I’m a Bonvoy Platinum and spend way more nights in Marriott properties than I’d like to admit, but lately it really feels like aggressive cost cutting is catching up with them.
Recent stay at a new Residence Inn in Seattle was a perfect example. Breakfast was chaos. Tiny space, terrible layout, nowhere near enough seating, and they only open at 7am even on weekdays. The result is a massive line and a full on morning scrum. The food itself felt like convenience store level at best.
Parking was another mess. No real drop off area, so if you have a car you’re basically blocking a downtown street while checking in. You can’t access the garage without a room key, and people constantly block the entrance trying to figure out how to get in.
And the pillows. I always request memory foam because I can’t sleep on saggy feather pillows. Lately I’m told everything from “we don’t stock foam pillows anymore” to being handed clearly lumpy pillows and told they’re foam.
This is a massive hotel group. You’d think they could figure out basics like breakfast flow, parking design, and consistent pillow options. Instead it feels like all of that has been value engineered to death.
What really drove it home was staying at cheaper hotels in Europe recently, under €100 a night, with great pillows, calm breakfasts, and actual food.
At this point I’m pretty frustrated and thinking of trying something else. Hilton isn’t for me, so I guess Hyatt gets a test drive.
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