u/phan31

I've just started following this subreddit recently (about a week ago) and it seems that more often than not, people with elite statuses aren't getting their complimentary room upgrades?

I'm not sure if the region matters, but I'm from Canada and 9 times out of 10, I get a room upgrade. I always ask for it at the front desk, and probably 1/3rd of the time, they've upgraded it before I could even ask! It's honestly one of the best perks in my opinion, next to the 4PM late check-out because it makes me feel like I'm getting more of my money's worth. I always book the cheapest room for roughly $200 CAD and typically get bumped up to a larger room worth $300-$400. This past weekend, I used $384 worth of points (for a $420 room in cash) to stay at W Toronto and they upgraded me to a suite worth roughly $805, covered a $103 breakfast, and sent me 15,000 points. I believe the points were a combination of my room not having a mini fridge, some hot water issues, and it being my birthday.

I'm wondering if maybe in Europe or the US they're more hesitant to give these upgrades for some reason? Should this be something to keep an eye out for when I'm travelling outside of Canada?

This past weekend my girlfriend and I spent a night at the W Hotel in Toronto for a birthday celebration. Upon arrival, we had our room upgraded to a beautiful suite with the kindest receptionist. We were also offered complimentary breakfast up to $80, which we took full advantage of the next morning. We actually ended up eating $103 worth and the staff said that it would be covered! The staff were unbelievably kind and helpful.

The only thing that was odd was that our room didn't have a mini fridge, and the hot water took forever to come in through the taps and showers (about 5 minutes). We actually just thought our room didn't have hot water, so I brought it up to the front desk and they immediately sent someone up to check it out. We also got a minifridge sent up. After our stay, I was shocked to see that they had sent me 15,000 points and I'm still not totally sure what it was for. I'm assuming a part of it was to compensate for the hot water issue and the other was because it was my birthday?

On-top of that, my amazing girlfriend had been in talks with the hotel staff the week leading up to our stay because she wanted to decorate the room before we arrived. Apparently, they were very helpful, seemed to genuinely care, and made the experience very pleasant.

If anyone is planning to stay in Toronto and doesn't mind spending a little bit more, I would highly recommend W Hotels. It was a wonderful experience and I'd definitely go back for a future occasion!