Kacee

I've seen lists for lounge entry with well over a hundred names.

Kacee

Kudos to the Palace for getting it all right (from their welcome email):

DJ_Iceman

No, they didn't. I never, not once, got a late check-out from SPG as either a gold or platinum elite. Every single time I asked for it the front desk had an excuse as to why the "guarantee" didn't apply. With Bonvoy, I have gotten 4pm without hassle every time I've asked for it. It's very often proactively offered at check-in, and when I say I have a morning flight (or whatever), the front desk associate cheerfully replies to let them know if my plans change. I realize not everyone's experience is the same, but we need to stop pretending that SPG was this wonderful, magical, customer-focused program and that Marriott somehow screwed it up.

Coffeemadman

This is great to see. I have stayed at the Apollo in Amsterdam and although I got the 14:00 late checkout I wanted, the welcome letter for Platinum stated 4pm checkout - subject to availability.

I normally get the checkout I want (not always 16:00 is required for me) but I have slowly stopped seeing it as a guaranteed perk and as subject to availability.

Which I guess is the collective end game for many hotels. So they win.

flyerCO

This is not how it works when comes to refusing to vacate premises. Unless law provides otherwise (usually only in cases were have stayed over 30 days) the cop can legally have you removed. (Even if reason is due to being part of a protected class, say race. The cop may point out the law says that's illegal to hotel mgmt, but if they still insist, the cop must remove you. You then can sue in court for violation of the protected status by hotel) Failure to comply with police instructions will just get you charged with trespassing/failure to follow commands/etc... They don't care about contracts, etc, they only care about if the law says they must have an eviction order. The hotel might be breaching their contractual obligations to you (or civil protections), but that is for a court to decide, and for court to determine damages. Police do not resolve contract disputes/reasons for removing, courts do. The only time they will refuse to follow request is if they believe you are protected by right of tenancy and thus a court eviction order is required. Note even if have tenancy rights, a lot of cops incorrectly assume those rights don't ever apply at hotels. Again they are protected from suit unless they had previously been put on notice this wasn't the case (ie they had been sued for this vary thing and court ruled they were wrong).

If they don't believe you are protected by right to eviction order, then you must leave and obtain a writ of entry (or equivalent).

In the end, again never refuse an order by police.. They are protected even if they get it wrong. (Unless on notice already that the action isn't allowed)

It may feel wrong. However the court is the place to argue right/wrong, not with the officer.

margarita girl

Did you ever report this to Starwood Lurker/William? My experience with SPG is that if a property did not follow the rules (there are always rogue properties that think the guarantees don’t apply to them), then Starwood would contact them directly to address the situation.

Bravada04

Interesting. Getting late check-out with SPG was never an issue whatsoever in my experiences.

I wouldn't say magical..........but in my opinion it was and they did.

SPN Lifer

This is dependent on the jurisdiction. As an attorney, I feel quite safe politely but firmly exercising my contractual and federal constitutional rights.

DJ_Iceman

No, because in my experience SPG promised all kinds of things but rarely delivered. It wasn't worth my time fighting to get them to uphold their brand standards--I just stayed at their properties less and less.

Kacee

Don't really understand why anyone feels it necessary to poke the old SPG vs. Marriott debate five years post-acquisition, but based on my two most recent Marriott experiences will point out that the Palace, an LC property, acknowledges in its welcome email that 4 pm is "guaranteed" whereas Essex House, a JW, has by multiple recent reports (including mine) an established policy of claiming that late checkout is "subject to availability" and using that as a grounds for denying 4 pm.

Radiation Station

I have rarely had issues with 4pm checkout being “denied”, but it’s never happened at an exSPG property. I tend to find these exSPG properties are the ones who proactively offer the 4pm checkout when I check in at the front desk (especially W hotels).

xinzhang5228

Just completed a stay at the Ritz in South Beach, Miami.

my partner is titanium. Asked for 4pm, got 2pm.

hotelprof

For the record, that one's listed as a Resort, so 4 pm is subject to availability there. Normal checkout time listed as 11 am, so they technically gave you 3 hours more than they had to.

Cathay Dragon 666

I never had any issue with Ambassador/Titanium benefits, provided you know the rules:

1) Not all properties have the same benefits. You won't believe how many times I have heard an elite member arguing that they should have free access to lounge at St. Regis or Ritz Carlton, and will not listen to the staff that tries to tell them the rules are different. Including 4 p.m. check-out.
2) Many have been spoiled by extremely accommodating properties. Example: some properties simply turn a blind eye when you bring in your extra friends or adult family members into the lounge. But when a few properties try to follow the rules, you get a huge argument like "but I stayed frequently at such and such and never had a problem!"
3) The best example is staying at Bulgari. Sometimes I heard elite members argue they got tricked booking with them and demands a full refund because they found out at check-in that they get none of the elite benefits. Really smh.
4) Marriott changed the guaranteed Suite upgrade, so please stop giving the staff a hard time that they owe you a suite on a basic room reservation.

hotelprof

Source/details? The member benefit chart still shows "Based on Availability Including Select Suites" for the upgrade benefit for Platinum and higher. And the terms and conditions still state (emphases added):

So unless you're talking about a Platinum member (not Titanium or Ambassador) staying at a Ritz-Carlton specifically, it seems that Platinums and above are still entitled to upgrades up to standard (one-bedroom) suites if such suites are available for the duration of their stay, as checkable in the app or on the website. (Obviously, premium/specialty suites and multi-bedroom suites would be excluded. I'd imagine that some properties might play games with which suite categories are included, as Marriott makes this less transparent than Hyatt, but it should be obvious most of the time.)

Or are you aware of an upcoming change that Marriott's made internally but hasn't made public yet? (If so, until the benefit chart and terms and conditions are updated, the current benefit would still apply...)