Originally Posted by
abaheti
Not my experience. As Diamond, we were upgraded to a very large suite, received a cake and wine (or was it champagne?) and snacks in room on arrival, two handwritten notes (one from the manager, one from the lounge manager), lounge staff that made sure I had vegetarian snacks available, breakfast in the restaurant downstairs, housekeeping made a point of finding me each day to see if I needed anything extra for the room, and, in general, just great treatment from the GM on down. Maybe things have changed since April 2016 or we happened to be there when it wasn't sold out (but we checked in the second day of cherry blossom festival right next to the hotel). Spa use was limited, but we were able to use the basic treadmills etc. YMMV.
That is very nice.
But not my experience. I received 1 cat upgrade (which is fine) but only after politely asking. I also asked about breakfast and was told it was only in the EL for Diamond members. I politely inquired about breakfast in the restaurant and was told that it was not included for Diamond members. I did not push.
In the room, no note, no cake or wine.
About 30 min later, I received a phone call from someone from the front desk (not the person that had checked us in) indicating that as Diamond members, we were allowed to have breakfast in the restaurant.
As you said, YMMV.