7
Feb
The W Fort Lauderdale offers Starwood Platinum guests a unique opportunity. They do not offer complimentary breakfast, discounts to the spa, a memorable welcome amenity, nor evening happy hour. The true value proposition in staying at the W Fort Lauderdale as a Starwood Platinum guest, and the reason the hotel was selected for this super bowl weekend, comes in the quantity and quality of rooms available in the upgrade pool.
The W Fort Lauderdale has an entire tower of 1 and 2 Bedroom flats that were originally built as W Residences (that I do not believe sold) but are currently in the upgrade pool for those with elite status.
Celebrating the Super Bowl in style
The Selection
To celebrate the Super Bowl in style, four of us decided to meet up and enjoy the game together at a hotel. We selected the W Fort Lauderdale because of the unique pool of upgrades this hotel offers. We secretly hoped for an upgrade to support all of us comfortably in one room and save some precious SPG points amongst us. Paying for one room on points instead of two just means we get to take one more award trip in the near future! (March Madness Anyone?). We were very thankful to be placed in a 1500+ square foot 2 bedroom Marvelous Flat for our five night stay. I was flipping through a local newspaper after check in and noticed several W residences with identical layout to our upgraded room on a lower floor were starting at 1.04 Million Dollars. It was truly a Super Bowl-sized upgrade for Super Bowl Weekend.
The Redemption
The W Fort Lauderdale is a category 5 SPG hotel so an award night costs 12k in low season and 16k in high season. Given last weekend was still low season, we booked 5 award nights taking advantage of SPG’s 5th Night Free policy. This brought the effective award cost per night down to 9600 Points Per Night. A pretty exceptional value for a full 2 bedroom Ocean View condo that sleeps 4. After this weekend, I am now 3 for 3 on upgrades of various stay lengths in low and high season into the spacious 2 bedroom flats at the W Fort Lauderdale.
The Room
The full kitchen, dining room, laundry, and separate bath and bedrooms make this unique upgrade ideal when traveling in a group of our size. Here are a few shots from the room (before the aftermath of watching the game).
Living Area
Full Kitchen
Master Bedroom
Master Bedroom and Master Bathroom
Master Bathroom
Living Area
Large Balcony
Ocean View facing East
Canal View facing West
In-Unit Laundry
The Bottom Line
The W Fort Lauderdale delivered once again on a Super Bowl-sized upgrade. The quantity and quality of rooms available in the upgrade pool should put this hotel towards the top of mind when seeking that special upgrade.
Jimgotkp said,
Very nice suite.
infamousdx said,
Wow what an amazing upgrade!
jcmitchell21 said,
What are the chances of getting a 2-bed flat in June?
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alex said,
@jcmitchell21 – The three months in which I was successful were February, April, and May. The W Fort Lauderdale has no peak season higher priced awards listed for 2012 so that indicates to me they may have good availability this year. There were peak awards for over 1/3 of the year in 2011. Of course, YMMV.
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