Srisarin

(1) you had no claim so you'd never have gotten the $100
(2) the property provided breakfast, but just not to your demands, so corporate wouldn't due anything
(3) the property could have cared less if you had 100 or 1000 nights at Marriott so far this year and your status got you the breakfast required that the property provided (another DYKWIA)
(4) I'll go with a combo of Carpboy and SkiA and just say kretching instead of Complaining

pmich

I'm staying at the Chicago Marriott Downtown tomorrow through the weekend. So considering it's on the list that does not offer breakfast, they are going to credit my Marriott account with 1,000 bonus points? What options do I have for breakfast then?

SkiAdcock

Eat at the hotel restaurant or go out & eat at a local place for breakfast, or sleep in & have a nice lunch somewhere instead. BTW - it's 1,000 points/night, so if you're there Fri/Sat nights you should get 2,000 points.

Cheers.

milesmutt

Hey, I've grown to like SkiAdcock's use of the word brekkie, and I haven't been here all that long! I'll admit the first time I read it I kinda did a "huh?" reaction and furrowed my brows.

But it really sort of became endearing to her posts. Keep it going Sharon!

Anyway, back on topic, I saw that the Monterey Marriott is on that list of properties that give points in lieu of breakfast. I stay there a lot, and let the concierge know of my disappointment
at this revelation when I stayed there last Friday night (was the first time I stayed on a weekend night). She promptly issued a card for me to use for a complimentary breakfast for Saturday.
It helped that I am PP and she knew that too, and I'd much rather take the breakfast (which is very good there) than the points, since I already accrue a ton of points. Additionally,
I always get the full breakfast rather than the continental variety.

My guess is if you know people at hotels you stay at frequently, they'll usually try and make things happen for you.

BrightlyBob

Hi, one of Sharon's Brits here.

Now she's a good type, but alas, as we well know, Americans like to "re-spell" English words, centre and colour to name but 2, but as any Brit knows, the correct spelling of breakfast is brekky, but I enjoy Americas flexible spelling, so skiadcock gets points (but not 750!) for trying

As already raised and answered, the choice is between 750 points or daily breakfast. Wording on one part of the Marriott website states continental, elsewhere its undefined, nowhere does it refer to "full".

The Glasshouse in Edinburgh is a boutique property, a truly unique place, and very much reflective of modern Edinburgh. The traditional Scottish breakfast, and my daily start, is porridge. Standard breakfast for all guests on a B&B package is porridge, served to your table, sugared, cinnammoned or syrupped to order and a cold buffet. A £5 supplement gets you a cooked-to-order breakfast including choice of eggs, local sausages, black pudding, back bacon, haggis, beans and tomato - it's the best breakfast in any Marriott brand property I've ever stayed at.

As for other complaints directed against this property, Valet parking is very rare in the UK, even at the American brands. Hotel bars in the UK are traditionally small, just a corner for a half-dozen adults to get away from the kids and turndown is just that, close curtains and turndown the beds. Chocolates, disposable slippers, cookies and milk have been imported across the pond from the USA.

The Glasshouse kvetchers don't seem to "get" the Autograph brand - unique and distinctive properties reflecting local culture - the Glasshouse does exactly that. If you're looking for the cookie-cutter Marriott experience (and nothing wrong with that - I've enjoyed probably 500 such nights) then the Edinburgh Marriott near the airport provides it, as I'm sure does both the Residence Inn and the Courtyard. But at Autograph you have to expect something different. The Glasshouse is that - as I might add are the Autographs in Houston (Icon) and Budapest (Boscolo).

GoPhils

To be fair and as someone mentioned previously, I think the T&C (at least the "main" one that the Marriott Rewards website page links you to), does intend the breakfast in Europe to be "full."

If it was intended to be continental for all three of US/Canada/Europe, then wouldn't they just put it all in the same sentence? Do no lounges in Europe close on weekends? That might be the only other reason for separating it out.

