Originally Posted by
Spent_All_My_Miles
I have a related question, for which this thread seems as good as starting a new one.
When booking a suite as an award, what are the rules?
1) Can they put you into the lowest category if they wish? Can they get away with putting you in a junior suite?
2) Are they obliged to put your in the premium-type suites if available?
I recently stayed at the Sheraton Sana'a, and booked suites for 3 of my 4 nights (I did so when it was a cat 1, and thus a trivial extra number of points). When I checked in, I was told something to the effect that I was given a junior suite. On my last night, I point-blank asked for the best possible suite they had, and what they gave me was the exact same type of suite, only on a newly refurbished floor.
As I was only Gold, I suppose the extra points made a difference. But a Plat would have presumably little motivation to book a suite at a hotel that doesn't sell them out, if they would wind up with the exact same type of suite that they could get by being upgraded from a normal room.
Every property has a specific suite category that they will book you into for points (if they are willing to do that at all, which most are.)
This is an area where you can realize outstanding value for SPG points spent in certain properties, or receive appallingly bad value in others.
For example: At the Westin Palace in Madrid, for an extra 2500 pts per night, they will book you into a "junior" suite which is double the size of a standard room and in most respects a "real" suite. Fantastic value, and I can't imagine not doing that now that I know the possibility exists. At the Westin Copley Place in Boston, on the other hand, for 12000 EXTRA points, they will book you into a junior suite which is only about 100 sq feet larger than the standard rooms. Furthermore, they have over 100 of these "suites," they are nothing special, and you are likely to get one as a Plat upgrade anyway.
Luckily, if you call the Plat concierge they will be able to tell you which room type you will get booked into if you are willing to pay extra points for a suite. Call them, ask, and decide accordingly.