Centurion - Mandarin Hotels

[Bazz]

I, like most of you Centurions, have received today in the mail, the Mandarin Centurion flyer. Having read it carefully, partly because I have been trying to book a couple of nights in San Fran early next year through Centurion, was disappointed to see the flyer made no mention of the upgrade at the time of booking being a "guaranteed" benefit (subject to availability - naturally).

So I called Centurion and spoke to a guy called Aide (Adrian?), he admitted he didn't know about the offer but said he would check and find out if the guaranteed upgrade was still part of the package - having checked, he said it was!

I am still a little sceptical so will reserve judgement until after I have actually booked and received the benefit. I didn't particularly like the SF MO policy of discounting the rack rate to reflect an upgrade allowance rather than giving you an upgrade.

Any other feedback would be welcome.

[RichardMannion]

Originally posted by Bazz
I, like most of you Centurions, have received today in the mail, the Mandarin Centurion flyer. Having read it carefully, partly because I have been trying to book a couple of nights in San Fran early next year through Centurion, was shocked to see the flyer made no mention of the guaranteed upgrade at the time of booking (subject to availability - naturally).

So I called Centurion and spoke to a guy called Aide, he admitted he didn't know about the offer but said he would check and find out if the guaranteed upgrade was still part of the package - having checked, he said it was!

I am still a little sceptical so will reserve judgement until after I have actually booked and received the benefit.

Any other feedback would be welcome.

Oh for goodness sake, not another monkey at Centurion who doesn't know one of the core benefits. I lost it with them last time I called about using my free night at a MO property, they had no idea about the benefit - they asked if 'that was using miles?' FFS. These people don't deserve to work in Centurion, they should be sent across the road to work with Corporate Travel, they'd fit right in - Centurion Travel people should be the creme de la creme of travel staff, proven in other areas of the business first.

Anyway, I digress. One thing I would watch for at MO in regards to 'upgrades' is the definition of an upgrade - if you go look at the room rates at any MO you will see the categories and you will move up one - so you may move from a City View to a Deluxe City View (difference being minimal in some cases). If you want a suite, you will need to book the highest category of room. It will vary by property as some will move you more than one category but they are not contractually obliged to. I had a 'long' discussion with a certain MO property about this practice - explained to them that when I check in for a flight, they don't tell me that I've been upgraded from an Aisle to a Window seat. Personally I'm not too fussed on a view, I prefer more space and a decent office setup, and the hotel took note and rectified the situation.

Thanks,
Richard