Well another Monday through Thursday stay this week and no significant upgrade. When I saw they still had jr suites for sale on monday afternoon I thought this might be my week.

Alas no.

Now the thing I don't understand with Luxury Collection hotels is if they consider the upgrade the room on the club floor(which are identical to the deluxe and superior room), which would include lounge access, then why do they get to double count Lounge access as the hotels "Local Ammenity"?

Well, currently in the hotel again right now and this stay has definitely convinced me that this property is my favorite hotel in Portland. The Symphony suites at the Heathman a few blocks down only ranks second. Now, over the short period of time since The Nines had opened its doors, I've tried practically every room layout excluding the Executive Suite and I've come to conclusion that the rooms to be had in terms of value and practicality are their top corner rooms on the right side of the building overlooking Pioneer Square. The view of the city with plenty of natural lighting is hard to beat and not something one would find in any other properties. Though club access is nice, getting a room with free full breakfast at the Urban Farmers is a much better deal. I am a big breakfast person and having the option for real hot entrees without worrying about the lounge works better for me. The delicious scones, and Duck confit hash are two of my favorites ^. This is definitely the place to stay in Portland. Last night, the Blazers played the Spurs and sure enough, on the way to breakfast this morning the guy on the elevator was no other than Richard Jefferson. Now that speaks volume. Overall, a great stay, and a fun weekend at the Nines.

Been at this hotel now for few times. They are most definitely playing games when it comes to Platinum upgrades and I don't like that. No standard suites available when they sell Club Junior Suites on their website which is the standard suite at this property.

BTW why I cannot open a file with the corporate services for hotel not honoring the SPL PLT benefits? I was told by the PLT "concierge" that it needs to be handled by the SPG and not by them.

If you ever get a Platinum Concierge that gives you this answer again, ask to speak to their supervisor. They are fully cross-trained to be able to file complaints such as this one.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Online Guest Feedback Coordinator
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

Another 2 Mon-Thurs stays and no upgrades, though I honestly haven't had the time to follow up with Corporate services about the lack of upgrades here, and given how little time I spend in the room it's really not a huge deal, it would just be nice for there to be some acknowledgement of the business I've given them this year.

If it's not a suite upgrade I'd rather be in one of the rooms on 14th floor than the club room as I prefer their more spacious floorplan.

I'm not sure if this is LC brand wide but for the first time today I was offered a Platinum arrival ammenity choice of either 500pts or a "Local amenity". I was told it was a "New Program"

I have never had those amenity points to post automatically from this property....

Was also offered points as one of my plat amenities a couple of months ago. As this is a luxury collection, the points do not apply and could not be added by SPG Concierge. The hotel had some confusion on a few topics.

I was told that this was a new program as some issues had to be worked out with Starwood. This is the first time I've seen this form in the 5 1/2 months I've been staying here weekly

returned from a FAB. stay Nov 7th & 8th. Sadly the hotel was booked full on Saturday so no upgrade and we didn't have city view. . witch I thought I had booked when booking club floor room. We didn't let this bother us, the room was smaller then we are used to but after an hour or two we didn't really notice and the rest of the hotel made up for it.

While checking in we noticed a wedding party which fit right in with the beauty of the hotel. We were a bit lost getting off the elevator but quickly learned our way around.

We took every advantage of the club lounge and the staff hospitality was top notch. It was wonderful to check in an be able to sit down to a excellent wine and beer for DH. The setting was always relaxing and even with a booked hotel we never had a large crowd in the lounge. Food served was more of "snack" size portions and really shouldn't be called 4 "meals" a day but we loved the presentation of each dish. We would pick up a drink and could walk about the hotel. Both nights we enjoyed a bite in the Urban Farmer Lounge but brought our comp. drinks from the club lounge.

After having our first drink we returned to our room and found a tray of chocolates wishing us "Happy Anniversary". Very nice treat. Sat the evening snack was Seared Tuna and other meats & cheese plates. We also tried the Cheese fondue & Pulled pork sandwich on the Urban Farmer Happy Hr menu.

