I am planning to use a reward certificate at the Marquis in NYC. 180,000 points for 5 nights at the Marquis sounds great to me. I was wondering if there is a chance they would upgrade our room also? What experience do you have with getting an upgraded room when using a reward certificate? As a gold elite, I have been upgraded to larger rooms and better views regularly when paying for the room, but have not had any experience with redeeming the reward.
I was there in March too! We were there 3 nights...and we're going for another 2 later this month...when you went, if they didn't upgrade you, would you have asked? And are you platinum or gold? I'm gold, and know at resorts it doesn't really mean much...the first time we went last year we went on points and weren't upgraded at all...but I may have been silver at that time.
Hi corrie1013. When I was there in March I had requested two connecting rooms which I received, and was upgraded in one room to a suite. I was upgraded without asking, but I would have asked if an upgrade was possible if one wasn't offered. However, the two connecting rooms were the most important part of the reservation, and I would have turned down an upgrade if it wasn't connecting. Corrie1013, I am Platinum Lifetime and Platinum Premier. If an upgrade is not automatically given, it never hurts to ask. If you are going there on a special occasion, if you call ahead and let them know and request an upgrade at that time, they will usually give you one if a room is available. Good luck, it's an awesome resort!
luckymefl, I haven't noticed any difference in how I'm treated when redeeming points or a certificate. Marquis NY has always worked with me to upgrade me, and their front desk is very good. But for that particular hotel, an upgrade is probably a room with a better view rather than a larger room and/or a suite. The standard rooms there are quite large, especially for NY. As mustanggt says, it will depend on what's available when you check in.
I'll add my $0.02 on this. I think the shorter the stay the better as I would think that the upgraded room needs to be available the entire time (obviously) and the likelihood of booking it at the full price would be low. I am not sure how the system works but I would prefer upgrades when traveling on points vs cash as my point redemptions are always for pleasure. Trust me, I will take an upgrade anytime but given the choice between a business trip where I typically am in the room for a very limited period of time vs leisure I will take the leisure upgrade every time
I've noticed no diff in upgrade likelihood when staying on points or for cash. I've had upgrades to nicer rooms and to suites both ways.
if you contact the hotel let's say a week before your stay and ask for an upgrade does that help at all versus waiting till you arrive to ask??
I'm not going to elaborate. This is my sore spot using points.
I stayed at the JW Resort in San Antonio in March using points for a 5 night stay. I was upgraded to a suite without asking. It all depends on how full the hotel is during your stay. In general, it is harder to get upgraded on a longer stay than on a shorter stay. But since your name is "lucky", I'm sure you'll have no problem at all!