Marriott Platinum - Is it really worth it?
 

I just got gold at Marriott and I'm starting to wonder if I should even bother sticking with Marriott. The hotel service I've received at the FS Omaha Marriott hotel has been worse than CY.


The unfortunate thing is it's the people at the front desk that leave a terrible impression on you. The room service staff are amazing and do a phenomenal job of making you feel welcome, cleaning crew do a great job, but the front desk make you feel like you are about to check into a Turkish prison.


Yea, they do the obligatory 'Hi' but that makes it feel even creepier. I asked them about an upgrade to the concierge level, one looked at me like I spoke Chinese and said, you can't have it because you only have 44 nights. When I corrected him and said, no my points from the previous week had not posted, the lady (women's prison warden) had to interfere and said you can't have a room there coz all the rooms have been booked. Remember, this is OMAHA! This is the same person I had to argue with because she wanted to put me in a first floor room.


I'll stop my rant now but I'm reconsidering switching to Starwood and severing all ties with Marriott. I have about 90K points with them - not a whole lot and I just wish I can get similar status to Starwood. Maybe then i'll donate my points.

Badjuju,

I am not certain how one is treated in Turkish prisons:) But Marriot Full service leave a lot to be desired for Golds & Platinums.

There are numerous posts here in the forum debating the merits of top elite
status at the various chains....and throughout all the threads it is clear that Marriott Gold-Platinum status is ranked the lowest in terms of usefullness by
other FTers.

I would just keep the Marriott Gold status you have and use it overseas (where elites are treated much better)

As for starwood...use your Gold status with Marriott to get a comp at Starwood to elite level and you wil be pretty happy for the most part.

One final thing...I have noticed just like you that it is the various Marriott's in the podunks that give you the toughest time with Gold-Platinum benefits. I guess the folks who work the front desk in Omaha or Tulsa or Podunk USA get a rush when they deny someone who is not trapped living in a Podunk like they are their benefits. Never had such a hard time getting Platinum benefits in larger east or west coast cities.

is Plat worth it, not IMO Gold will get me what I want/need.

That being said, if you think *W or HH is any different its NOT. We have to go thru what you did ALL the time also. I think it really depends on the prop. As I have been upgraded even before I checked in at some hotels, at others even with the lot having less then a dz cars and no buses, and its not a Downtown Prop , I heard sorry we are full tonight , gee at 11;30pm with an empty lot where is everyone?!, let me guess you have 50 buses coming in at 3 am! got teh room but why should we have to go thru it.

It's funny you mention the buses - last week I drive up and the parking lot is a ghost town. As I check in, a lady walks to the front desk and complains about not being able to reach room service because the phone just kept ringing and no one answered. The genuis at the front desk tells her 'sorry ma'am, we're really busy tonight'. Of course this lady had also checked in that same day and realized it was almost empty. She just said 'With what!?!?' in this snappy manner.

We burst out laughing. Hey Marriott, if you guys are going to use canned responses, you might want to see if that applies.

By SOME other FTers. I would vehemently disagree, as my experience has been exactly the opposite.

Same here. I'm not sure how I could be treated any better by Marriott. Maybe I just have lower needs/expectations/wants than others, but I'm very rarely disappointed in the service I get at any Marriott property.

Tack on my vote to the last 2 replies. I'm slightly biased however since I have not stayed at other properties because I am happy with Marriott.

I'm Plat with Marriott (at 72 nites as of tonite & 3 more this week before I get home). I'm also Diamond with HH.

Both are awesome & disagree with the OP. Mrs Hazmike & I are treated as queen & king. We typically get upgraded to suites & nabbed the Presidential Suite @ the Rio JW recently.

Head to *wood if you wish :rolleyes: , but there's Marriott and everyone else.

The freally cool part with Hilton is that we have a no longer offered Mutual Fund...both Mrs Hazmike & I get credit for stays. If Marriott would offer the MF, now tthat'd be really cool, but I'm very satisfied.

Mike

I have to disagree with the OP. I've gotten nothing but great treatment, even at NYC properties. I do think that the treatment at a full service is a little bit better than the treatment at CY's though. The CY's have been hit and miss for me.

This past Monday I was treated like I was the only plat they had seen all day - offered to send up an amenity even though I choose the points because I looked exhasuted (I was). Even last night the gentleman taking room service orders couldn't try to please me enough when he saw that I was plat - offering to send up ice because I already had water from the lounge and a glass just in case I didn't want to drink out of a bottle. It wasn't huge stuff but it was a nice thought. I don't expect upgrades in NYC because the hotel really is sold out every week - but they have always gone out of their way to accommodate my room requests (and even corner rooms ugrade on occassion), even the first week I stayed there.

