Travel

8 Best Points Hotels in Huntsville AL

So you’ve booked your flight or are planning a road trip to visit Huntsville, AL. Now you just need a place to stay. Here’s a list of the 8 best points hotels you in Huntsville, AL. You could choose to use this guide to burn some of your points, or even be aspirational as places that you’ll want to use the points that you’ll earn.  

Note: Since we’ve only been to Huntsville once, we have only personally stayed at two of the hotels on the list below. We are basing our list based on the proximity to the major Huntsville city sights, as well as the ease of using credit card points (as part of our travel hacking strategy). Those who love earning and burning credit card points know how great it feels to stay at hotels for free! 

The list is in no particular order, and we provide the reason why we chose these hotels as part of our list. 

8 Best Points Hotels in Huntsville AL

Other Huntsville related posts for your trip planning: 

Hyatt Place Huntsville/Research Park Review

Pros: 

  • Easy to book using Hyatt Points with reasonable value
  • Really close to the interstate and within a 30-minute driving distance to Huntsville’s major sites
  • Quick drive to the airport, lots of parking, and plenty of food options in the mall nearby
  • Free breakfast and parking

Hyatt Place Huntsville/Research Park is your typical Hyatt Place hotel – free breakfast, same room setup as the other Hyatt Place hotels, and has free parking upfront. It is easily walkable to the Bridge Street Town Center and within a quick driving distance to most of the sites in and around Huntsville. 

The area feels safe, even at night, and even though it is fairly close to the interstate, and is in a quiet area. 

We chose a king room with a queen sofa bed, so you can stay with 4 people in the same room. For two people, however, it is more than enough space, and the work desk is a plus since we can get a bit of writing and work done while at the hotel in the evening.  

Westin & Element Hotel Huntsville AL

Westin Huntsville (Marriott Bonvoy) Review

Pros

  • Can be booked using Marriott points, albeit at an expensive point rate
  • Walking distance to Bridge Street Town Center 
  • Close to the interstate and within a 30-minute driving distance to major sites of Huntsville 

This hotel is really pretty and some rooms overlook a water feature (a lake or a pond by the Bridge Street Town Center). There’s a covered garage within a quick walk to the hotel, and ample parking spots available. 

The Westin is a more upscale choice if looking to stay within the Research Park/Space and Rocket center area. At a category 4, expect to pay between 20,000 to 30,000 Bonvoy points a night. 

Drury Inn & Suites Research Park Huntsville Review

Pros: 

  • Free breakfast and dinner social every evening (save on breakfast and dinner!) 
  • Close to the interstate and within a 30 minute driving distance to major sites of Huntsville 

We have stayed in multiple Drury Inn properties, and we love the amenities this hotel has. Aside from huge rooms, free parking, and free breakfast, Drury Inn hotels offer an evening ‘kickback’ – which is essentially a buffet dinner with alcoholic drinks included. Best of all, sodas and water are free at all times! 

Drury Inn does have its own loyalty program, but you can only get points when you stay at Drury Inn and through the branded credit card. The points can then be redeemed for free nights but there are not that many Drury Inn locations and all are based in the USA. 

Still, if you’re looking for bigger rooms with a free dinner and breakfast option, that costs as much as the cash rate of a Holiday Inn then Drury would be a great option for you. 

You could save up to $30 for two at the minimum with that free dinner benefit alone! 

4 Points by Sheraton Lobby at Huntsville Airport

4 Points by Sheraton Huntsville Airport Review (Marriott Bonvoy)

Pros: 

  • Can walk to airport terminal from your hotel room 
  • Amazing views of the runway of planes taking off and landing from your room 

Cons:

  • Not many food options – only one in the airport operated by hotel and only available on certain days and times. 
  • A bit farther from Huntsville’s major attractions (40 minutes) via the interstate
  • Additional fee for parking  

The 4 Points by Sheraton Huntsville Airport is perhaps one of the most unique places we’ve stayed in. The room we stayed in had a huge window that faces the airport runway. We clearly saw planes take off and land as well as park in front of their gates. 

For aviation fans, this hotel is definitely something to consider. It is within walking distance to the terminal and an elevator ride away from the airline check-in desks! Despite its proximity to the airport and the jet engines of the airplanes taking off and landing, we barely heard anything from the room. 

No great food options at the Huntsville Airport

However, there are no food options within walking distance to the hotel aside from the hotel bar that’s only operating at certain hours and days. You definitely need a car to get food and to the tourist sites. If you have a very early morning flight or a late one that just arrived and you can’t be bothered to go downtown then this is an excellent choice. 

There’s no breakfast and the options at the airport are not that great so while in town, buy your breakfast the night before. 

This hotel is a Marriott Category 2 so expect to pay between 10,000 to 15,000 Marriott points a night. This is one of the better Bonvoy category hotels we have stayed in based on the convenience and novelty of staying in an onsite airport hotel. 

