I was just told about these new LHW Unlimited benefits for 2012:
-One free night for every four stays
-Redeem up to three free nights per stay
-Guaranteed 4pm late check out
-Additional hotel benefit (similar to FHR, e.g. $100 spa or food credit)

Sounds like it might finally be worth spending the $1200 annual fee.

They still need to work on delivery of benefits.

Find it very patchy.

After over half a year of being an LHW unlimited member, I am generally very happy with my membership and think that it was money well spent. But I completely agree that they need to make sure all the hotels deliver the benefits.

There are three types of hotels with respect to the additional benefit for unlimited members (FHR type benefit, worth typically ~$100):

#1. Hotels that offer it without asking
#2. Hotels that don't know about it, but deliver it after you mention it and after they query LHW about it
#3. Hotels that refuse to deliver the additional benefit

What hotels in category #3 don't seem to realize is that this creates a very bad impression with the customer and that he/she might not come again and might not recommend the hotel to others. I will definitely not return to any of these hotels and don't recommend them, unless they are truely exceptional and otherwise a fantastic experience. Or if they give me a great suite upgrade instead

Hotels in category #1 typically create such a positive impression that I will very likely go there again and again. Hotels in category #2 typically move up to category #1 and I also like to go there again.

It is interesting that those hotels that don't deliver the benefits are usually lower rated on tripadvisor than those who offer them. Maybe these hotels just have a general attitude and service issue.

I think a simple solution would be for LHW to publish the list of additional unlimitd benefits for all their hotels, just like FHR and Virtuoso are doing it. That would avoid disappointment, and I am always very disappointed when I find out that a hotel I am staying at belongs to category #3.

If LHW doesn't publish a list, maybe we should do it ourselves. Are there enough LHW unlimited members here who can contribute to such a list?

Well there are only 700 unlimited members worldwide so it's a tiny group.

How stackable are LHW benefits?

Only 700, incredible.

If I had to decide between my Amex Centurion membership and my LHW Unlimited membership, I think I would pick Unlimited.

As the recent posts contain no new information, I am going to shut this thread and suggest that when there is something different to report, another thread be started.

RichardInSF, moderator, luxury hotels