So far I haven't had many problems with Marriott properties anywhere. It would appear that the problems stems from that particular property and not systemwide. A letter to Marriott's customer relations department is in order -- forget about sending it to the GM of that hotel, they'll get it from the customer relations department.

If it's that bad (and it sounds like it is), stay away from that hotel and stay at a Courtyard. If it's any comfort, I'll be going to Omaha in February and I'm planning to away from that hotel because of your experience there.

Alternative arrangements in Omaha
 

I wasn't impressed with the Marriott in Omaha either. Personally, I ended up staying at the Club House Inn and Suites at 11515 Miracle Hills Dr., which is just the other side of 680 off Dodge Road. There's no points (which might mean a lot of people here get put off), but there is a free happy hour and free breakfast. The bartender's name is Cowboy, and he's funny.

As for Platinum status, not really sure it's worth it because of the high number of nights you need to stay as compared to other hotel chains. Unless you need the additional 5% point bonus because you have a specific reward in mind with a high point value, or you feel that the 48 hour reservation guarantee is needed, not really that much benefit.

That being said, I do tend to stay in Marriotts when I travel for work, but that's because I find them nicer than Sheraton's and more likely to fit within the travel budget than a Westin will be. Otherwise, I'd probably go with *wood.

Greg

I have been gold for two years and just made platinum his year. In general I am very satisfied with Marriott. Occasionally there are hiccups during some of my stays but overall consistency is good. While I was treated well as gold, I do seem to get better recognition as platinum. If you’re expecting upgrades to suites or always expect to be on the concierge level, you will probably be disappointed. If you expect all properties to be at least good with most in the very good to excellent category as well as generally having your preferences noted and fulfilled, you should be satisfied.

For me the one exception to this is Fairfield Inns where there is a large variance in quality. My track record with them is improving. If you limit yourself to Fairfield properties with the newer design (e.g. three floors with all interior corridors or newer tower designs) you should be okay. The properties with the older tower design or the old three-story design with the 1st two floors with exterior corridors and the top floor with an interior corridor seem to be a poor bet. I have had many problems with general upkeep and cleanliness at those properties and now avoid them. Overall, I prefer Springhill Suites, followed by Courtyard, Renaissance and Marriott. Generally use full service properties in cities and CY or SHS in the suburbs or more rural locations. FI when it is the only choice in town or my budget is extremely tight. I am a point whore so I rarely do RI or TPS.

The consistency and dependability combined with the large number of locations is the winning combination for me. Starwood is much more limited in locations. I haven’t explored Hilton recently but expect it would be comparable to Marriott. Probably better at the limited service properties with more variance at the full service properties. Since I am satisfied with Marriott and have top-level status, I have little reason to explore Hilton at this point.

YMMV,

Jon

Definitely worth it
 

I was just at the Paris Marriott Champs Ellyses for 4 nights using award points. I checked in at 9am, I thought I might have to wait for a room to be ready because I did not inform the hote ahead of time, but they were able to check me right in. The front desk person was very appreciative that I am a Platinum member and said he had upgraded me to a tri-level room facing Champs Ellyses and that the hotel Guest Relations manager will show me to my room. Even at the US properties, I am always at the JW hotels, they definitlely appreciate your patronage as a Platinum member. ^

It is definitely worth it.

They will let you pool points with your spouse (op-sex, at least :)) for an award, so that's almost as good as a full mutual account.

I always make sure my wife takes part in any of the stay- or night-based promos -- double the pleasure, double the fun.

Some time, she might even actually stay there with me. :)

Upgrade
 

I've never, ever been "upgraded" to a better room at Courtyard properties in Sacramento (even though I know they exist) but I routinely get room upgrades at Courtyard and Renaissance in San Francisco and Marriott in Long Beach. Even though Sacramento is the State capital, maybe the "boonducks" mentality applies. I've never found the Platinum welcome gift to be of any value at all (bottled water and a cookie seems pretty standard) unless it's 500 points, which full Marriott and Renaissance offer as an alternative. But I'm relatively easily pleased as far as accommodation goes, so I'll stick with Marriott (and its Rewards). It's the little things that annoy me and they can happen anywhere. For example, 4 days out of 5 this week the cleaning staff have turned my radio alarm to on while cleaning the room even though I complain to the housekeeper several times about this. I just figure they're dumb

This has been my first year as Platinum and I don't know if I'm going to stay Plat next year. I'm at 60 nights and would really have to push to requalify. At this point, I don't see the value. I've been upgraded to a suite only once this entire year (I don't consider "concierge floor" to be an upgrade, and most of the Marriott's I've stayed at don't have a concierge floor anyway). I have been treated very well by the Marriott and CY staff that I've interacted with, but I'm not sure I'd have been treated any different if I were a regular guest, let alone Platinum v. Gold. The only perk I've found that is Platinum only is the 48 hour guarantee, and it's just not valuable enough for me.

