ChazDawg;I had a couple of minutes to kill, so I called Marriott central reservations and inquired as to suites available this Saturday, June 28 at Tampa Marriott Westshore. Here's what they told me: There are suites on every floor, called "Executive Suites". They have balconies, and are apparently at the end of each floor. I'm not sure if there are one or two on every floor. They have availability for the suites as of now. Arrangements for the suites are made directly with the hotel, and not with central reservations. I'm guessing that there will be some available when you check-in. If it were me, in view of their denial of your upgrade in the past, I would call Marriott central reservations shortly before check-in and ask about availability of the Executive Suites to make sure there is availability. If it shows available, then, upon checkin at the hotel I would specifically ask for an upgrade to one of the "Executive Suites". If the desk clerk refuses or says they're not available, I'd ask to speak to the manager and either get the upgrade or get an explanation. If the explanation is weak, I would eventually follow it up the Marriott chain when I had the time, and I certainly would post on this board. Of course you have to decide whether its worth the effort. To me it would be, just as a matter of principle.
In any case, please post your experience as to upgrade this time. It's time we called the non-compliant properties on their failure to provide what the program calls for. And the rest of us platinums should know which Marriotts refuse to comply with the program, so we can choose to avoid those hotels.

[This message has been edited by ohmark (edited 06-27-2003).]