Ever Had An Upgrade?

[Travis & Cherie]

Hey there,
Just wondering if anyone has ever gotten An upgraded room while at CSA or any other while having thier wedding there? We only booked the atrium at CSA because it seemed to suit us for that busy week and have the BFS at CSS for the second week as more time may be spent in the room. I've heard of the ilusive upgrade but never met anyone?

[Pamela]

Upgrades, if available, are offered to Romance Rewards members who have reached the Passionate Love level. We've been at that level since the new RR program rolled out in 2008 and have visited Couples 5 times since then. We have never received an upgrade.

[Vickyj]

Upgrades are given to Romance Rewards member at Passionate Level based on availability. We have not received one, yet. Book the room you want. You most likely won't be given an upgrade unless there you are at the appropriate level and there is something to give you.

[Vee]

The elusive upgrade is more likely to go to repeat guests who are at the Passionate Love level of Romance Rewards, since it's an advertised perk. (Note: we have been at the PL level for several trips, and have never been offered an upgrade -- at ANY resort.)

That being said, our last trip to CSA, we booked the Atrium suite as well, and honestly, now that they have minibars, I don't think I would ever stay in another room. It was FABULOUS.

Enjoy your wedding.

V

[melody]

An "upgrade" from an Atrium would be a downgrade to us, no matter what room they put us in. Those are our favorites. When we first started going to CSA the Atriums were one of the expensive rooms! It's just a bonus for us now that the are the least expensive.

[tanline]

Seems sad that so many repeaters have never received an upgrade when they were at the appropriate RR level, even though it’s advertised as “when available” but I also understand that if you’ve already booked the top class room there’s nowhere to go. It would be nice to be acknowledged at check-in as a repeater and have the upgrade issue addressed. If one is not available or if you’re already at the top level they could at least tell you so, then it wouldn’t seem that they are totally disregarding something they advertised. It seems, from many posts I’ve read, that the RR program is hit and miss, some don’t receive checks, some don’t receive departure snacks, some no t-shirts, etc. Thank goodness every other part of the Couples experience is very consistent- service, food, cleanliness, beauty, and on and on…..By the way, none of the things promised in the RR program have ever determined whether we’d return to a Couples resort, I was sold before I ever became a repeater. The RR perks, aside from the possible upgrade, are more of a pleasant surprise at the time received because we had basically forgotten about them, being so wrapped up in the rest of the vacation experience. On our first trip to CN (first Couples trip) we received a one level upgrade without asking, however, on the two subsequent CN trips we received rooms that I considered to be in the absolute worst location on the property, go figure. We'd booked the lowest class room all three times so I didn't feel I had a right to complain at my poor luck on the 2nd and 3rd visits. Just know now to book a little higher category. My next trip will be the first one at passionate level so we'll see what happens, if they don't bring up the subject, I will, politely of course.

[Dawn]

An "upgrade" from an Atrium would be a downgrade to us, no matter what room they put us in. Those are our favorites. When we first started going to CSA the Atriums were one of the expensive rooms! It's just a bonus for us now that the are the least expensive.

I couldnt agree more!!

[fawnridge]

We were upgraded on our last 3 trips to CSA from the Atrium Suite that we paid for to both Ocean View and Beach Front rooms. If I could have kept our original room, I'd have given the upgrades to anyone who wanted them.

Not that there are any "bad" rooms at CSA, even the ones out near the road would please most travelers. But the Beach Front we had was right next to the Palms and the Ocean View rooms had a view of the ocean only after we did some landscape maintenance with a steak knife. (Randy - I do this sort of thing for a living, landscape maintenance, so no worries, mate.)

If Couples would notify us in advance of a pending upgrade and give us the choice of saying no thanks, there'd be more upgrades available for the folks that really want them. We don't mind the short walk to the beach and really love the high ceiling in the second floor Atrium Suites. We love the hammock on the veranda and the wonderful jungle that envelopes you at night. We're on the beach all day; don't really need any more of it at night.

[SueandBill]

We are at the Passionate Love level and did receive an upgrade at CSS in 2009. Booked an Oceanview room and were upgraded to a very lovely beachfront room in Block B.

[dirtleg]

We're all in on atrium rooms too. We have reserved one for next June. We have stayed in ocean verandah rooms for our previous trips, but decided to try something different for our trip next summer.

In answer to your question though, no. We have not recieved an upgrade, nor do I know anyone that has. We too are at the passionate level on the RR program.

Have a great trip!

[Daire]

We have never been offered an upgrade, but we would decline if we were. We love the beachfront suites at CSS & wouldn't want to stay in any other category.

