Tijuana Marriott Hotel — Hotel in Baja California

1st time coming to Tijuana Marriot. At first glance, we were both amazed at the staff particularly the Marriot Shuttle guy MANUEL, he made sure we got to our appointments on time and pick-up on time with a smile and was very helpful. ||I have booked 8 nights for the Executive M Lounge (City View) with 2 double beds because of the added benefits of:||1) Full American Breakfast (6am-11AM) 2) Grab-n-Go snacks (12-4PM) & 3) Dinner Snacks (5PM-10PM) ||In addition, all of the non-alcoholic including Starbucks is not part of the benefit which I was OK with because I was having surgery and was not planning on eating a lot anyway. ||ROOM: ||First, the room overall was nice and clean. It did have a nice view of the city, especially from our room on the 10th floor (RM1002). The Room had a safe box, mini fridge, and WIFI amongst other benefits. The only issue we had was that last night, the toilet stopped flushing. ||Ana the housekeeper was always friendly and always had a smile even when we would wake up late and she was about to leave for the day, she always made sure to check with us to see if we needed our room clean or at least changes in towels or trash pick-up. ||STAFF:||Overall, most all of the staff were friendly, attentive and respectful for the exception of one, which I will share the good before the bad. ||MLOUNGE (10th Floor) On this floor you will go and grab the snacks as aforementioned within their posted timeframe. They typically had a staff attending to you in the morning & evening service. || XAVIER: He was our NUMBER ONE FAVORITE staff at the Marriot PERIOD. He ensured all of our needs were met and he went above and beyond while some just did the basics. I even complimented him for his service as the US has gotten worse with customer service while wanting 15+ % in tip and so, it is very much appreciated to receive such service that is deserving of such gratuity. After my surgery, he will check up on us to make sure I had my SPRITE in my room since there was a SPRITE fiasco (will share below). Our week was more than pleasant because of Xavier. He should be promoted as workers like him are far few in between and should be able to lead others to be the same. ||There was a morning staff guy in the breakfast that was also helpful and sorry if I forgot his name, I think it was Alejandro. But he was there in the morning, and he made sure you had your morning breakfast. ||TO ALL the DOOR STAFF ||I can't say enough how professional, welcoming, and attentive they were. From trying to hold the door; walking you to the car; answering questions and lugging your luggage all with a smile. All of them deserve praise. ||Unprofessional STAFF ||Now, let me talk about JOVAN (1st Flr Bar) who looks like she was of a higher position; if it were not for her, our overall stay would have been a 5-star experience. She is the reason why I am giving 3 stars to this hotel. She made something so simple, as complicated as possible.||When we got there the 1st night, the MLounge had a fridge with beverages including Sprite and most Pepsi products. Later that evening (1st night) there was no Sprite and Pepsi. I had asked the staff and they said they don't have any and to call room service since it should be included since it's non-alcoholic. ||I decided to wait the next day since I was in no rush. 2 days passed by and still noticed the beverage were so limited and Sprite no longer was there or water. So, on day 3, I called room service to send me Sprite to the room. After 2 hours of waiting, I called room service and they said the ran out of Sprite, which baffles me for a major hotel such as Marriot for lacking inventory. After that call, I literally told my husband, you know what we can go to the store and buy it ourselves. I am not trying to BE THAT ONE customer who complains about a freaking Sprite. We ended up buying 7up at Calimax and moved on. ||Later that same day, we were chilling at the lobby as we normally do--enjoying the traffic of people. As I turn towards the Marriot 1st-floor bar, I see a server giving a customer a Sprite. So, I thought, "Yay! They got it in stock!" I walked over to the bar and was trying to ask a male server about getting a Sprite since they look like its back in stock. And, before I can even finish my question, this older lady (JOVAN) that was there counting a box of receipts decided to chime in. She said that she would have to charge me for the Sprite. I was confused and asked her why Marriot would charge me for a beverage that is included in my Marriot Exec M Lounge room benefits. Then, rudely she walks away with her box of receipt and goes to count them on some stools at the bar. I did get bothered that they wanted to charge me. So, I asked I didn't get it; then she proceeded to tell me internal processes that Marriott has several accounts for ordering supplies per bar, restaurant, Starbucks, etc. That the bar budget doesn't allow her to give us beverages from the MARRIOT BAR. Then, to brush me off, she loudly & rudely to him tells the male server to give me one free sprite. But her face and that tone was as though she was doing me a favor. I even told her; how does she expect Marriot guests to know the internal finance process. As far as a guest is concerned, Marriot is Marriot; it is still coming out of their operational cost. She rubbed me the wrong way, which is really hard to do as we are typically staffs favorite guests--we are fun like that especially when in Mexico. ||I got the "FREE SPRITE" that should technically already be free, and I walked away to the concierge to seek clarification and to complain about JOVAN's rude and unprofessional behavior. Cesar the hotel manager then came to talk to me. I explained the experience and the confusion that is being caused to a guest(s). ||Essentially, he did agree with me that if Marriot is providing room benefits, then they should honor it; despite of departmental fundings. And he apologized for JOVAN's actions and stated he would talk to her. I did mention to him that this is not so much about the SPRITE in itself but more about benefits a guest(s) pays for; but yet, told to pay for it. I can only imagine how many people have actually paid for sodas that were free & included in their room benefits (Exec M Lounge)--talk about double dipping! |We then moved on from the situation. ||Consequently, Cesar did discuss with JOVAN as she came to us while we were having dinner and apologized for her behavior at our table. But let me tell you---she was not