At DFW/Marriott FW/Dallas, they gave me a room that was already booked and I walked in on someone's room, clothes on bed etc. I went downstairs and they claimed I was sharing the room with a certain Ms. Such and Such, which was incorrect. It is amazing the thoughts that go thru a man's head in the span of 2-3 seconds. Alas, I said no they were mistaken. They apologized and offered free concierge lounge access. Just want to say that I noticed anyone could walk in there at breakfast and not be checked. Seems like it is not that big of a deal.

At the Renaissance Amsterdam, Renaissance Paris, Renaissance Zurich, and Marriott John Lennon Airport, which is pretty much the extent of my concierge level experience, access to the lounge was always with a key. No way you could just walk in unless you caught someone going out at the same time and pretended you were rifling through your pockets looking for said key . . .

I have found you generally need a key to get into the lounges, but this reminds me of a hotel that I stayed at regularly years ago... Radisson South and Plaza Tower in Bloomington, MN.

The concierge floor was accessable to anyone (IIRC) from the elevator; however, there was an older lady that sat at the desk... all day... every weekday. When you stepped off of the elevator, she asked in a stern manner "do you belong here"? Didn't matter if you were there all week, you got the same treatment. We nicknamed her the floor-warden.

In the evenings (after 7:00 p.m. or so,) she was gone and anyone could walk in and enjoy cookies, milk, etc. Oh, and the free porn on the TV in the lounge! I was shocked.



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Bob

When was your last experience at Ren Zurich? During my visit Dec 2002, we stayed on the conceierge floor, but since the lounge was just outside the elevator, it appeared that anyone could've accessed it w/o the attendant present.

I have also encountered this (no check/door open). Methinks most guests would have enough integrity to stay out if they don't have access. In any case, most guests that know of the lounge and policies would have already used it legitimately and chances are would have legitimate access the next time (status, etc.). Same as some hotel business centres - you tell them how much time you've spent and get charged accordingly. Nothing wront with a little bit of good old fashioned trust, certainly not a reason for you to think that the lounge is a joke.

Marriott usually gives me a Concierge Level room when I stay there (I'm Gold), but the lounges always seem to be closed. Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that lounges at Marriotts truly aren't a big deal.

At Hiltons, lounges are a bigger deal. For one, they are open more often (7 days a week at all of the Hiltons I've stayed in in the past couple of years) and have more substance to them (e.g., better food variety, more newspapers, etc.).

I still come back to Marriott a lot because the hotels are nicer across the board, but lounge access is something I rarely even think about with Marriott. If I find one that is actually open...I consider it a bonus.