nateinuk

Just completed another stay at the The W Seattle - my first of 2020. The rooms are now sprayed with a new scent throughout which I found to be gagging / headache causing throughout the during of my stay. Literally had difficulty breathing (and sleeping). It smelled like the new MOMO toiletries the room had, which were also way to fragrant for me - but at least you could avoid those smells by not using them

I called house keeping who said the room spray it’s part of “the new scent the stylists are free to use to brighten the room” (their words, not mine). I asked them not to use it the next day, and I can’t tell if they did or not cus the scent was still there when I got back that night

I don’t consider myself overly sensitive to smells (i.e. the Westin’s scent is tolerable to me), but if this is the new norm for W I may need to avoid this chain in my travels. Super sad cus I almost always have a great experience at W’s.

I’m not sure what luck I’d have having my reservation note to not use this scent in advance of a stay - anyone have any luck with that? I don’t want to request an allergy-friendly room as I’m sure someone more in need would benefit from that.

Anyone else having a negative reaction to the new scent?

anteater

Haven’t stayed here recently but have had several disappointing stays at this particular property. W Hotels international seem to be OK still.

kalo93406

It's unbelievably foolish to put any scent in a hotel room. There is no way I would consider staying in a hotel that did so. Hard to even comprehend someone thinks this is a good idea.

exploreaswego

We are fans of W, stayed at least 8-10 properties worldwide, never really encountered any stays where they spritz the room with scents.

It might seem that W is following the footsteps of JW, JW spritz scent everywhere from the lobby to the rooms.
I really hope Marriott doesn't "modify" the brand any more to shape it to a Marriott's style luxury property.. which is sad.. No more innovation or creativity..

3rdworldresident

im afraid not. Marriott will never stop ruining SPG brands because they want them to be standardized with ‘Marriott’ level.

khabah

I'm with @3rdworldresident on this one - Marriott is the king of standardization, and there's visible proof of their homogenization of Starwood's brands. Let's go on a little photo tour, shall we?


This is a Wonderful Escape at W Costa Rica - Reserva Conchal. What makes it a W? Some bold colors, patterns here and there and unconventional furniture layout that says "hey, I'm a rebel, I do things differently!" for the sake of it more than anything else.


This is a renovated king room at Sheraton Phoenix Downtown, which Marriott is using as a living lab for its next-gen Sheraton design. What exactly differentiates it from the latest iteration of the Marriott design template? Marriott eliminated art from its rooms and is going more for textured pieces or splashes of color to create a more residential feel, and Sheraton is clearly going in that direction except maybe with a slight mid-century modern twist. But wait, isn't that Le Méridien's job?


This is a standard room at Le Méridien Hyderabad. Looks nice enough, but what makes it a Le Méridien versus a regular ol' Sheraton? More grey. Maybe even a quirky chair or fancy little side table or lamp.


This is a renovated room at The Westin New Orleans Canal Place. Westin is all about wellness and health, so that's translated over into... a relatively neutral room with tree motifs. And scents of tea tree.

I feel that under Starwood, the confused and outdated Sheraton portfolio aside, there was greater differentiation between brands and that some efforts to reposition the legacy SPG brands were starting to take shape, but then Starwood sold out. Now with a whopping 31 brands under Marriott, many of which were competitors in the same space to begin with [i.e. Le Méridien and Renaissance in the 'discovery' space, Sheraton and Marriott in the premium classic upscale space, etc.], coupled with Marriott's decision to keep all of Starwood's legacy brands and now have greater corporate say/sway in design choices, it was inevitable to see that their 'differentiation' efforts between brands mean that the brands would start more-or-less looking the same except with some slight tweaks. Under Marriott, I one hundred percent feel like newer Ws like Amman and Dubai feel dumbed down in their design and more corporate/soulless than in older W properties like Doha and Chicago [Lakeshore]. This isn't to say I'm no longer a fan of these brands, mind - the memory of Starwood lives strong in me and many others, and I love these brands for my own reasons, but that doesn't mean I won't be critical of where they're going. Alas, I digress...

khabah

christianj

I think virtually every hotel I have stayed at recently had some type of scent in the room, hallways and lobby.....especially Ws and Westins.

KRSW

The endless institutional (hospital/prison/military/school) gray that Marriott is covering everything in these days is anything but residential. Cold, dreary gray... NOT a place I find relaxing or welcoming.

Also bad is how uniform everything is. I stayed at a Florida Marriott property over the weekend. Miles upon miles of gray with the most recent renovation. Beforehand, the property had a tropical/caribbean feel with pastels everywhere, tile mosaics, and architectural details to match. Now when I walk in there I might as well be in Minneapolis, or New York...or anywhere.

christianj

I would much rather see miles and miles of gray than the horrible dark green, gold, burgundy and flower prints we used to see everywhere. In addition Marriott used to have some of the worst carpeting that would make you think you were on drugs.