Thanks for a really interesting report - I'm a relatively new MR member (trying out Gold) and am rather sceptical so far.

The main thing I'd point out before anyone else is that many other people seem to report exactly the opposite to you - clearly our experiences are coloured by which hotels we stay in and so YMMV is more true than usual (especially compared to airlines, etc).

My thoughts on Hilton Gold:
- Very easy to get to if you're in Europe - $6K spend will get you to Plat; $10K Diamond. At European cities with current USD rate, that doesn't take long-
- Hilton upgrades are very patchy just like the Marriott, but you won't even get the Exec lounges unless you get upgraded (non-US only)
- Customer service in my view for Hilton (HH and local hotels) does seem to be better than you report for the Marriott, but it's more competent than exceptional - Diamond desk might be better, I'm not sure
- Room profiles: Forget it in either chain. My first Gold stay saw Hilton manage to find almost the opposite room preference compared to my profile. At least when I tele-book with the Marriott they seem to pay attention to it

Ultimately, and this has been said before, you should stay in the hotels which appeal to you most, rather than the scheme which is better. I've always found the Marriott Docklands much better than the Hilton Canary Wharf/Hilton Docklands (south of the Thames), but by and large I've felt that Hilton wins out for my main destination.

You seem pissed off with the Marriott. Why not try out Hilton for a while (If they won't comp you then sign up to hiltonracing) and if you find it worse then you'll have enough time to rack up those Marriott nights as well.