Originally Posted by
MrTemporal
Thanks for the good advice. I appreciate it very much.
One thing I have found is at certain hotels some of the nicer rooms are NOT available for awards points. For example, I looked a a HI Express hotel with an ocean view. Rooms available for points are NOT on the ocean side of the hotel. OTOH, paying with $$'s shows me rooms on the parking lot side of the hotel and the ocean side.
True, I do find that points bookings on IHG to be hit and miss sometimes as far as room type goes but I've also found that IHG hotels, specificly Kimpton and IC, are very open to giving you specific room types for an upgrade fees at check-in or within 14 days of your booking if you call the front desk to inquire.
I was Diamond for a couple of years and other than a mostly free breakfast and some welcome amenities here and there, I never got any unpaid room upgrades. Maybe I was put in a room with a better view than what I booked but was never made aware of it at check-in and certainly was never upgraded to a suite unless I paid for it. Hyatt on the other hand upgrades me to fantastic suites all of the time which is why I mostly book Hyatt properties when I can.
With IHG, I find it easier just to pay the upgrade fee rather than chase Diamond which never got me a room upgrade anyway when I had that status. Supposedly Platinum should help get a room with a better view at check-in but there is no guarantee.