I recently visited the Sheraton Montevideo on an award stay, and was happy to see that as an SPG Platinum member, I was given a room on the Executive Floor upon check-in. No mention of the Executive Lounge. However, when queried, the front desk acknowledged my right of access. Later that evening, my wife and I were surprised to discover that we were asked to pay for drinks consumed while exercising this privilege. I was somewhat annoyed, and knew full welll that this was in violation of SPG's rules that allow Platinum members placed on Club Floors access to the Club Lounge as well as all associated benefits. My wife called the Platinum Line and was connected to a young man from the European Desk who was not too well versed in the SPG programme. He seemed to be of the opinion that award stays do not merit the same privileges as paid stays. To make a long story short, I took the phone, became frustrated and decided to call the Platinum Line when the US office opened in the morning. In the meanwhile, my wife returned to the front desk and asked why we weren't given a suite at check-in, as there were a number of them available for the duration of our stay. After a bit of hemming and hawing, we were moved to a wonderful corner suite on the Executive Floor.

The next morning, to avoid any further frustration on my part, my wife sought out the manager and pleaded our case. After much discussion, she managed to glean breakfast privileges, but nothing more. As it turns out, in the course of their discussion the manager disclosed that she had previously worked at the Sheraton Maria Isabel in Mexico City, where Towers Lounge access for Platinum guests at that property was interpreted in a similarly restrictive manner due to their Towers Floor "hotel within a hotel" arrangement. There has been some discussion of this problem elsewhere on the Starwood forum. The Sheraton Montevideo does not have a Towers configuration. The manager asserted that Platinum upgrades and benefits were interpreted differently in Latin/South America than elsewhere. She wouldn't accept that our previous Platinum experiences at Starwood properties in Mexico and Brazil contradicted her belief.

Nonethess, discussions aside, our stay at the property was quite enjoyable. The suite was lovely, the breakfast in the Lounge quite substantial and the front desk staff very helpful when I had to contact MasterCard, after my card was vigorously removed from my pocket during a stroll in the Old City.

I did subsequently contact Starwood's Customer Care, and today received a note telling me of their failure to force the hotel to provide anything more than a room upgrade to future Platinum guests. They also donated 1,000 SPG points to my rapidly dwindling SPG account. I must say the outcome is rather disappointing, having had almost every previous Starwood stay in my years of loyalty accord me the privileges as dictated by the rules of the SPG programme.