$189 per night. - not a bad rate?

Gold Elite. - ok??

No upgrade. - pretty standard if you opt for Marriott properties, nothing new here. Try being a higher status and never getting upgrades.

Small room with a very small, dated bathroom. - Depends what you call small, dated bathroom, hopefully they are on the renovation list

Bathroom didn't have lotion, ear buds, shower cap. - lotion can easily be obtained at front desk. ear buds / shower cap....think I've seen those only in 2 or 3 hotels out of my 100+ nights last year. not a norm

Towels were old and thin. Actually a bit nasty to use. - probably unacceptable. would be curious why they are not using marriott standard - may be worth writing in about

Lounge available but closed on weekends. - very standard that lounge is closed on weekend

No happy hour. - why would that be expected?

No mini-bar. - many marriott hotels don't have a mini-bar?

Am I missing something? - I personally think you have some high expectations for Marriott properties. A lot of what you mention is the norm

For $200 a night in Detroit, I'd expect a bit more effort. - no offense to those in Michigan, but it is Detroit.

Is this the new norm? this has been the norm for quite some time for US based properties