Last week I stayed at the Mariott Courtyard in downtown Chicago and the stay was probably one of the best I've ever had at ANY hotel, much less any Mariott. For example:

-During check in the desk clerk was incredibly curteous and took time to explain to me where everything was in the hotel (especially the all-important Starbucks!)
-The restaraunt staff were stupendous.
-The doorman was just incredible. By the 2nd day, he remembered my name (not sure how he found out to begin with!) and where I needed a cab to. Each night he greeted me by name when I returned and welcomed me back.
-When I checked out the desk clerk (different one than the one who checked me in) was at least as curteous, nice and friendly as during check in.

All, in all a memorable stay and one that I will look forward to repeating in the future!

Now on the flip side. This week I am staying at the Mariott Residence Inn Tysons Corner, VA and it has been a disaster from the beginning:

-No Platinum welcome gift. When I inquired at the front desk, I was told "we don't honor that here, besides you are on a discounted holiday rate, so you shouldn't expect any extras anyway!".
-Newspaper at my door one out of three days
-No bill under the door today when I checked out
-No one at the front desk when I tried to check out. Had to go hunt them down.
-I asked when I checked out about the lack of newspaper and bill and was told "we are short staffed during the holiday's and you shouldn't expect anything extra during this time anyway".

All in all an incredibly poor experience. Marriott should be thanking their lucky stars (and the incredible staff at their property in Chicago) that I am not starting off the new year with staying at a different hotel chain!

Personally I would write a letter to Marriott regarding the Tysons Corner property. Also they should have honored the MR Platinum guarantee since they do participate in the Marriott Rewards program. At least you can earn points there and also redeem points there, so the desk clerk was mistaken when tellling you they do not participate. Next time call the Platinum desk during your stay and have them handle it.

Also, neither their rate information nor description of the accomodations, shown below, indicate "no service" or "reduced service" as part of this rate:

Welcome to the wonderful world of Northern Virginia where nobody knows your name nor do they give a damn if they do or don't. You're luck you had someone at the front desk who spoke English

Maybe the would like you more if you spelled Marriott correctly.

If you're Platinum you're also due some compensation for not receiving the Platinum gift. There are no exceptions (except Marriott Vacation Club) .. I believe it's $50 for Residence Inn. I assume you may have already checked out, but if not, followup with the manager, and if you have checked out, write Customer Service.

PS -- I must agree about Northern Virginia. I've stayed at many hotels (all chains) around there -- and the best experience is the one where i have no bad experiences

Good one, ual1k!

But seriously, I think two letters would be appropriate. The kind of service the Courtyard gave you deserves mention, too, IMHO. ^

I guess I have a sticky rrr key. Sometimes I get too many, sometimes I don't get enough.

Anyway, I will write the letters sometime. Or maybe I won't.

BTW, it's not just in Virginia, I checked into the Marriott Courtyard by SFO on 12/22, and there was no Platinum gift that night either. On the plus side, I got a free upgrade to a much nicer room, so I decided that more than offset the lack of an arrival gift.

A suggestion from someone with Platinum envy

Call elite services on your cell while looking for the check-out agent. Perhaps, they can round up the right person, like the hotel manager. Also, considering your circumstances (VA), you could've done a "BTW" with elite services while on the phone.

As to SFO, your upgrade is part of Marriott's efforts to treat their platinums in a commensurate manner. In no way should it be a substitute for the arrival ammenity or compensation thereto. See above for suggested action if facing resistance (which you didn't note since you didn't ask).

Sorry to hear about your problems!

We're lowly silvers with MR but spend a ton of money on their timeshare product so I expect them to perform to the quality standard they advertise. So far, I've been very satisfied with our hotel stays at both full and select service properties (more of the latter). However, there is a prominent entry in my voice dialer for "Marriott guest services" if I find our reasonable expectations aren't met. On other issues where I've contacted guest services, they've been fantastic.

Happy Holidays!

Pat