Catman,

Do tell...where did you fo for dinner?

We missed you in Brooklyn.

Citywide smoking ban in all NYC public places goes into effect 3/29/03. Mayor Bloomberg better hire additional street/sidewalk cleaners for all the cigarette butts that will be all over the ground.

I'm heading to the Westin Times Square in June--any current reports on upgrade results for Platinums?

What did they have to say about Apple Martinis? Those peaked out on the "cool" charts what, maybe two years before the Westin opened?

d

snackyx

I am at this moment in the Westin Times Sq.; this is my second stay in as many weeks (and I'll be back week after next, as well). I have not gotten a suite upgrade as a Platinum, but have had 2 lovely rooms. Tonight I am in a corner room on the 18th floor, I have 2 windows on 2 sides of the room, and the view is spectacular. I watched the sun set and it was amazing. The room is not huge, but good sized and very, very nice. There is a lounge for breakfast and evening drinks & appetizers. I've spent 2 years as a loyal customer of the Hilton TS around the corner, and I just switched to this one bc of the oh-so-heavenly bed and the better SPG program. As much as I liked the Hilton TS, I LOVE this hotel.

I had a not too bad experience there a little while ago. Biggest disappointment was that half of the desk was taken up by the TV. Have other people had rooms with too little desk space? Anyone have rooms that had lots of desk space? I was in the executive lounge section of the hotel...11th floor I believe.

I stayed at the Westin TS last week and the week prior. Note that the typical 'upgrade' (I'm Plat) is to a room on the club floors, which have upgraded toiletries and Bose clock-radios, AND are low enough to see and hear the traffic on 42nd St. all night long!(forget the exact floors, but they're something like 8-12). It was so bad that I had to call the manager and request a room change in the middle of the night to a higher floor.

There are much better SPG NYC properties for upgrades (as I type this from my suite at the W Court...)

-Zombie-

I've stayed at this property about10 times since becoming an SPG PLT and have had one upgrade to a junior suite (one large room wioth the TV acting asa divider). Other than that, I usually end-up on the Club Floors. I like the property and it is close to where I'm working.

Keep in mind that this hotel has a bad suite to room ratio of 26:837. If you get an upgrade to one of the 18 junior or 8 regular suites, you're lucky.

d

I had plenty of desk space both times. The first time the TV was on a stand, this past time, it was on the desk, but the desk ran down one whole wall so it was huge. I think you're having bad luck!

Also, I've had no noise problems at all. I was facing 8th Avenue and could not hear a thing.

PresDC: On which floor is/was the Junior suite? Booked one end of may. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I actually was upgraded to a junior suite a second time last week. I don't recall the exact floors, but they were both "10" rooms in the mid 30s. They have a southern exposure, but the view is somewhat blocked by Penn plaza a few blocks south. It is still a nice view. FYI, the suite I had the first time had a second window in the living area and the one I had on my most recent stay did not have a second window.

But 30th floor, right? That should be high enough not to hear every noise on the streets... ;-) But Junior Suite should be big enough to fit 2 TVs and a sitting area. Would you say it´s spacious? And, by the way, on which floor is the Club Lounge?

Looking forward to stay at the Westin, which looks very modern and nice.

The lounge is on the 8th floor.

It is a spacious room. The room is essentially an L-shape with the bathroom to the left when you walk in the door. There is a short corridor opening into the sitting area, which contains a couch, two chairs an end table and a coffee table. The couch faces the entertainment unit. There are two TVs. one faces the couch and the other faces the bed, which is on the other side of the entertainment unit. The bed and the couch essentially face each other with the entertainment center between them. If you are sitting on the bed, the closet is to your right and contains the minibar (be careful, it is one where you get charged if you move an item). The desk is along the back wall where the bed's headboard is located and is between the closet and the bed. There is a night stand with a Bose Wave Radio to the left of the bed. As I mentioned, there will be one window by the bed and maybe one in the living area. You will have a southern exposure view if you are in a -10 room.

Enjoy. It is a nice hotel and the staff really are service oriented.

Oh yeah, I never have had a problem with noise in this hotel, and I've stayed as low as the 8th floor.

[This message has been edited by PresRDC (edited 05-13-2003).]