Breakfast in lounge or restaurant?
 

quick question concerning free breakfest for elites, do we have to eat at the lounge or can have breakfest buffet at the lobby? The reason i ask this is the lounge breakfest in a lot of marriotts/rens are pretty poor.

Allowing you to eat breakfast [free] in the restaurant is at the discretion of each property.

Normally, there's no choice... If the lounge is serving then that's where they want you to eat. Now if there is a food allergy thing that prevents you from eating what they are serving, then you might have an argument. But usually they have a variety, so just because the potatoes have peppers doesn't mean you get run of the house for meals.

Ask the hotel. Sometimes they will let you "upgrade" your breakfast for a small fee to the full restaurant breakfast instead of the lounge breakfast.

Hilton's lounge breakfast has no hot items. Marriotts is usually better in that aspect. My only bone to pick is that im not a huge fan of egg yolk. I wasn't aware that they would you upgrade for a small fee. i will have to try this.

I do know on weekends if the lounge is closed you stand a good chance of getting free breakfast.

All up-posts hit it right on. It is the property that sets the policy. One can certainly buy a room with breakfast options (served in a restaurant).

That said, I often do a little home work prior to booking. e.g: use info on this board and personal experience would steer me toward one hotel and not others (if my criteria is about free and better breakfast). Just an example. In the NYC market, there are several properties to choose. Marriott Downtown (formerly aka Financial Center) often offers elites breakfast in the restaurant (even though the CL is open). If the rates are ok with me, then it is my choice. If I found a better rates uptown in a hotel that I know does not offer breakfast in a restaurant (BIG if), I would book it and then eat breakfast out!

Often than not, choosing a hotel is an art of "trade-off"

Not sure if deliberate--you ask about breakFEST.

In general, there is no FEST when it comes to Mariott breakfasts, with rare exceptions....

JW Marriott Phuket comes to mind--and their AMAZING buffet was free to Platinums even though MR rules preclude breakfast at resorts. But I guess that the Thai never understood Bill Marriot's message to deprive Platinums at resorts--their service orientation is "over-the-top" spectacular....

Usually, the CL is the only choice for the elite benefit breakfast. More often than not, it's pretty decent...so long as you're not expecting anything too fancy. As has been discussed repeatedly in various threads, some properties offer the full breakfast to elites on weekends when the CL is closed. They're not required to do this, but it's definitely a nice touch when they do. It certainly never hurts to ask, since it may be available but not automatically offered.

One exception I've found is Marriott Suites properties. These typically don't have a CL, so they'll generally give you a breakfast certificate you can use in the restaurant. There are also a few properties (primarily outside North America) with no CL lounge that offer a restaurant breakfast instead. Paris CE is an example of this.

And finally, don't look for breakfast at properties designated as resorts. With very few exceptions, "ain't gonna happen".

No you don't!

Virtaully all full-service properties (of those few who used to offer breakfast) stopped this a couple of years ago. The best I've gotten in recent times on a weekend is a Starbucks certificate.

There are threads here on this forum regarding the few hotels (in the US especially) that open their lounge on weekends.

I'd suggest searching on breakfast. Granted YMMV does apply, but many of the FS Marriots I've stayed at have provided restaurant breakfasts on weekends. It is up to the property to decide what they want to do and doesn't mean it will be the same from one stay to the next.

thanks for the info, yeah seems CL service is a big difference between Asia and US hotels. Was in Shanghai JW marriott a few weeks ago and well full service breakfest was available and club loung had decent amount of "good" food in the evenings and beer/wine was available at 2pm already and at no cost and this was at the weekend.

I'd like to see your definition of "many". Since Marriott tightened up benefits (you can search for "not to overachieve") a couple of years ago, most properties dropped their discretionary allowance for elite breakfasts over weekends.

I'm not saying that you're wrong, but in my own experience, I'm still batting about 50% on the weekend breakfasts.

And....also speaking just for myself....I don't really have a problem when a deeply discounted weekend rate doesn't include a breakfast. Where I do have a gripe is where the weekend rate is as high or higher than what you pay on weekdays, occupancy is just as high, but they still pull the plug on the CL and/or brekkie.

Foul!

I just got free breakfast two weekends ago at the Park Ridge Marriott in NJ. They didn't offer it, but when i asked, they gave them to me. Sorry you havent been so lucky.

Yeah, my experience with the weekend breakfast policy has been unfortunate. I do ask everytime but the only thing to show for it has been a single Starbucks coupon for a two-day weekend stay for two of us:rolleyes: (this was the Boston Copley, if anyone is keeping a tally). It is to the point where I'm avoiding FS Marriott properties on weekends. With HH, your breakfast benefit (if that is what you choose) is seven days a week.