As a gold for 5 or 6 years now, rarely have I gotten anything beyond the published bennies of breakfast certs, free water, exec lounge access, etc. On a couple of occasions over the years, I have been told I was "upgraded", but could discern nothing special about the room other than maybe not getting "interstate view".

By far the best gold treatment was my recent stay at the Vancouver Hampton, where I was upgraded to a true 2 room suite with full kitchen.