Beckles,

The room type alpha codes you reference were programmed into the web-based booking engine as an added feature and really has no bearing on the room type you may recieve when you check into the hotel. They have been a source of confusion to many as a result, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

The Terms and Conditions of membership say that we cannot confirm room types of award reservations in advance of your actual check-in. This is reinforced by the following disclaimer which is at the bottom of the page you are referencing:

"The room types above only reflect what the hotel has available at the time of your booking. A confirmed Starwood Preferred Guest award reservation (using Starpoints, Free Fridays, etc.) guarantees that you will be provided with the best available standard room at time of check-in."

Generally speaking, the alpha codes are relative to the room types available in our central reservations system for the SPG6 Award at the St. Regis in New York. A & C are deluxe rooms with C being a non-smoking selection. F & J are superior rooms both smoking selection. X is almost always a handicapped access room at any hotel. If you encounter these same alpha codes for other properties, please be advised that some may be smoking or non-smoking under different alpha delineations regardless of what it says on the web site. It is best to request non-smoking in remarks to the hotel if that is your preference. While this cannot be guaranteed, it will alert the hotel to the fact that you prefer a non-smoking room.

We want to stress that whatever you select as preferences are considered to be requests and are not confirmable before check-in. However we are certain that the hotel will try to honor your requests and make every attempt to make your stay a memorable one.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Specialist, E-Communications Department
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

[This message has been edited by Starwood Lurker (edited 02-09-2001).]