I asked for an IPA and got a Belgian White. Sort of a different end of the spectrum.

I've tried IPA and pale ales and they have given me bud

Oh, I think they got us switched. My profile says "craft beer (not IPA)" and I got IPA on my last stay.

Phoenix Palomar, FireSky, Vintage Park, Monaco, and Alexis (Seattle)
 

Palomar provided their caramel popcorn (that has chili peppers on it), unsweetened iced tea with lemons, and fresh fruits and cheese. 2 bottles of wter

FireSky - Chuckles (gummy candy), Tortilla chips and guacamole, unsweetened iced tea, small bottle of vodka (airline size), 2 bottles of water

Vintage Park - bottle of Syrah wine (Chateau Ste. Michelle), bottle of water, water crackers (7 of them), 3 very small pieces of cheese, and a chocolate bar.

Monaco (Seattle) - by far the best thus far. Fresh guacamole, blue tortilla chips, bottle of red wine, and bowl of gummi bears.

Alexis - bottle of red wine, bag of blue tortilla chips, box of guacamole, bottle of water

I fully agree with your attitude that you shouldn't have to write a pre-arrival e-mail to get what is on your profile. But, it seems to greatly improve the chances of getting it.

I send a pre-arrival response e-mail for every stay reinforcing my requests and amenity preferences. Before I started doing this, I had a 40% "success rate" getting my preferences. That has now increased to 85-90%. There are still execution shortfalls that seem to depend on who is handling the amenities that night.

It doesn't take a lot of time. I have a draft copy of my standard e-mail in an MS Word document. I cut & paste into an e-mail and customize where needed. Takes 2-3 minutes. Worth the time to avoid disappointment.

Natch, you already know the answer, but that's my standard request and I get it most of the time.

I request a specific brand and I explain why. Then I also offer acceptable alternatives and brands not to consider. It gives them some flexibility, but at least they know my strong preference. My attitude is if some properties can execute why can't they all? That said, we should realize that this is a perk that not many chains offer.

And from what I'm told by local staff, there is rarely that many IC members checking in on a given night.

Does anyone know if Kimpton limits the number of free nights at new hotels for inner circle members?

As far as I know it is one night, one time.

Even at that it is a nice gesture. I've used it at three new properties so far this year with one more reserved this month.

Portland Amenities this week
 

My profile is very specific about the things I enjoy. I am usually very pleased with my amenity so I'm not sure what happened this week.

Vintage Plaza - unsweetened iced tea, bottle of red wine, one bottle of water (no on my profile), pretzels, chocolates (definitely not on my profile). I returned everything but the iced tea and pretzels when I checked out this morning, said thank you but that I wouldn't use any of these items so they should use them for somebody else. They packed them in a paper bag and sent them over to the Monaco Portland for me :D

Monaco Portland - small jar of gummy bears, one bottle of red wine, two bottles of water

The amenities are a nice perk at the hotels that's for sure but I'm with others - I rarely get what I actually request but again, I think it's really a very nice touch!

Grand Hotel Minneapolis
 

The most generic welcome amenity I've yet to experience here. A cheese plate and two bottles of water. Not so much as a drop of alcohol, though my profile requests sparkling wine or scotch.

Triton SF: No amenities on check-in. They simply forgot, were apologetic, and did their best on short notice to put something together when I went out to dinner. In their defense, the staff did a pretty good job matching the request list. They genuinely work hard at trying to make your stay nicer. So water under the bridge.

Palomar San Diego: No amenities on check-in. When I asked, they were not apologetic. Just curtly said "We're working on in." Gee, thanks. Treatment like this really makes me wonder some times.

Makes you wonder what? :rolleyes: I always figure that the amenity is a really nice thing to receive but if I don't receive it e.g., at Amara so what. There are so many other things Kimpton does so well. Also, I've found that most staff when told that you are waiting for your amenity they bring it to the room within 3 hours of check-in. Seems reasonable to me.

It makes one wonder how seriously a specific hotel treats frequent guests. On the whole I'm happy with Kimpton, but that doesn't mean I can't be disappointed when they don't provide published benefits and respond curtly to polite requests.

Stayed at 3 Seattle Kimpton properties in the month of February, summary below (My list includes red wine, water, and any munchies):

Alexis - Bottle of red, large water, and a nice fruit platter.

Monaco - Bottle of red, large water, chocolate bar, and potato chips

Vintage Park - Nil, Nada, nothing.

All in all, Alexis and Monaco had excellent service from the front desk to the conceirge. Vintage Park was still under construction and I had to take a elevator to a converted room on either the 2nd or 3rd floor to check in. Service was indifferent, not up to Kimpton standards. It was raining heavily, perhaps there is something to be said about it and people's mood.