I'm just curious whether I have bad luck, or whether there's a pattern at resort properties with respect to award rooms (points only) and the quality of room that you get -- and to clarify, I mean "quality" here, not "view" or "category"...

I just got back from the Sheraton Iguazu resort in Argentina, which I'd booked as an award stay on points. The room was a disaster -- peeling water-damaged ceiling, up-heaving cracked tiles on the floor, smoke blowing in from god-knows-where in a "non-smoking" room, etc... I'll be writing to Sheraton about this in specific, as I actually took pictures this time... but the hotel informed me that no upgrades were available (I'm Gold), nor were alternate rooms available to switch to. Both of which I can state with 100% certainty were a lie, given that the property is inside of a national park which closes at 6 PM, so guests are effectively confined to property in the evenings, and there were a LOT of dark windows in the evenings (and not that many people around anyhow). They definitely have a captive audience.

But more to the point, rather than just whining about this specific property, this is either a pattern or a bout of terrible luck on my part. Whenever I'm on a paid room for business or pleasure, I have FANTASTIC experiences at Starwood properties -- which is why they're, in general, my favorite. But on award nights, I've stayed in some real dumps of rooms that I'm surprised even exist. The Sheraton Maui, in a room with broken curtains and spotty A/C. The Westin Casuarina in Grand Cayman, with BOTH locks on the patio door broken and the burned-out light that was never replaced. Etc...

Maybe it's just a maintenance-level issue with resort properties versus business hotels in general?? Or maybe the room category trumps SPG status on the computer at the front desk, telling the staff how seriously they ought to be taking you. Maybe each resort has a "punishment room" that gets defaulted to SPG awards. I really don't know. But after an upsetting experience in Iguazu, I'm forced to wonder how a property family could be so darned GOOD when I pay them, and so darned BAD when I'm burning loyalty rewards. With nearly 100% accuracy.

I'm curious about others' experiences, or if I'm alone here.