I used my spend $3000 upgrade so we'd have an extra room for a 1 year old at the "chalet". When I checked in, the room was not upgraded -- but the front desk associate did inform me that she could see where someone at SPG made the note that the upgrade had been guaranteed (one of those it's not our fault, it's their fault rants -- which tick me off because in my eyes it's all the same company). I politely took the "we're sorry" and figured I'd take it up with SPG later -- then checked into my room to find out it was the worst smelling hotel room I'd ever been in. After switching to what can only be described as the 2nd worst hotel room ever, I opened the balcony door (to try and let some fresh air in) and found a pile of cat food sitting there (combining this with the photographer's pass hanging from one of the lights, it made me wonder what the heck the cleaning crew actually did clean). After sharing the overall experience with the hotel manager, they managed to find me a somewhat better (it didn't smell) room. After requesting a bellman to help me with the move, after 30 minutes, I decided to do it myself. It was among my 2 worst *wood experiences...

Having written all of this, there is a new Westin in downtown St. Louis (about 30 - 40 minutes from Westport - where the Sheratorns are) -- it's a pretty nice property and if you're a slave to the *wood points, then that's where I'd stay in the Gatway City. However, this experience is making me realize I need to get status somewhere else so I'm not so attached to *wood.