|
Originally Posted by NDDomer86
(Post 28679563)
I will admit to not being on the up and up on FT anymore, so would you mind explaining this?
In Florida and PR pretty much every hotel on a beach have closed their CL over the past few years. Some of them are NOT resorts in any capacity. Resort Hotels do not have to offer a Lounge/breakfast. You get really no benefits as upgrades at resorts are tough. Free wifi is available for signing up for a rewards account. So at a resort your benefits are about zero. Sort of like staying at CY. If you travel a majority of your stays in Florida/Caribbean you aren't getting much for your loyalty. I can get the points on my reserve card that I would get from Marriott and use them on a choice of airlines or hotels. |
Originally Posted by DJ_Iceman
(Post 28679510)
I don't mean to derail this thread, but I'm continually shocked at the number of people who judge the quality of a hotel (or a rewards program) by their complementary breakfast. Personally, I would put that item somewhere around #98 in the list of most important items to me, but the topic keeps coming up. Seriously, if I'm already spending a few hundred dollars a night for a room, having to spend another $50 for breakfast (or $100 for that matter) isn't going to bother me in the slightest. I'd much rather have a high-quality experience, great guest service, upscale furnishings, etc. and pay for breakfast than to stay in a mediocre hotel where (yay!) breakfast is free. Call me crazy...
Also not sure where you are staying, but rarely are these hotels over 200 dollars. Maybe to you 500-1000 on a trip it is no big deal. To others that is more spending money for other things besides overpriced water and breakfast. |
Originally Posted by hhoope01
(Post 28680210)
I do believe the Hollywood Beach Marriott still has a lounge (and elites do get access.)
For me, when traveling with the family, I'm usually not as enamored with stuffing 4 or 5 of us in a single hotel room even if it is on the beach. I normally try to find an MVCI property instead and get a big suite with a full kitchen. I've stayed at the MVCI properties in Ft. Lauderdale, Aruba, St. Kitts, Hawaii (more than once), etc. All of them were on the beach (OK, the Beachplace Towers is across A1A, but as close as it could get to the beach there. :) ) I've not tried it yet, but the Marriott Key West Beachside hotel is really an MVCI that Marriott turned into a hotel instead. So lots of 1, 2, 3 bedroom suites for awards.) In all of those, we tend to buy some breakfast foods and cook breakfast in the room every morning. Much cheaper and is as tasty as we want it to be. :D So if you can get points elsewhere, rarely get upgraded, no breakfast or lounge, no free wifi (part of resort fee) what is the point to stay loyal? |
Delray Beach Marriott is across the street from the ocean and had a great CL in 2008. Its more of a convention hotel. Wonder if it's still open.
|
Originally Posted by jr1202sr
(Post 28681074)
So if you can get points elsewhere, rarely get upgraded, no breakfast or lounge, no free wifi (part of resort fee) what is the point to stay loyal? Cheers. |
I always look for hotels with lounges when traveling for leisure (and check the FT lounge sticky). I just like having soft drinks available to me all day. It's a convience thing and I don't want to pay hotel mini bar prices.
|
Outsider perspective here. Hilton diamond (already qualified for next year) and wife is on track for Hyatt globalist in Sept. We have marriott / spg gold via American Express platinum and she's actually stayed a few times when it's a conference HQ hotels.
I've contemplated getting a status challenge for Marriott (SPG isn't a big enough footprint for me hence I'm hilton). I could easily get platinum. The crossover benefits are nice (United and Delta status). Transferring out points via SPG to airline partners is awesome as would the Marriott vacation packages be. Why haven't I? Simple.Breakfast. It's not even an option at Courtyard hotels. So many other hotels have an exclusion. So yeah for those on this thread questioning it, for ME it's a deal breaker.
Originally Posted by darthbimmer
(Post 28680998)
I get your point that breakfast is not important to you. It's not a make-or-break issue to me, either, but I'd still rank it at #3 or 4 on the list of elite benefits and 6-7th among hotel features overall. I definitely appreciate when elite complimentary breakfast is offered and done well, but it's rarely my deciding factor for choosing one property over another.
I recognize, though, that others may give it more weight, and why. For one, some people care more about eating breakfast than I do. I can skip it, or eat a protein bar I tucked in my bag, or grab something quick and light while I'm out and about. Two, I don't have a big family. If I did then even a modest breakfast offering could be a savings of $50/day versus having to go out somewhere for it, and at least a $75/day savings versus paying hotel restaurant prices for it. |
On the other hand, Doubletrees and Hiltons usually have a steep breakfast co-pay.
|
There's never a copay for the lounge. The vast majority of non lounge properties I stay at (Doubletree or Hilton) offer made to order omelets included. I certainly can think of a handful of exceptions and the "steep" surcharge has typically been $10 (like San Francisco Union Station).
Originally Posted by Points Scrounger
(Post 28681781)
On the other hand, Doubletrees and Hiltons usually have a steep breakfast co-pay.
|
I've never stayed at a CY outside of EU/Asia but when I have in EU/Asia as a P the CY has provided breakfast either in Exec Lounge or restaurant.
There's a sticky in this forum listing those CYs outside of US that this would be applicable.
Originally Posted by David Ocamb
(Post 28681766)
Outsider perspective here. Hilton diamond (already qualified for next year) and wife is on track for Hyatt globalist in Sept. We have marriott / spg gold via American Express platinum and she's actually stayed a few times when it's a conference HQ hotels.
