I’m a Marriott Platinum member and recently had a pretty confusing breakfast experience at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port Hotel.
The hotel offers a continental buffet for $22 per person, with an additional $18 upgrade if you want the hot items. The problem is that everything is placed on one long buffet table. The only thing separating the sections was basically a pot of oatmeal, and there were no signs explaining what was included in the base breakfast versus the upgrade. The only explanation comes verbally from the server.
I joined my group a little later, so I never heard that explanation. Looking at the buffet, we assumed the upgrade referred to the live cooking station where chefs were making eggs and pancakes.
Apparently that wasn’t the case.
There were four of us staying in the room, and my Platinum status gave us two breakfast vouchers. But those only covered the $22 continental portion, not the upgrade items.
So the final bill worked out to:
• 4 continental breakfasts = $88
• 4 upgrades = $72
• minus $44 from the two vouchers
Total: $108 for breakfast.
What made it more frustrating is that a lot of the items we ate, like bacon and potatoes, are normally free at other Marriott brands like Fairfield Inn or Residence Inn.
My main issue isn’t really the price, it’s how confusing the setup was. When everything is placed on the same buffet table with almost no separation or signage, it’s very easy to take something without realizing it counts as the upgrade.
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