Marriott Germany Experiences
May 22, 2007, 9:00 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: SAN
Programs: DL MM, Marriott LT Titanium, AA EXP, Avis Chairmans
Posts: 1,399
Marriott Germany Experiences
I am currently in the middle of a 2.5 week trip through Germany and Austria where I'm staying at three different Marriott properties: Marriott Frankfurt, Renaissance Munich, and Courtyard Marriott Berlin Mitte. I have a few complaints. Marriott Frankfurt was actually the only one that I think lived up to the Marriott name, and I didn't have any complaints. They even gave me free high speed internet, even though regular price was something like $22 Euro a day.
Renaissance Munich:
1. No Air Conditioning. Thankfully the weather was not too hot, so I wasn't roasting. There's no way in hell I'd stay there in July/August. The hotel staff said they have been "screaming" for A/C, since the staff has to suffer through the summer. The regular room rate is $334 Euro and I can't imagine paying that with no A/C.
2. The ceiling fan in the room was very noisey and unbalanced. It made a continual cyclic humming sound..like a cheapo fan that was about to die.
3. Bathroom sink drain was terribly slow; water would easily back up. They did fix this the next day though.
4. No free high speed internet. $35 Euro for 3 days.
Courtyard Berlin Mitte:
1. The free internet is only 128Kbps, while you have to pay $17 Euro a day for high speed internet. Free internet only lasts an hour, then it kicks you off and you have to login again. ...!
1. Arrived Monday afternoon to find out the internet was dead due to a router that was fried. No internet at all! No ETA on when it would be resolved. Called the front desk Tueday morning, internet still dead. STSN tech support says could be tomorrow before its back up, or later. Spoke to the manager and explained this situation was unacceptable. She called the Marriott in Berlin to see if they had space for me, and didn't. She then contacted the Ritz Carlton and they did have space, but would not match the room rate so would have cost me vastly more money to switch.
Spent over and hour total on tech support with STSN to figure out how to escalate the issue. No one had an ETA. Now by Tuesday afternoon the internet is back up. There's no way in hell I'm paying $17 Euro a day, so I'm limping along with the 128K/1Hr service.
2. Staff was not warm and friendly at the reception desk. Did not recognize my Gold status, except for the special card key jacket. Don't think the girl smiled at all.
3. Bed is hard as a rock. The hotel was built in 2005 and it says they have the new linen set. But boy this bed is about the worst I've felt in years at any Marriott.
So out of all my stays, I would steer away from the Munich Renaissance and the Berlin Mitte Courtyard.
Renaissance Munich:
1. No Air Conditioning. Thankfully the weather was not too hot, so I wasn't roasting. There's no way in hell I'd stay there in July/August. The hotel staff said they have been "screaming" for A/C, since the staff has to suffer through the summer. The regular room rate is $334 Euro and I can't imagine paying that with no A/C.
2. The ceiling fan in the room was very noisey and unbalanced. It made a continual cyclic humming sound..like a cheapo fan that was about to die.
3. Bathroom sink drain was terribly slow; water would easily back up. They did fix this the next day though.
4. No free high speed internet. $35 Euro for 3 days.
Courtyard Berlin Mitte:
1. The free internet is only 128Kbps, while you have to pay $17 Euro a day for high speed internet. Free internet only lasts an hour, then it kicks you off and you have to login again. ...!
1. Arrived Monday afternoon to find out the internet was dead due to a router that was fried. No internet at all! No ETA on when it would be resolved. Called the front desk Tueday morning, internet still dead. STSN tech support says could be tomorrow before its back up, or later. Spoke to the manager and explained this situation was unacceptable. She called the Marriott in Berlin to see if they had space for me, and didn't. She then contacted the Ritz Carlton and they did have space, but would not match the room rate so would have cost me vastly more money to switch.
Spent over and hour total on tech support with STSN to figure out how to escalate the issue. No one had an ETA. Now by Tuesday afternoon the internet is back up. There's no way in hell I'm paying $17 Euro a day, so I'm limping along with the 128K/1Hr service.
2. Staff was not warm and friendly at the reception desk. Did not recognize my Gold status, except for the special card key jacket. Don't think the girl smiled at all.
3. Bed is hard as a rock. The hotel was built in 2005 and it says they have the new linen set. But boy this bed is about the worst I've felt in years at any Marriott.
So out of all my stays, I would steer away from the Munich Renaissance and the Berlin Mitte Courtyard.
May 22, 2007, 7:50 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2005
Location: MDW/ATL/MSY
Programs: DELTA PM, Marriott Plat, Hertz PC, etc.
Posts: 391
This one used to be a Ramada... I've always shied away from it for that reason and because they can't even make the pictures on m.com look appealing...
They certainly did not have free Internet when I stayed there! In fact, I can't think of a hotel anywhere in Europe with free Internet! That's awesome.
Agreed. The staff there is very German. I had a nice bonus bucks-related disagreement with them at checkout, which I ultimately won (correctly). They definitely have different attitudes than Marriott front desk associates in the US, but I think it's mainly a cultural difference. I would stay here again at the right price.
Agreed. The staff there is very German. I had a nice bonus bucks-related disagreement with them at checkout, which I ultimately won (correctly). They definitely have different attitudes than Marriott front desk associates in the US, but I think it's mainly a cultural difference. I would stay here again at the right price.
May 22, 2007, 8:05 pm
#3
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Somewhere in the sky or a Marriott
Programs: 7mm DM, FC, Marriott PM (lifetime), HH Diamond
Posts: 749
We have stayed at the Ren Munich several times and had excellent stays, granted they were all in the winter. We got room upgrades (we had two rooms on rewards) and there was a huge fruit and cheese basket in each room. The buffet breakfast is outstanding as is the location, just steps away from the subway.
May 23, 2007, 12:59 am
#4
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Seattle, WA USA
Posts: 90
Berlin Marriott is Awesome!
It's really too bad that the Berlin Marriott did not have room for you. I stayed there last year, and it is an awesome property. One of the best concierge lounges I've ever seen, no free high speed internet BUT there are three free computers in the concierge lounge that you can use. Staff was awesome, and location was great right at Pottsdamer Platz. The hotel is also practically brand new. So, if the Courtyard experience there is less than favorable, make tracks to the Marriott for sure!
May 23, 2007, 3:35 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: SAN
Programs: DL MM, Marriott LT Titanium, AA EXP, Avis Chairmans
Posts: 1,399
Oh, and the Courtyard messed up my wake up call this morning and I never got it. So I called the front desk and they showed it listed in the computer, but the phone never rang. They didn't really apologize and didn't seen concerned about it. Thankfully I wasn't on a tight schedule, so it wasn't critical. Now I'll use my cell phone alarm since they can't seem to get wake up calls right.
A locally owned hotel in Salzburg that I stayed at had free internet (WiFi no less), and a tiny hotel in Rothenburg had a PC you could use for free that even had a printer.
Given rates of 50 cents Euro for 30 minutes at internet places here in Berlin, it's silly they want $16 Euro or more a day at the hotel. The 128K access is decent enough for light e-mail, so I'm not giving them extra $$ for it.
A locally owned hotel in Salzburg that I stayed at had free internet (WiFi no less), and a tiny hotel in Rothenburg had a PC you could use for free that even had a printer.
Given rates of 50 cents Euro for 30 minutes at internet places here in Berlin, it's silly they want $16 Euro or more a day at the hotel. The 128K access is decent enough for light e-mail, so I'm not giving them extra $$ for it.