crazyhorse

Come on guys... this is clearly a "disaster". The poor guy got engaged and there was clearly an expectation that he would be reaping the "benefit" of the massive rock he must have presented earlier. Now the poor soul walks into the room only to find that someone else has helped themselves to the nest. The rest is history. I am willing to bet that he didnt get his expected "benefit" either and I am sure a lot of us would react exactly the same.

He cant really blame the fiancee without coming across as inconsiderate given the situation. The only entity here to pass the blame on to is ... well Marriott.

As he rightly pointed out - Murphy's Law in action.

P.S. - Congrats on the engagement!

gardengirl

When I've stayed at even the lower end of Hilton family hotels there is a clear statement that if you find something wrong the room is free. I had a very late check-in at a Hampton Inn only to find a nicely made bed with dirty sheets. Bathroom had clean towels but dirty toilet. I called the front desk. New room. No cost, free breakfast. So why wouldn't catharsis think Marriott would do the same--points returned for room and 10K points for time and trouble?

Honestly, how can anyone think a housekeeper can make a bed and not see the stains? You throw the sheet, you smooth the sheet. Your hands are all over it and the eyes should be too. Looking for bad spots should be part of the routine because I'm sure it causes many a call to the front desk and a "do over".

As for the pieces of paper, from what I could tell the fiancee wasn't focused on 5-10 little pieces of paper but the cleanliness of the room as a whole. If the bed was made with the old sheets still in place, the bits of paper indicated it most likely also didn't get a vacuuming.

catharsis had an issue and brought it to the one place he felt he could vent and get suggestions for resolution, even if it's in his own head. Why come down on him so hard? Disastrous might not be the word others would use but it was his way of describing a very disappointing outcome to what was supposed to be a special occasion. Don't nitpick on his choice of words but on the rather on the depth of feeling for being let down by the Marriott company.

My suggestion for moving forward is to follow up on getting the points returned. Next, have a heart to heart with fiancee about future travel and how you'll deal with unforeseen mishaps. Record this adventure as a training ground for your future together. There are so many ways a trip can go wrong it's good to be mentally prepared ahead of time to work out good solutions and get past the mishaps.

Same with marriage. As Grandma told us when we were engaged "always be kind to each other." Be resolved to work on good solutions to all the mishaps and unexpected "disasters". Congratulations on you engagement.

FLgrr

The disaster was not just because of the reward stay. that is what makes it dramatic! this could/can happen when you are paying, or something goes wrong in the room and you are moved to the basement. We see this all the time on FT.

bitburgr

Like you said, Hilton makes that "100% satisfaction or your room is free" statement very public. Marriott doesn't (at least I've never seen it). Which is not to say that Marriott shouldn't do right by the OP.

kenbo

I'm with you on this and I would like to believe that if a housekeeper saw it, they would have found cleaner sheets. However, one thing I've learned is that some people seriously lack work ethic and responsibility. They tend to only do what they're told to do and nothing more. If they see something that doesn't totally make sense or is out of place, they don't question it. They continue working as they were instructed.

In the case of the housekeeper, their job is to change the sheets but is it also their job to inspect them? I would not be surprised at all if a housekeeper's defense was something like, "It's not my job to wash the sheets. I just put them on the bed."