We’ve stayed with just about every major hotel brand. I’ve mentioned before how IHG points have worked surprisingly well for us, and we’ve really come around on Hyatt. It turns out the Hyatt stans were right, especially when we can find their hotels in the right places.
But when I looked back at our actual stays, the answer was pretty clear. Every year since 2017, one hotel chain has topped our list—except for that one year I was traveling for work (and stayed wherever the company booked me, which happened to be Hiltons) and last year, when our travel was more limited.
The numbers don’t lie. I checked, and aside from those two years, we’ve stayed at Marriott properties more than any other hotel brand.
It’s impossible to separate the hotels from the Marriott Bonvoy program. But if I evaluate the guest experience independent of the sub-par loyalty benefits, we generally have a good time at Marriott properties. I’m sure most guests care more about how their stay went than whether their suite upgrade cleared or if they were thanked for their loyalty at check-in.
There are several things we still like about Marriott:
Consistency Across Core Brands
If you’re staying at a Courtyard by Marriott, you can be somewhat confident about what you’ll get. Sure, there are some below-average outliers, but there are also some charming Courtyards out there.
We’ve found the same to be true with the Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn brands.
Interesting Hotels In Their Portfolio
Marriott has 30 different brands under its umbrella, so there will be some variance between hotel styles. I’ve already said that we like the consistency of some brands. But the different hotels offered in the Luxury Collection, Autograph Collection, Renaissance Hotels, and Tribute Hotels make stays feel more special. From boutique properties like The Epicurean in Tampa, FL, to iconic locations in London’s St. Pancras or the amazing Goldener Hirsch in Salzburg, Austria, all of them are part of the Marriott family.
We Even Like Their Quirky Brands
You have to credit Marriott for taking big swings. Despite not being their core demographic, we liked our stay at the Moxy in New York, though it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
The same goes for our stays at Element, AC Hotels, and Aloft. While we might not be their target audience, we liked these brands enough to stay there again. The only brand we’re avoiding is W Hotels, as our stays haven’t been great.
Free Nights
I can’t ignore the fact that we have four Marriott co-brand credit cards, each of which awards a free night certificate on the account anniversary. That’s at least four nights at Marriott hotels every year. On top of that, we earn Marriott Bonvoy points when readers use our links to sign up for credit cards.
But I look at it this way—if we truly disliked our Marriott stays, we wouldn’t keep those cards just for the free nights.
Final Thoughts
When I think about our Marriott stays, I’m not dwelling on being Bonvoyed. Instead, I remember our nights at the Westin Tokyo and the Le Meridien in Frankfurt.
Yes, we’ve had plenty of average stays, which is all we’re really looking for most of the time. And yes, we’ve had a few bad ones, but that can happen with any brand.
I’m not wearing rose-colored glasses. I’m well aware of Marriott’s shortcomings, especially when it comes to loyalty and customer service resolution.
So, is it worth sticking with Marriott? We’d love to switch to Hyatt, but they still don’t have enough properties outside of major cities. I could see us splitting our stays between the two programs. Honestly, that might be the best solution to this very first-world problem.
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1 comment
Marriott is not without some redeeming features. Unfortunately as a Lifetime Platinum member I don’t recall any of those off the top of my head. I’m keeping my credit cards that offer a free night but generally engage with Marriott only when there are no viable alternatives. The company really doesn’t care at all about loyal guests and accordingly I reciprocate.