even genuine, sincere and it felt forced apology especially that face she made (BRF). It was fake! Needless to say, she stated she is sorry for the misinformation and so on. We weren't even expecting such an apology. So again, we dropped the issue, and it was resolved. And for the rest of our 4 days there-JOVAN will be giving us some dirty looks when we go in and out from the lobby. But we just ignored it because I knew I would be writing this review as most Mexican staffs rely on praises in reviews. But along with the good, I discuss the bad, ||MLOUNGE Benefits:||Marriot does need to re-evaluate how they advertise their benefits for MLounge since:||1) It states Full American Breakfast, which most Americans know it as egg, potatoes, bacon, & sausage, and maybe some pancakes (typically). That was not the case. ||They have 3 warmer types of equipment: ||1st one would be either an entree or a split warmer with half meat and half rice. ||2nd warmer typically would have a side entree type on some occasion a split. ||3rd warmer of a slider type sandwich (ham or turkey). I will say, keep an eye because we confirmed by tessting ourselfs with a toothpick that the morning sandwiches may carry over from breakfast till dinner--rolls on by and they stock. Those sandwiches are stiff because they are exposing air, so hardly anyone touched those.||Then, an open section of another type of slider sandwich (dry bread) and other snacks such as salads, parfaits, yogurt, cakes, and cookies. OMG ! Their GREEN JUICE 10-10-10 across the board. Most of their fresh juices were good. I just wished they had ice machines (you have to request via roo service to fill in your ice bucket). ||Overall, the food was decently good but the issue to me was that the naming was off, and we never really had a FULL American type of breakfast. Sometimes for breakfast, it would be fajitas and potatoes. And dinner it can be rice and fajitas. As a Latino myself the food was ok for us being mainly Mexican. But we found it odd that eggs were never just eggs. It either had eggs and ham, eggs and something we don't know just green, etc. | |The food placard only would say scrambled egg and I was like "Scrambled with what?!". ||The YUM-YUMs: ||Their chilaquiles, their pork aguachile, most of their meats were really good. I really enjoyed their fish sticks especially after XAVIER suggested having it with their Chipotle Sauce. Best recommendation EVAH!, I loved it and went for seconds. LOL ||One thing that baffles me is that during the MID Snack and go: that's not the case. It's basically the 3rd warmer with leftover sandwiches from the morning that breads are hard. Just one iotem to gran and go. At this time for some strange reason, they CHAIN LOCK the beverage fridge, which should be free for those with those benefits, and we can only access the floors by using a keycard prior to selecting the floor in the elevator. Made no sense, but I didn't even care about mid-day 1 snack. ||My suggestion is that their placards should more detailed what is in the food or what one is eating. They just literally keep it basic with Potatoes. But then you see its' potatoes, onions, and maybe something else. One night, I thought I was eating pork in a sauce with onions. The texture did not feel like onion and so, I asked Xavier what this is--he stated "Nopales/Cactus." Thank God I like nopales. LOL But the point is, the sign just empathized on pork. Luckily for me I am not sensitive or allergic to food, but for the sake of others who may be--it should be more specific. |||RESTAURANT: ||We happened to eat once at the restaurant and missed their Buffet. But we did order a la carte and I am glad we did. I ordered the Chicken Mole which was so delicious. I took to the room for a later snack. My hubby got their club sandwich and fries which was also delicious. Angie was our server and she was nice and attentive. We were able to also charge the food to our room. I will say though, it did come out to about $50 for the 2 meals and 2 coffees. But really good. The only time we ate there. Food pics included. |||STARBUCKS:||They do have a Starbucks here and let me just say that the boy & girl working there were so attentive and patient especially when dealing with other people's teenage kids holding up the line. Always had a smile. My only thing was their LACK OF. ||They only have vanilla & caramel syrup. On top of that, they only had WHITE MOCHA (no chocolate). I usually order a white and chocolate (Zebra) mocha. But during my 8 days there--they never got any chocolate mocha. On the plus side, you can charge the drinks to your room. And their sandwiches and sweet bread look much more tastier and bigger than the US Starbucks. ||At the end of the day, I will still recommend this hotel because most of the staff were friendly and attentive. MLOUNGE benefits I leave it up to you to experience. Close to a lot of places and we walked for an hour, and it is safe. We went to 2 malls on foot. Don't let the STIGMA of Tijuana fool ya. ||FINAL THOUGHT! ||I do feel that staff like JOVAN who holds a higher position should not be in that position. Xavier is the exemplary type of employee that should hold such a promoted position because he is doing his job and does it well. Someone like Xavier can lead by his example and train others to do the same. It bothers me that people like Xavier get paid lesser for greater service while people like Jovan get more for being unprofessional (keeping it clean). ||Cesar Hotel Mgr: There should be a $ change for your guests to exchange for smaller bills especially when ATMs dispenses in higher bills such as 500MXN. ||I had to go to the front desk & Starbucks just to break 500MXN just to be able to tip your staff. When you do not have the proper change for your guests, this also hurts your staff since they may not receive the tip for the excellent service because they cannot change their big pesos to a smaller bill than what the atm gives out. What made it even hard was that even CAlimex was asking for a smaller bill and that is a huge market. As such, the hotel should have such availability to change pesos to smaller bills. |||MESSAGE TO XAVIER: Muchisima gracias por ser attentivo, respetoso, profesional, y amable. Es raro encontrar un trabajador tan sincero que llega a su trabajo y lo cumples sin quejas y con una sonrisa contigiosa. Gracias X hacer la mala experiencia la mejor solo por tu dedicación a tener los huéspedes contentos. |Hasta la próxima! Sinceramente: Giovanni y Moses BH. Los chicos del 1002 (Sprite)...

