FrAAmer

I just returned from Rome, Florence and Venice where we stayed at luxury collection hotels and were upgraded at all properties, including a beautiful suite in Florence at the Grand.

At our final city, when I went to check out at the Europa Regina in Venice, they wanted to collect 200+ euros for the "room upgrade," which was given to me at check-in without my even asking. I explained that I was Platinum and the upgrade should have been complimentary. It took about 20 minutes for the desk people to get the fee waived but they did take it off of the bill.

CPRich

Did you ask for a standard suite, to which you are entitled as part of the SPG program? If one was not available, did you have the option to accept the room you had reserved and paid for, as no program-compliant upgrade rooms were available?

gabo02

Finally some tries to get the message out. That since that was not a standard suite. the hotel does not have to upgrade you to that. or any hotel

EquityMind

I did. That is the room that I was offered. I specifically asked for a 'standard select suite' since the agent was searching for an upgrade for me. Needing two beds however, that was the nearest available upgrade, however, as I indicated, it looked as if everything was in order, but then they mentioned a $200 fee, and then a $300 fee.

I also asked for a standard King suite upgrade (which they had available) but I was told that there were no roll away beds in this hotel.

I should also note that there is a considerable amount of confusion with the final checkout bill and they didn't maintain consistency there either. The amount written down on my room key folio doesn't match my original rate I reserved (plus the upsell fee) and the final bill tallied is even higher on a per day fee - Three different room rates, and I end up paying the highest of the three! There are also 'other fees' totaling $140 that they could not or would not explain to me upon check out. When I asked them to break it out, they stated that they were taxes and fees included in the daily rates - $35 for one day and $105 for the next. I cant think of any type of tax that would include that kind of a difference per day.

Finally, after I went to the front desk and asked to speak with a manager and dropped off my business card, I was NEVER contacted. I called Starwood Customer Service and they indicated that they would follow up with a manager on duty on the morning of my checkout and yet by 3:30 when I checked out, I still had not been contacted by anyone at the hotel. When I finally did checkout, they did nothing to explain the break out of my charges on a nearly $1,200 two night stay (I was planning on staying 3 nights but the stay had been clouded by the attitude of the management staff).

The main issue here was consistency. I read on other threads here how other Platinums had been treated and offered upgrades including the suite I was in, yet I was charged an upsell fee while they were not. Believe me, this suite was no more than I would receive normally at a hotel of this stature so we're not talking a Presidential suite or something far out of the ordinary, but in my opinion, a NORMAL upgrade. When I inquired as to what their normal policy was for Platinums, the agent indicated a higher floor or perhaps a corner room - again, inconsistent with what I have read here at Flyertalk.

Starwood Lurker

Just confirming that the Legacy Suites at this property are the select standard suites offered for complimentary Platinum upgrades and all 15 of them were sold out or given away for September 1st.

Best regards,

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

[email protected]

sbtinme

Final word from me on this one:

The Legacy Suite upgrade is consistent with my experience. And, as I've said before, it's not an astronomical upgrade. It feels more like a deluxe room compared to a standard or traditional room. Indeed, the bathrooms in the Legacy Suites are perhaps the smallest in the hotel. However, all the rooms that I've seen in this hotel are all well appointed and have great bedding, soft goods, furniture, etc.

Lesson learned for everyone: this hotel plays by the rules of upgrading to the minimum acceptable standard (Legacy Suites) as a matter of practice. Folks should not expect anything additional. However, in rare instances (perhaps a sellout night), some have been granted suites of higher quality.

EquityMind

Thanks William,

I checked in on Friday, August 31st around 6:20 p.m. do you know if the legacy suites offer two bed suites? I think that may have been the issue, also when you offer something originally (as was my case with the signature sute) and then state after mentioning that it is available 'By the way, there is a charge for the suite we just offered to put you in, and then come back and say, wait we were wrong, now its even more money and then have varying prices on the original booking, the hotel key folio and and the final bill (a variance of $26 per night from lowest to highest) and charged the highest of the three was the primary issue of concern. The way all of this was handled was not at all professional.

What made those matters worse was reading here that other had received the exact same room with no upsell charge, nor in fact ANY mention from anybody that they had been upsold at this property. Was I the first to experience this? I'm sure another Flyertalker would also mention it here had it happened.

EquityMind

Gee thanks...what are you saying?

Starwood Lurker

Perhaps. The Legacy Suites only have king beds, as far as I can tell.

Hopefully your call out to Corporate Customer Service for assistance will help them realize this.

