Has anyone else out there had a problem with this program? We have had to fight for every point we have earned. Last year they would sometimes give us credit for nights stayed when using free nights and other times they wouldn't. We spoke to so many people at their customer service number that we truly became frustrated and wrote to the general manager. We never received points for any meals that we should have. They made us fax all our receipts to them and still never fully credited us. They finally stated that any free nights that we used and they credited us for were in error! Their terms and conditions section is mostly legalese and very hard to understand. Each customer service person we spoke to gave us a different answer each time we tried to straighten our mess out. We were supposed to reach platinum status with our last stay and only with a real battle did they grant it to us. We called the platinum concierge service the other day about an upgrade for our upcoming September trip and the woman rudely told us that we would have to wait until the night before our trip to see if we get an upgrade. One would think that they would want to take care of their most loyal guests. We promptly canceled our stay at the Starwood properties we had booked and decided to stay at the Halekulani in Oahu and the Kea Lani in Wailea. Starwood certainly lives up to their reputation of being NON service oriented. We will never stay at another Starwood property again. If they don't care if they lose guests who stay at their Hawaii properties for at least two months each year, then that tells us everything we need to know about Starwood.

Sorry to hear you've had bad experience. My husband is Platinum and we've had great luck. We almost always get upgraded (though we don't request it ahead of time since it's all subject to availability at check in). We get wine, fruit basket brought to our room many times shortly after check in or sometimes it's already in the room with a short welcome note. I love that there are no blackout dates or quality control rooms...if there's one room left, it can be redeemed with points. Right now they're having a 50% off special so we're using points to stay in NYC at the St. Regis. Don't give up....

It is hit or miss at Starwood and Marriott. I am platinum at both. As well as silver at hilton and gold at hyatt.
Some hotels care less about status then others (especially if it is a free room). They tend to be less attentive at resorts as well. The Renaisance in Wailea refused a upgrade during checkin and told me I could pay for an upgrade. I didnt let it ruin my vacation but was rightly upset at the time. I went to the web and book. Quote from the Web:
"6.Room Upgrade: Upgraded accommodations at no additional charge. Based on room availability and limited to a member's personal guestroom.
Not available at Marriott Vacation Club International or Horizons by Marriott Vacation Club.
see at:
(http://www.Marriottrewards.com/Elite/platinum.asp). "

It was available since the desk clerk told me I could pay.
However, The Marriott Maui was great. they upgraded me, had the arrival gift, took me for a short tour. Went out of there way.

Long story short. It depends on the hotel not on the chain. Some chains have better contol over there hotels however (Hyatt, 4S)

I recommend that you go to FlyerTalk.com and the Starwood Forum there. Much good info,plus a Starwood VP that "lurks" there. He can help you.On the whole,IMHO Starwood is the best of all the hotel programs. I am a gold in Hilton,Starwood and Marriott.

Wow, I would write corporate headquarters about your uneven experience. Although, whoever told you that you could get points for free night stays was just bending the rules, I would think.

I am only a begining member but have found 35% savings at resorts in Hawaii. I could not afford those hotels without this. I also was left with credits after inactive use for one year. I don't expect that kind of service from a hotel frequent business program.

I am a platinum member and have nothing but great things to say about the Starwood Program. The customer service people have always been helpful and friendly. I find the rewards to be very generous and have NEVER had a problem using them. We recently used a free weekend in San Francisco and were upgraded to a lovely suite, complete with a welcome note and basket in the room. My points have always been credited immediately. I will comtinue to patronize Starwood properties. I agree with the previous poster - contact the company if you have problems.

Hi Pete. YES, we had the same problems with Starwood Preferred. We were a member and loyal Westin travelers until the customer service both at the Westin and the Starwood Program took a nose dive. We tried to resolve the problem, but with no resolve. Therefore we now stay at the Four Seasons. It may cost a little more, but he service is what counts. Goodbye Starwood and Westin!

Stacey, Thank you for your input. I am glad you validated the same problems we have had. There is nothing worse than coming home from vacation and having to play accountant to see if they gave all the points we are entitled to. The other thing that bothers me about them is that they give you all these free nights, you use them and then they punish you in nights stayed because you don't get any credit while using your free nights. The Fairmont gives you credit for $$ spent so you can still earn while you use your free nights. Also, as staed earlier, we called the platinum concierge for an upgrade and were rudely told that we could not find out until the night before. If a loyal platinum member can't get an automatic upgrade then what's the sense of obtaining status? The Fairmont gave us an automatic upgrade and we've never stayed there before. What's the big deal with a fruit basket in the room? I don't pay those prices for a fruit basket. I want great service. We couldn't even get our room cleaned before 2:00 PM, even though we put the request in when we checked in. The same for turn down service. That Tropica is a disaster! Why did they ever get rid of Sound of the Falls with the lovely swans and the waterfalls? If anyone is reading this I am talking about Westin Maui. Don't ever go there if you expect service. We have learned a great lesson. Go five star or none.

but Pete airlines don't give you credit when you use your FF miles. The Fairmont is a higher class hotel. I don't think you can make a comparison.

While it may annoy you to hear so many positive responses here. You should realize that maybe your bad experience is isolated and is not something you will find repeated. The Westin Maui has been around for a while not ancient but a while. I can't imagine that you would compare it to the fairmont. But unless you are staying at the luxury hotels of the St. Regis I would not expect the same standards, certainly not in Kaanapali.

