Marriott Rewards (including Ritz-Carlton) - Expectations for Concierge Lounge

Seems like the offerings at the Marriott Lounge are becoming non existant. At a full Service hotel in Tampa now and they close the lounge on Friday after breakfast at 9:30am. They don't even have a bag of chips/pretzels out or available. No resorts and no weekends and now no Fridays? Really at some point the lack of advantages of being platinum are going to make me take my business elsewhere. I can see closing for Friday evening, but is really that hard to put out some dry foods for people that can't get to breakfast (meetings) or want a snack before heading home for the weekend.

I would say I am batting about .250 that a hotel I am staying at having an open lounge while I am there. At many other brands that # would be closer to 80%+

Having a hard time seeing how Marriott is rewarding me for my loyalty. How can Delta offer a Free open bar at a lounge and we can't get peanuts.

I have found that international Marriott FS properties and their lounges are awesome, but when it comes to 3rd world America not so. It is really quite sad IMO.

Fortunately most of my stays are overseas so I am very happy with the Marriotts I have frequented and have minimal experience with US properties.

When I do stay at Marriott Properties in the US, they are usually in better condition than the competitors' properties, and/or the only and/or most affordable properties where I am staying, and I also have some status and can earn points at a better earn/burn ratio than competitors. The only properties I frequent in the US are the Vail Marriott Resort 1 or 2 nights a year and can usually get a great price, Hawaii resorts specifically JW Ihilani and other Oahu properties for which I also end up getting pretty good rate, and airport hotels (SEA and LAX).

The only ones that have lounges are the airport hotels and quite often my flight times mean they are of little use. SEA in January I arrive at 10:05 PM and my flight the next morning is at 8:10 AM so my choices in the morning are Marriott Lounge or AS Lounge, no doubt I will drop my both if the Marriott lounge is open at 6 AM but very briefly. LAX I haven't stayed at in a couple years and only do so if my LA friends are not in town and I have to do an overnight from Asia/OZ on my way home to WAS. BTW, LAX Ren lounge is nice and food offering were good the last time I stayed there a couple years ago.

Seems like the offerings at the Marriott Lounge are becoming non existant. At a full Service hotel in Tampa now and they close the lounge on Friday after breakfast at 9:30am. They don't even have a bag of chips/pretzels out or available. No resorts and no weekends and now no Fridays? Really at some point the lack of advantages of being platinum are going to make me take my business elsewhere. I can see closing for Friday evening, but is really that hard to put out some dry foods for people that can't get to breakfast (meetings) or want a snack before heading home for the weekend.

I would say I am batting about .250 that a hotel I am staying at having an open lounge while I am there. At many other brands that # would be closer to 80%+

Having a hard time seeing how Marriott is rewarding me for my loyalty. How can Delta offer a Free open bar at a lounge and we can't get peanuts.

Which full service marriott hotel are you staying? I am staying at Marriott Westshore (near Tampa Airport), and I found the lounge to be great. I can't comment on friday afternoon since I aways check out friday morning, but I can access the lounge 24/7 with my key from monday to friday morning. I always see non-alchoholic beverages available and some fruits.

As for Delta lounge, most Delta sky club offer mixed nuts in the jar where you can help yourself, no?

No resorts and no weekends and now no Fridays?

At virtually very FS Marriott in the US I've stayed, the lounge will close after breakfast on Fridays and not reopen until Sunday. So what's new? :confused:

At virtually very FS Marriott in the US I've stayed, the lounge will close after breakfast on Fridays and not reopen until Sunday. So what's new? :confused:That has been my experience with US based Marriott's as well.

My expectations are for them to be open

that's something that still needs to be addressed

if the Marriott you intend to stay at follows the rules, think your expections are NOT going to be met...............

My expectations are for them to be open
that's something that still needs to be addressed

I rarely stay on the weekends so that is no concern of me but I am getting annoyed with more and more moving to the 9:30am closing.

are you referring to a Friday, or other?

here in Asia, it's generally 10-10:30 with 11:00 on weekends/ holidays........ and, except for Seoul, even these times have been flexible to the + side

I rarely stay on the weekends so that is no concern of me but I am getting annoyed with more and more moving to the 9:30am closing.

I would suggest anyone disappointed with US lounge offerings not visit the lounge at the JW Bangkok. That lounge knocked our socks off.

At virtually very FS Marriott in the US I've stayed, the lounge will close after breakfast on Fridays and not reopen until Sunday. So what's new? :confused:

+1

IMO, a lounge is no longer a major benefit of the Marriott program. Between the limited hours and offerings....meh.

I would suggest anyone disappointed with US lounge offerings not visit the lounge at the JW Bangkok. That lounge knocked our socks off.

