Starwood Preferred Guest - Suites with points?

Is it possible to book a suite with points? Although it is great that it is so easy to book a room with points (one of my fav parts of the program and why i work to maintain platinum status) ... I would really like to book (and pay extra points/$) to ensure a suite. I say *ensure* because several times I have been upgraded without asking in the past.

Thanks for the info/advice.
-p

Is it possible to book a suite with points? Although it is great that it is so easy to book a room with points (one of my fav parts of the program and why i work to maintain platinum status) ... I would really like to book (and pay extra points/$) to ensure a suite. I say *ensure* because several times I have been upgraded without asking in the past.

Thanks for the info/advice.
-p

Yes - check out
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/preferredguest/account/starpoints/redeem/upgrades.html

To book the suite however, the property must have one available for point use - which is not always the case (in my experience). You may also want to check with the Plat Concierge, as some categories of suites (Junior Suites) don't require as many points to book. I booked a Junior Suite at The Sheraton Safari for an extra 1500 points per night (Specialty Select u/g), rather than the 4,000 for a Suite u/g.

You should ask what the biggest suite they have available for the u/g in the property. A few years ago I was able to get the Presidential Suite at Heathrow for the same points as a regular suite :D

You don't know unless you ask....

I second the Captain's advice and take it a bit further. When you are booking, look to see if they have Junior Suites to rent. As Captain said, they are often very few points more. But more important, when you pull up a description of the room, you will see that there is a vast range of what individual hotels call a Junior Suite. Some are (as we probably guess) larger room, but I have found that there are many times when the Junior Suite is two complete rooms - a living room and a bedroom (yes, the living room is small, but it's still somewhere to go when my wife is still sleeping!). They are often only 1,500 points more per night, but the price they rent for is much, much more and the value per point is much greater.

Most of the times I've done this, I've been lucky enough to get a further upgrade to a full suite upon check-in. I seem that you are also a Platinum Elite so there's no reason you wouldn't have similar luck.

BTW, I'm going to the Westin Puerto Vallarta during Christmas vacation. The rate before the devaluation was only 7,000 points per night. For a total of 14,000 points per night (a bargain), we reserved a two story suite with two bathrooms! At what they were charging during this vacation, it was an incredible value.