4 Points by Sheraton Room at Huntsville Airport

AC Hotel by Marriott Huntsville Downtown Review (Marriott Bonvoy) 

Pros: 

  • Walking distance to the downtown area – like Big Spring Park, the arena, Huntsville Museum of Art, and the historic Twickenham district 
  • Brand new hotel (as of 2021) – and really modern feel

Cons:  

  • Paid parking 

This hotel caught our eye as we were walking around the Big Spring Park and the Huntsville Museum of Art area. It looks really new (as of July 2021), and is conveniently located in the heart of downtown. 

If you don’t want to rent a car and will just Uber from the airport or you just want to attend an event in the arena then this is a solid choice. When you choose to rent a car, expect to pay extra for parking when staying in the hotel given its downtown location.

Category 3 Bonvoy – expect to pay between 15,000 to 20,000 points a night. 

106 Jefferson Huntsville (Curio Collection by Hilton) 

Very chic and upscale hotel located close to downtown Huntsville. I would only probably stay in this hotel if it has good Hilton redemptions, or if the cash rate is low, given that HHonors points have the worst valuations out of the hotel points out there. 

The hotel does look good from the outside and the indoor decor is classy. You’ll have to pay for parking to stay in the hotel as well, given its proximity to downtown Huntsville, where most parking has to be paid for. 

Hilton points do have variable pricing, like IHG, but from our experience, we don’t have much luck getting good redemption value on points in most properties. 

Element Huntsville (Marriott Bonvoy)

Pros: 

  • Walking distance to the mall (Bridge Street Town Center) 
  • Really close to the interstate and less than a 10 minute drive from the Space Center. 
  • Free buffet breakfast 

If you want a higher end hotel with more space compared to other chains then the Element is the perfect spot for you. From previous Element hotels we’ve stayed in, there’s a separate work desk and even a couch in the bigger rooms with huge TVs. 

The location is also convenient – within the bridge Street Town Center area, so this is a cheaper option to stay in than the Westin. 

Category 3 Marriott – expect to pay between 15,000 to 20,000 Bonvoy points a night. 

Huntsville Space Rocket Center AL

Huntsville Marriott at the Space Center (Marriott Bonvoy)

Pros: 

  • Walking distance to the Space Center if you so wish 

This is a huge property located a block or so from the parking lot of the Space Center. If you want to look out of your window and see rockets then this hotel could be a great choice. 

This hotel has a good redemption rate as a category 3 Bonvoy – expect to use 15,000 to 20,000 points a night. 

Bonus: Points Hotels in Huntsville AL with kitchens

For those who are planning to stay longer and want to self-cater, or for those traveling with picky young children where you need to prepare food for them, we have also included a list of Huntsville AL hotels with kitchens. 

We prefer to stay in hotels with kitchens for longer trips. Our toddler is very picky and we need to make food for him when we go on our road trips. Having a kitchen in the hotel room makes it convenient and easy for us to store and make his fruit/veg purees! 

Why stay in a hotel with a kitchen instead of an AirBnB?

We find that AirBnBs are now really expensive for our own place. We are also not comfortable sharing a space with other people who live in the unit, so a hotel is the best choice. Also, if you have a few points that you need to use, why not use said points for a trip? It’s one less expense to worry about! 

Aside from the Hilton and IHG option, which has variable pricing, a majority of the hotels with kitchens in Huntsville are part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. Honestly, out of all of these hotels, the best designed ones are the Towneplace Suites by Marriott. 

The rest look all the same – a really small kitchen in a studio suite, with a small work desk, an ensuite bathroom and the bed. These hotels technically are lower in value than the nicer, downtown chic hotels, so we tend to stay in them a lot if the kid is traveling with us.  

None of then are extremely special to talk about individually, but most of them do have parking and can be redeemed on points. 

  • Candlewood Suites Huntsville (IHG)
  • Fairfield Inn by Marriott Huntsville
  • Towneplace Suites by Marriott
  • Springhill Suites by Marriott
  • Residence Inn by Marriott
  • Homewood Suites by Hilton

Bonus: Sonesta Simply Suites Huntsville

During the 2020 pandemic, there were a few IHG properties that were acquired by Sonesta, and this hotel also has a small kitchen. Sonesta also has their own rewards program but the only way to earn then is by staying in their properties or applying for their credit card and putting spend on it. 

Are you planning to stay at any of these hotels in Huntsville?

Did we miss a really cool hotel that you can redeem on points in Huntsville? Feel free to leave comments on more hotel suggestions below. We always like hearing about great redemption stories and hotel reviews. 

If you are looking for more hotel reviews, feel free to read some of our posts below: 

Ruby Escalona

Ruby is originally from the Philippines, and now lives in Jacksonville, FL with her boy, Alex, and her husband, Peter. She shares her tips and adventures on family travel on this site, as well as traveling solo as a mom. Her focus areas are USA, Europe, and Asia.

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