I hoped to spend my 75th night well. Platinum woes... It's always the bad experiences that have to be noted...
Checking in around 3:30 pm - The hotel was overbooked. The one bedroom suite I booked was not available on checkin, even though I received confirmation by email from marriott.com - Checked again at the time - the rooms were still showing as available on the Marriott app. The hotel checkin staff were not showing the same inventory as available...
When I asked at the Gold/Platinum desk about this, they promptly called up their reservations department, which closed all reservations. The hotel got off the list on the app. They then canceled my one bedroom and placed me in a regular room.
The first manager at the Gold/Platinum desk was unaware of the Platinum Guarantee, for room type. When I pointed it out, another twenty minutes transpired. Another manager was sent, who asked me what I would like, and I showed them the Platinum benefits on the Marriott website and the $100 guarantee on the room bill.
The shoebox room I was placed in was _completely_ not as advertised even for their standard rooms (the hotel was supposed to have been renovated recently) - the bedding did not have the Lexington emblem... and the blanket was the throw-away quality you would find in the closet as extra blankets in standard Marriott hotels. It also smelled like smoke and the kind of cleaning spray smell to trigger an allergic reaction.
I called downstairs but apparently they were completely out of rooms. I was transferred about 5 times. Another manager came up to my room, agreed on the smell being an issue.
Decided to check out, rebooked for another night. (I have residences in NYC, so tonight was just a 75th night stay to maintain my Platinum status.) Hopefully this lets someone else have a bed to sleep on (literally, it's hard to quantify this as a room, as the bed fills up the entire room.)
Freed the room up.. Such a mess. I'd have to spend my 75th night another night. :-(
Question -
What do you do when an Autograph Hotel isn't aware of the Platinum guarantees? It's a rather awkward experience explaining listed policy to several managers.
What if your room type is not available, and they place you in a lower tier room? Does this actually amount to the $200 + hotel credits guarantee?
I haven't tried checking in via the Marriott app - I usually go to the front desk, but would such a situation amount to less time wasture on the app? (Checkin took close to an hour.)