Platinum 100 night ambassador

[pleffer]

All,
About to hit 100 nights with SPG for the year and will get the personal ambassador for the first time.

I'm wondering if anybody can share their experiences good bad or indifferent.

I'm wondering if it's like P1 in Qantas where there was a noticeable difference or is it more marketing hype?

 

[samh004]

I look forward to hearing about this, after only reading about it the other day myself.

Congrats!

 

[Alanslegal]

Don't think you will find many Ambassador Platinum members here. Best bet for actual experiences would be over at FT.

 

[brideshead]

I've had an ambassador since Jan this year so not a long time experience. However my impressions are mixed.

Good points:
- Birthday gift - box of TWG tea, arrived late but it wasn't expected and a nice touch. Also got a cake the stay after my birthday which I think she probably arranged.
- After I've booked an itinerary I provided my rough arrival and departure times and my ambassador goes through and books all the Your24 requests, which saves a lot of time for me.
- Will also book arrival transfers etc with the hotel which can save me a bit of effort going through the concierge desk and presumably my request gets priority.
- On occasions she has helped me to book certain rates direct with the hotel e.g. for a spa rate which needed a deposit on the hotel website she got them to give me the rate without the deposit.

Disappointments:
- Despite the promise to move heaven and earth, in reality the 'power' of the ambassador is limited. For example twice when I've tried to book hotels that are sold out the ambassador hasn't been able to obtain rooms.
- No noticeable improvements in room upgrades; it's not as though suddenly I am getting suites on every stay

So in a word mixed. Sure the service can save some effort and time by outsourcing some tasks to the ambassador but I'm not sure it's been worth the extra 25 nights beyond Plat 75. I doubt I will reach 100 nights this year as I've moved a lot of stays elsewhere.