Just completed a 1 night stay at the Four Points Sheraton, Downtown San Jose.
Just as a warning to other travelers, Marriott's program means absolutely nothing and it is up to the discretion of the hotel. At this hotel, it appears that the pool of possible upgrades (not availability, but possibility) for complimentary upgrades and SNA upgrades are different.
They have three tiers of rooms, Base, Junior Suite (larger room with a pullout couch), and Suite (1 bedroom). Randy, the general manager, informed me that their suite was a "specialty suite" and could not be upgraded into via complimentary upgrade. Yea, it is up to the hotels discretion to classify rooms as they see fit, but for a non-luxury business hotel to classify their standard suite as a specialty suite is against the spirit of the program. I checked to see if the Suite was obtainable via SNA, and it appears that they are. I have always used SNA's to browse what rooms I could possibly be upgraded into via complimentary upgrade, but now it appears I have to contact each hotel individually to verify if its even possible. The website is obviously not helpful, as the standard suite gave no indication that was a specialty suite. It is such a headache to use the benefits outlined in what appears to be a legal contract, but is essentially digital toilet paper. Availability cannot be easily predicted, but the limits of what is possible through the program should be clear. Anyone else wishing they worked on their Elite status with Hyatt instead of Marriott?
Has anyone experienced anything like this before?