stevens397

I sincerely apologize for not being willing to read 480+ posts - but please help anyway!

Looking at 4-5 nights in December. I have one free suite night from the Visa and have to decide to redeem points for a regular room or a suite for the remaining nights. If I go with the regular room, what is the "standard" room that they give a Diamond. This would be from December 17-21 - not during Christmas/New Years.

Many thanks.

MikeFromTokyo

I would think very carefully before using a lot of points for a suite at this property. There have been a lot of complaints about the entry level "suites" (which is what your award would book into).

I would probably book a standard room, and be sure to book the free suite night for the night of your arrival. If you are lucky, they might just let you stay in the suite for the entire stay, without paying the extra points. If not, it`s no big deal because you`ll at lest get an upgraded room as a Diamond.

The Andaz Suite is only 48 square meters, and the "Large Loft" is a bit smaller- so a suite category would only be marginally larger than the rooms you should be upgraded to anyway as a Diamond- not worth forking over an extra 11k pts per night IMHO.

stevens397

Early on, there were complaints about lighting. On my one night there three months ago, it was simply not possible to read in bed. I remember thinking back then that it was the single biggest issue for me and that it would dissuade me from returning. The GM seemed to indicate they were aware of this and it would be handled.

Has anybody seen that this issue has, in fact, been taken care of? Are the bedside lights any better at this point?

Many thanks.

365RoadWarrior

In a word, "No". I'm in a recently opened room on the 14th floor. Lighting in the room is fair-to-acceptable overall, but reading in bed is a no-go. And I love reading in bed. I bought a clip-on book light. As nice as other things are, I'm not letting this be a deal-breaker for me.

swiss-mike

Since Suite cerificates book you into the Large Loft, I don't think you would get a Large Loft just for being a Diamond...

365RoadWarrior

Minor clarification, based on my experience: Suite Certificates seem to ensure that you'll get a Large Loft (assuming anything is available). In my case, I was booked into/"guaranteed" a Large Loft, but actually found myself in a full suite.

When I originally checked in, before my suite upgrade was recognized, I was in a standard room.

stevens397

Getting back to the original point, is there a room type that Diamonds booking a regular room can expect to be upgraded to, irrespective of whether it is a cash or award stay?

365RoadWarrior

I booked a cash stay at Andaz rate. During the period before my Diamond Suite Upgrade was recognized and processed, I was assigned to a standard room. Occupancy was not high. Ultimately, when the suite upgrade was processed, I got a suite.

stevens397

According to the website, Diamonds are supposed to be upgraded to the best room available below suite level. So if they have one available for sale at check-in, should we not be able to have the Diamond agent contact the hotel and assure a proper upgrade?

Quasiconvexity

You are right. I believe the Diamond upgrade here would be to an XL View King, IIRC. That being said, when I stayed there in December (you can read my report upthread), and had to extend my stay by a day I was moved from the Large Loft that I was in (using one of my certificates) to a standard King Room. The regular rooms are quite large for NY, though, so we didnt really mind but if the upgrade is important to you, you may have to push for it.

MikeFromTokyo

Suite upgrades are one thing, but stevens397 is debating between a full suite award and a standard room award. Obviously this decision is subjective, but this is a category 6 property and the standard suites- at best- get mixed reviews. For me I don't see relative value that would justify paying a 50% point premium.

If I were to stay at this property on a paid rate, I would not hesitiate for a minute to use a suite UG to guarantee at least a larger room. Since I can always use 6,000 points to upgrade even if I run out of my 4 certificates, I'm not as careful about how I use suite upgrades.

doodley

I was under the impression that 6,000 points for a suite upgrade on a paid rate would have to be the rack rate?

MikeFromTokyo

Any applicable rate will do actually. Rates inclusive of other value added benefits that are higher than the "daily rate" (rack rate) also qualify. But yes, generally speaking you have to pay one of the higher rates.

365RoadWarrior

Correction/Clarification: One side of the bed has considerably better light than the other, in my room anyway. On the well-lit side, you MIGHT be able to read, after a carrot dinner.

RichardInSF

Ask for an additional reading lamp or two, they have them, they (apparently) just don't volunteer them.