| Hotel | Marriott Rivercenter, San Antonio | Hilton Bonnet Creek, Orlando |
| Reachable on Twitter? | @Marriott (though there was never a response to my direct message) | @HiltonHotels |
| Responsive on Twitter? | DM sent on 10/29. First contact (a request for more info): 11/1. My response: also on 11/1, shortly after getting the request for more info. Still nada, as of the morning of 11/2. | None needed. |
| Greeted at front desk? | Yes, and the front desk staff was friendly. | Yes, and by status, and the front desk staff member who checked me in remembered my name when I passed by later. (Thanks, Ashley!) |
| Helpful bell desk? | Yes. | Yes, and each member of the bell staff went above and beyond, especially Ezra, who made sure in advance that I would be able to make a fast exit when I needed to make my plane. |
| App with room key and chat option? | Yes. | Yes. |
| Functional room? | Yes, but with the Tub from Hell (see below). | Yes, and with a glorious view. |
| Problems with the room? | There was a hangtag that said that, if I wanted a rubber bath mat, I could request one. After almost losing my footing in the Tub from Hell, I requested one early in the morning via the app. I was told that housekeeping would leave the mat outside my door. Nope. Later that day, I was told that the mat was left in my room. Nope. When I went back to the chat option to explain that I had not received the mat, I got…crickets. Nada. Nothing on the chat. Nothing on my Twitter DM. | n/a |
| Responsiveness to chat option in the app? | Not if you count follow-through or actual help. | n/a |
| Did the hotel go the extra mile? | Absolutely not. I received half-hearted apologies for the mistakes but nothing beyond the bland, corporate “sorry.” | Yes! After I mentioned to the manager of the bell desk how helpful Ezra was, Ezra (and his manager Joseph) arranged to have chocolate-covered strawberries sent to my room—in essence, thanking me for thanking him. Outstanding service. |
| Would I stay at this hotel chain again? | Not bloody likely, unless I have no choice in the matter. | In a heartbeat. |
UPDATE on 11/7/18: Marriott gave me 10,000 Marriott points for my trouble.