[mshell]

We were given an upgrade once, and that was before the recent Romance Rewards program. We booked an Atrium and were given a Beachfront Verandah. We declined the upgrade but unfortunately they were fully booked on the "orginal side" so we tried out the BFVS for a night. The next moring I was back in the lobby seeing if any Atriums opened up. Lucky for us a whole group left that day and we were given our choice of any room we wanted. We took advantage of the opportunity and moved to one the Beachfront Suites with the large wraparound deck. Loved it!
Now that the Atrium Suites are the lowest category room I"m getting really nervous that "upgrades" will be more common. And for me any room other than a Beachfront Suite would be a downgrade. I'll be keeping a look out here on the board to see if upgrades from Atrium Suites become common. I'm thinking of asking my travel agent to make a note of "no upgrade" on my reservation.

[melody]

This is something I have been wondering about. You can't decline if they offer you an upgrade? That sucks. We book the rooms we want and do not want to be "upgraded" to something else. It seems like the upgrade is just a clever word for " Sorry, we overbooked."

We were upgraded on our last 3 trips to CSA from the Atrium Suite that we paid for to both Ocean View and Beach Front rooms. If I could have kept our original room, I'd have given the upgrades to anyone who wanted them.

Not that there are any "bad" rooms at CSA, even the ones out near the road would please most travelers. But the Beach Front we had was right next to the Palms and the Ocean View rooms had a view of the ocean only after we did some landscape maintenance with a steak knife. (Randy - I do this sort of thing for a living, landscape maintenance, so no worries, mate.)

If Couples would notify us in advance of a pending upgrade and give us the choice of saying no thanks, there'd be more upgrades available for the folks that really want them. We don't mind the short walk to the beach and really love the high ceiling in the second floor Atrium Suites. We love the hammock on the veranda and the wonderful jungle that envelopes you at night. We're on the beach all day; don't really need any more of it at night.

[Travis & Cherie]

Thanks all for all of the input, as it seems with most all of you here as well the atrium at CSA seems to be the perfect hideaway for our first week with no TV to distract you
We figured not to leave it to chance while at CSS for our second week and took the Beachfront suit so not to worry about it(hopfuly no upgrade from there!)

[Lola]

We have been at the PL Level since the current program started and have been offered a room upgrade 4 times at CN. We usually book ocean view and have been upgraded to ocean front each time. We have preregistered each time so that may help. I'm trying to recall how this has been presented to us each time but in April we were asked if this is was alright? Communication is the key. When preregistering comment if you are not interested in a room upgrade (if you are at the correct level). No problem mon!

[Vickyj]

Seems sad that so many repeaters have never received an upgrade when they were at the appropriate RR level, even though it’s advertised as “when available” but I also understand that if you’ve already booked the top class room there’s nowhere to go. It would be nice to be acknowledged at check-in as a repeater and have the upgrade issue addressed. If one is not available or if you’re already at the top level they could at least tell you so, then it wouldn’t seem that they are totally disregarding something they advertised. It seems, from many posts I’ve read, that the RR program is hit and miss, some don’t receive checks, some don’t receive departure snacks, some no t-shirts, etc. Thank goodness every other part of the Couples experience is very consistent- service, food, cleanliness, beauty, and on and on…..By the way, none of the things promised in the RR program have ever determined whether we’d return to a Couples resort, I was sold before I ever became a repeater. The RR perks, aside from the possible upgrade, are more of a pleasant surprise at the time received because we had basically forgotten about them, being so wrapped up in the rest of the vacation experience. On our first trip to CN (first Couples trip) we received a one level upgrade without asking, however, on the two subsequent CN trips we received rooms that I considered to be in the absolute worst location on the property, go figure. We'd booked the lowest class room all three times so I didn't feel I had a right to complain at my poor luck on the 2nd and 3rd visits. Just know now to book a little higher category. My next trip will be the first one at passionate level so we'll see what happens, if they don't bring up the subject, I will, politely of course.

We knew going in that an Upgrade was not available on our last visit as we looked at availability on line. Also, as for recognizing our status, I think it would be nice if, even though I know we can't request a specific room number, if we could request a specific floor or building (give 3 top choices when checking in on-line).

As for not being happy with your room, let them know. Don't stay with a room you aren't happy with just becuase you booked the lowest level.

[winlove]

This past April when we checked in at CN, we were told that we had been upgraded from Deluxe Beachfront to Garden Suite. We noted that did not sound like an upgrade and were told they weresure we would love the upgrade, but if we wanted to check out the upgrade and wanted instead the Deluxe Beachfront - no problem. Not only did we absolutely love the upgrade, we have booked it for our next trip to CN (Nov 2011).

Because Couples does not have as many different levels as some resorts, I suspect there are less upgrades.

[LisaPat]

Best chance for an upgrade at all is to book the "C"block at CSS, there are so few of this category that you are bound to get "more than you paid for" because they book up so quickly..worked for us and we had "B" block with a balcony,mini living room and jacuzzi tub...beachfront view, too =)

[Myapapya]

The only thing I want when I check in is a top floor, any building. If we get an upgrade cool, if not thats okay too. All the perks are more then enough!! Oh by the way, we usually get the top floor.