I had an opportunity to stay in BOTH a Marriott and a Sheraton the same exact days recently, primarily because both are offering excellent promotions and I am Platinum in both programs. Of course if Starwood is reading this, I stayed at the Sheraton Crystal City; if Marriott is reading this I stayed at the Marriott Tyson's Square. In both cases, I was the one who checked-in and checked-out of both hotels.

Crystal City is relatively close in to DC, while Tyson's Square is about 15-20 minutes away. So that may account for some of the differences below.

Reservation and Check-In

Relatively efficient at both hotels, though Marriott was having a convention at night and it was a tad slow. I had made the Sheraton reservation online using a pre-paid non-refundable rate and the Marriott reservation over the phone using a special coupon I had recieved.

Upon checkin at Sheraton they said they had no record they had charged me anything. I verified the rate was correct and from then on it was just like a regular pay-as-you-checkout reservation. I was a little concerned about the disconnect between the websites 'we'll charge you immediately' vs the hotel not charging at all till checkin, but that's ok. I did not ask for an upgrade or anything, but was given a room on the top room, on the (closed on weekends) concierge level. No suite upgrade, no breakfast coupons. Did receive the Platinum amenity and chose the 500 points.

Upon check-in at the Marriott I provided my coupon and was given a room on the second-to-top floor -- this Marriott had two concierge floors, and I was on the non-smoking one. Again the lounge was closed but I was told that I could have complimentary breakfast downstairs due to my Platinum status. I was informed that Marriott was moving to a Platinum choice program (Ala Starwood) and was given a card to chose between cheese/crackers, ice cream, water, pepsi, etc. They said I could give it to them then or later. My wife chose the Pepsi and cheese/crackers (no point choses) and we left it with the front desk.

The Rooms

The room at the Marriott was large by Washingotn standards, while the room at the Sheraton was about average. Both had very comfortable beds, this Marriott being a cut above the average Marriott, the Sheraton being about the same as any other Sheraton (which is normally a bit better than the average Marriott in my experience). Parking was free at Tyson's Square, and included a small garage below the hotel, and there was a charge at Crystal City for garage parking.

The Sheraton is on a metro stop; the Marriott is really only easily accessible by car, but across from Tyson's Galleria and Tyson's II, for nearly 500 stores nearby (with free shuttle service).

The Service

Both hotels professed to offer free newspapers, but only the Marriott delivered. There were no problems with Sheraton so I had no service calls or issues.

At the Marriott after two hours I called down and asked where my Platinum amenity was. After *35* rings on the Guest Service line they picked up and said they would call the front desk and see what's going on. 30 minutes later, hearing nothing or getting nothing, I called again. Same lady told me the front desk said they had no record of my choice (then why didn't she call me back?) and would put through another order for me. She said wait 10-15 minutes for it. 30 minutes later I called again and got another individual who said he would check on the order, again. Finally, 20 minutes after that I received your standard platinum box (water and a few snacks) rather than the choices I made.

Obviously Marriott is completely not used to offering choices like Sheraton, and if I have to go through all this hassle next time, I'd rather they just leave the Platinum box in the room. Since I've never selected food/etc from Sheraton I don't know how they handle it, either.

Finally, the Marriott's elevators were slow and small. The Sheraton had much larger and faster elevators.

Check-Out

Check-out at Marriott was a breeze. Bill under door, clearly showed coupon and how much it was worth, was able to check out on TV. Bill at Sheraton was also under door and correct but for some reason TV checkout did not work. Checked out downstairs (luckily no wait) and was on my way.

Conclusion

Neither hotel was perfect; I was expecting to get a suite at Sheraton, since Starwood seems to pride itself on upgrading its top tier more, but that wasn't the case here. OTOH Marriott seemed real confused by a platinum choice, and it might be better for them to stick with the 'box'. Overall I was pleased with both hotels and would stay again at either, depending on where I need to be in DC.

Thanks for the great comparason. It seems that hotel experiences tend to come down on the individual property moreso than the company frequent traveler program, unlike the airlines where the FFP's really have a bigger difference.

Thanks for your detailled description. Quite unprofessional behaviour how Marriott handled the amenity kit.

Another comparison (being married this is the only chance I get to play the field).. ROUND TWO!

Four Points by Sheraton Cleveland South
VS
Courtyard Cleveland Independence

These hotels were a mile apart and I stayed over the same night a week apart at the same rate.

First the Four Points

This is a nicer Four Points, especially because Four Points vary a LOT. When I checked in I received the Platinum amenity card, and when I asked for a suite I was told that they had upgraded me to a jacuzzi room. This was a humongous room with a nice single person jacuzzi in the corner, and two complimentary bottles of water. When I checked out I found a 'Safe Warranty' fee on my bill; it wasn't disclosed on check-in and found it on small print on the safe I didn't use. I didn't have time to argue, so I just left. I would guess the hotel had 25% occupancy.

Then the Courtyard

I've stayed at Courtyard's for over 100 nights in the past two years and have never gotten an upgrade. So I was expecting it to fall far short of the Four Points. When I arrived, the guy crossed out the room that was pre-assigned to me (as usual, elite members get that perk) and told me he had upgraded me to a King Suite. I was astonished, the room was about three times the size of your typical Courtyard room (which I can describe down to an inch).

No amenity or anything else offered, no bottles of water. And on top of that, no bill under the door (which the front desk apologized for as a mistake).

So my verdict? In this case, about even. But normally Starwood is better at the lower end because of the upgrades they give more regularly and the platinum amenity even at those properties (though it's offset by the fact that Four Points are much more variable than Courtyard's -- and can sometimes be worse than a Fairfield Inn).

So what's the verdict? Marriott for consistency and selection, Starwood for elite recognition, perks and customer service (due to Starwood Lurker and Platinum Concierges). Starwood's point program is also better, admittedly.

Lucky (or unlucky) I will probably have enough hotel nights to get Platinum in both programs... Since I will have the opportunity to compare Starwood vs Marriott, I will add more head-to-head comparisons to this thread. Hope somebody finds them useful!

Definitely useful for those of us going to these places. Thank you.

Marriott is moving to a Platinum choice program (ala Starwood), which is itself a copy of Hyatt's Diamond amenity that has been around for years ...

I just love how Starwood is now getting credit for coming up with this concept that they borrowed from Hyatt though (this is not the first post with that statement that Marriott is copying Starwood on that).

In fact, without the points, the Marriott program more closely resembles the Hyatt program than Starwood.

pitflyer great reports. Thanks for the simplicity and telling-it-like-it-is aspect of the reports.

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By the way, concerning the other comments on who should be credited for the amenity-choice program, it's not so important at who was first but at who popularized the program.

Hyatt has limited properties and a smaller base of frequent guests. Starwood, availed the program to a larger base and is trying to push the program to a wider and more consistent recognition level. So, it's natural that most people recognize Starwood for their efforts.

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Got points ? Got smiles !