Happy

You are right. "Limited Exceptions" to the rule. Those are properties specific and not a brand standard. Often the plats are given a lower quality lounge unless booked rooms that are eligible for the access of better lounges. I forgot about those since they usually are on my "excluded list" unless there is no other alternative.

littlevoices

Not anymore, they got rid of the tower building concept during their recent renovation!

As with others, I generally find that when there is a lounge I have access and that will be the experience as Platinum and above (excluding Ritz Carlton), I also find it fairly rare that there is some "sub-standard" lounge being offered as an alternative, this isn't Qatar Airways. I do appreciate that Tokyo may be a bit tougher, but quite a few of the properties (e.g. Courtyard Ginza) will give you benefits beyond the brand minimum (like a full breakfast in this case), and the Autograph Prince hotels do give lounge access too (even to two lounges in different nearby hotels).

Not sure if AJNEDC you have a credit card, but getting a cheap credit card (Free) that gives you 5 nights would get you over the line, and also presuming that is your 50 nights, give you 5 upgrade vouchers (or a few other choices) as an annual choice benefit. This may also have benefits to be worth a 3 night staycation somewhere nearer your home, if the credit card didn't appeal - plus the status will be valid for the year you earn it and next, so other chances to use the benefits.

AJNEDC

Glad to hear that the provision of lounge access is consistently offered - when it is supposed to be offered.

I rely on the no-annual fee Bonvoy Visa as my back up CC. It provides 15 free nights and those combined with my personal and business travel this year, will get me to platinum in October. I liked the Prince Gallery LC for its location and the Ritz for its quality, but if Marriott is not willing to scratch my back, I have little hesitation in taking my business elsewhere. I'm now looking at the the Mandarin, Cerulean Tower and Prince Park Tower. I'll figure out what I'm willing to spend at the appropriate time.

My company just changed to Hilton as its preferred; While we still have the flexibility to book other brands, I now have an additional brand to play around with if I decide to play the loyalty game.

I value lounge access not just for the savings on meals but also as a retreat within the hotel. During a stay at the Ritz in Doha a few years ago, the lounge provided relief from the heat and served as a comfortable hangout spot. I also recall the nightly rates being significantly lower compared to Tokyo hotels.

Thanks for your suggestions.

ftrichard

To manage your expectations, your question should really be around what F&B the lounges serve at individual specific hotels in specific territories because this is highly variable. You cannot even determine the lounge service standards by brand within Marriott.

As you're new to this, you can be forgiven for not knowing that RCs do not provide lounge access. This, I believe, is because their lounges are a significant cut above regular hotel lounges and provide effectively full board at high quality. I've never stayed at one so I don't know.

Elsewhere, apart from the Ren St. Pancras, you'll get access at the brands according to the T&Cs as you've identified. It's not a matter of discussion. Your experience is highly variable depending on the country you are in rather than the brand with SE Asian capitals the best at providing a great experience. As you're heading to Japan, I'd suggest a side trip to Bangkok to experience proper lounges with proper food and booze in the evening.

Happy

You got it all wrong.

You confuse the needed Elite qualifying nights with the Elite status itself. The former is the eligible nights earned to qualify your next year status. The latter is the status you have, it does NOT carry ANY eligible night...

Instead of granting 15 elite nights now, upon July changes, Bold will only give 5 elite nights.
There is no such thing of 5 nights from Silver status, add on the current 15 elite nights. It is the 15 elite nights will be no more, and you only get 5 elite nights holding Bold starting January 2025 for existing cardholders and for new applications after Jul 11th 2024.

You will still get Silver, but you will only get 5 elite nights versus currently 15 elite nights.
Silver gives you zilch at Marriott, even Gold does not get much.

Changes to Chase Marriott Bonvoy Bold Elite Nights

AJNEDC

I have stayed at the Ritz in Qatar most recently. And you are right, the lounge effectively provided full board of high quality. I paid for the lounge level room as I had no status with Marriott at the time. I guess I assumed that all properties under the Marriott umbrella would provide the same level of benefits. Live and learn.

ftrichard

I appreciate the candour about where your expectations for Marriott lounges generally came from. It's good you came here to clarify before you book a trip's worth of hotels at other Marriott brands and are shockingly disappointed.

Yes, indeed, RC hotels do not give elites access to their lounges and their lounges are significantly higher grade than you will find at Marriott's other brands that include elite lounge access as a brand standard. My understanding is that some lounges in the US offer powdered eggs for breakfast and have a paid-for honesty bar if they are open at all. This is probably the lowest end of your expectation. At the highest end, you've got SE Asian cities like Bangkok, KL, Jakarta, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh etc. where multiple hotels of varying Marriott brands offer a full breakfast (often in the main buffet restaurant) and hours of alcohol along with food that makes a decent meal in the evening. None of these will match your RC experience in Qatar I'm certain but most would not be guttingly disappointing. Bear in mind that RCs can charge something like USD150 a head for lounge access on top of the room rate for what you experienced in Qatar while the difference in room rate at other brands is perhaps nearer USD30 for an executive room with lounge access for guests without elite status. That price difference alone should give you an idea of the level of service provision in these lounges.

