To be honest I wish I could say it was because of my charming personality ; I had no idea the award had to be a standard room for the benefit. Perhaps I got lucky with a newer hotel to the SPG network + accommodating platinum agent. What was confusing to me was the Westin pricing at the "high" rate whilst this hotel pricing at the "low" rate.

I also read the reviews on trip advisor and had a chuckle. Aside from the complaints around status recognition, one reviewer complained that they had to keep on refilling his coffee at breakfast and would not just leave the carafe at his table.

So far, my interactions with the hotel have been good. The concierge managed to book some fairly difficult tables for me, with the only exception being the original Jiro location. She did book their 2nd location run by his son. I'd expected as much since the website said they were fully booked for September.