Ok i'm typically not one to complain, but this experience, from start to finish and beyond, was HORRIBLE!

I wont mention the city, but in early October I checked into a CY (i'm a platinum MR member), Platinum gift was in the room. Soon after checking in, I noticed the window was open and the screen was missing and there were several "box elder bugs" in the blinds.

I got rid of most of them, unpacked and went to bed. I left a note for the maid to not open the window because the screen was missing and there were bugs in the room. Well, I returned and the window was open and there were more bugs.

Next morning, (I didn't receive a wakeup call as requested), I leave another note, well I return that evening and my room was not made up at all. Note was still there, but I suspected the maid came in and for some reason was mad at my note. (It wasn't that rude, it simply asked her to leave the freaking window shut).

My checkout was the next morning, I left a note at the front desk for the manager, explaining my problems during this stay. The assistant manager called me 2 days later apologizing for the problems and offered me 35,000 Marriott Rewards points and a full refund of my entire stay.

I asked if I could get the refund on another card (used a business card and i'd never see the $$), he said no, but he could get me a check, but it would require putting in a vendor check request and waiting up to 45 days. I called the week of Thanksgiving and talked to him, he told me that he checked the records and the check was on its way, i'd see it any day now. (The 35k points only took 4 days to post)

In early December I still didn't have the check, so I called and was told the asst. Manager i'd been dealing with had transferred to another property in another city, and the general manager was out all week at a convention. I left a voicemail and sent a fax to the general manager, he called me back and told me that he just faxed the paperwork to their payables division and I'd see the check within 45 days. I asked him why the 45 days just started when the paperwork was supposed to have been taken care of back in early October. He had no answer, I asked why the asst had told me the check would be there around Thanksgiving, again, no answer. He told me i'd have the check in 45 days and he'd get me another 10k Marriott points.

At this point, I sent off a letter to Marriott Corporate Offices in DC (2 months later i've not heard from them, a bit frustrated by that fact!).

Well finally 3 1/2 months after the bad stay, I received the check. Now the additional 10k points I was promised back in early December have not yet posted. Through various email exchanges with the Manager, he swears up and down that he's faxed the paperwork over to Marriott Rewards people 3 different times, but for some reason they haven't posted it.

Anyone have other horror stories? It's a good thing Marriott had already earned my business, I wrote this off as a one time horrible stay, but my biggest frustrations are with how long it took to get me the check, and the fact that nobody from Corporate Offices ever contacted me about this complaint. I'm not holding my breath on that extra 10k points either.

Only one, which so far has been an isolated event.

It's too bad about your hassles but wonder about ethics or optics of pocketing the refund rather than have it go back to your employer. Or am I misreading what you meant?

I don't see anything unethical. The money was compensation for a "personal" bad experience or inconvenience. The company did not have the bad experience. If a certificate was instead given for a future free stay, should this be used for future corporate stays only? Should the points that were compensated be used for rewards that offset corporate expenses only?

Having a certificate or some voucher for future use is quite a bit different than cash IMHO as one is on and one is off the books.

I stayed on Jan 7th and the key did not work. I had it reloaded four times and still no luck. Finally maintenance took me up to the room unlocked the door and let me in and I still had no key for the room. It felt weird. I wrote corporate and they referrred to hotel manager who replied by email and offered 5000 marriott points. Still no points and won't return emails. Nice offer to compensate but NO follow through. What should I do next?

PS: the Desk clerk had been on duty 17 straight hours due to short staffing.

Why? The whole point of sharing info here is that we are forewarned about properties where problems may occur.

The client that i'm visiting gets the expense bill, so my employer didn't eat anything. Had they put it on the original card, then my employer would have been reimbursed from the client, as well as from Marriott, and i wouldnt have seen the credit.

Plus, as someone else mentioned, it was me that had the bad stay, not the company. Either way, thus far its been an isolated incident, hopefully it stays that way

My worst Marriott experience, by far, was at the Mission Valley Marriott in SD. The weekend staff was beyond horrible during our June 2005 stay, and the property itself was quite dated.

The person at the front desk refused to check me in at the rate I booked several months earlier, offered to check me in at the rack rate which is "only" $30 more per night, alternatively offered to call me a cab so I can go to the FI, and generally acted extremely condescending. I asked for a manager, and she said that she is the manager. I asked her to call the elite line. She called, hung up 30 seconds later, and then lied to me, claiming that they agreed with her but that she suddenly had a change of heart and decided to honor the rate after all.


The next day, when we returned to the room, housekeeping hadn't replaced the coffee. It's no big deal, so I just called down and told them. Three calls and several hours later, still no coffee. It's now very late, and I have to get up early. A staff member strolled up to our door with a cell phone in his ear, pounded on the door, handed me a ziplock bag containing coffee, stared at me for several seconds, and then walked away. He never said a single word and never took the phone out of his ear.

I wouldn't be surprised if there is better service during the week, but the only good things we experienced are that the guys out front were pleasant and that the trolley stops nearby. Fortunately, we didn't spend a lot of time in the hotel during the stay.

I've had great experiences, my only bad one is at the one in Redmond, WA.

I was checking in at around 11:00pm, after a bad travel day which included sitting in a plane at IAD for 1.5 hours waiting for a cargo door fix, and hanging at DIA way too long after missing a connection at DIA.

I walked into the lobby and no one was at the desk, no one anywhere. I waited for about 5 minutes, then i started yelling "hello, anybody here" a few times, and then i called the hotel on my mobile phone, someone answered and i told them i was trying to check in but no one was at the desk, i was told someone would be right with me.

A young man comes out with a attitude, probably because i was taing him away from a nap. Never felt so unwelcome at a hotel in my life. I wasn't even offered my Platinum arrival gift and I didn't ask for it becuase i was afraid of doing something i'd regret if i had to deal with him anymore.

If you haven't checked out, make sure you collect the $100 platinum gift guarantee before you leave. That would be fair compensation for your greeting at check-in.

I used to stay at this property a lot 1.5-2 years ago and always found service to be exemplary, even on weekends. I have stayed there twice in the last 3 months as well and also found service to be excellent. They recently redid all of the guest rooms; I am not sure if that was before or after your stay. They also significantly expanded and upgraded the fitness center. Plats get free breakfast buffet on the weekends too (not sure about Gold) and it's one of my favorite buffets at a Marriott -- yummy omelette fillings (incl shrimp) and to-die-for donuts.

The revamp must have been after my stay. I know a lot of run-down Marriotts have updated in the last couple of years, so I made sure to mention that my stay was in June 2005.

OTOH, the property needed more work than you've described. For example, the chairs around the pool looked like they were purchased in 1982, both in terms of style and condition.

Don't think the fact that it is a client is any better. Think there's a good argument that could be made that the client was fraudulently billed.

You can debate this further...the $100 Platinum Gift Guarantee is compensation for bad service just as the credit for the room was for bad service. Both are monetary in nature to compensate the individual. Would you keep the $100 or would you give it to your company?

If you buy gift cards at a 10% discount, do you pass on the savings to your company?

Using a free night certificate or monetary voucher such as bonus bucks, do you still expense the full rate for the room to your company?

Your credit card gives you 5% back for hotels, do you discount your hotel bill 5% before expensing it?

The lines are blurry between what is personal compensation and what is legitimate savings to be passed on to a company. I could argue that the company is due all these cost savings, but I suspect the company does not expect these savings to be passed on to them and would allow the individual to reap these benefits.

My 2 cents - I'm personally not comfortable pocketing the money. The points would seem to me to be my compensation for a crappy experience. Again, my opinion