Bogwoppit

I got a GRGD for the 19th for two nights at the Frontenac. Paid $129 for a 2 dbl room. I did this fully intending to use a suite UG cert to get one of their studio rooms, I did not realise that this was not allowed. SO I am now stuck with a very small room for two adults and two teens!

WHat do you more experienced folk think the chances of asking to pay a supplement to UG to a studio room are? I of course would be polite and understanding of any response. BUt if you think there is simply no chance I won't even bother them with the request.

Jasper2009

Generally the answer is no. GRGD rates are non-changable / non-refundable / non-upgradable.

If you have status and/or stay at Fairmont properties regularly, they may allow you to pay up to the best available rate and use your upgrade cert, not likely to happen, but more likely than with other hotel chains.
(I´ve been lucky with some hotels in the past allowing me to change the date of a non-refundable rate by 1 day or another hotel didn´t charge my for the first night when my flight was cancelled and informed the hotel 2h before check-in time; nothing I would ever expect, but it certainly increased my loyalty)

Otherwise I´d just recommend booking a second room for your teen children.

Bogwoppit

I have stayed at the Frontenac about 6 times in the last 18 months. I will just ask nicely and see what happens. I can always cross my fingers that I get one of the 225 sq foot rooms and not the 200 sq foot ones!

Fortunately the we won't be spending a ton of time in the room, so we can survive. Paying another $229 a night for a second room would defeat the purpose of the bargain trip!

Bogwoppit

Just a quick update.

We checked in at the Frontenac on Friday. I politely asked the receptionist if there was a possibilty of U/Ging to a bigger room. He got out the book and found us room 4202, a small two room suite with two doubles and a sofa bed with a view over an inner courtyard garden that was lit up with xmas lights.

No extra charge and he called 30 minutes later to see if the room was okay for us.

NOt sure whether it was because we have stayed so often, or if it was just the way they do things there, but clearly the GRGD was not such a stumbling block after all.

The Frontenac was looking beautiful with some fresh snow and all the decorations in place. A great weekend.

Ancien Maestro

I would recognize this excellent service by filling out an employee recognition form.. and contacting this individual prior to your next arrival.. a great relationship to have! Refer the individual by name.. excellent service.^

Bogwoppit

THat is exactly what I did. He was more helpful than any other front desk staff at a Fairmont, it deserves to be recognised, even without the room change he was still exceptional.

OliverB

I had the exact same experience at the Frontenac this past March when I checked into a Signature King and was unhappy with the layout. At first we were switched to a much larger room with a River View but found it noisy in the morning as it was on a lower floor and the curtains did little to stop the sunlight from pouring in the morning. I went down to the front desk as soon as I woke up and asked that they please do something about it because we had gotten little sleep and were disappointed. The concierge was extremely helpful and gave me 3 sets of keys to different upgraded suites in the Gold Level floors to check out and even suggested which would please us most. Sure enough, we were thrilled with the upgrade to a large top floor suite with a River View, separate foyer and living room with glass doors, luxurious bath room with separate bath & shower and the works. A huge step up from the initial room we booked, and all at no extra cost! I guess the hotel was pretty vacant that particular week as it was just post-Spring vacation, but it was extremely appreciated by us and really made our stay so much more special!

I just booked reservations again for Christmas week and this time was hoping to stay in one of the Gold Rooms from the get go but unfortunately there are little options left as the hotel is pretty full-up. I'm a bit concerned because although we were given a Deluxe River View Room, they only had Queen beds left. I called and put in requests with the concierge that we would greatly prefer to be upgraded to a King Bed at the very least, and that if any vacancies in Gold Level rooms were to open up, we'd gladly take them at additional cost. Unfortunately I don't expect them to be able to accommodate us for the week of the holidays. I'm really crossing my fingers though.

Any experience with similar requests when a property is already booked solid? I'm hoping that if I call both a week and then a few days in advance they might be able to shuffle things around and at least secure us a King Bed.

Has anyone stayed at the Frontenac on Christmas week before? Is it a total zoo? I hope we don't feel like we're staying in the middle of a shopping mall full of tourists!!

Ancien Maestro

Fairmonts in general are busy on Christmas week at its resorts. In fact, most hotels black out u/g certs during this period, but some do allow u/g certs. If you remember the name of the person who helped you out, give the individual a phone call. If they helped you once, they'll do it again.

OliverB

Thanks, it was just the woman working the front desk at the time... I wouldn't have any clue. I did write to the Reservation Agent and left messages with the concierge and they said they would do their best to accommodate me, however right now the hotel is booked up and apparently no King Beds are left in the Deluxe River View category. I wonder if there's any way around this, but I guess it doesn't seem likely. I'm just curious what the chances are that something will free up in the way of a King room before our stay? Probably not a good chance given the dates, huh? I also hope that service isn't compromised due to the holiday swarms! I'd really hate to be pushing my way through packs of tourists in the hallways and public spaces.

Ancien Maestro

Limited Access (Blackout Dates) for Frontenac is as follows..

Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac - August 7, 14, 21; October 6, December 31, 2010; February 5, 12, 2011

You can use your upgrade certificates to guarantee minimum the room that you want outside the above dates.. So New Year's Eve you can't use your cert, but you can for the rest of the dates! Call in to see what you can get at minimum standard.

OliverB

Thanks, but how do they upgrade you if there are no rooms avail. in the class directly above? Is it possible even if the hotel is booked? I'm assuming they aren't going to bump anyone down in order to honour an u/g if the space isn't avail. I'm just hoping we can get a King bed somehow! Hopefully they can work something out... Also, I don't think I have any certs left to apply. At least not until I collect points from this next stay. Eitherway I'm excited to travel to QC again and really appreciate your help with the FAF rate which saved at least $100/night on the booking!

Jasper2009

No, they won´t move anyone around to accomodate your bd type or your request to use an upgrade cert (if you had one), anyhow I´m pretty confident to find a room with a King bed if availability opens up.

Ancien Maestro

Glad you got the FAF deal on Christmas Week!

Check if you have any certs remaining at www.fairmont.com .. login to profile, click on certificates.. voila, whatever's left.. let us know. If so, let me know your dates.. i.e. on a room upgrade, you can book category lower, and get a lower FAF price if the category higher isn't available. If you got a suite upgrade, this will work as well during Christmas week except Dec 31.^