Originally Posted by
UA-NYC
Yes, the Westin Alexandria as well as one other...that's it, right? Two properties do not define ~1,500.
As I have said previously, the Select Suite terminology was a floor, not a ceiling...I and many others have gotten themed / Presidential / higher tier suites many times over the years. Helped to be a good SPG customer.
As long as we are repeating ourselves, here is what I wrote in response to a similar posts of yours:
"I don't believe the concern is that a hotel would upgrade a guest to the Presidential suite when they were only required to upgrade to a standard suite. The issue at some hotels has been there were only a couple of standard suites and numerous others that were priced modestly higher. Under the current rules, if those standard suites are booked, there may not be a suite upgrade unless the hotel employees are being generous. Where the old APAC system applied, one of the higher level suites should have been offered."
The following is my response (complete with typos) to "I don't see what the problem is in Asia - if you have any level of status and a pulse, you are likely getting a suite"
"Prior to a paid stay at the St. Regis Osaka stay, I checked what suites would be covered by a SNA. When I arrived in the evening for a 2-night stay, I was told that the hotel was full and was only given what I believe was an upgrade to a higher floor. When I arrived at my room, I checked and I there were numerous lower level suites available and IIRC at least one of the types of suites that were available for SNAs. Since I was getting up very early the next morning, I didn't feel like arguing. When I wrote a review of the hotel, I was told that standard suites were unavailable during my stay. If the hotel had been subject to the MR rules, the excuse of no standard suites wouldn't be valid.
Although Korea hotels are not fully covered by the old APAC rules and it was after 8/18, on an award stay the JW Marriott Dongdaemun upgraded me to one of their largest suites when assigning a lower level one would have required a mid stay move.
I am not arguing that JWM's treat guests better than StRs, but in this instance the old MR APAC rules would have helped if they had applied to Japan. Although I agree with you that suite upgrades in Asia are common, it is hard to argue that the old MR APAC policy as written wasn't better than the current system wide one."