WalruSara

We were upgraded to a lagoon view deluxe room and it had a really nice balcony. We enjoyed sitting out there for sunset some evenings.

t3ame

An observation that I just made: all inventory for 2023 seems to be zeroed out.
Curious to see how that will develop as I have a booking for March 3-5 in 2023 (still booked under the old rates).
If anyone can throw in some intelligence around the potential renovation, happy to hear more.

PS: best case, they just move us to Gritti or St Regis 😬

Platy

Please may I ask the details?

I have also been "walked" due to the Reservations Manager (Gritti, JW, Danieli) claiming that the hotel was "booked out for private function ", in my case in early September (which is possible given its the first week of the Film Festival and last year Cartier held nightly parties on the roof terrace).

The Reservations Manager offered to comp a night in the Danieli, (apparently it is Marriott policy to comp to a nearby property of equal or greater value then walking a customer), so I wrote an email asking (1) what room was on offer since the Danieli is a cheaper hotel and (2) how they would refund that night, specifically how many points, which needed to be clarified since it was a 5-night booking made before the points devaluation.

It took one week to get a response.

I was offered a luxury room in the Excelsior building and no other choices (I'm Gold, not Titanium). No mention of how many points they would refund, just that the hotel would refund "any points difference", which could theoretically be zero if they re-interpret the booking at The Gritti as four nights instead of five! Let alone that the hotel can cost a much more a night since the devaluation, so any points returned could be worth significantly less than when they were used for this booking.

I wrote another email yesterday repeating my basic question about the number of points to be refunded and that I did not expect to wait another week for a reply to a simple question.

What's going on with these Marriott properties in Venice?! Are they claiming private functions as an excuse to walk customers? Are they discriminating against members who have used points? Should it take a week for their Reservations Manager to respond to issues they have created?

How can any of us trust that our bookings will be honored when our reservations are changed, and communication is unclear and untimely?

Happy

Platy

Walking the guests who have booked dates when the hotel is bought up for private function IS A COMMON PRACTICE in hotel industry, not unique to Marriott.

As an example - Hyatt did the exact same thing to a rather well-known blogger because the property is bought up by LV during his dates and his reservation was made ONE YEAR IN ADVANCE.

https://viewfromthewing.com/i-booked...y-alila-marea/

As for Gritti and Danieli, we have stayed at both in 2019. Never understand the rave on Gritti especially their rooms are so small and upgrades are so stingy. In fact they downgraded our bookings from King room to Queen room in a different "style", claiming that was an upgrade (the King room we preferred has simpler decor and that was why we preferred it). Danielli preupgraded us to a suite without the need to use an SNA.
Location-wise, we also prefer Danieli - far more convenient to take the ferry / airport transfer than the dock next to Gritti's building but no access - you have to walk back a narrow alley than walk to Gritti's entrance, versus Danielli is straight across the wide street from the dock.

Platy

Many thanks for the insights. I guess I must have hit lucky - in decades of extensive travels I've never been "walked" before or had a booking messed with, although I do realise that it can occur. Yes - stuff happens! Sometimes it's even a benefit (you get to experience another property). My main concern is the way this has been handled, which IMHO is mental for elite level properties, we're being told we've been "upgraded" at the Danieli when the room is of 35% lesser value and still no answer to my basic question about the points refund for the comp'ed night. Emails don't get answered for a week.

I had an excellent stay at The Gritti Palace a few years ago (among quite a list of other properties in Venice) , but I've never stayed at the Danieli before.

The St Regis is now available for our dates on points, so we may simply rebook. Another well known blogger preferred the renovated St Regis to the Gritti Palace in recent reviews.

FWIW I find myself trending to smaller boutique properties without the hassles of fighting the big hotel chains for the promised basic benefits or the elevated expectations of overly priced properties.

Many thanks for the insights!

Happy

@ Platy

Personally I prefer Danieli much more over Gatti even though it always has a lower retail rate than Gatti.

I don’t normally based on my redemption choice on the retail rate but rather on how the hotel’s actual “value” both in term of Hardware and Software. Danieli in this case is much above Gritti.
The original building of Danieli is so much nicer inside from both the space and the very embellished decor than Gatti. It has a high ceiling on the ground floor with very ornate stairs going up to second floor hall which looks like a hall from some noble house. And that is exactly the case - the hotel was a house of a noble family. If you know about the history of Danieli, you would then understand why the furnishing and decor are so opulent.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotel_Danieli

Did I say Danieli offered an upgrade to a fully renovated suite without asking? No SNA ever needed. The suite has a walk-in closet right after suite entrance, that is so big that could be a room in some of the many tourist hotels in Europe. A full bottle of wine and a small box of chocolate, plus some fancy bottled water were set up on the coffee table in the living room. At Gatti I got no amenity and a room downgraded from King to Queen but disguised as an upgrade because of more antiquated decor.

