I guess I stand corrected! Now all the spa goers can enjoy their treatments even more with all the added points.

It may be fair for you to make that statement for your own experience however it is not fair to apply that to others.

I am currently on vacation in New York. I had one simple request to make, I didn’t want a room where I was looking directly into a building across the street. The hotel has plenty of rooms, even on low floors, where you can see daylight.

Phoned and left VM’s for my ambassador, calls not returned. Sent emails not returned (realize that may have been an IT issue) so finally sent an email to all 3 addresses for my ambassador and received a response from a different ambassador that they would submit my request.

Checked in on Sunday. The App was showing traditional rooms (which I booked), superior rooms, premium view rooms, club level rooms and one bedroom suites available. I realize the app isn’t always right however it did show every room type as available. I was not greeted as a plat, given an upgrade to a superior room with a view of an office tower directly across the street and told no other rooms available. So I have to keep my blinds closed, nice.

I’ve been ambassador level for a little over 2 years and I know In some cases it has made a very nice difference (welcome amenity and note on one vacation in 2017 and one vacation in 2018). That’s it though, in both those cases had a suite upgrade as I used SNA’s.

This year with over 90 nights I’ve had about 3 upgrades to a suite. I’m ready to take a break from this. I will stay the 7 more nights I need to hit 100 this year however am moving my Q4 stays for myself and my team (about 35 nights for me plus 140 nights for my team) to Hilton.

Sheraton New York Times Square.

You took my statement out of context, I’m afraid. I didn’t mean to say that there aren’t any problems with the Ambassador service. If you refer back to my entire comments, rather than just the portion you’ve highlighted, I was only referring to the recent issues with people not being assigned Ambassadors and to people not hearing back from their Ambassadors due to the recent systems IT merger between Marriott and SPG.

In this case, we now know that Marriott’s change of email servers and voicemail systems after the August 18 changeover caused many (but not all) Ambassadors to not receive emails and phone calls. So it’s at least possible that was a factor.

As for your issues at the Sheraton Times Square, allow me say I’m sorry—and that I’m not surprised at all. Ambassador service is often only as good as the hotels that execute the requests and act on the information provided by our Ambassadors. I’ve also stayed many times at this Sheraton, and I’ve also never had a great stay. I also have never had a suite upgrade here, despite the fact that I’ve always booked 15-20 rooms every time I’ve been there! This (massive) Sheraton hotel isn’t particularly great at customer service, and I’ve found that’s true whether you have an Ambassador or not.

In other words, your Ambassador still could have made that request, and this Sheraton hotel still might not have executed it. (It’s also possible that your Ambassador didn’t make the request, but I think my many experiences here also not being great might suggest the alternative is certainly plausible.)

Still, I’m most sorry that your suite upgrade rate has been so poor. Perhaps the Ambassador program isn’t as valuable to you for the properties you frequent as it is for me for those at which I stay. I wish you better success with Hilton.

Unfortunately bhrubin and I have separately found that not even a great Ambassador can make the Sheraton Times Square anything other than terrible.

Indeed, the Sheraton Times Square is one to be avoided IMO. Especially if you value great customer service. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a cheap room in Midtown, its price more often than not is better than most. Of course, I still vastly prefer the Four Points Chelsea and Midtown over this Sheraton.

I can say that I’ve still had nice Sheraton stays even here in the USA—though I know on average they are nicer outside the USA. The Sheraton Hartford South always impresses me, and the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco is a surprisingly pleasant option in an otherwise very expensive city. The Sheraton Boston is another huge convention hotel, but I’ve always had pretty good stays with nice service and have always been upgraded to a suit there. Even the Sheraton Philadelphia University City has always treated me very well.

I love my Ambassador !

i just received this:


I am happy to confirm you will see 160,500 Points deposited into your account in one transaction. There were no changes to your existing reservations; these were adjusted on the back side. Please see the breakdown below:

The St. Regis Princeville Resort: 130,000 Points
Prince de Galles, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Paris: 30,500 Points

That is service!