smallest reason to not return to a property?
 

ok, maybe not restricted to a Marriott - but since I am staying in a M property right now.....

while the specifics are not important - I am currently in a higher end Seattle property - and will probably unlikely (and intentionally so) not come back... why?
I hate the elevator(s) here
3 elevators....ok, fine - but due to their security system (or whatever Seattle tech trendiness that they purchased) - you have to swipe your key to then select the floor you want.... ok, but you can only select the floor that your room is on (or that your key is coded for) - well, if it already knows your room and only allows you to go to that floor - then why even force you to push the button.... but this is where some of the pain comes in - the timing from when you swipe your card until the system times-out to push the button is very short and the touch screen is not very reliable....and hence, we (I am with a bunch of colleagues/friends) have been complaining about our adventures in the elevator having a mind of it's own and taking us up or down on a whim..... I think Amazon has their offices nearby?

also, cant be a nice person and say to the person just getting on the elevator: "since I am standing near to buttons, what floor do you want me to push"... I will withhold comments about SEA liberalism....

We have all been complaining about it all weekend. I friend needed to drop something off at my room - but she is on a different floor and hence we needed to meet in the lobby. We had a dinner party on the roof bar - except none of our keys were coded for that floor - which meant hotel staff had to swipe us in every time we needed to leave and come back up....

you get my point - reminded me of some large hotel (not sure - but I think it was also a M in Boston) that had some "super smart" elevator bank that was a nightmare to interact with.

I am sure some people think this stuff is really cool - but give me an old fashion elevator with regular buttons (that the more you push, the faster it responds).....

there are other reasons not to return - but the elevators will stick in my mind......

-m

Well, for what it is worth, one of my biggest hotel pet peeves is forced elevator usage. There are so many properties where I will be on, say, the 4th floor, and there is no way to enter an internal stairwell and walk right up (versus waiting for a silly elevator that will stop on every floor). Or, worse yet is when the internal stairwells are alarmed at the ground floor, so I can't walk from my room right out to the street or lobby. Frustrating that so many basic building designs do not accommodate those of us who prefer to walk a few floors. So I am there with you in spirit.

When we were just in Moxy Bergen, in the elevator we had to tap/keep our room key then push the floor we want to go. The problem is you need to hold the key on the pad for several second for it to read (and green light comes on) before you can push the floor number. At check in time, the FD staff did specifically tell us that point.

Many times my wife and I would get in the elevator, and the door would close, before the pad would acknowledge our room key (then we can push the floor number). It's a small inconvenience, but makes you wonder why is it only this hotel and no other hotels works this way.

London EDITION.

Their plumbing system noises and their non existant sound proofing.

I was at a Marriott property that had this exact issue, including the clerk telling me on check in that you had to hold the card there "longer than usual" before it would blink green.
Wish I could recall which property. I think it was a Courtyard. Maybe Munich City Center? Or one close to CVG airport. Can't recall for sure.

Wasn't overly annoying to me though, and would not be a cause not to return.

I was at the Bristol Marriott (UK) last week, and aside from them giving me someone else's check-in form and then my key not working, what I really didn't like was that they were clearly not using the proper undersheet on the bed, meaning that the last 15cm of the bed weren't covered at all, so the ends of my feet touched on the ancient yellowish mattress all night unless I curled up. Just no.

The Marriott Marquis Times Square in NYC has a similar elevator setup, long waits and confusing as well, for at least 25 years now.

It is fascinating how individuals implement such inefficient, frustrating systems and procedures for other individuals. Never ceases to amuse me. I was wondering about how could you go visit your friends/colleagues on another floor. Thanks for answering without me having to ask.

FWIW I don't think the OP is being at all unreasonable. What you describe sounds extremely annoying.

For me I don't necessarily think it would be a deal breaker, but it would cause me to look around and choose another property if there was one that was equally convenient in other ways.

there are about 15-20 of us in the group staying here all weekend (yes, Monday now) and it has been the topic of discussion the entire weekend
Also, every time I get into the elevator, I see other people struggling with their system also - typically missing their floors, extra trips in the wrong direction, etc

When I am trying to get back to my room - for whatever reason - I dont want to struggle with poorly implemented technology.

...the lack of coffee in the room will probably be the deal breaker.

Destination dispatch elevators have been a thing for a long time and help significantly with preventing major crowding and inefficient situations where everyone gets on a single car, which is then forced to stop at multiple or all floors.

Even without destination dispatch elevators, I have been to plenty of five-star hotels outside of the US (I’m at one tonight) where scanning your key card in the elevator automatically selects your room floor without pressing any buttons. You aren’t able to select other room floors. This helps create a serene environment.

I'm fairly tolerant of security procedures, even when they introduce some degree of inconvenience. Websites that require passwords or two-factor ID are less convenient, but I understand. Elevators that require a card swipe limit usage to those with cards. Requiring confirmation that the card holder knows the room floor rejects someone who just picked up a card off of the floor. Yes, they make it harder to do some things, but that's the trade off. It would be nice if they worked smoothly, but some of the timing issues discussed might be calibration settings.

Marriott in Malta, you have to select which floor you would like outside of the lift, I can’t recall seeing this anywhere else.

The lift in my condo opens into my apartment which I thought was pretty cool when I first moved in but in reality this design means there is one lift for 50 floors….

My company has had this system of buttons on the outside for about 5 years now. I am so familiar with it that when I go to properties that have the buttons on the inside of the car, I think them quaint. Can't tell you the number of times I get into the elevator thinking I had already pushed the required floor and wonder why the car isn't moving or have the car go to the wrong floor because someone pushed their floor before I remembered to select mine.

Marriot NOLA on Canal has that system.

I think the most annoying thing about hotel elevator: At Sheraton Myrtle Beach, we needed to beep our card so that we can press the floor button. It works when there are very few people going onto the same floor. It goes wrong when there are 5 parties of people going into the same elevator and all trying to beep their cards. Once a lady had to go all the way up and then down because she was a bit slow in beeping her card and press the button to her floor.