A day pass allows you to optimize your budget by combining economical overnight accommodation with access to the facilities of a more luxurious hotel during the day. With this option, you benefit from top-of-the-range amenities such as pools, spas and private beaches, without having to book a full night’s stay.
Let’s find out how these passes can enrich your vacation experience, and what are the best websites to book them.
The day pass allows guests to use hotel facilities without spending the night. Some luxury establishments from major hotel chains, such as Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, Fairmont and many others, offer the opportunity to take advantage of their facilities thanks to day passes.
Facilities accessible with a hotel day pass include :
Here are five sites where you can buy a day pass. Remember :
ResortPass is a goldmine for finding U.S. resorts and hotels that offer day passes. Florida, California, Arizona, Texas and Hawaii are particularly well represented. Hotels can also be found in Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, the Caribbean and as far afield as Hong Kong and Bali. In short, a bank of over 1,000 hotels in 250 cities.
Just a few examples to whet your appetite:
Although smaller in scope than ResortPass, Daycation covers much the same destinations, with a focus on the U.S. and five-star hotels.
What’s more, our booking policy is very flexible: you can cancel and get a full refund up to 10 a.m. the same day. Handy when the weather decides to play a trick on us.
For inspiration, take a look at :
DayPasses offers a selection of 20 beautiful locations on less-visited Caribbean islands such as Aruba, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin and Antigua. Day passes are also available for Croatia and the Greek islands, destinations not covered by ResortPass.
Resort for a Day is essentially the same website as DayPasses, but is aimed at cruise passengers only. For example, a day pass at the Hilton Rijeka Costabella Beach Resort in Croatia is US$150 on DayPasses compared with US$125 on Resort for a Day. To benefit from the discount, you will need to provide the name of your ship and the date of arrival in port.
Dayuse is a platform for booking hotel rooms for a few hours or a day at reduced rates compared to a full night. The site offers hotels in 27 countries (Canada, France, Italy, Germany, New Zealand, Brazil, Singapore and many more) and over 2,000 cities. Dayuse focuses on well-located 3 or 4 star hotels in major cities around the world rather than resorts in sun destinations.
With a daytime reservation, you can access hotel services such as meeting rooms, the swimming pool or even the spa. It’s also an excellent option for resting during a long daytime airport layover!
This hotel chain operates some twenty family resorts in North America. They all feature indoor water parks with multiple facilities, restaurants, arcades, spas and activities. Visit Great Wolf Lodge are all located in the United States, with the exception of Niagara Falls in Ontario.
Day passes can be purchased directly from the website or at the reception desk. Prices start at US$32 for a half-day pass and US$40 for a full day. Prices rise sharply on weekends and around vacations such as Christmas and Easter.
Some hotels in Canada are listed on ResortPass :
Many Canadian hotels also offer day passes on Dayuse, including the William Gray Hotel in Montreal, The Yorkville Royal Sonesta in Toronto and the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver.
On ResortPass, Daycation, DayPasses and Resort for a Day, transactions are made in U.S. dollars. To avoid an additional 2.5% foreign currency conversion fee, use a no-conversion-fee credit card such as the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card or Scotiabank Passport™ Visa Infinite* Card.
In addition to saving you money on fees, the Scotiabank Gold American Express® Card lets you earn Scene+ points, which can then be redeemed for travel expenses. For example, an $80 day pass would be free with a redemption of 8,000 Scene+ points.
To treat yourself to a little more luxury on your next vacation in the sun, consider day passes on ResortPass, Daycation and DayPasses (or Resort For a Day if you’re planning a cruise).
On Dayuse, you’ll find hotels available during the day in major cities around the world: perfect for a staycation or a comfortable bed during a stopover. Families will also be interested in the water parks available with a day pass at Great Wolf Lodge in the USA.
Finally, all day passes can be paid for with a credit card and earn points. Better still, you can use a card with no conversion fees and apply these points against the expense, which then becomes free.
Savings are here:
