Swan Starwood point question

[zalansky]

We are staying at the Swan this Saturday night 12/11. The hotel is sold out but some suites may not be, I am hoping! (though Mousefest is going on while we are there so you never know)
Anyway, can I call the hotel 5 days in advance and try and trade in points for an upgraded room? How does it work?
TIA

 

[zalansky]

I'll reply to myself in case anyone else is interested. I called the hotel this morning and for 1000 points upgraded our room to a junior suite.
Since I an SPG Gold they upgraded my in-laws' room to a preferred view with a balcony.
The person who helped me couldn't have been nicer about it!!

 

[Mouseteacher]

You will love the jr. suite at the Swan. See if an end room in a wing is available - you get 3 windows plus a balcony! We had room 628 in th east wing. Have a wonderful time!

 

[sherry8253]

What a great upgrade. I am hoping to be able to use points to upgrade at the Dolphin in Jan. Have a great trip and I hope you print a trip report when you return.

 

[DukeStreetKing]

I'll reply to myself in case anyone else is interested. /QUOTE]

 

[SandiH]

What was your orginal level? We are going in about 10 days and I have points - I didn't think I would be able to upgrade to Jr. Suite. I'll have to check on that!

Can't wait until my 5 day mark now!

 

[tjmw2727]

Wow that's great news. We are spending the week after Christmas at the Dolphin and I hope to upgrade with points as well. Did you call the Swan directly or the SPG # - ?

Have a wonderful time!
TJ

 

[zalansky]

SandiH-
We were originally booked in a 2 standard rooms at $99 per night each!!! I traded 1000 points for the junior suite for DH and myself, and my in laws got the upgrade to a room with a balcony (free of charge of course) because both rooms are booked in my name. I don't think my DH appreciates the fact that we have a Jr. suite for only $99....I have done some serious research on working the system here.

tjmw2727 - I called the Swan directly. It was so nice to deal with someone who knew exactly what I was talking about when I asked to upgrade with points. I anticipated having a hard time but was very pleasantly surprised.

DukeStreetKing - glad you got that!!

 

[leighe]

How can you find out how many points it takes to upgrade? I looked on the website but couldn't find it. DH and I used a lot of our points for a weekend away a few months ago and I'm not sure how many we've accumulated since.

Any ideas?

 

[zalansky]

leighe -
The hotel told me how many points I would need for the upgrade and I believe that it varies from hotel to hotel, so you would likely have to call the hotel direct to see what they charge for points.
As far as your account, you should be able to view your current points at www.spg.com
Sometimes there are surveys on the site, if you fill them out, you get 250 points just for filling out the survey. I have done this 2 times already.
HTH

 

[Hieatt]

Just out of curiosity, assuming you are staying more than 1 night, did they charge 1,000 points total, or 1,000 points per night?

 

[zalansky]

We are staying only one night, so the charge would be 1000 points per night, I assume.

 

[leighe]

Thanks for all the info Zalansky. I love your picture. You guys look like models!

 

[SandiH]

Wow - I didn't think you could get such a big upgrade! I thought it was only for a level. That's huge - good job. I have a resort view with balcony reserved and am hoping to at least buy club priveldges - getting a jr. suite would be great. We're going at a busy time so it might not be possible. What's the floor plan for the jr. suite anyway.

Have a great trip.

 

[Muffy]

Don't forget the Jr. Suite at the Swan is a 500 sq. ft studio room. The Jr. suite at he Dolphin is 2 rooms with 2 baths and 2 TV's, etc. Although the studio room is smaller it does have alot of perks like a balcony (usually) and windows galore. It is also far less points for an upgrade to the studio room/jr. suite than the Dolphin's jr. suite. The Dolphin's jr. suite is 10,000 points per night for the upgrade! We have a studio room booked at the Swan for Feb and I can't wait to personally check these out! Have a great time and enjoy your jr. suite/studio room!

 

[zalansky]

We just got back and I think the Junior Suite was DEFINITELY worth the 1000 points!! The windows are great. The Heavenly bed really IS heavenly.
They charge way too much for food, but that's a hotel for you.
We will definitely be going back, when we can get good rates. I wouldn't pay rack rate...but we really loved it.