Care to elaborate, William?

I had a fair amount of trouble at this property about a year ago with upgrades and late checkout. After a lot of help from William and Corporate Customer Service I was able to get everything resolved. It just took a lot of time and considering it was supposed to be a quick weekend vacation, more hassle than I could stand.

After reading about the website, I decided to contact the property to ask them if they really meant that they gave late check out based on availability. The response I got was basically 'we're a resort, we don't have to give late check-out'. Not satisfied, I wrote back asking to have the GM contact me.

I also filed a complaint with Corporate Customer Service (the person I spoke with agreed that the wording on the website was not in line with the SPG terms/conditions).

This afternoon, I received a call from Albert Mertz, who said he is the GM. We had a cordial conversation, and he told me that the property tries to give late check outs when available, but often they are at capacity. I told him that while I understand and appreciate that late check outs are based on availability, the wording of the website and attitude of the staff does not convey that message. He seemed like a nice enough person and asked I get in touch before my upcoming stay.

The big question remains- how does one know if late check out is truly 'unavailable' if they say it is? If I can go on SPG.com and the room type I am in is available for sale, should late check-out be available? Kind of like seeing suites for sale at check-in when the front desk says upgrades are not available.....

I'd still like to see the wording on the website changed, and time will tell how they handle these types of requests in the future. I just hope that my next stay goes smoothly.