Rommie2k6

I travel a little for work, and I am both Marriott Platinum and Hilton Diamond.

I'm now wondering if hotel-wise there is any point in Marriott Platinum.

At every level, I don't see how Marriott Platinum is better than Hilton Diamond. Here are my gripes:
- HGI and Embassy Suites offers hot cooked-to-order breakfast, which I consider to be the top-tier breakfast. Marriott has no such offerings.
- Courtyard doesn't give breakfast, and Residence Inn only earn half points. So whenever I search for Marriott properties I excluded these two, and there are much less options out there.
- Springhill Suites breakfast is hit or miss in my opinion. The consistency at Embassy Suites is way better.
- Marriott concierge lounge breakfast is honestly quite bad. It's only one step above Hampton/Fairfield with only 2 hot dishes. In contrast, at DoubleTree and Hiltons (quite frequently), as a Diamond I get a full buffet breakfast.

nightowlrn

Marriott Platinum = Hilton Diamond Match plus UA Silver (Gold if PP),

Kacee

Huh. I find Marriott Plat to be more valuable. But I stay almost exclusively at full service properties. The breakfast benefit is basically the same. If the property has a lounge, you get the lounge breakfast. If there's no lounge, you get a restaurant breakfast, which can vary by property. Beyond that, I think Marriott is better for upgrades, consistent service quality, and number of high end properties that I actually want to stay in.

Srisarin

And then there are certain properties that even though they have a lounge where breakfast is available give Ps (and sometimes Gs) the option of breakfast in the restaurant (I'm at the Renaissance KL now as an example and later today switching over to the Doubletree KL where this option is also provided)

GoSh4rks

In Asia, many to most properties will give you a full buffet breakfast, in addition to lounge access. Even Courtyard.

whimsey21

To me, the biggest benefit would come from getting breakfasts at SPG properties in Europe and Asia. The SPG offerings in many of the cities I visit are superior to both the Hiltons and Marriotts; as a lowly Marriott Gold, though, I usually go with a FS Hilton or Marriott to get the breakie and lounge. The one big advantage along those lines of HH Diamond is when I travel with family- the Marriott tend to be stingy about lounge access for the kids, while the Hiltons
almost always give the whole family lounge access as well as breakfast in the restaurant (That was true back when I was HH Gold as well). That said, if you're only staying at properties in the US, you're losing out. The lounges and breakfasts elsewhere are quite a bit nicer (I can no longer bring myself to eat st the HGIbsmf Embassy Suites...)

SacTownGuy

I was Marriott Plat and Hilton Diamond last year and totally agree the full breakfast was nice compared to the crap in the c'lounge. However, I think with SPG added in Marriott has a greater variety of properties which will matter if they ever fully combine the programs. For now I am keeping my focus on Marriott.

Points Scrounger

I've only had breakfast in one Marriott lounge, which was much nicer than the usual Hilton $10 restaurant copay I encounter.

DJ_Iceman

If you are judging the rewards programs by which chain has better breakfasts (especially at limited-service properties), then maybe HHonors is best for you. When I look at the whole picture, though, including overall treatment of elites and even just the property portfolios (regardless of rewards program), I have found Marriott to be FAR superior to Hilton (and this is coming from someone in your shoes--Marriott plat and Hilton diamond).

Rd3

This is very breakfast specific--however, in other areas (late check-outs, upgrades) Hilton Diamond is the worst top level status of all the big brands, IMO

DELee

Having been an inhabitant of both the MR and HH threads, FT's HH elites tend to be very breakfast focused and oriented.

So, if you are breakfast-centric, HH Diamond may be a better place to be. That being said, variations in service and quality across all of Hilton's brands may drive some elites nuts. If you like a more consistent service level from stay to stay, you're more likely to want to be MR Platinum.

And if you're SPG Ambassador, you think everything else is garbage.

David

Kacee

Gotta say, I'm scratching my head at the notion Hilton has better breakfast options at full service US properties. Because there are quite a few that just give you a voucher that doesn't come close to covering a real breakfast.

Hyatt still has the best breakfast benefit. IME, Hilton, Marriott, and SPG are basically the same for US properties - you may get a lounge breakfast, you may get a full restaurant breakfast, or you may get something less than that.

DELee

I didn't say that HH full service or other HH properties have the best breakfast. Just that FT HH elites are very breakfast focused in terms of the benefit.

WRT what you get for breakfast any given Hilton, Marriott or SPG (or even Hyatt) full service property, its quality, edibility, service, ambiance of surroundings, as well as your fellow diners, is even harder to define much less agree to - on a member-by-member and property-by-property (as well as day-by-day) basis - as you note.

Maybe we oughta simply go to McDonalds and call it even!

David

sdsearch

Are you only concerned with quantity and not quality???

Hampton and Fairefield use powdreded eggs for the hot eggs. (If you want "real" eggs you have to get the cold hardboiled eggs.)

Many (though not all ) FS Marriott lounges cook real scrambled eggs in the restaurant kitchen and bring them into the lounge.

To me, that's far superior that Hampton/Fairfield in quality, even if not in quantity (of variety).

And I've seen a number of FS Marriott lounges that have 3 or 4 or more hot dishes (typically eggs of at least one kind, potatoes of at least one kind, and one or two types of breakfast meat).

I agree, however, that Hilton provides a free breakfast to Gold/Diamond at all brands, and Marriott only provides it at a fraction of its brands to Gold/Platinum. So in that sense Hilton elite status benefits are superior if you want to be able to stay at any brand.

However, your picking on Residence Inn makes no sense to me. Hilton does the same thing with its Home2 Suites. See here:
The only difference is that there are way more Residence Inn locatons AFAIK than Home2 Suites locations. But my point is that if you're careful, you can end up at a Hilton rand that earns half just as much as you can end up at a Marriott brand that earns half.

vishalgupta22

I stayed at Ren KL earlier this month (July) & them Majestic KL. Both the times I was given the option to eat either at the lounge or restaurant. Most Marriott's in Asia do the same.

I am gold with both so may be my opinion doesn't matter much but as mid tier, I am treated lot better at Marriott. Upgrades, later checkout, lounge.

At Hilton, I almost never get an upgrade (never a suite, Marriott frequently upgrades me to good rooms / suites)