Loews YouFirst question

[FaithsWish]

We are one night away from hitting Gold.

We have a 7 night trip to RPR coming up in April.

Are the benefits of hitting Gold worth the $200 to spend one night at a Loews near our home prior to the April trip??

 

[ElenaJane]

Hopefully someone else has had a better experience. We hit Gold early last year, and I was excited to experience our first check-in as Gold Members. There was absolutely nothing different for us as opposed to when we were Blue. It was a busy time though, as we were staying at RPH during HHN. But there was no room upgrade or "special welcome".

 

[Ashunte]

Don't we get room upgrades at Blue level, if available? Did you mention your gold status at check in Elena? I wouldn't make a big deal but still......
Well after a little more research found this nugget on Loews' website:

* All upgrades are applicable to certain room and suite types only and subject to availability. Blue members receive a room upgrade, if available, upon arrival. Gold and Platinum members receive a room upgrade, if available, guaranteed at time of reservation. Gold members can also enjoy a suite upgrade for an additional $50 per night, if available upon arrival. Platinum members receive a complimentary suite upgrade at select hotels, if available at time of reservation.

So you have to call for the free upgrade during/after reservation is made to get the guaranteed upgrade for gold/platinum levels.

And after calling Hard Rock does not participate in youfirst.... which only concerns my stay in March.

 

[macraven]

For the platinum room upgrade, it has to be requested at time of booking

Blue and gold room upgrade is possible when you check in

Not as easy at rpr tonget the free upgrade to king suite as I believe the only have 20 of them

Hrh is not in the Loews program
They have their own loyalty program

 

[hhoope01]

Blue and gold room upgrade is possible when you check in

Just a small correction.

With Gold you can still get an upgrade to a Waterview room when you make the reservation. Just call in and ask them if one is available. At check-in you can ask about the possibility of upgrading to a king suite room for $$, but as you mentioned they can be hard to get (though not impossible as I have done it a few times.)

 

[tony67]

I've had great luck at RPR in the past - they key is you have to call in after booking and request the upgrade
My last time there I was only gold and got a King Suite.
At check in, as gold, unless it is slow there is a good chance you wont get an upgrade and it is even rarer to have a suite available for the $50 per night upgrade
I've been platinum and gold at several chains and this is not unusual IMO - there is a big difference in the way Gold and Platinum are treated - and there are a lot of golds
It is great that Loews gets you the upgrade in advance - most other chains dont do that - even for lifetime platinum

As for the special welcome - at RPR it is a fruit plate and a bottle of Fuji water - but they often forget to send it.
I preferred when there was a choice in the past

My last stay there I had to ask about it each morning - finally they just gave me a free breakfast instead great deal as I do enjoy the breakfast in the islands dining room.
Then on the last night they gave me the fruit plate and two half bottles of white wine - really not much point as I was leaving at 6 AM the next morning and I got back to my room after HHN

At SF I was upgraded to a water view in advance and they sent up the fruit plate without issue on the first night.

Be aware that if you book a package it can be more difficult to get the upgrade, I usually have to email the hotel directly.
Not to go off on a tangent, but it is rarely worthwhile to book a package - and getting the upgrade can be a PITA

Anyway - I would not spend the 200 to make gold - I might mention at check in that you only need one night for gold and see if they can give you the upgrade - you might get lucky