly! I’ve long been telling people to visit from the NYC area. I still haven’t visited the local breweries- been meaning to for some time now.
Martin- I am going to wait to see for now. I’ll check my account and call in at some point if needed.
Barry- My guess is the property owner gets marketing from Club Carlson/ Radisson Blu. Negatives are probably paying some percentage of sales back to Club C. I also heard hotels get a pretty crappy payout for award redemptions. Not fully sure though!
I wonder why? I wonder what is the advantage/disadvantage?
I too have reservations later this year. I am very curious how they are going to work this out.
Philadelphia is the midst of a hotel building boom right now. Within the next two years we are going to have a W, Aloft, Indigo, and a new Kimpton. Also the new Hilton (the old four seasons) and the options for hotels in Philadelphia is looking really nice. We’re really trying to be a first rate city and attract good investment.
We had the pope here, the DNC in July…The reading viaduct (Philly’s answer to the High Line) in the works, top notch food and drink (beer), and lonely planet said it’s #1 place to visit in 2016. Lastly, it’s really affordable to live here!