Cheesehead13
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2015
I tried to get an upgrade to a "family room" or premium studio but was told that they have a limited number of them available for points and there were none to be had (and that was about 7-8 months out). I have heard of people getting them for only an extra 1500 points though. For 1,000 points/night I received an upgrade to a balcony resort view. I have also heard of people having more luck with upgrades to alcoves/family rooms at the Swan than Dolphin, but there wasn't availability for my dates.
I have recently called both Starwood and the resorts to ask about this. The woman I spoke with at the resorts direct line was far more knowledgeable. Turns out the current policy is that suites are not available for spg points only. You reserve a regular room (10k spg points at dolphin and 12k at swan) then pay $200/night to upgrade to a suite. All rooms with "suite" in the name plus the premium studios are considered suites.
However the alcove/family rooms are available for spg points only. 1000 extra at dolphin and 1500 extra at swan. A word of caution though... When you call Starwood's 800 number, their reservation system may show alcove/family rooms as only able to accommodate 3 guests. According to the Swan/Dolphin resort direct line though, the rooms can actually accommodate 5. Definitely worth calling both lines.