Sunday night was a big treat. . had smoked salmon, steak & mushrooms, & chicken & bow tie pasta. Dessert was awesome creme brulee, brownies, and a mouse or cake dish.

If you like cheese then you really MUST try the Cheese Cart offered at the Urban Farmer Lounge.. .it's $5 per ounce but the presentation and flavors are something not to be missed. My husband and I really enjoyed this experience and the knowledgeable server made it every bit more enjoyable with great recommendations and servings over regular size. Lots of fun and will definitely be doing this again!

If any of the staff happens to come across this. . . I would just like to say "THANK YOU", my husband and I had a wonderfully relaxing weekend away from our kids and enjoyed every minute of our stay at The Nines. A big thank you to all the ladies working in the club lounge this past weekend.

Still working on the pix from the rest of our trip but here is my album of pix from The Nines http://hoerauffamily2009.shutterfly.com/3038

Thanks for sharing the pictures! The barbell in one hand, drink in the other is classic!

Did you let the hotel or concierge know about the anniversary before hand? That's great service if they provided the chocolate based on some off-hand conversation.

Also, opefully it was a mousse dessert rather than the relative of Mickey on the plate. ;)

lol . . ya not MM cake :) As for anniversary I had added a request to my reservation: Upgrade if avail. Annivesary weekend w/out the kids!

I had also mentioned it when contacting the concierge about rental car options. She thought I was surprising my husband for his birthday but I corrected her saying it wasn't a birthday but a surprise trip I had planned since last July to celebrate our 3rd year together.

Hotel was 100% booked so no upgrade but yes, the chocolates was a lovely touch. Turn down service was always very nice as well, robes laid out on bed and little mini brownies left.

Read through all this with interest as I may do 3 nights here in late Spring on Points; overall impression seems pretty positive, but with all this talk about Plat Amenities or lack thereof, my issue is a bit simpler: as lowly Gold, can I expect ANY recognition or perks, such as room choice or even Lounge access; if not, maybe it is time to try a non-SPG property a try in Portland even if I have to pay for it. Would not bother with the Westin again unless/until rooms are genuinely updated; but there are clearly other very nice options there, and I don't need the very latest in Vibe, good but not fussy service and quiet civilized comfort and are paramount for me -- emphasis on the quiet, which seems not in abundance at the Nines if one gets stuck in one of their Atrium rooms. This property seems nice, IF you hit it right -- but not so consistent, even after a year of shaking out. All advice sincerely welcomed...

If you are staying on points, try to to 5 nights on points (5th night free) and get a specialty or specialty-select upgrade for an extra 4,000-6,000 per stay. You DO want to get lounge access. It is not available to Golds not staying on the 12th (lounge) floor.

Also, check rates frequently. I ended up getting a $139 pre-paid rate on a club floor room in October! Much better deal than wasting 40,000 + points!

THANK YOU MIKE for clarifying that. Actually I'm trying to just use points, thought I could do so there and conduct some business at the same time, but if there is no perk at all for Gold, then I'd be just wasting the points; therefore, I'll just pay in Portland -- and not at a Starwood property -- and use the points to better effect someplace else like SF, kinda sad to have to plan this way but there you have it and you clinched the deal for me, thanks again...

i would usually use points as well but when it came to Club Lounge with comp. drinks and food it was easy to decide to purchase the club floor room. I got a BRG with 10% off.. .found $169 on Hotels.com they matched plus the 10% off. . .we easily drank and ate well over $100 per night. WELL WELL worth paying for the floor. Wouldn't ever think of staying elsewhere if just adults. . .however if/when we return with the kids might need to try the westin or someplace with a pool .. .though people did have kids and brought them to the lounge. . just not sure my boys would eat the type of food they served. . .Adults however it was an absolute treat. . wonderful seared tuna and smoked salmon and great deserts but the drinks were really the item that sealed the deal and will have us returning. . plus the staff since they never acted put out and were always happy to assist or refill our beverage (dont' forget to tip!) :)