Originally Posted by
Horace
I guess I don't see Courtyard as the lone "brand right in the middle of the Marriott lineup where elite status means nothing."
How are other Marriott "select service" brands -- Fairfield Inns, SpringHhill Suites, AC Hotels, Moxy Hotels -- better for Rewards Elite guests than Courtyard? Does status really mean "something" at these?
Fairfield and SpringHill include breakfast in the room rate for all guests. AC and Moxy do not include breakfast for any guests (unless the guest has booked a special room rate that includes breakfast).
Perhaps I should rephrase: I think of Courtyard as one of Marriott's primary brands, alone in the middle of the "heritage" lineup in terms of getting no elite benefits. We're about to have 30-whatever brands in a combined program and there are certainly lots of others with no elite benefits (Ritz, the timeshare brands, etc.).
If there are one day 1000 AC and 1000 Moxy, then perhaps I'll think of them differently. I've stayed in Moxy and actually quite enjoyed it - I went out of my way to try it, knowing full well that I'd get no benefits by staying there. I felt it was unique enough that I've actually gone back two more times, consciously trading breakfast for free pinball and videogames (we all have our price
). Again, if there were hundreds of them my perception might change: I can't really say. I give Moxy a pass because it's weird and cool. Courtyard is not.
When I've stayed in Spain to date, it's been in FS Marriotts and Westins. I have no opinion about AC, other than I'm glad it's there as a mid-category option. I've seen a couple new ones outside of Spain, but have not yet tried one.