Top 5 Plat Experiences
Jan 25, 2010, 11:19 pm
#31
Join Date: Aug 2007
Posts: 689
1. Laguna Resort and Spa, Bali
2. Sheraton Hong Kong & Towers
3. W Hotel Lakeshore , Chicago (Hello Heather & Jolene
)
4. Sheraton On The Park, Sydney
5. W Hotel - Times Square , NYC
Honorable mention : Westin Grand , Munich
Fall from grace : St Regis Singapore
2. Sheraton Hong Kong & Towers
3. W Hotel Lakeshore , Chicago (Hello Heather & Jolene
)4. Sheraton On The Park, Sydney
5. W Hotel - Times Square , NYC
Honorable mention : Westin Grand , Munich
Fall from grace : St Regis Singapore
Last edited by aussiechris; Jan 26, 2010 at 12:03 am Reason: spelling
Jan 26, 2010, 10:19 am
#32
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Michigan
Programs: Starwood and NWA Plat
Posts: 257
1. Westin Key West - 2br suite, ocean and Mallory Square View
2. St Regis Houston - my own butler.. anything else need to be said?
3. Sheraton Key West - beach view rooms and free breakfast every time
4. LeMeridian Singapore - great room and GREAT breakfast!
2. St Regis Houston - my own butler.. anything else need to be said?
3. Sheraton Key West - beach view rooms and free breakfast every time
4. LeMeridian Singapore - great room and GREAT breakfast!
Jan 26, 2010, 2:37 pm
#33
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: New York, NY
Programs: UA - 1K 1MM; Hyatt - Explorist; Marriott - Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 1,586
1. Blue Palace Resort - Crete, Greece
2. Hotel Alfonso XIII - Seville, Spain
3. Villa Vedema - Santorini, Greece
4. W - Union Square - New York, NY
5. Le Meridien Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain
2. Hotel Alfonso XIII - Seville, Spain
3. Villa Vedema - Santorini, Greece
4. W - Union Square - New York, NY
5. Le Meridien Barcelona - Barcelona, Spain
Jan 26, 2010, 5:13 pm
#34
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Simpsonville, SC
Programs: Bonvoy - LIFETIME!!! Titanium ; AA - Platinum 2 Million Miler;
Posts: 491
1) Grand Hotel in Florence, Italy (Honeymoon and amazing upgrade)
2a) Sheraton Pulitzer Amsterdam (Huge, amazing suite)
2b) Sheraton Pulitzer Amsterdam (Bi-level suite)
3) Sheraton Park Tower (Butler floor)
4) Westin Maui (Huge suite with a balcony wrapping around the room and around the corner
5) Westin Diplomat
2a) Sheraton Pulitzer Amsterdam (Huge, amazing suite)
2b) Sheraton Pulitzer Amsterdam (Bi-level suite)
3) Sheraton Park Tower (Butler floor)
4) Westin Maui (Huge suite with a balcony wrapping around the room and around the corner
5) Westin Diplomat
Jan 26, 2010, 7:00 pm
#35
Join Date: May 2003
Location: ICN
Programs: AA (850k miles), SPG Platinum
Posts: 511
1) Westin Palace - Madrid, Spain
2) Le Meridien - Barcelona, Spain
3) St. Regis - Dana Point, CA
4) Disney Swan - Orlando, FL
5) Sheraton - Lisboa, Portugal
2) Le Meridien - Barcelona, Spain
3) St. Regis - Dana Point, CA
4) Disney Swan - Orlando, FL
5) Sheraton - Lisboa, Portugal
Jan 27, 2010, 8:52 am
#37
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Bogota, Colombia
Programs: AA EXP, UA *S, Hyatt DIA, *W/IC Plat, HH Gold, A3 *G, Sixt Plat
Posts: 1,218
Great thread idea - Top 5 Plat experiences do differ from Top 5 hotels that I've stayed in, even Top 5 Starwood hotels. An 'average' SPG property could offer such superb treatment for Plat guests that vaults it from an average memory to the highlight of a trip. Here are mine:
1) Westin Sydney. Stayed here over New Years, so this property is fresh in my mind, used a 5th night free award and spent only 40k SPG pts, IIRC. The Executive lounge on the 28th floor can get a bit crowded around breakfast or lunch, and upgrades are difficult to come by, but once the lounge staff know your name, they remember you and are a fun bunch. The concierge team is the best I have experienced in the Starwood system, St Regis' included.
2) Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit (SGS). Received a Grand Suite even with high hotel occupancy w/ a golf tourney in town, comped anniversary cake, free 5 pressings/laundry, really outstanding lush pool in the heart of downtown Sukhumvit, and great access to the BTS. Once the full link is up to the airport I will stay here every time I'm in BKK and using SPG pts. Oh, and the full morning breakfast will make your head spin - any kind of fruit you can imagine, cook-to-order omelets, Asian-style breakfasts, coffee/tea, pastries.
