Fairmont President's Club - Hotels with the best suites to use your FPC upgrades?

At different Fairmont hotels suites start at 400 sq ft and others at 750 sq ft... I'm not saying size is all that matters but where is it really worth using your suite upgrades?

I have stays coming up at Whistler, Empress, Vancouver Waterfront, McDonald and thought I may as well start using some of these perks.

I'm taking my cousin and his wife who are in Canada for their first time on a tour and it happens to be his birthday and their 2nd year anniversary while we're in Vancouver. I compared the suites of the Waterfront and DT properties and it seems DT suites I'll get a bit more value out of my cert.

Let us know about your suite upgrade experiences folks :cool:

At different Fairmont hotels suites start at 400 sq ft and others at 750 sq ft... I'm not saying size is all that matters but where is it really worth using your suite upgrades?

I have stays coming up at Whistler, Empress, Vancouver Waterfront, McDonald and thought I may as well start using some of these perks.

I'm taking my cousin and his wife who are in Canada for their first time on a tour and it happens to be his birthday and their 2nd year anniversary while we're in Vancouver. I compared the suites of the Waterfront and DT properties and it seems DT suites I'll get a bit more value out of my cert.

Let us know about your suite upgrade experiences folks :cool:

One suggestion I have is to call the Plt concierge line, and ask the representative to tell you, for the dates you want, exactly what suite you can be upgraded to at each of those properties.

The reason is it's one thing to know what suites are possible, but the real important thing is which suites are available for you for the dates you want. They are very very helpful people, and I'd suggest calling. After all, you have to call them anyway to do the upgrade, so it's really not an extra step to take.

chop thanks for the advice, is it best to call them early for the upgrade or do they only confirm it within a certain numbers of days? I'm use to playing aerolotto with upgrades on AC and Fairmont always seems to upgrade me upon checkin so I've never called the plconc.....

chop thanks for the advice, is it best to call them early for the upgrade or do they only confirm it within a certain numbers of days? I'm use to playing aerolotto with upgrades on AC and Fairmont always seems to upgrade me upon checkin so I've never called the plconc.....

With FPC's upgrade certs, you can confirm your upgrades soon as you book your room. No need to wait at all. I plan very far ahead, and it's not unusual for me to make my Christmas reservations in January, for example. Never a problem using the upgrade certs that far ahead. Note though that the suites you get upgraded to depends on what is available when you request the upgrade. Good luck!

Note though that the suites you get upgraded to depends on what is available when you request the upgrade. Good luck!

Have you ever got the best suite available as an upgrade? If thats the case do you get additional suite upgrades for every 10 stays or so as well as the free nights?

There may be an additional 20 stays a year I could go with Fairmont if theres a possibility I can stay at the Queen Elizabeth suite a few times per year....

Have you ever got the best suite available as an upgrade? If thats the case do you get additional suite upgrades for every 10 stays or so as well as the free nights?

There may be an additional 20 stays a year I could go with Fairmont if theres a possibility I can stay at the Queen Elizabeth suite a few times per year....

My experience has been pretty decent but run-of-the-mill suites. I certainly don't get the impression that the suites I got in were anywhere near the top of the totem pole. Have no idea what the rules are, but I get the impression that they are just something above a junior suite. No complaints here, since I only need to pay a Fairmont room price and get myself a suite.

As for the other question, I really don't know. I have never gone 40 nights at Fairmont hotels in a year. OTOH, they run occasion promos (for example the Only One Way Winter a few months ago) that gives you a suite upgrade cert for each room you book.... so that's good.

Cheers,
chop

I used upgrade cert at Royal York in Toronto a couple years ago for a 2 week stay (they let me have full stay even though cert says only 5 nights).

The suite was a corner room standard bedroom/bathroom 1 side that could be closed off to make a seperate standard Fairmont room with the connecting door closed, the other oom had a fireplace, round dinign table for 8 additional bathroom, 3 sitting areas full sized sleeper sofa etc. very nice room.

I've had great luck with the suite u/g certs over the years although it does seem to vary by property. At the Royal York I usually end up with a suite with a separate bedroom. At the Ch. Laurier I get all manner of differently configured rooms. I usually find that I'm confirmed into their lowest category of suite, but often I end up with something better when I check-in. I've been given a large one-bedroom suite overlooking the Thames at the Savoy a couple of times, other times just the large studio-style suite that was confirmed - but always with a view which I don't think was guaranteed.

And I agree with the advice given above to call in and ask about the room you'll get. Some hotels are quite flexible about how they'll deal with the certs. Once, the Banff Springs offered to put me in a 2 bedroom suite if I booked two rooms (each one category higher than a Fairmont room) and used both a suite and a room upgrade. When we got there we had one of their "named" suites with a massive living room featuring a bar, dining room table, several couches, and a huge picture window overlooking the valley. The bedrooms were two attached large rooms.

The Orchid has very nice suites :)

I'm glad to hear the suite upgrades won't always put you in the most basic suite ^

I suspect you can also use the certificate at check-in?

I had an awesome suite at the Plaza in April. On top of that, they accepted 2 comp night certificates for my two night stay! Saved $1200!!

I had an awesome suite at the Plaza in April. On top of that, they accepted 2 comp night certificates for my two night stay! Saved $1200!!

Wow. I thought they had a very limited number of comp rooms allocated. You combined a suite upgrade and the comp nights coupons?

I am here in Singapore and I can definately say that the Fairmont in Singapore is THE BEST place to use suite upgrade certificates (to compare, I've used them at the Royal York, Whistler, Vancouver Waterfront, Newfoundland, and San Francisco)

1) Their suites are ~ 800-1,000 sq ft for the basic ones, with a fabulous layout and a HUGE bathroom with a shower big enough for 3-4 people :D

2) You get Raffles Inc. access, which is basically Fairmont Gold. This benefit is not available in any other Fairmont I know of. Breakfast + Drinks + Snacks!

3) For a treat, especially for 2-3 people, I highly recommend trying the arrival service arranged through the hotel. For about $110 Canadian, you get a private escort from the plane into the VIP terminal with private immigration, they find your bags, load them into the BMW limousine, and you enjoy a osim massage while you relax and wait... They greet you at the limo and you do in-room check-in!

Plus the staff here are amazing. I can honestly say I've never had a more perfect experience in a hotel in my life, and I've stayed at over 100, including multiple FS, RC, SR, etc.

2) You get Raffles Inc. access, which is basically Fairmont Gold. This benefit is not available in any other Fairmont I know of. Breakfast + Drinks + Snacks!

This is how all the Fairmont Golds are / will be set up in the Middle East and Asia. At some point in the future Raffles Inc. will be rebranded Fairmont Gold too.