Staying here now as our second visit. Seems very busy — checked in a bit before 5 on a Sunday but our room wasn’t ready until closer to 6. The front desk person explained that since they are now Marriott, lounge access is no longer a Platinum benefit. You have to be on the club floor. She said going forward they will try to upgrade Platinums to the club floor, but if that doesn’t happen then you won’t get lounge access. We were disappointed to hear this, since we weren’t upgraded to a club floor room (just eventually a nice corner room by the gym). Luckily the manager was standing right there and overheard, and offered to make an exception so we could use the lounge while we waited for our room (and for the rest of our stay).

So note to self: book a club room in the future, since I wouldn’t count on an exception next time.

Oh, and the lounge itself was VERY busy and crowded, so I guess I could see why the hotel is opting to reduce the number of guests competing for the limited space there.