I have stayed in the Fairmont San Francisco (3 times), Fairmont Dallas and Fairmont Seattle so far this year, and every time I was upgraded either to a suite or a very nice regular room (Tower room in SF). So on the upgrade front I'd say it's pretty much the same as it's always been, at least in my experience.

The "Welcome Amenity" seems to have disappeared, though; I have not received it on any of these 5 stays. Once I complained and was given it a day later, but in no case did was it provided (as it used to be) automatically.

Overall I think Fairmont's program is one of the most generous around. Compare to Starwood with 10 stays (Gold): I always get upgraded at Fairmont, maybe 10% of the time at Starwood. I get 3 free nights at Fairmont, plus more confirmed upgrades than I can use, plus a bunch of extras (massages, lift tickets, etc.), plus dining certificates, plus (last year at least) I got 2 extra "bonus" free nights. At Starwood, with 10 stays at $500 each I'd have enough points for 2 nights at one of their nicer properties, and none of the other benefits. Granted the Starwood points can be used more flexibly, but if you're just looking at elite benefits, it seems like Fairmont is clearly better.