Thanks Lurker. I will definitely follow your advice on how to escalate this issue upwards in the future should it happen again.

I'm again at the W NYC TS tonight. I did receive an upgrade this time (from Wonderful room, to Fantastic corner with river views), and didn't have to fight for this. Perhaps since I complained last time, I'm now 'flagged' as a troublemaker and they will now try to appease me, which I'm ok with. Only complaint (minor) is that the SPG website, at my time of checkin, listed Fantastic Suites as being available, but I was not offered one. I don't know if these are considered to be standard suites, but maybe you or someone on FT would know. Anyways, I will continue to give this hotel a chance until they again lapse into non SPG compliantness.