Originally Posted by alemaz8

Lifetime Platinum member, 22 year with Marriott. Had difficult experience with Sheraton property in Milan earlier this month followed by shocking experience with Marriott Customer Support.

Earlier this month we checked into Sheraton, I left to park my car and left my two kids in the room with Do Not Disturb sign on it. That was enough for security to enter our room despite the DND sign. There was no emergency of any kind, but they wanted to recheck the registration of the guests. My 9-year-old was left frightened and in tears as after banging on the door the door got open and someone intruded into the room.

That was definitely a super bad start and since we were still not unpacked we decided to leave the property immediately and switch to another Marriott property on the other side of the city (yes, staying loyal). The receptionist (young man) who had checked me in verbally confirmed twice clearly said "OK" to me saying that I would like to cancel the room as I just checked in and it was reserved just a few hours before arrival. No harm to the property as the hotel had plenty of rooms available.

The hotel subsequently denied that any cancellation agreement was ever reached. In their written response the hotel referred to the receptionist who checked us in as female. So, they could not even get their side of the story straight. They also accused that we used bathroom, which was a totally wrong claim.

After my demand to speak to the General Manager on this topic the Director of Operations partially apologized and transferred 5,000 Bonvoy points to my account. However he kept the one-night charge of €144 for a room we did not sleep in. He waived the city tax— basically acknowledging no overnight stay occurred — yet charged for the room.

I filed a formal complaint with Marriott Customer Support. Past the promised response deadline I received nothing. When I called to follow up I was told the case had already been closed — the hotel "acted per policy." No written notification had been sent. The conversation with Customer Support and what I read here on the forum became shocking to me. Marriott Customer Support did not care and basically forwarded the case back to the hotel even though that I clearly stated that I did not have a satisfactory resolution with them.

So, first shock is that Sheraton does NOT treat the DND sign as offering guests any meaningful privacy or protection.

Second shock is that Marriott Customer Support demonstrated complete disinterest in this case and basically left everything in that Sheraton's hands. I suddenly realized that I am not really valued and Booking.com provides more care and protection. They totally did not care that I paid to the Marriott chain that night anyways - at another Marriott property. So, ended basically double-charged by the Marriott network.

Has anyone navigated a similar situation successfully? Is Marriott really that bad or I just had a glitch from them? Is there a Bonvoy Champion who can assist?