Originally Posted by badjuju
I just got gold at Marriott and I'm starting to wonder if I should even bother sticking with Marriott. The hotel service I've received at the FS Omaha Marriott hotel has been worse than CY.
The unfortunate thing is it's the people at the front desk that leave a terrible impression on you. The room service staff are amazing and do a phenomenal job of making you feel welcome, cleaning crew do a great job, but the front desk make you feel like you are about to check into a Turkish prison.
I'll stop my rant now but I'm reconsidering switching to Starwood and severing all ties with Marriott. I have about 90K points with them - not a whole lot and I just wish I can get similar status to Starwood. Maybe then i'll donate my points.
Badjuju,
I am not certain how one is treated in Turkish prisons
But Marriot Full service leave a lot to be desired for Golds & Platinums.
There are numerous posts here in the forum debating the merits of top elite
status at the various chains....and throughout all the threads it is clear that Marriott Gold-Platinum status is ranked the lowest in terms of usefullness by
other FTers.
I would just keep the Marriott Gold status you have and use it overseas (where elites are treated much better)
As for starwood...use your Gold status with Marriott to get a comp at Starwood to elite level and you wil be pretty happy for the most part.
One final thing...I have noticed just like you that it is the various Marriott's in the podunks that give you the toughest time with Gold-Platinum benefits. I guess the folks who work the front desk in Omaha or Tulsa or Podunk USA get a rush when they deny someone who is not trapped living in a Podunk like they are their benefits. Never had such a hard time getting Platinum benefits in larger east or west coast cities.