Originally Posted by
hailstorm
SEIBU PRINCE CLUB status is earned in a calendar year, but the earned status isn't awarded until the following April, which lasts for 12 months thereafter. I will finally have Platinum status in April, so I will be better able to speak as to how they treat elites at that time.
The Oiso Prince Hotel was my first taste of life as a SEIBU PRINCE CLUB Platinum member, and it left me far from impressed. Tried to use the Gold/Platinum benefit of "3 Hours Extra", whereby you can extend your stay by three hours by distributing the time as you wish (e.g. check in two hours early, check out one hour late), for three hour early check-in, but was told there was no room available, and ultimately was only able to check in a single hour early. Asked about the Platinum "welcome kit" and was told "we don't participate in that program". Room upgrades actually aren't a part of the SEIBU PRINCE CLUB program, and sure enough we didn't get anything more than a base room on a higher floor. There wasn't even any bottled water in the rooms, necessitating carrying many paper cups from the "fitness room", which consisted of two treadmills and nothing else. The only definite benefit we got from this hotel was free breakfast, which admittedly was quite decent.
Maybe I'll fare better off at one of the nicer "The Prince" establishments.