I don't know. Sometimes hotel policy changes as the property's participation matures. For instance, it could be that they might have been previously unaware of the standard suite upgrade policy and thought it applied to any suite, so some got better. Now that they've been in the program for awhile they probably have learned better how it is supposed to work and have narrowed the complimentary suite upgrade possibilities.

Best regards,

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

[email protected]

EquityMind

Thanks William,

I was contacted by the Management Staff at The Grant Hotel - they are evaluating the billing discrepancies and the upgrade upsell situation. I'll report back here when I get a response.

StarwoodPFL

I am a pretty new SPG Platinum (about 4 months). Last month we stayed at the St. Regis Aspen and we were upgraded to a very nice suite. We also were given complimentary champagne, pressing clothes, etc. We felt like we were a valued platinum guest.

We checked into the US Grant on Saturday. I had requested a suite upgrade via email and checked that they were available online before I left home. The front desk agent asked if two king beds were acceptable. I said that I would prefer a suite upgrade but that two king beds were better than not; no suite was offerred even for more money. We got to our room that had two double or queen beds (very small). We never received or were acknowledged as platinum; no wine, champagne, coupons, clothes pressing, etc. Sunday we left the room at 5am and returned at about 10am. We then left again at about 12:30pm and returned at 4pm. Our room was never even cleaned, beds were unmade, dirty towels, etc. There have been at least 4-5 times where the doormen have been standing around talking and I had to open the doors for my wife and two small kids; this is one example of the bad service that we have received. It is Monday morning and we are about to checkout. I can honestly say that I have received much better service at Motel 6!

Since I am new to this Fylertalk / SPG Platinum thing, I am wondering where the best place to file a complaint. There are many choices of San Diego SPG hotels. Two months ago we stayed at the La Jolla Sheraton that wasn't as nice but had much better service. I will not return to the US Grant for a long time; I feel like this is a very poorly run hotel!

Axey

Honestly? Really? I'd love to know which Motel 6 offers you a doorman, wine, champagne, coupons or clothes pressing. Please advise.

Also, when you say your double or queen size beds were "very small," does that mean they were not doubles or queens? I'm not sure where one obtains "small" queen beds versus the regular size queen bed.

KENNECTED

So you said all this to say what exactly? Did you talk to anyone in management while you were at the hotel??? You post doesn't indicate you spoke with anyone. Its always easier to deal with an issue at that time than after the fact.

You say you were not acknowledged as a Platinum, did you have a printout of you reservation, your platinum card or tell them you were Platinum. I don't think you should have to, but if they don't acknowledge it I would have inquired.

When you're room wasn't cleaned, did you say anything or was the DND sign on the door?

Based on what you wrote, it appears you accepted the sub standard service without letting anyone at the hotel know there was issues. Obviously there were basic service failures, but you have to also use common sense and contact guest services at something at some point, instead of just letting it go.

If you would like to write a complaint, please see the sticky at the top of the forum. Oh and welcome to FlyerTalk.

StarwoodPFL

My point was exactly that I didn't get those things (champagne, clothes pressing, etc.) at Motel 6 or at the US Grant; I have actually received coupons at Motel 6 in the past although I seem to remember that it was for Dominos Pizza or something of that nature. I did have my room made up at Motel 6 daily which is why I did receive better service there. I hope that this answers your question but if not please let me know.

When I said that the double / queen bed was very small it was in comparison to a king. At check in the person at the front desk asked me if two king beds were ok. I said yes. I thought that I had mentioned this in my post but I will reread to verify and I'm sorry if I did not include that information. I was therefore expecting a king at a minimum thus the queens or doubles were smaller than expected.

StarwoodPFL

Thank you. I will check the Sticky at the top of the forum for complaint contact information. This is precisely what I was seeking in this post. I did not say that I was platinum but it was listed that way on the reservation. I even had email communication with the hotel prior to my stay. Is it normal to have to remind the hotel of your status (gold / platinum)? I had never had to do this before.

I did not complain mostly because it wasn't practical and I kept expecting it to get better. I completed a triathlon Sunday morning which is why I left the room at 5am. I was pretty tired afterward and last night and I really didn't want to complain only to have someone then make up my room. It was too late at that point and I wouldn't have let them in my room as I definitely needed my rest. I did not complain about the doormen issue as I kept expecting it to get better. Had a stayed more that two quick nights (checkin late Saturday / checkout early Monday), I definitely would have complained in person.

I am not letting it go but it just did not make sense time wise during my 1 1/2 day stay to complain. The main reason for my complaint is so that future people don't have the same problems. You are right that I should not have to complain or remind them that I am platinum. I am pretty new to Starwood's platinum program. So far I have had two very nice stays and then this one. Hopefully, the US Grant is not representative of how things will be in the future. Thank you again for your help.