What is the best way to get a free upgrade? We booked the trendy garden room before I had done a ton of research on the rooms. Spoke to people who went and booked on a whim. After all the research and participation in forums,we were even more excited to go so I decided it would be best to try and upgrade....it was freaking expensive! Like 150 more per night expensive. So what are your experiences with upgrades and whatbis the probability of us scoring one?
Hate to say it, but these days the chances are slim to none. (even when pulling strings) And that extra $150 a night, isn't far off what I have also been told to. That's just too high to even really start negotiations at all, so I just get annoyed and give up easily. It does happen sometimes, but mostly the best success stories I heard are people upgrade to a master from a Lush tower room or beachfront suite, or from a Master to the Penthouse. Garden to Tower is basically impossible, so you might just want to use the money more wisely and think about booking another trip sooner instead. You might be able to swing a garden to ocean or garden to Jacuzzi for $50-75 a night, but at that point is it worth i? You would have been better at just booking in those classifications from the start at like a $200-$300 increase when booking. Sorry to be a downer, that's not normally my style, but I don't want to get anyone's hopes up. As I for one have fallen flat on my face with this multiple times.
I agree entirely with @ScubaSteve. For some reason, the resort has a mental block about upgrading you from outside the Tower to inside the Tower. They quoted me a ridiculous price last July when I checked in to move from Garden to Bash Tower, whereas for next April I upgraded from Lush to Master months after booking, for $150/night, which I thought was pretty good, given it is peak season. But @Jclc2010 don't be bummed about a Garden room. It's a great room category for a first trip, when you don't know even know if the resort will be your thing. I've done 6 trips in a Garden room, and frankly, you don't spend much time in it. Eat, sh*t, sleep, sex, shower (not necessarily in that order). If you don't like the location of the room they take you to, ask to move to a different room. Last July, we told them we wanted to see the room before our suitcases were taken to it. We didn't like the location, so we went back to the desk and they actually put us in an Oceanview room without telling us they were upgrading us. Not saying that will happen to you, but by all means, ask to see your Garden room before your luggage goes there. We like the wing of the Relax building that faces the sexy pool and gym, as it is very central.
We like the ocean view rooms...but the room really doesn’t matter much to us. It’s just a place to sleep and shower until it’s time to go to the pool, dinner or Bash.
You can always roll the dice and ask when you check in or a couple days before the trip. We got lucky twice and scored an upgrade to a Lush (from Bash) and Penthouse (from Lush) for $50 and $75 respectively. Another trip they would not budge from $200 from Lush to a Master so we passed. It’s a gamble though. Just be ready to walk away.
Trendy Oceanview can mean "if you look all the way to your left/right while leaning over your balcony, you can see a sliver of ocean through the palm trees". We never book Oceanview for this reason. You never know how good the view will be from the rando OV room you get assigned. The free upgrade we received to Oceanview in July was a room with this kind of "ocean view". If seeing the ocean from your room is important to you, I recommend booking the Tower. Otherwise, I would arrange to stay on referral in a Garden room to get some Premier perks, including free access to Sky, where you can get your fill of an ocean view.
