Nickle’d & Dime’d – Marriott
Back to Forum- This topic has 34 replies, 22 voices, and was last updated 16 Aug 2013
at 19:00 by LuganoPirate.
-
- Author
- Posts
- Skip to last reply Create Topic
-
Irons80ParticipantMy concern about the so called ‘free internet’ is that it’s a very poor offer… you still have to pay through the nose for anything resembling a decent speed. I have just returned from a 3-day Crowne Plaza stay in the UK and whilst as a Platinum member the internet was free, the connection provided was very patchy and so slow as to make even simple tasks such as checking emails almost impossible. Indeed, my 4G connection was much better, although I have now nearly used up my data for the month (3 GB!). We forget how much data we use – and yet as others have pointed out, you get a very fast and reliable free connection in most stores now.
11 Aug 2013
at 18:04
LuganoPirateParticipantI have a Virgin Mobile payg and by topping up with £10 (or £20, can’t remember) you get unlimited Internet fort the month which was faster, more reliable, and easier to connect with than that offered by the hotel.
As I had a new mobile I needed a new smaller SIM, for which I had t wait a week from Virgin for it to be posted. There was a guy across the road from the store, who for £2 cut it for me with a small machine. It fitted and worked perfectly and at night I could take it from my phone and put it in my iPad. Brilliant.
11 Aug 2013
at 19:45
DavidGordon10ParticipantTo sum up, I think all business hotels should provide fast and free internet access. Free and slow is no good. There is a cost, but it is minuscule compared with the rates charged by, say, the Marriott chain.
So, to edit my original post “…if I am making my own booking – no free AND FAST internet = no booking. Full stop.”
11 Aug 2013
at 20:23
Irons80ParticipantUnfortunately, sometimes it’s difficult to know whether the internet will be both free and fast at the booking stage – they use the headline grabber of ‘free’ internet, but it’s only once you check into your room that you find out that you have to pay extra for the ‘fast’ bit
11 Aug 2013
at 20:33
esselleParticipantOnce had a big row with the GM of a swank hotel who explained to me that using the net cost money, so had to be charged for.
He had no answer when I asked him if my time in the shower was limited so as to ensure I did not use more than my allotted quantity of hot water.
11 Aug 2013
at 20:47
ViajeroUKParticipant#esselle 20.47
Not a big row, but did once have a ‘discussion’ with a hotel manager when he tried to justify internet charges due to cost of installation.
I suggested that the latest wide screen TV in every room would have had a much higher installation cost, but there was no charge to watch TV, after some waffling he gave up and walked away.
11 Aug 2013
at 21:17
LuganoPirateParticipantThe other problem Irons, is when it says free Internet, but on arrival you discover it’s only free in the lobby or with a cable in the room and not wifi, which has to be paid for. Grrrr!
12 Aug 2013
at 06:31
MartynSinclairParticipantLP – forgetting costs, do you use or prefer wifi or cable in hotel rooms. I had always assumed cable provided faster download times.
12 Aug 2013
at 07:27
JordanDParticipantWhat I have yet to understand if how small hotels in the backwaters of Peru are able to supply free, fast wireless internet at zero cost, whereas big chain hotels in big cities say it is “really hard” to provide good quality wifi.
Lies, damn lies, etc.
12 Aug 2013
at 08:37
TominScotlandParticipantIrons80
MacBook Airs hook up to wired internet very easily with a small and low cost adapter – I use one all the time.
JordanD – I understand the problem for larger hotel companies is all about long-duration contracts for the supply of internet services, taken out a number of years ago when the internet world was a very different place. That is why you find many hotels charge for in-room internet (old contract when wifi was, generally, not an option) but offer free wifi in public areas based on a newer service arrangement.
12 Aug 2013
at 08:50
DavidGordon10ParticipantI am absolutely with you, JordanD – you could change your comment to “… small hotels in the backwaters of just about any small and poor country …” I also endorse the comments above about the cost of the fancy flat-screen TVs, and of the hot water in the shower.
The satisfaction of dumping on Marriott in a Tripadviser review that I mantioned before is matched by the pleasure of posting the exact reverse kind of review on a Hilton Inn in Philadelphia – perfect free and fast internet.
14 Aug 2013
at 12:44
IanFromHKGParticipantTravel wireless routers are – at least in Asia – cheap and easy to obtain. I have one which is slightly larger than a matchbox. Wired connection to wireless in just a few seconds!
14 Aug 2013
at 15:31
StewartKidd1ParticipantMarriott provide free wifi in Club Rooms and for holders of their Gold (and I think Sliver) Rewards cards. I heard a story last year that free wifi is actively being considered. Free wifi is also available in their Club Lounges.
15 Aug 2013
at 09:49 -
AuthorPosts