Awful property
As someone reasonably new to Marriott (I'm an SPG ambassador refugee), I decided to book into this hotel (a one-bedroom suite) earlier this week at the last minute as travel plans changed. I was extremely disappointed. There was zero recognition (despite my SPG Ambassador having contacted the hotel earlier in the day to let them know I was coming - a nice touch from her; a great Ambassador). The door to the living room was open when I arrived and it looked like it hadn't been serviced in a while. The room was dirty (dust on surfaces, cobwebs on walls, patio furniture randomly thrown around the terrace), poorly lit (no lights in the hallway or kitchenette). There was zero service. I rang room service five times to get a cup of tea but no-one bothered answering. I eventually went down to the lounge but of course my key didn't work (despite staying in the top suite of the hotel, which was advertised with lounge access, and being plat (and soon to be ambassador) status. I tailgated a nice lady but there were no tea bags. So I went to reception but the chap was gormless. I asked for the duty manager, who apologised and went off to find me a cup of tea. It eventually arrived in the room 50 minutes later. There was only a hand towel in the bathroom. I had asked for a room with a bath, so was very disappointed when the room turned out only to have an extremely small shower cubicle. The bed was so uncomfortable I couldn't sleep so at about 11pm I left and went elsewhere. I've written to the GM and got a dismissive response from someone in customer services offering me a couple of points "for my inconvenience", which was rather derisory in the circumstances. I made a huge mistake not staying at the excellent Wellesley hotel in Knightsbridge. I won't be making that mistake again. If all Marriotts are like this, and they continue the trend of moving their managers into ex-Starwood hotels, it does not bode well. If it infects St Regis and Luxury Collection, I can see myself transferring a lot of business over to Four Seasons.