4steveking
July 31, 2024
I have stayed here several times and it is always luxury at its finest. I was a bit miffed though by a rather "insensitive" front desk clerk when I checked in. Having booked through Centurion at Amex, I was hoping for an upgrade. Was a special occasion (wife's B-day) and he was a hard "no. We are fully committed". I didn't buy that based on the flow of people around, so, I challenged it. More on that in a moment. We got to our room. (203). It was adequate, but small and the bed is literally 14 inches from a step (which yes, I kicked in the middle of the night and about broke my toe). Didn't have any luggage racks, missing a chair (there was one at the table and two of us). So back to my challenge. I called BS on the "we are full" argument. So, I called after we got back from dinner the front desk (spoke with David the manager). Nice guy. I did my homework first (it was almost 10 at night). I called Amex and ASKED if there was availability that night for two nights of my stay. There were several higher caliber rooms available. I also went to the hotel's website and sure enough, could book several "higher category" rooms for that night (for both nights). David finally acknowledged there was upgrade options. Offered to move us, but packing again at 10 at night wasn't high on my priority list. Next morning, David moved us (to where we should have been in the first place). A wonderful room. Made the stay a great one, but shorted me out of a night. Moral to the story, if you're a hotel and you offer an upgrade to FHR members as part of the amenity, you sure as heck better plan on the card holder doing their homework when you don't. I paid a ton for this hotel and while (David) did move me, it was a disruption that should not have happened in the first place. So, make sure you double check things, and don't be afraid to challenge the staff on their comments.