Points for free nights?? Obviously a mistake. I've had the same experience and considered it a windfall. Why would a hotel give you points for using points? If they didn't give you credit for a $50 meal, I'll bet the points awarded to you in error far offset any meal points you didn't receive.

I'm a Starwood Gold and have had pretty good luck. We tend to stay at popular properties and use the tack to be nice when you check-in and they always take care of you (to the best they can). If an upgrade isn't available then enjoy the room you booked. We don't book at a hotel if we're not going to be happy with the category we booked.

It also helps to call the morning of your arrival and put in a request when the rooms are changing over (especially if you're arriving late and most rooms will already be occupied and they won't have many options for you).

We have always used tact and been so kind upon check-in to the point of brining gifts to some of the staff that we know from repeat visits. It's not really the staffs fault. It's the fault of Starwood. They don't hire enough help. The last time we were there we spent at least $500.00 on breakfast alone not to mention lunch and a few dinners. We had to fight for every point. They now have this special going on where people get a special in the mail for 5 nights for somewhere around 500.00 for going through their timeshare presentation. Every Tom, Dick and Harry brings his aunts, uncles and cousins and the place is rampant with kids. We pay good money and these people take over the place, meanwhile, service lacks for us because Starwood does not hire enough people to accomodate regular guests as well as these people there on these specials. The staff is fine with what they have to work with. They are always courteous and nice but you can tell they are way overworked. They say if you don't like the heat get out of the kitchen, so that's what we choose to do. Because we are platinum members, we feel we should be pampered, but we have not been, so we will move on.

Wow Pete, sounds like you have gotten the royal runaround from Starwood. I have also had problems with them. The service is terrible to say the least. The Westin Maui has beautiful grounds and a great pool but the staff is indifferent. I also hate the new restaurant Tropica. It looks like it is not finished. The ocean view rooms are so small. There is no closet space. Only a space abot 18" wide to put your hangups and two drawers for the rest of your things. Under the bed is where they keep the ironing board so you can't put your suitcases away. I am also a platinum member and the last time I was there they tried to sell me my upgrade! I was disgusted and have vowed never to go back.

I am a gold starwood member and I have to agree, they are greatly lacking in amenities. I have never had an upgrade yet and they only give you points for what you charge to the hotel. If you book through a travel agent, you don't get points for that. When it was just Westin, you did. to me it is practically worthless. they alwlays have an excuse for not upgrading you (we are overbooked) but the beach & pool are empty. VinceC

Yikes, what's up with all this Starwood stuff. You should all collectively contact them with all your stories. Maybey then they will do something.

I feel terrible that you've had so many problems with Starwood, I have never had any. We have stayed either for free or at a 50% off rate at the W French Quarter in New Orleans, Prince De Gaulles in Paris, Princeville in Hawaii, the W in Union Square NYC, etc...
Do you have an online account set up so that you can monitor your activity? Do you generally book through a travel agent or on your own (I find that makes a big difference). Do you check that your Starwood number is on file when you check in? I have always had excellent service with their 1-800 number, try talking to a supervisor and if the matter is still not resolved, I would write a letter to corporate complaining about the lack of service THAT supervisor gave you.

I know I tried to resolve my problems with Starwood and Westin. I was patient and tried to work up the chain of command when needed. The problem is the sheep follow the shepards. The supervisors are just as bad as the costomer service representatives. It flows down hill. Finally afther a month of phone calls they never fixed the problem, simply offered me a couple of free nights in a hotel. I declined. The object of good customer service isn't to always offer freebies to try and shut the customer up. The object is to resolve the problem and try to prevent it from happening again. Starwood missed the boat on that one. No, the theme is at Starwood/Westin is passive, uninvolved, and uncaring. I did them a favor by trying to resolve the siuation. They didn't see it that way, so I now spend my money elseware...it's that simple.

Stacey I hear you. Nothing is so frustrating as the feeling that someone just doesn't care. We are moving on also. I wonder if Starwood saw all these unhappy posts if it would change things. Big conglomerates usually don't care so I guess I answered my own question. What were the particulars of your problem (s) with them. As you saw by my previous posts, ours ran the gamit. What hotel did you encounter your problems at? We are moving onto Fairmont. When we booked with them they were wonderful and could not do enough for us.

These stories sound so frustrating. What is this Starwwod thing and what hotels are they? Are they worldwide? What has been the biggest problem with them?

Cecille, The Starwood program is a program designed to give guests of the
Westin & Marriot a kind of reward for using their hotels when traveling. Kind of like a frequent flyer program for their hotels. They are worldwide and their #1 problem is service.

I just logged 12 hours worth of calls woth customer service as a Starwood gold member. I spent over three weeks trying to get points for hotel stays we had en route to South Africa, and also some local stays.
Each of the six customer service members I spoke with said they would "take care" of the error, and "get back to me". No one did- not one.
The last woman actually thought it was appropriate to ask me if I actually stayed at the hotel with my husband, or did I just "use his number." I was absolutely shocked that Starwood customer service feels the need to question the honesty of its most loyal customers, as well as asking about sleeping status of its guests. Finally I called corporate headquarters (number listed on their website) and got the problem fixed.
Never have I encountered such bad customer service.
Interestingly enough, I found this post by searching "Starwood" because I was looking for a Starwood hotel in Maui- since my dollars get translated into British Airways milage. I currently have tentitive reservations at Kea Lani, and was unsure of which way to go. After reading this post, I am not sure it would be worth staying with Starwood, because I just don't have the fight left in me to fight for the miles we would have earned.