Show off.... next you'll be bringing up Phuket.
;-)

I would agree, except for the fact that NONE of the Marriotts in Phuket have a lounge!

Show off.... next you'll be bringing up Phuket.
;-)

Show off.... next you'll be bringing up Phuket.
;-)

Be were there 5 nights last year. We were able to almost eat every meal in that lounge. The food, atmosphere, and service were wonderful.

We were fortunate to be able to travel there. I am looking forward to returning.

It's more the norm for the int'l lounges to be open on weekends, and oftentimes domestic ones are not. However, some domestic ones are open on weekends, or if they're not, then they offer brekkie coupons, and/or might have the lounge key accessible for soft drinks.

To check on an individual property, please check the exec lounge sticky.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-rewards/1078647-master-thread-domestic-international-executive-lounges-open-closed-weekends.html

Those that do close on weekends usually close after breakfast on Friday (breakfast closing time varies) & reopens Sunday evening (usually at 5-6pm).

Cheers.

are you referring to a Friday, or other?

here in Asia, it's generally 10-10:30 with 11:00 on weekends/ holidays........ and, except for Seoul, even these times have been flexible to the + side

Several I stay at stop serving breakfast at 9:30am when it used to be 10:00am.

Show off.... next you'll be bringing up Phuket.
;-)

I am going to Hong Kong and Phuket. JW in HK and Renaissance Resort in Phuket. The lounge in the JW sounds amazing.

Between this and the fact that it just seems that Hilton seems to have properties all over the place and Marriotts are lagging behind, I find myself wondering more and more if HH is he way to go....

At virtually very FS Marriott in the US I've stayed, the lounge will close after breakfast on Fridays and not reopen until Sunday. So what's new? :confused:

Yep, it's been that way within North America since the start of the program. Sometimes the lounge is left open with drinks available, but breakfast food stops Friday morning and resumes Sunday evening. A few properties remain open on the weekends, but they are the exception to the rule here.

Asia is amazing. Going to Bangkok next week, and the exec lounge is like a restaurant.

Billy

Several I stay at stop serving breakfast at 9:30am when it used to be 10:00am.

Breakfast has ended at 9 am at Tysons Corner Marriott and Fairfax Marriott at Fair Oaks for as long as I can remember. The one difference is that the staff at Fairfax Marriott at Fair Oaks will start taking food away right at 9 am while the concierge at Tysons Corner Marriott starts clearing away dirty plates at 9 am. Basically, you have an extra 5-15 minutes to grab food at the Tysons Corner Marriott.

The other thing I have noticed lately is that the offerings at the Tysons Corner Marriott have improved a bit. For breakfast, they are now adding one extra item (bacon, smoked salmon, pancakes, or ham was what they offered depending on the day) to go along with the usual scrambled eggs, turkey cold cuts, oatmeal, fresh fruit, cereal and pastries. They have offered soup in the evening snacks for a few months, and it seems like the evening snacks have also gotten a little bit better as well.

Between this and the fact that it just seems that Hilton seems to have properties all over the place and Marriotts are lagging behind, I find myself wondering more and more if HH is he way to go....

AFAIK, Marriott has more properties/brands than Hilton, especially int'ly.

Also, if you're Marriott Gold you still get exec lounge access, regardless of what room/floor you're in. I think if you're Hilton Gold you only get it if you're upgraded to the exec level. Diamonds it might be more of a wash between the two.

Cheers.

AFAIK, Marriott has more properties/brands than Hilton, especially int'ly.

Also, if you're Marriott Gold you still get exec lounge access, regardless of what room/floor you're in. I think if you're Hilton Gold you only get it if you're upgraded to the exec level. Diamonds it might be more of a wash between the two.

Cheers.

Just seems to me that everywhere I've been internationally (and granted it's not been a ton) HH has a property, and Marriott doesn't. Plus there seem to be Hamptons and HGI's popping up all over the place. For instance, there are no less than 3 HH properties within 10 minutes of my house, and they're also putting up a new one. Only 1 Marriott property. Now, obviously nobody needs a hotel within 10 minutes of their house usually but it's been a bit of a microcosm of what I've been experiencing lately.

Plus the double-dip (miles/points) kind of intrigues me too.

I am going to Hong Kong and Phuket. JW in HK and Renaissance Resort in Phuket. The lounge in the JW sounds amazing.

Lounges in Hong Kong are amazing at almost all Marriott Properties.
Recently stayed at the Marriott Hong Kong Sky City by the airport and Asia World Expo and the lounge was great.
Open all day, every day, 7 days a week. Full continential breakfast buffet with International and Asian options.
Refreshments and snacks throughout the day and a full hors d'oeuvre buffet in the evening with free cocktails. They had close to 10 different dishes for the hors d'oeuvres. That should be the standard for Marriott Lounges both international and domestic.

