CJKatl

The PM has had this wording about this room for years. They should be applauded for offering this particular room at a very discounted price, rather than trying to pawn it off on some unsuspecting guest. They are very, very upfront about this room and this policy. If you are willing to take this room, you know ahead of times there will be no UG.

The T&Cs are clear that UGs are at the hotel's discretion.
In this instance, the hotel has identified that UGs will not be available if you book this room type. The hotel could wait until the time of check-in to let guests know, but is very upfront in letting guests know both before booking and after booking.

dat4life

I completely agree that upgrades are at the hotel discretion and are of course subject to availibility. Excluding elite benefits from certain rates (revenue or reward, unless specifically mentioned as an exception in the program's T&C, seems to be a fairly substantial contradiction to said T&C. What's next, no breakfast and/or lounge access for elites booking discounted rates or on awards?

That said, I wouldn't be as annoyed if this were disclosed upfront at the time of booking. Eujeanie so helpfully the rate rule for the room. However, when I looked at the rate rules at the time of booking in April, and now when I check it out on Marriott's website, this is exactly what I see:

Result of a glitch? Perhaps.

kyushuman

As a newly minted Marriott Gold (Thanks to UA Gold that I had), I have zero experience with Marriott.
So, Marriott gurus, please weigh in on my choices for New Orleans for Labor Day weekend.
I'm interested in the following, in order:

1) I'm price-conscious (a teacher!) but open to the $34 more per night at the JW if it's notably better than the cheaper ones.
2) Free breakfast, even better if it's good quality
3) Free internet (are both breakfast and internet free for Marriott Gold?)
4) Lounge access/ free drinks
5) Room Upgrades
6) Location-- I have stayed at and loved the Hampton Inn DT/Convention Center, which is actually more distant than any Marriott property. Didn't love the long walk, but it was worth it for a $79/night room, with upgrades to a 1BR suite in a gorgeous renovated building.

Here are my options:

Residence Inn Downtown $127
Marriott Downtown/Conv. Center $127
Spring Hill Suites Downtown $132
Marriott New Orleans $151
CY on St. Charles $161
JW Marriott $161

Thanks in advance for any advice you have!

CJKatl

My pecking order (with intentional spacing):

JW Marriott $161

Marriott New Orleans $151



CY on St. Charles $161

Stay Home

Residence Inn Downtown $127/Marriott Downtown/Conv. Center $127/Spring Hill Suites Downtown $132

I'd actually put the Iberville CY above the JW, and the Perr Marquette before the Marriott New Orleans, but those weren't on your list. The JW being the same cost as the CY puts the CY out of contention, and the JW is worth and extra ten a night over the FS. With the others, you may save on the hotel, but you lose more than that in time value getting back and forth to the French Quarter and other tourist spots.

One more thing... after you make the reservation at the JW, go to the LNF thread and see if any of the awesome people who frequent that thread can help you get an even better rate through LNF. It's worth a try. There is nothing to lose. And many of those people are amazing at finding a better rate.

kyushuman

Thanks for that reply. Keep em coming!
FYI I didn't put some others on the list because they were either sold out (Ritz Carlton) or over $200/night (French Quarter hotels).
Thanks again!

swag

Definitely avoid the CY St Charles. No breakfast there. On top of that, their lowest cost rooms are the "smaller rooms" which live up to the name, one queen bed and not much else, with the only window opening up to an interior hallway. As a Gold, you may get upgraded out of it, but no guarantees.

The full service hotels have lounges, but according to this thread, the one out by the convention center may be the only one open on weekends.

As far as room upgrades, the JW is your best bet. I think fully 1/3 of the rooms there are oversized corner rooms. I've never not gotten one as a Gold or Plat.

chuckworth

I would vote for the JW. Just got back from a stay there and got one of the oversized corner rooms as a Plat. Plus, one of the better Lounges I've been to in a while.

SkiAdcock

Was that on the weekend? Was the exec lounge open? If not, what was the brekkie situation? Please post & I'll update the exec lounge sticky. Thx.

Cheers.

HookEm

I was there last month and the Lounge closes starting Friday afternoon for the weekend. I didn't spend the weekend, so not sure about weekend brekkie.
The Lounge is currently on the first floor next to FD. The hotel is under remodeling and some elevators were not working and some floors closed off. The Lounge had been on a higher floor, and a cocktail bar was converted into the Lounge. Not sure if this is temporary location or it will be moved back to where it was previously.
I agree the morning and evening spreads are very nice. It was very weak in the yogurt area, but otherwise very good.

SkiAdcock

My bad. I just realized the JW is one of the 14 properties that is closed on the weekends& doesn't offer brekkie option, but 1,000 points instead.

Cheers.

DrinkingCoffee

I love the JW in New Orleans. They are consistently the most polite Marriott staff with whom I have worked. Always upgraded. Lounge is far superior to most lounges.

dat4life

FYI... The Executive Lounge at the JW NOLA is now open on the weekends. Just had breakfast there! Still no evening snacks/dessert though, but still it's nice of them to open for breakfast.

hhoope01

If you haven't yet, it would be helpful it you noted this in the http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...-weekends.html thread so that the thread can be updated.

CALMSP

just did 4 nights at the Ritz..............loved it. bathtub was amazing.

cmd320

I just stayed three nights at the JW last week. The staff were great and the service was very good. The property however seemed a bit dated to me. The hallway areas seemed pretty fresh, but the rooms were a bit on the older side and could probably use a refub soon.

In addition, the lounge in no longer on the 27th floor, it's been moved to a very dated, strange looking room on the first floor just behind the check-in desk. The offerings were still good, especially for breakfast, however it was a strange setting. Overall, for the rate I was able to get ($119/night) it was a good deal, however I would probably explore some of the other properties next time, just to see how they compare.