theguyfromsocal

"I am not sure what's happened with Starwood but in my first 10 years of being Platinum, about 95% of my 500 point Platinum amenities posted correctly. Last year, well over 50% didn't post. I had a streak of at least five consecutive amenities that didn't post. Bizarre...."

I have been having a similar experience over the past year. And, I am disappointed that these amenities are not going through as they should be. I realize that often times it is hardly worth my time to follow up to claim my 500 points, but I do it because I rightfully earned the points and should be getting them. I hope things change back soon in this regard.

GUWonder

My impression is that while this is a very good (yet a bit quirky) property it doesn't do substantially more for Platinums than is minimally required -- if even that, given how the property has classified its suites so as to exclude most of them from being given as Platinum upgrades even when most suites are available at check-in.

Score8

I have stayed there 5 or 6 times since it has joined Starwood. I had an interesting situation on my most recent stay:

- Booked a grand deluxe and received an upgrade to a junior suite with a 44th street balcony. I originally had booked one night, then later booked a second night on a separate reservation. When I checked in I made it very clear that I was going to be there for two nights.
- At about 11am on the second day I received a phone call from the front desk that I would have to move as there was another guest coming in who had booked that specific room many months ago. I do understand that there are only a few rooms other than the penthouse that have a front of house balcony, so the fact that someone had specifically requested it made sense.

Fortunately, my office is only a minute away and I hadn't gotten completely comfortable in the room (read:my bag was still mostly packed). However, I did sort of expect that there would be a significant effort put forth to compensate for the move (eg perhaps another nice junior suite or room that made up for the hassle). At first, they were going to move me into what I had originally booked. It was only after I pressed a little about what else I saw available on spg that they ultimately called me back with a slightly smaller room than the original with a nice deck.

The first room was very cool even though it was only one large room. The deck had a dining room sized table that could seat 6-8 people. As always the bathrooms are very cool/interesting there.

I am not exactly displeased with the treatment I received in having to move. However, if I were in charge I would have gone the extra mile and put a half bottle of wine or something else in my room to make up for me having to move in the middle of my stay without advance notice. In reality, the hotel made the effort to upgrade a platinum (me) to a great room (which we want to continue to happen) and made a mistake in missing the specific room request. I just wish that the resolution would have been handled with a bit more savvy and without me pressing for a better location when being moved.

DFWFlier

I've also had more problems recently with missing 500 point amenities. However, there's no reason to spend 15+ minutes on the phone to get it fixed. I just use the email contact form on spg.com - usually get an acknowledgement back in about 2 minutes, and the amenity posts within a day or so. It's annoying to have to do it, but only takes 30 seconds.

theguyfromsocal

"However, if I were in charge I would have gone the extra mile and put a half bottle of wine or something else in my room to make up for me having to move in the middle of my stay without advance notice."

Like last Summer at the Piccadilly Le Meridien when my daughter's eggs were not cooked correctly. The Manager of the restaurant there (Vehbov (sp)) came over to make sure they were recooked correctly. Super. But, what happened next blew us away. When we got back to the hotel room from breakfast, there was sitting in the room a wonderful bottle of fine champagne compliments of Vehbov with a special note apologizing for the eggs. We extended (10) days at his London hotel, in major part due to the incredible service we experienced there during the first five nights. Would it have been such a big deal to send a bottle of wine to our room for our special occasion or one for moving this guest out of his lovely room with a balcony (and I saw that room balcony out the window right beneath our room and thought to myself "I would have loved that room" (even though the view is terribly unexciting). I had 5 extra nights to spend in NYC and might have considered staying here those extra 5 nights if I had felt the "vibe". Just constructive comments here ... as I stated before, the hotel is lovely and the staff, overall, very efficient.

eph

I'm considering spending a night here or at St Regis NY and was wondering how the two compare, coming down to plat recognition and quality of the rooms?

In terms of locality, I'd have much preferred to stay at the SR because I'll be there to attend a concert at Carnegie Hall, which is just a walk away from the SR, but judging from the information/photos I can gather, the rooms at the Chatwal seem way nicer and newer. The reviews of the Chatwal seem way better on tripadvisor. Is it worth the slight inconvenience to stay at the Chatwal?

Thanks!

KSA_USA

I stayed at the St. Regis several times. never in a room as i always get a suite upgrade. I also stayed at the chatwal once. in a room ( no suite availability).