3) Sheraton (now Hilton) Tahiti (PPT). This hotel was always just a 'way station' as we winged our way through the South Pacific, and with the vast majority of our flights (Air NZ, LAN) arriving at odd hours, it was great to land, take a cab 2.5 km, and have everything in order: room, suite upgrade 100% of the time, honeymoon/anniversary/birthday cake, champagne, breakfast on the veranda the next morning, and back to the airport to catch a VT flight to MOZ, BOB, or RGI.
4) St Regis Bora Bora (SRBB). Stayed here for only 1 night on the last night of our honeymoon. Hotel was less than a year old at the time, and occupancy was about 30%. We received a large 2BR Overwater Bungalow (OWB), and the manager threw in a free ala carte breakfast, a $100+ USD value. Nicole Kidman had stayed at the hotel a few months before us, so the hotel still had a bit of 'buzz' to it. We really enjoyed diving off our private landing dock in the morning to wake up, shower, then the long walk into the main breakfast area.
5) St Regis Singapore. I have seen the conflicting reports on FT and Trip Advisor re: this hotel, but we had nothing but a great experience here. We received a 2 category suite upgrade, comp breakfast in the main dining room, comp wine tasting in the evening, and loved the 'walkableness' of the hotel's location.
Runner-ups:
6) Sheraton Vina del Mar, Chile.
7) Sheraton on the Park (SOTP), Sydney.
8) Four Points Bolzano, Italy.
9) Westin Dulles.
10) Hotel Danieli, Venice.
Would love to try the Diplomat, Villa Vedema, Blue Palace, W Barcelona, and Marquis de Riscal.
1) Westin Sydney. Stayed here over New Years, so this property is fresh in my mind, used a 5th night free award and spent only 40k SPG pts, IIRC. The Executive lounge on the 28th floor can get a bit crowded around breakfast or lunch, and upgrades are difficult to come by, but once the lounge staff know your name, they remember you and are a fun bunch. The concierge team is the best I have experienced in the Starwood system, St Regis' included.
2) Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit (SGS). Received a Grand Suite even with high hotel occupancy w/ a golf tourney in town, comped anniversary cake, free 5 pressings/laundry, really outstanding lush pool in the heart of downtown Sukhumvit, and great access to the BTS. Once the full link is up to the airport I will stay here every time I'm in BKK and using SPG pts. Oh, and the full morning breakfast will make your head spin - any kind of fruit you can imagine, cook-to-order omelets, Asian-style breakfasts, coffee/tea, pastries.
3) Sheraton (now Hilton) Tahiti (PPT). This hotel was always just a 'way station' as we winged our way through the South Pacific, and with the vast majority of our flights (Air NZ, LAN) arriving at odd hours, it was great to land, take a cab 2.5 km, and have everything in order: room, suite upgrade 100% of the time, honeymoon/anniversary/birthday cake, champagne, breakfast on the veranda the next morning, and back to the airport to catch a VT flight to MOZ, BOB, or RGI.
4) St Regis Bora Bora (SRBB). Stayed here for only 1 night on the last night of our honeymoon. Hotel was less than a year old at the time, and occupancy was about 30%. We received a large 2BR Overwater Bungalow (OWB), and the manager threw in a free ala carte breakfast, a $100+ USD value. Nicole Kidman had stayed at the hotel a few months before us, so the hotel still had a bit of 'buzz' to it. We really enjoyed diving off our private landing dock in the morning to wake up, shower, then the long walk into the main breakfast area.
5) St Regis Singapore. I have seen the conflicting reports on FT and Trip Advisor re: this hotel, but we had nothing but a great experience here. We received a 2 category suite upgrade, comp breakfast in the main dining room, comp wine tasting in the evening, and loved the 'walkableness' of the hotel's location.
Runner-ups:
6) Sheraton Vina del Mar, Chile.
7) Sheraton on the Park (SOTP), Sydney.
8) Four Points Bolzano, Italy.
9) Westin Dulles.
10) Hotel Danieli, Venice.
Would love to try the Diplomat, Villa Vedema, Blue Palace, W Barcelona, and Marquis de Riscal.
Last edited by SASfan; Jan 27, 2010 at 9:00 am
Jan 27, 2010, 12:14 pm
#38
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: OKC
Programs: DL Silver, SPG Plat, HHonors Gold, Marriott Gold, Avis Preferred
Posts: 214
W Seattle--4 nights and 3 comp bottles of champagne, wow suite upgrade and 2 copies of the W CD
Sheraton Vina del Mar - Presidential suite was awesome--wish we could've spent a week there
SR Singapore - Exec suite upgrade with bottle of Malbec, comped in-room internet, wine tasting--probably one of the best rooms I've been in
SGS Bangkok - everything SASfan said. The pool (area) was unreal.
Tie:
Sheraton Porto - jr suite, club flounge floor with only one other couple on that floor, HUGE balconies, food and drinks all day in lounge, great spa!