I've contemplated getting a status challenge for Marriott (SPG isn't a big enough footprint for me hence I'm hilton). I could easily get platinum. The crossover benefits are nice (United and Delta status). Transferring out points via SPG to airline partners is awesome as would the Marriott vacation packages be. Why haven't I? Simple.Breakfast. It's not even an option at Courtyard hotels. So many other hotels have an exclusion. So yeah for those on this thread questioning it, for ME it's a deal breaker. |
Originally Posted by jr1202sr
(Post 28679253)
Go to Orlando and find a place with a lounge?!? I understand Marriott is a Business hotel. Treat us on vacation with our families as if we were on the company dime. If not lose our loyalty.
Three are resorts, so there's no Elite breakfast benefit:
Of the remaining eight properties that aren't resorts, five have lounges, and three provide breakfast for the Elite member and one guest in the restaurant:
The hotels with lounges are too far from Walt Disney World to be convenient for Disney vacations. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with the OP. I just wanted to present the details. |
Horace's list got me thinking: Is this a Marriott problem or a Florida problem?
I certainly understand where jr1202sr is coming from. Whether it makes sense to drop Marriott could depend on the alternatives. If other major chains offer breakfast and lounges in nearby properties, this could be a Marriott problem. If there are no alternatives, perhaps it's just a fact that hotels in these Florida markets have figured out they can stay full without providing these benefits to elite-level members of frequent guest programs. The data that Horace compiled may also suggest that hotels nearest the most trafficked tourist destinations (theme parks and beaches) are the only ones with this issue. Since complaining, even if legitimate, isn't going to make hotels change how they operate, you'll need to research alternatives in the markets you travel. |
Originally Posted by Horace
(Post 28682537)
Let's see... There are 11 properties in and around Orlando under the five Marriott brands that offer the Rewards Gold/Platinum Elite lounge/breakfast benefit.
Three are resorts, so there's no Elite breakfast benefit:
Of the remaining eight properties that aren't resorts, five have lounges, and three provide breakfast for the Elite member and one guest in the restaurant:
The hotels with lounges are too far from Walt Disney World to be convenient for Disney vacations. I'm not agreeing or disagreeing with the OP. I just wanted to present the details. You proved my point. You can throw out the 2 airport hotels as they are far from DT and the Parks and aren't suitable for business or leisure other than a night stay for a flight. The commute to anywhere in Orlando during rush hour would be 1 hour plus. You listed 1 hotel that isn't even open yet. Lake Mary Marriott is even further from everything then the airport locations and it is way down I-4. It is Not even in Orlando and as close to Daytona as Disney. So the only option with a Lounge is the Grand Bohemian Hotel Orlando, Autograph Collection. The Renaissance and Orlando World Center Marriott used to not be resorts (because they aren't really), but they changed that a few years ago. Look at the Jacksonville Area and you will see the same as I outlined in Miami and Orlando. The Old Marriott off 95 (needs a major renovation like the Marriott North Ft. Lauderdale) has a small minimal lounge. The Sawgrass Marriott is a resort. A true resort FWIW. The World Golf Renaissance is a resort (in name only) and now the Casa Monica has become a resort with a pool the size of the one in my backyard. Of course no lounge at the last two. This is being repeated all over Florida and Puerto Rico. 1/4 properties have lounges in Jacksonville/St. Augustine and 3 don't offer breakfast in lieu. In reality only 1/3 are real resorts. At the World Golf Village Renaissance St. Augustine "Resort" here are the luxurious offerings at the resort where you can eat: Villagio Italian Grille Italian Villagio Italian Grille, our hotel's signature Italian restaurant, brings a taste of the Old Country here to St. Augustine, with traditional pasta, flatbreads, seafood, steak, and more. Be sure to stop by for our buffet breakfast! Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner Dress code: Casual The Bar At Villagio American Stop in for a cocktail, a craft beer, or a glass of wine at our elegant restaurant bar, which also offers a small menu. Open for dinner Dress code: Casual The Resort Shop Sandwiches Pick up a memento from your St. Augustine visit at the Resort Shop. Our combination hotel gift shop/restaurant offers light breakfast and lunch options, as well as resort attire and more. So one Italian Place open and the bar open at dinner with a "small" menu. Nice resort huh? Marriott is playing games with the word resort more and more. It started with the renaissance and Orlando World Center Marriott adding slides to their pools and then adding resort to their name. In San Juan, they just closed them all together. I am curious what percentage of the hotels they list as a "resort" really are one and how many have it in the name to get around providing benefits to loyal customers. |
Originally Posted by jr1202sr
(Post 28684116)
You can throw out the 2 airport hotels as they are far from DT and the Parks and aren't suitable for business or leisure other than a night stay for a flight. The commute to anywhere in Orlando during rush hour would be 1 hour plus.
|
The resort exceptions, amenity fees, and resort fees are definitely annoying. I'm not really sure I understand the rationale behind all this except that maybe they think this makes the rate look better in the initial search. Seems like I was even charged an amenity fee in Spokane ....
Personally, I'm hoping they'll bring over the SPG rules on some things and dump the resort exceptions. Then again, SPG properties are less likely to have decent lounges. But, as to Florida, the JW Marquis and W are both decent properties in Miami. The JW has a lounge and the W has a breakfast voucher. The Grand Bohemian is a good property in Orlando with breakfast and a great bar. I think there are some decent places in Tampa as well. What is the story on the Stanton? |
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 4:49 am. |
This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.