I couldn't find any threads using the search feature......

Platinum Premier with two rooms booked on reward stay at the Philadelphia Convention Center Marriott.

Its our first time letting our son take a friend. I booked the rooms with one adult, one child each and requested adjoining rooms.

I want/need the rooms to adjoin our room for a number of reasons.

What is the best way to secure adjoining rooms? Call the hotel directly? How far ahead of time?

I would either call or email the hotel directly. Personally I would say about 1 week before, and then call the morning of check-in just to confirm.

As a Platinum I don't think you'll have any issues.

Your thread title uses the word connecting. Your post uses the word adjoining. Those words are not the same thing - not in hotel lingo, and not according to Merriam-webster. Find clarity in your mind before you contact the hotel by phone.

https://www.vacationkids.com/vacatio...-family-suites

Call, call and call again to confirm. Get to a rooms controller and have him/her confirm via email and block the reservation from being moved.

Property is good with upgrades but has other minor service issues IME and I can see something like this falling through the cracks.

Now I could be wrong (it wouldn't be the first time), but I think that website is actually inaccurate. In hotel parlance, "connecting" and "adjoining" are synonymous. It is "adjacent" which means connected only by a wall but no interior door.

I would call the hotel immediately to make sure they have connecting rooms if that is what you are looking for. It can't hurt to ask far in advance for them to tag your reservation for connecting rooms, but as suggested you should call back a week before to confirm.

The success of getting a connecting room pair begins with the physical configuration of the hotel.

Some hotels were built with few if any connecting rooms, while others have way too many (at least for those of who don't like a connecting door, when we're only getting one hotel room).

Another issue is what types of rooms connect at a particular property. King-to-king? King-to-double-double? Double-double-to-double-double?

As this thread indicates, the word "connecting" is unambiguous, while the word "adjoining" is best avoided because it means different things to different people.

I would recommend calling the hotel well ahead of time to get the hotel's advice for how to get a connecting room pair successfully, with the right kind of beds in each room.

Back when we were getting a connecting room pair for family vacations, some hotels blocked me into a room pair months ahead of time (and kept their promise), while other hotels read the line to me, "connecting rooms are never guaranteed."

Don't go through Marriott - done that and got 2 rooms with 4 floors in between. Contact the hotel directly to make the request.

Our experience with adjoining rooms is just weird - when we need them we never get them, when we only book 1 room 90% of the time there's a door to the room next door (when we are in the US).

Have CP@YOW make your reservation.

I agree - contact the property directly, preferably right now and then again the day before/morning of arrival.

Call. Discuss this with a manager. Then send that person an email confirming and call again on the morning of your arrival.

When you ask, explain what you want so that you don't get into semantic arguments.

This advice about speaking with another human being avoids many of the problems which people report on FT. Believe it or not, many people in the hospitality industry really do want to be hospitable. When you make a connection with someone, they are more likely to help you. Nothing is ever certain, but this goes a long way.

I called the Plat # and spoke to a rep, who called the hotel while I was on the line. As it stands, we have a guarantee (for what's that's worth!) of two connecting rooms, one king, one with two doubles. I will definitely call the hotel direct a couple of days prior to arrive and the day before and the day of arrival as well.

Thanks for the advice.

Definitely call, try to get room numbers and a confirmation they have noted or blocked the rooms "do not move". I've done this in the past with the help of a rooms controller.