Westin Sydney - the concierge staff was great! We felt like part of the family every time we were in the lounge.
Sheraton Vina del Mar - Presidential suite was awesome--wish we could've spent a week there
SR Singapore - Exec suite upgrade with bottle of Malbec, comped in-room internet, wine tasting--probably one of the best rooms I've been in
SGS Bangkok - everything SASfan said. The pool (area) was unreal.
Tie:
Sheraton Porto - jr suite, club flounge floor with only one other couple on that floor, HUGE balconies, food and drinks all day in lounge, great spa!
Westin Sydney - the concierge staff was great! We felt like part of the family every time we were in the lounge.
Jan 27, 2010, 12:26 pm
#39
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: LAX
Programs: AA 2 MM Plt, *wood Plt
Posts: 652
1) Grand Hotel in Florence, Italy (Honeymoon and amazing upgrade)
2a) Sheraton Pulitzer Amsterdam (Huge, amazing suite)
2b) Sheraton Pulitzer Amsterdam (Bi-level suite)
3) Sheraton Park Tower (Butler floor)
4) Westin Maui (Huge suite with a balcony wrapping around the room and around the corner
5) Westin Diplomat
2a) Sheraton Pulitzer Amsterdam (Huge, amazing suite)
2b) Sheraton Pulitzer Amsterdam (Bi-level suite)
3) Sheraton Park Tower (Butler floor)
4) Westin Maui (Huge suite with a balcony wrapping around the room and around the corner
5) Westin Diplomat
)(Our fav was the XX88 room in Maui. Amazing sunset experiences from that viewpoint)
I'll add:
St. Regis Dana Point. (Upgraded to fab 1 bd suite (BRG of over $900), from FWN booking)
Sheraton NY towers. (An odd entry for a top 5 list, but we are there so often, and they usually treat us so well when we are. Or used to, before they got rid of Maritza, who worked the lounge on 44)
6. Westin Mission Hills resort. Almost always receive a suite, or an upgrade when at the Villas.
Last edited by WestLA-FF; Jan 27, 2010 at 5:32 pm
Jan 27, 2010, 1:00 pm
#40
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: MKE
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, AA Plat Pro, MR LTP, others from cards
Posts: 890
Westin Diplomat
Sheraton Grande Lagune, Phuket
Westin Dresden
LM Pyramids (pyramids view suite, lounge, kept the restaurant open for us)
Hacienda San Jose (Presidential Suite, private pool, massage as Plat ammenity)
I'm seeing a lot of votes for the SR Singapore, but was unimpressed by the Plat treatment on a recent trip. Regular room on a high floor. No free Internet or wine bottle in the room. Wine tasting was nice (though I think open to all), and the breakfast was free and nicely presented -- however the quality of the actual food items was mediocre for Asia. I'd vote for the Grand Hyatt over the SR.
Sheraton Grande Lagune, Phuket
Westin Dresden
LM Pyramids (pyramids view suite, lounge, kept the restaurant open for us)
Hacienda San Jose (Presidential Suite, private pool, massage as Plat ammenity)
I'm seeing a lot of votes for the SR Singapore, but was unimpressed by the Plat treatment on a recent trip. Regular room on a high floor. No free Internet or wine bottle in the room. Wine tasting was nice (though I think open to all), and the breakfast was free and nicely presented -- however the quality of the actual food items was mediocre for Asia. I'd vote for the Grand Hyatt over the SR.
Jan 27, 2010, 3:15 pm
#41
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: SMF
Programs: Bonvoy Titanium, SPG LTP
Posts: 1,526
I've had some decent upgrades, but Thailand blows everything else out of the water.
Le Meridien Khao Lak-suite upgrade, cold coconuts, nightly canapes, breakfast at choice of two restaurants
Sheraton Grande Phuket-2 level villa upgrade, morning croissants, evening cocktails and appetizers, breakfast at choice of two restaurants
I'm a big fan of the haciendas in the Yucatan, but our Gold treatment at Campeche and Santa Rosa was actually better than Plat treatment at San Jose so I'm not including them on my list. I think they're great destinations regardless of status.
Le Meridien Khao Lak-suite upgrade, cold coconuts, nightly canapes, breakfast at choice of two restaurants
Sheraton Grande Phuket-2 level villa upgrade, morning croissants, evening cocktails and appetizers, breakfast at choice of two restaurants
I'm a big fan of the haciendas in the Yucatan, but our Gold treatment at Campeche and Santa Rosa was actually better than Plat treatment at San Jose so I'm not including them on my list. I think they're great destinations regardless of status.
Jan 28, 2010, 3:03 pm
#42
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: AC MM E50 , Former SPG, now Marriott LT Plat
Posts: 6,261
SGS Bangkok
Westin Taipei
Westin Shanghai ( although they just eliminated hot food at breakfast in the lounge)
Westin Taipei
Westin Shanghai ( although they just eliminated hot food at breakfast in the lounge)