If the hotel otherwise must give Plats the restaurant breakfast (which has been an enormous hot buffet), how much do they save by not doing lounge access, including possibly eliminating the free breakfast downstairs for elites with lounge access? Of course, they could create a *special* continental buffet in some of the side dining room areas, or even use the little lobby bar for this purpose, but that would have costs too.

To me, this doesn't make sense, but I've been expecting it ever since the new Starriott rules specified the brands with lounge access, although I would have expected FC to be an exception regardless. Then The Nines (LC in Portland, Oregon) seemed to be the first to take advantage of the new rules and this lovely hotel moved to my do not stay list.