I can tell you the rooms at the chatwal are really nice ( not too small) and comes with large bathroom. I personally think that St. Regis charges more dollars / points because of the brand name/ location/history and not for quality. having said that on my next visit to NYC i will be staying at the St. Regis because of a better chance of suite upgrade.

hope that helps.

Enjoy NYC

eph

^Thanks for your comparison! It certainly helped. I decided to go ahead with the value option and stay with the Chatwal.

myeurocrush

Has anyone ever gotten an upgrade here as a gold member?

I'm looking for a 2-3 night stay for my bf's birthday so I really want it to be a special experience. Rate the weekend i'm looking at are all 500+ for every spg hotel like the Ws and the Westin so I'm considering this because it's not much more. After reading the thread about the W times square i'm afraid to stay there for fear I'll end up in a low level room. Any advice? Should I do the Chatwal?

UA-NYC

Dined at the Lambs Club Saturday night (Chatwal restaurant), group of 6 of us. Had done some reasearch ahead of time, saw decent reviews for solid Midtown prices.

Had an excellent meal - while not cheap, great food for the pricepoint (entrees in the 30s on average). Mad Men-esque decor. Not the warmest service, but efficient and fairly quick.

I'd recommend it again.

N334AA

Just an FYI, the lower rooms at W TS are base Wonderful rooms. As a gold you should get an upgrade to a Spectacular room which is the same but a high floor.

cranrob

My wife and I stayed here this past weekend. I booked a Jr. Suite using points, and we were upgraded to a One-Bedroom Suite as a Platinum. I've stayed at some great hotels in the past (Gritti Palace, Raffles Singapore, Oriental BKK & HKG, etc.), and this place is right up there with them.

The room was terrific - King Bedroom, living room, and 2 bathrooms. Suede wall covering, travel trunk-inspired furnishings, Asprey "Purple Water" amenities, Frette linens, great room gadgetry, etc. The room was dead quiet despite being less than a block from Times Square.

Service was great - very attentive but low-key. We enjoyed a great breakfast at the Lamb's Club as well.

Overall, a most excellent stay.

exawb

I am staying in a 1BR suite upgrade I got last night even though I was told earlier in the day that they were "fully committed." The heated toilet seat was a surprise when I sat down - my first ever - while the rainflow shower head was amazing. The shower was large enough for 4 with the shower head in the center of the ceiling. The technology with the lights, telephones, TV, etc., takes a little while to learn but not a big deal. The second room is a beautiful lounge with sofa. I like the touches more than the St. Regis.

choptliva

Checking out today after a few days' stay.
Booked two rooms using points. Got the rooms I booked (deluxe kings).
First the rooms themselves. Very nicely furnished. Everything worked (well, except for the electronic control thing which seems to like to randomly switch upside down. No matter). Bed is comfy. Big flatscreen TV. Wifi works and is fast enough. Bathroom is huge, and yes, lots of gadgets. Like the shower a lot as others have mentioned.
No coffeemaker. Asked Butler for one. He brought it, but forgot coffee mugs. Small matter. They have hot apple cider in the lobby in the afternoons, so I took paper cups from there. Of course no creamer, but I drink mine black so it's ok.
Can hear lots of doors slamming, people talking, etc, as one room is next to elevator area. Can't hear much of anything from next door neighbours, so walls are thick. Got used to the hallway noise. Not a big deal (though if I were paying the rates in cash...). Street noise, well. it's NYC, no? But considering that, it's actually quite peaceful. Good job with noise insulation.
Check in was fine. Doorman, bellman, front desk, butler, all are friendly and professional.
Housekeeping is okay. Second-last day they took away one of the bathrobes, and it was never replaced, even after repeated requests. Well, at least room was clean.
Had breakfast at Lamb's Club, to test the waters, so to speak, to see if I want to have dinner there. Well, conclusion is we didn't have dinner there. Service was really so-so at best. In fact quite disappointing. I had better service at diners. Seriously. And the food, well, it's just breakfast, but really, none of us was impressed. At all.
Overall, quite disappointed with my stay, even though there was nothing really wrong with it. Spending 120,000 starpoints on the stay, though, and in light of the generally nice reviews, I was expecting more. My bad, perhaps.

pointspinnacle

Can anyone provide me with the General managers email address for this property? I would like to make a request.

Thanks in advance.