Originally Posted by charles grodin

quick question - only became an spg member in 2012. have 40k+ points, but not gold or platinum status. my wife and i like what we've seen from the westin in cabo and will stay there this september. i'm ready to book, but don't know whether to go with the deluxe room using points or the royal beach club room, for which i can't use points. i'm leaning towards the regular deluxe room, as it amounts to a free stay, but i hesitate because i don't know what i'm missing. from what i can gather, the benefits of the royal beach club room include:

- nicer room and view
- access to breakfast buffet
- access to cocktail hour each night

is that enough to warrant not redeeming the points and spending $250/night? probably not, but this is also an exercise in sounding myself out.

one other question - never having been to cabo (and not an incredibly experienced vacationer, for that matter), should i expect it to be relatively empty in mid-september? any chance at all of being upgraded from the deluxe room? it's not really the breakfast or cocktail hour that i'm worried about, but part of me does value a good view.

thanks, new friend(s)