Decent availability now through April 2006
Wanted to provide a current update.
I was planning a trip in April 2006. The availability both for awards and for discounted pricing on SPG.com seems very good. SPG award was showing availability of smoking rooms but calling customer service (I am SPG Plat) provided availability for a range of rooms. 50% off rack-rate and upgrade awards were available as well.
The pricing was decent ($52 for basic and $83 for Nile view). I presume that there will be Platinum upgrades left by the time arrive based on overall high availability.