This is concerning full service Mariott, JW and Renaissance hotels only!


Before I didnt care! Now that I have a laptop, I do.

IS there free internet offered by any of those hotels. I checked some and I assumed since it said its wired, then its free. Some said 9.95 charge, so I assumed its not free. Im looking for complementary internet, no paying involved. Im also a Silver Elite, does that waive anything? Lastly is the free internet in intl destination such as Aruba, Cancun, Europe etc. Thanks for the help!

Most of the full service Marriotts, Renaissances and JWs charge $9.95 - $12.95 per day for internet access. At the Doral, it was $16.95 per day - and was part of the "resort fee." I don't come across too many Marriotts with free internet.

OTOH, the RIs, CYs and FIs all pretty much have free internet...go figure

As of now you pay for hs internet, wired or wireless, at the full service properties. Some offer a package that includes internet and phone; some don't. There are a very few full service properties that now provide free internet. However, it may get very interesting in the coming year as Radisson has just announced free high speed internet at their full service properties. Could be the first domino. Marriott elite status means zippo in respect to internet charges.

It depends on the Hotel. In the US you can pretty much plan on paying for it with few exceptions. International FS Marriotts it varies. Here is a link to a thread started back in August detailing policies at some internaitonal properties. Search... imagine the posibilties.

In the 3 UK properties I've been in this week (2 Marriott & 1 Renaissance) it is 15 Pounds/24 hours or 75 Pounds/week.

The Ren Ginza in Tokyo has free wired HSIA.

Not only doesn't status matter at all, but there are NO discounts for long term (that I've found). 9.95/day is the minimum. which is $70/week, and $280 for us long term type people. Amazing. For that price I can almost get a dedicated T1 link.... Personally I think there should be discounts for status, as well as cost tiers for 5 days, 7 days and longer. It's ludicrous to pay $280 for access....

Just venting...

No charge, seemingly for anyone at the full service property (City Center) in PIT. The Ren in PIT however does charge.

I received free high speed at Indy downtown Marriott, I am not sure if it was a concierge floor benefit or not, I do not remember.

If you have access to the concierge lounge in some full service Marriott's and Renaissance Hotels they have a computer available. I also carry a laptop and its pretty inconvenient to use at the Marriott's. My company does not pay for me to have access and $70+ per week is more than I care to pay. The usual line is that this also gives you unlimited long distance, but who uses that? I think most of the road warriors have cell phone plans with lots of minutes. I wish Marriott would change its policy at the full service hotels.

The website shows the $9.95 wired for business rate. When I clicked on the conciege level rooms, it didn't say anything about free hs internet as a benefit. Maybe there's been a change?

My experience has been that the full service Marriotts charge for the service, while the Courtyards (or the Courtyards in Canada, I should say) don't charge for it. This is one of my biggest beefs with Marriott. I can stay at a Courtyard, pay less, and get free high-speed internet access or stay at a full service, pay considerably more, and then they sting you for the additional fee. OK, I don't get access to a Concierge lounge at a Courtyard, but I would trade it off for free internet access.

Or at least build the internet access into my room rate. I feel like I get "nickel and dimed" for these extra charges. But Marriott loses out, because I won't stay at a full service if internet access is free at a Courtyard nearby.

I logon using my T-Mobile Hotspot account for a $6.99 daily roaming rate per day when @ Marriotts. I have multiple cell phone, so why pay an extra $3 to the hotel for free LD. Most recently used at the Greensboro, NC Marriott. Usually stay at Fairfields where it is free.

My experience on all chains is consistent with the above: full service hotels usually charge extra for Internet access, lower tier chains tend to offer it for free. At Marriott, CY, FI, and SH all typically have free, either wired or wireless.

Free, especially in terms of WiFi, can be a mixed bag. I've stayed at some properties that have pretty poor WiFi coverage and no wired option. Hard to complain about a free service. At one hotel, this must have been a big issue, because last time I was there they had switched from free WiFi to free wired in-room Internet.

My personal hope is that it will take one major full-service hotel to give in, and then it will be "free" (i.e. bundled into the room rate). On the other hand, maybe if your expense account withstands a Marriott, it withstands $9.95 for Internet access. They still charge obscene pricing for phone service, but no one uses it - unfortunately, not a great option yet for Internet.

See my post above. Third from the top.