Also worth mentioning is the location where the breakfast is served, Daniela’s rooftop location with the long view of the canal beats Gritti’s just look across the canal hands down. Danieli does have a tad less selection than at Gatti but the quality and variety still are high end.

Frankly I never understand why Gatti has higher rates and the hype, because every factor that matters to me, location, room and the way to treat a guest, Danieli is much better.

On the service side, there were also issues on our second night. Housekeeping lady knocked on our door at 11:30pm to give us the SPA pamphlet and samples. Then when we finally return to sleep, there were regular rumbling noise from the ceiling, like some very heavy object being dragged around. The noise started at around midnight till 1:00am! I tried to call FD but no one answered.

Despite I mentioned these issues to the FD head the next morning at check out so they would pay attention on better training of their staff, he denied the issues, claiming that there was a party in upper floor but it ended at 11:30pm. Well now I understood why such rumbling noise which must be caused by moving the heavy furniture back to original position. He could have shown some caring and played lip service to apologize, but he did not.

Then the points from my spend at the Riva restaurant on a $200 euro lunch never posted even after I dropped by the hotel a few days later upon our return from Bologna to enquirer that. I finally wrote to the GM asking him to check on the point posting. When he replied that he hoped I still had a good stay, I told him about the issues and suggested to him some additional staff training was needed. I never asked for any compensation but did tell him that I never thought I would encounter such issues at a property of this caliber. He replied that he would refund the points for one night reward cost as an apology. That is finally a smart way to take care of customer. I still would prefer never encounter those issues at the first place.

As for St. Regis, I am sure the property now is modernized from the old Europa. But I don’t like the decor, especially the floor of the lobby. Of course if the higher retail rate is what you aim for redemption, then go for it.

Platy

I am indebted to you for taking the time to share your experiences of both The Gritti Palace and the Danieli. Many thanks for that. You have challenged my thinking on the matter. In any case, I am not averse to the Danieli at all, just keen to clarify exactly what the Reservations Manager is proposing to meet a reasonable expectation informed by Marriott's policy on being "walked".

Your experiences of roof noise at The Gritti may be relevant, given the possibility of nightly roof parties held by Cartier, the major sponsor of last year's film festival.

Whereas it is a goal to seek good redemption value, this can also be achieved by staying at lower category properties - for example, I have the new EDITION Madrid in my sights and previously stayed at The Residence Inn in Wailea, Maui, on points (good value for points and a pragmatic option meeting our needs). That way, my points will stretch to 2x5 nights.

If I was paying cash without limit, I would return to the Belmond Cipriani. If I wanted value and a canal side room, I would return to Al Ponte Antico, where the Perlucchi family always provide a warm welcome in their 9-room miniature Palazzo at Rialto.

Travel safe. Many thanks indeed.

PG.backpacker

Press release from Four Seasons says that this hotel will be joining Four Seasons portfolio in 2025 following extensive renovations:

James Luckard

https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotel...nice/overview/

t3ame

Thanks for the update.
Curious to see how they treat existing bookings for March 2023. I have a 2-night stay booked.
Will be reaching out and try to understand if the reservation will be honored (even incl breakfast as gift) or what happens now.
Will update here once I know more.

James Luckard

I think Marriott's statement that the hotel will remain open after their management ends on 1/1/23 sounds fishy, since the hotel is due to undergo a MAJOR renovation before becoming a Four Seasons, and their statement uses the wording that it will be "reopening" in 2025 multiple times, suggesting they (wisely) won't be keeping the hotel open during renovations:

https://www.travelpulse.com/news/hot...l-danieli.html

Two years sounds like how long such a renovation would take, suggesting (at least to me) that the hotel might close when Marriott exits on 1/1/23...

Boraxo

It will be a lot of work to bring some of these rooms up to Four Seasons quality and modernity.

khabah

Frankly, I'm most annoyed that they're going with Pierre Yves-Rochon as the interior designer rather than an Italian one; PYR's designs are predictable, derivative and look like your posh grandmother's house would.

khabah

James Luckard

I somehow imagine a scene out of "Mad Men," with Four Seasons having done market tests in rooms with enormous whiteboards covered in words, while FS executives look on from behind one-way mirrors, and "posh," and "grandma's house" were the two phrases that came out on top among their focus groups.

Jailer

Well, finally there be a definitive answer to the “is it better to use Marriott points for the Danieli or Gritti Palace” debate.