emanon256, I hear you about not wanting to be excessively sensitive or whiny about completely minor things.

But...a Platinum member should not receive substandard treatment because you used points. It's not a "free" stay - it's a stay paid for with points. The official Marriott personnel that post here should confirm this: hotels aren't supposed to withhold normal Platinum amenities or perks on award stays.

In fact, from a business perspective, that's the opposite of what they should do: a hotel that sees a Plat member on a leisure stay should go out of its way to make sure that stay is exceptional. To the member, it's a stay they're much more likely to remember than the numerous business stays you do to get to Plat. I feel like Marriott gets this backwards in several areas. On my business stays, just don't totally bungle my stay and I'm fine. On my leisure stays, I'd like the elite status to mean a little something.

Anyway, I'm also chuckling that this thing is a Cat 6 now. I was complimentary of the property before and probably still would be, but it really feels more like a Cat 4 or so - even with a little bit of a premium for being near the Napa wineries. (Remember, this property is in the *city* of Napa, not farther up the valley where most wineries are.)