margarita girl

I'm at the Sheraton Sydney right now and I chose restaurant breakfast in lieu of my welcome amenity. This hotel hands our breakfast cards to be redeemed each day. My cards clearly say:

The card also has my name and the validity date on it.

On the back of the card it says:

Of course, the Sheraton gives me access to the full breakfast buffet, however, I'm not so sure that's what Marriott had in mind!

C17PSGR

Well .... I don't know where this "continental breakfast" term comes from. Its not in the T&C for full service properties. Plus, having returned a few days ago for another week on the "continent," I don't remember seeing people there eat a roll, juice, and coffee for breakfast. Seems to me there was always cheese and meat to go with it, along with jam and honey ... and since I was at an RC and a LC, there were great spreads including American breakfast, English Breakfast, and the meats, cheeses, and fish that are normally part of a "continental" breakfast. But maybe they mean a different continent

But, I was also at the Phoenician recently, where I received a card for "continental breakfast" which was on the menu for $15 and was pretty basic. But ... they told me I had a $37.XX credit toward anything on the menu, which covered the excellent buffet, coffee, juice, and a little left over for a mimosa So, while they complied with the program, the card made me wonder at checkin that they were changing the rules.

And ... for your next trip, the Circular Quay lounge has a really nice spread out for breakfast and dinner.

Kacee

It comes from the properties themselves, unilaterally downgrading the benefit.

WillBarrett_68

I don't know that it's really a downgrade. Continental breakfast is "breakfast". The T&C don't restrict the properties from using a continental breakfast from satisfying the benefit.

The fact that some properties choose to go beyond doesn't mean the cheapskates are cheating.

Your beef should be with Bonvoy for giving the properties wiggle room. The T&C should be more explicit.

Flying for Fun

I prefer Sheraton On the Park for the lounge and breakfast. I chose breakfast in restaurant as my welcome amenity on my last visit. The buffett is AUD $44.00 so a great savings. It is a really nice offering and I love the noodle station.

The Lounge is awesome too. You can definitely make a meal out of it. The raw oysters on the half-shall are decent but not as good as the British Columbia oysters I grew up on after collecting them off the beach at low tide.

Yes, a nice spread for sure as well as some snacks throughout the day and desserts after the evening hors d'oeuvres. If you want the full breakfast buffet in the restaurant they charge an AUD $18 supplement. It does start to feel a little redundant with only a couple items changed out daily though. A variety of Beers & Wines are on offer and self-serve. If you would like a cocktail, they are happy to oblige but you need to request it as they are made in the back.

For my last visit I was upgraded to a Jr Suite and was checked-in at 7:30 am so I was able to have breakfast twice on a one-night stay. It was also the first property who thanked me for being a Titanium Member 6 days after the official launch.

My last stay at the Westin Sydney was less than steller. A lot of service failure and not a lot of professionalism. The lounge is very small, always overcrowded, always out of something and the slow staff don't keep on top of it. If feels like they don't care. Buffet breakfast in the restaurant as a welcome amenity was decent but by no means spectacular. There were two of us for breakfast. I presented them with the amenity voucher. Later at check-out there was a charge for breakfast ×3. ??? I had a good stay there prior so maybe it was one of those "when a wheel falls off" anomalies.

All three are in good locations, with easy walking throughout the CBD and to the Opera House and the Iconic Sydney Bridge with Circular Quay being the closest.

My preferences are,
1) Sheraton
2) Marriott at Circular Quay
3) Westin (cautiously)

James

C17PSGR

The T&C provide that lounges in the US offer a minimum "continental breakfast." (see 1.3.c.iv) Marriott requires that the breakfast in lounges includes at a minimum (a) coffee/juice,. (b) fresh fruit, (c) yogurt, (d) eggs, (e) oatmeal, and (f) a hot protein such as bacon/sausage/ham.

So when Kessler, Mexican resorts, and Scrub Island offer a pastry and a coffee, that's not being a cheapskate -- it's cheating.

Kacee

So you're okay with a slice of white toast? You don't think that's cheating?

SkiAdcock

For the coupons that say cont'l brekkie, I think a lot of hotels get those certs but offer full brekkie (Scrub & some Mexican places excluded) based on reports in the exec lounge sticky.

Cheers.

margarita girl

I don't agree. The coupon comes from Marriott. The Sheraton upgraded my breakfast to a full buffet breakfast valued at $44.

On the back of the coupon where it says PROPERTY, the SYDSI is printed in a different type than the rest of the print.

margarita girl

WillBarrett_68

Please re-read my post again.

WillBarrett_68

The T&C provides that when a lounge is closed or otherwise unavailable that the property provide "continental breakfast" (US/Canada) and does not define what that continental breakfast is to consist of.

Outside the US/Canada it just says "breakfast" and does not specify any standards for that.

I'm not sure where you're getting the requirements for what is to be served in lounges, but those requirements are certainly not explicit in the T&Cs and there is nothing in the T&C that says that the continental breakfast served when a lounge is not available must meet those standards. If anything, the usual definition of "continental breakfast" would be coffee/tea and bread/pastries (perhaps cereal as well). Eggs, meat, oatmeal etc are not "continental breakfast" items by any usual definition.

Note that even if the program does have standards for what is to be served in the lounge, the T&C does NOT say that the breakfast offered when the lounge is not available will meet the same standards as the breakfast served in the lounge.

As I said before, the issue is that the T&C gives properties this leeway.

C17PSGR

I understand your point but Marriott does have standards for what is required in a lounge, right?

And lounges are required to provide continental breakfast under the t&c.

Having lived on the "continent" for several years, I dont think hardly anyone defines continental breakfast as pastries and coffee. It almost always includes meats, cheeses, cereals, as well as pastries, coffee, and juice.

WillBarrett_68

I am sure they do and I don't dispute it. There is no doubt a T&C between the property and Marriott corporate. The point is there's no commitment from Marriott to the individual elites about what "breakfast" will include.

They can (and, I would argue, do) hold the properties to a higher standard than what they've promised to the guests.

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/continental-breakfast

Kacee

I fully understand your position. That's why I'm asking whether you would consider a single slice of white toast compliant with the T&C.