Overall, I'm on the fence with Marriott. Good people, but the perks are only so-so, and I've yet to stay at a property that wowed me.

This has been my first year as Platinum and I don't know if I'm going to stay Plat next year. I'm at 60 nights and would really have to push to requalify. At this point, I don't see the value. I've been upgraded to a suite only once this entire year (I don't consider "concierge floor" to be an upgrade, and most of the Marriott's I've stayed at don't have a concierge floor anyway). I have been treated very well by the Marriott and CY staff that I've interacted with, but I'm not sure I'd have been treated any different if I were a regular guest, let alone Platinum v. Gold. The only perk I've found that is Platinum only is the 48 hour guarantee, and it's just not valuable enough for me.

Overall, I'm on the fence with Marriott. Good people, but the perks are only so-so, and I've yet to stay at a property that wowed me.

This is my first year with Marriott and to me, the upgrade to the concierge floor and/or lounge, is a big upgrade. I am on a per diem for food, so if I can eat dinner and breakfast in the CL, that is more money in my pocket. And so far I have always been able to make a dinner out of the CL offerings. Since I am limited to a government rate, there is no way I could afford the C level any other way.

I have been upgraded to a suite once at a Renassaince and I am not so sure it was worth it. Sure it was a bigger room but it wasn't like I was looking to play football in the hotel room anyway. The suite was on a different floor from the CL, and I think I would prefer to be on the same floor, even if it is in a normal room.

That being said, I would never turn down a suite upgrade. To my way of thinking, they offered something as appreciation for my business and I don't want to throw it back in their face.

Dumb is right...
 

One time, after checking in at around 1:00 AM, I had the alarm go off at 4:00 AM. I was NOT a happy camper. Bad enough that it was turned on, but set to FOUR in the morning!?!?

Alarming
 

I walk down the corridor every morning to breakfast at 6am and I can tell which rooms are unoccupied (at least at that time) by the number of alarms going off. Unbelievable. (I did think that maybe I was being victimised because I'm an ......., but apparently not! :o )

I have been Platinum for a long time and I am very happy with the services. I get upgrades all the time w/o any problems. :)

One feature that makes Marriott Platinum worthwhile is the 48-hr room availability guarantee. I have used it four times this year to get a room where non were avilable. With the hurricanes this fall, it became pretty tough to find a room in Houston, Austin, and Atlanta. The "platinum override" came in handy for sure.

Other than that, the features of platinum aren't really worth making an extra effort to get. The platinum "gifts" are nice but usually just spome cookies and a bottle of water unless you are at a Marriott or Rennisance, in which case you usually get your choice of wine & cheese, a beer & nuts or 500 points. A couple times this year they let me double dip and pick two.

Room upgrades also typically only happen at the full service hotels. i have also found that platinums usually get better treatment in the major metro areas and tend to be ignored in when you are in the sticks.

I have had them forget my platinum gift a number of times, though usually at the Fairfields or Spring Hill.

It is a complete crapshoot
 

The best way to prepare for a Marriott stay as an elite is to assume nothing. Assume that they treat will treat you as if it was your first stay at a marriott. Try to talk you into a room you didn't request, forget to give you your welcome gift and fail to post the stay to your account. If you assume these as constants a few properties along the way will surprise you.

I have to say I'm firmly in the camp of those who are well pleased with my platinum status. Above and beyond the stated benefits, I find that I'm almost always treated like the hotel staff is genuinely glad to see me.

As for the "extras" and upgrades, my experience is "simply ask". I've found that as long as what you're asking for is within reason and do-able, the hotels will try to accomodate you. I generally don't care all that much for the upgrades when I'm travelling alone on business....but when I'm with my wife and would like a larger or nicer room, etc., I tell them what I'd like and why. Usually, they're more than glad to oblige. As one manager put it.."We try to live up to what you'd expect from us".

As for "what I'd like to see" in the way of benefits, its two things. At the Fairfields, Courtyards and limited serv properties, offer points instead of all those pretzels and water bottles. It doesn't have to be the same 500 you get at the Full-Serves....a hundred or two points would be just fine. As for the FS properties, how about free high speed web and local phone calls for the platinums? That would certainly address those who don't find all that much difference between gold and plat.

I believe platinums get free local calls - free HS internet would be awesome.

Nope; not at full service properties, which is what the poster referred to.

"When you stay at participating U.S. and Canada Courtyard, SpringHill Suites, and Fairfield Inn locations, you are entitled to free, unlimited local phone calls and faxes up to 15 pages per day to any U.S. and Canada destination.