Lounges in Hong Kong are amazing at almost all Marriott Properties.
Recently stayed at the Marriott Hong Kong Sky City by the airport and Asia World Expo and the lounge was great.
Open all day, every day, 7 days a week. Full continential breakfast buffet with International and Asian options.
Refreshments and snacks throughout the day and a full hors d'oeuvre buffet in the evening with free cocktails. They had close to 10 different dishes for the hors d'oeuvres. That should be the standard for Marriott Lounges both international and domestic.

Yeah, we recently stayed at a downtown Ren. on a weekend for 89 dollars a night. We are just not going to get 100 bucks worth of food and drinks for an 89 dollar rate, how would they stay in business?

At virtually very FS Marriott in the US I've stayed, the lounge will close after breakfast on Fridays and not reopen until Sunday. So what's new? :confused:

+1

The lounge is closed on weekends.
Friday evening is the start of the weekend.

Checkout time is noon.
So as far as I can tell, breakfast would be the last thing before the weekend.


Am I missing something from the OP?

Just seems to me that everywhere I've been internationally (and granted it's not been a ton) HH has a property, and Marriott doesn't.

Where I travel int'ly & domestically, there's usually a Marriott AND a Hilton property. There usually aren't Starwood or Hyatts at all, or if there are, there might be 1-2 & Marriott/Hilton will have 8-10.

If you think Hilton might meet your needs better, then go for Hilton Diamond & drop to Marriott Gold. Hilton Gold doesn't get you much, whereas Marriott Gold still gets you lounge access.

Cheers.

Which full service marriott hotel are you staying? I am staying at Marriott Westshore (near Tampa Airport), and I found the lounge to be great. I can't comment on friday afternoon since I aways check out friday morning, but I can access the lounge 24/7 with my key from monday to friday morning. I always see non-alchoholic beverages available and some fruits.

As for Delta lounge, most Delta sky club offer mixed nuts in the jar where you can help yourself, no?

The wings were good tonight :)

I find the lounges to be very beneficial for weekday breakfast. Though I don't get the honor bar or actual bar setup for the evenings. I'd rather just go down to the Lobby bar and mingle with the rif raf where it is much more entertaining. I also don't like the fact that the lounges are closed on weekends. As I said, having a quick and easy breakfast in the lounge is extremely convenient and the absence of that on the weekends in annoying. And not all hotels will give you a voucher.

agree that lounges being open on weekend would be an advantage to me and maybe not too costly for marriott?

having an open lounge would definitely cause me to stay at a Marriott when on holiday or going into manhattan for a show or ballet then staying over

Where I travel int'ly & domestically, there's usually a Marriott AND a Hilton property. There usually aren't Starwood or Hyatts at all, or if there are, there might be 1-2 & Marriott/Hilton will have 8-10.

If you think Hilton might meet your needs better, then go for Hilton Diamond & drop to Marriott Gold. Hilton Gold doesn't get you much, whereas Marriott Gold still gets you lounge access.

Cheers.

Eh - a recent upcoming stay I have to PIT next week, all the HH properties except the Hampton were 50%+ more expensive than the Marriotts. I'm staying in a SHS and the equivalent HGI was way more.

Maybe I remember now why I stay in Marriott :D

Eh - a recent upcoming stay I have to PIT next week, all the HH properties except the Hampton were 50%+ more expensive than the Marriotts. I'm staying in a SHS and the equivalent HGI was way more.

Maybe I remember now why I stay in Marriott :D
Out of curiosity, I just looked up full service on the respective websites for a two day stay next Monday and Tuesday, in order from highest to lowest: Ren Pittsburgh: $299; Doubletree Hotel and Suites: $274; Marriott North: $259; Airport Embassy Suites and Marriott: $249; Airport Doubletree: $239; Marriott City Center: $229; Doubletree Meadow Lands and Greentree: $159; Doubletree Monroeville: $139. CY: $149, $159, $169, $179, $199, and $249; HGI: $189 and $199.

There are a few properties that offer weekend CL service, the only one that I've been to is the downtown Marriott in San Francisco. It's located right next to the Moscone Convention Center. The property and staff there was very nice.


We're headed out Waikiki in a few weeks (taking the kids and grandparents for the very first time). Does anyone have any experience on a good Marriott property? Does the Waikiki Marriott have a Concierge Lounge?

using Sharon's sticky (as always THXs) is always a good source for this type of info:

Honolulu-Oahu / Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort & Spa /
NO LOUNGE; No Coupons; 02/12 update

Does the Waikiki Marriott have a Concierge Lounge?

All HI Marriotts are resorts. No CL. No breakfast per MR T&C for resorts. HI properties vary depending on what you are looking for. Check out the threads on HI Marriotts for more info.