Horace

First, there are actually more than twenty Marriott Bonvoy brands that not provide lounge access. In most cases, hotels of these brands do not even have lounges, but, if they do, there's not complimentary access for Platinum Elite and above.

Next, although St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, and W Hotels do not provide lounge access for Platinum Elite and above, they provide a benefit that's arguably just as good: Daily breakfast in the restaurant for member plus a second guest staying in the same room as a welcome gift choice. My wife and I have had wonderful breakfasts at hotels of these brands.

Finally, the brand standards for The Ritz-Carlton and EDITION call for high quality services, but getting these services means paying for them. Those who have Platinum Elite (and above) status through a combination of credit card EQNs and stays across properties of participating Marriott Bonvoy brands, low-end to high-end, still have to pay for breakfast and other food and beverage offerings. That's how these brands were designed.

ftrichard

Let's be pedantic and state that lounges are not brand standard at St. Regis and W hotels (probably also not at Luxury Collections though I believe more do have them even if they are not obliged to give elites access) so whether elites have access or not to something that doesn't exist is a moot point. In fact, I know of one W that has a lounge and that's in Guangzhou and they do give elites access but it's quite off the beaten track for casual travellers to visit. The OP should also know that Marriott doesn't allow lounges at its resort hotels and closed down the lounges at various SPG resorts (Le Meridiens, Sheratons etc.) when it took over but there's still a few anomalies on that list. While on that subject, nobody's mentioned the Marriott Ocean Park in Hong Kong that designated itself a resort a few years ago so it could exclude elites from its lounge while keeping the lounge open for guests who paid for an executive room. It's a resort in the sense that it's next to a water park and has a swimming pool suitable for kids. How the other Bonvoy hotels - including HK's Courtyards that do have lounges for elites despite not being brand standard and unheard of in the US - must look on jealously.

I'd love to know the know the thoughts going through the OP's mind now about Marriott's inconsistent brands, elite status earning anomalies, variable lounge services, and pretty-consistent-but-not-always lounge access now they've been exposed to the red raw truth. We all seem to muddle through it though.

ElevatorEnthusiast

The easiest thing to do is look at reports on FT in the respective hotel master thread - if someone was denied lounge access, they'll be an angry report about it. You shouldn't expect lounge access at any RC. Some properties will grant it even when they don't have to, and some will provide evening happy hours! No reason to complain about properties that go above brand standard - think of it as a happy surprise.

This also isn't a Marriott-specific problem - there are Hilton brands with lounges that don't give access to Diamonds (WA), and there are Hyatt brands that sometimes have lounges and sometimes don't.

olivedel

Things can change. It's just inheritance from the past as I do not believe that St. Regis is in any way inferior to these 2 brands on average. Change takes time and they are still dealing with pre-merger agreements with hotel owners. Look RC Reserve is now points eligible so Change is possible.
It would not hurt if the breakfast benefit was offered for the highest tiers on these brands, such as Ambassador or Titanium.

stuartpig

I could see that happening at Canary Wharf. The lounge is overwhelmed these days

AJNEDC

Starwood was my brand of choice prior to its Marriott take over. However, apart from the Ritz, I generally avoided Marriott properties due to perceived issues with maintenance and service quality, which didn't meet my expectations for the price paid. With the merger, I am still of the opinion that Marriott is not taking care of the upkeep of its properties and in some respects it has gotten worse. Perhaps the franchising model under which Marriott operates contributes to a lack of consistent oversight by corporate; be that as it may, I would have thought that given the risk to its brand, it would ensure certain standards are consistently applied by all in the chain.

Similarly I assumed (obviously incorrectly I have now learnt) that Marriott would maintain a uniform offering across its brands, including amenities like lounge access. So that lounge access as a tier benefit would be consistent across all properties, regardless of location or brand.

The convenience of having access to snacks and beverages throughout the day in a lounge is valuable to me, not just for the meals but also for a comfortable space to unwind outside of my room, especially during visits to locations that I am visiting for special events.

Happy

I think given the breakfast is offered at the lounge at RC, and the lounge basically provides 5 time segments on dining thruout the day, only offer breakfast to top elites might be a bit difficult to implement as to how to program your card? Or at breakfast time there would be a need to have someone manned the entrance to assure eligibility.
The reason why RC wouldn't provide lounge access is due to its lounge is basically all day dining albeit different offerings thru out the day - 5 specified time segments on food offerings, that can only be a PAID option to not lose money.

Happy

Indeed! We had great buffet breakfast at the restaurant at St. Regis Cairo as well as Luxury Collection Milan.
Actually Sheraton (Grand) also has restaurant breakfast as a choice of Welcome Gift for Plats. We were at Sheraton (Grand) at Sydney, the restaurant breakfast was among the Welcome Gifts to choose from. The Welcome Gift options included a very laughable one - to choose a small stuffed animal from about 7 or 8 varieties - a full drawerful of such... The FD claimed guests with young kids often chose those - What?! To choose a <$5 stuffed animal made in China? LOL