It then lists the hotels in the US that don't provide breakfast, and then goes on to the specifics of the guarantee which is where I think it gets even more murky:

Bolding mine:So does the seemingly-implied full breakfast in Europe count as an "exception outlined above," or are they just referring to the hotels that do not offer any breakfast at all?

sdsearch

Do you understand the origin of the term "continental" as applied to breakfast? Guess which "continent" it refers to? Europe, of course (the mainland, ie, not counting the British Isles or Scandinavia). So perhaps Marriott knows that, and figured the term "continental" breakfast is only used outside of Europe, and that it shouldn't be used within Europe (and thus in a description of what you get in Europe)?

I presume it refers to the breakfasts that are typical in southern Europe, which are cold and often limited to something like breads and spreads for them (that's certainly what I got in small indie hotels in Italy).

But I doubt the people in the areas of "mainland" Europe where continental breakfasts rule call them "continental".

GoPhils

No, I never cared to find out where the term "continental breakfast" came from (until now I guess). But still, wouldn't the fact that according to reports in this thread most full-service MR properties in Europe do in fact provide "full/American/English/whatever you want to call it" breakfast contradict with the fact that a "continental" breakfast is supposedly what is standard there?

PHLGovFlyer

Don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate practically all* of Sharon's contributions here. She's a bit of a superstar on the MR forum. However, my mother majored in English at Radcliffe so I grew up with little fondness for slang.

I'll also add that I'm not fond of the use of the word "Champers" for Champagne on FT. So "champers" with "brekkie" would be particularly cringe worthy.

*pretty much everything except the extensive use of the word "Brekkie".

SkiAdcock

That would be Buck's Fizz or Mimosa depending on which side of the pond I'm on

Cheers.

PHLGovFlyer

Champagne with breakfast is a wonderful thing...

DELee

Champagne for breakfast is an even more wonderful thing...

David

sdsearch

You're missing an important point. The Marriott standards are minimums. So it doesn't matter (with respect to figuring out what the standards are) what "most" full-service MR properties in Europe do. It matters whether there is one or more exceptions to that (ie, is there any full-service Marriott in Europe that only gives continental breakfast?).

Ie, is the minimum standard for Marriott full-service properties "full" breakfast, or is it only "continental" breakfast but "most" properties are going beyond the minimum?

Hotels do go beyond the minimum sometimes, maybe often. For example, Courtyard T&Cs are written based on most Courtyards not having a full restaurant, and thus "no breakfast for elites". But some individual Courtyards that do have a restaurant do give some sort of breakfast free to elites, even though per the T&Cs they don't have to.

So I can equally imagine that maybe European full-service Marriotts don't have to give full breakfast per the T&Cs, but most do so anyway. But just because most do doesn't prove that every single one does.

Meanwhile, I didn't say breads with spreads are "standard" breakfast in high-end hotels in Italy. I just said they seem to be the standard breakfast in most hotels in Italy (most hotels in Italy being smaller indie hotels). High-end hotels may cater to international travelers and thus provide different food than the average smaller hotel.

But I know it's not a question of smaller hotels everywhere giving smaller breakfasts, because smaller hotels in Scandinavia give huge breakfast buffets, which are even better IMHO than many FS Marriott buffets elsewhere.

aaupgrade

A bit of perspective is in order. With the globalization, the "standard" breakfast in continental Europe has changed considerably from the time in the mid 19th century when the British coined the term "Continental Breakfast" to differentiate the breakfast commonly served in continental Europe to that of the full English breakfast served in the UK. Even as recently as the mid to late 1960s when I lived in Germany, finding eggs on the menu in continental Europe was extremely rare with the exception of soft boiled eggs in the Netherlands which were served upon request and complemented the "continental" breakfast. Of course there were no Marriott or Starwood properties to be found then either. With the throngs of North American tourists, and their hotel chains, eggs are now commonly served in many hotels in continental Europe, Asia and the rest of the world.

SkiAdcock

There's an AC property opening in California & one of its rates is European Breakfast Rate for 2 (kids under 12 eat free). Under the details it says this:

"European Breakfast Fare, includes breakfast for 2 adults and children 12 and under daily at Hotel Restaurant, see Rate details

Additional Information
AC Hotels welcome you to start each day with a breakfast "reflective of its European origins. Freshly baked French croissants, Iberico ham, selection of cheeses, savory egg tarts and egg dishes, yogurts, muesli, fresh fruit, Nespresso coffee and other breakfast fare "

Cheers.