I stayed 2 nights at this hotel last week and what a disappointment. My check in experience was good, the lady who checked me in was very nice and friendly and provided some recommendations for lunch however the left is a disaster. After check in there were several issues that lead me to write this review:

My reservation is a corporate account and includes full breakfast. The staff told me i was not allowed to eat from the hotel full breakfast instead just continental. If I choose to eat from the full breakfast I have to pay the difference. I was okay with that and did not eat from the full breakfast. The staff at the restaurant would watch you like a hawk to make sure they are charging you for anything you pick from the hotel buffet. At check out my colleague and I found out that our reservation includes FULL breakfast and we were misinformed at check in. They said no, then yes.. then no then yes again.. total disorganized staff.

The bell boy who took my bag to my room was strange. He walked into my room and started talking to me and wouldn't leave. He opened my balcony window, started to ask me where I was from and all sorts of questions that I had no interest in answering. He walked around my room as if he were home and just didn't want to stop talking. I travel ALOT for business and never ever did a bell boy behave that way,. I have been to many countries and many cultures and they are always very respectful, they give you your bag or put it down for you and walk right out. This was totally insane.

I was given a letter for being an Elite member listing several discounts I was entitled to during my stay. One was 15% off at the bar and restaurant and the other was 10% at the giftshop. One night my colleague purchased something from the gift shop, I remembered i had the coupon so i said wait let's use my discount. The sales person said sorry you can't use that for the t-shirt. I showed him the letter and the fact that it did not specify any restrictions. All it said was 10% at the gift shop. He said we have to change that but that discount cannot be used for t shirts, for scarves for this for that basically almost the entire store. I argued with him and asked for management. He brings a receptionist who doesn't know anything and says the same thing to me. I asked for management AGAIN, they called someone on the phone and because they are very slow and my colleague decided to just pay full price and go back to our rooms because it was late, I told them to forget about it. I did not buy anything from the store myself and I would never after that. I still have the letter and can provide as evidence.

During check out the receptionist asked me if I consumed anything from the minibar i said NO, my college was standing next to me and heard it loud and clear. After i receive my statement and leave the building to rush to get to work i reviewed the statement and found a charge for a beverage from the minibar. This charge was associated with ANOTHER room which wasn't mine and i was billed for it. I didn't come back to the hotel because i was heading back to San Diego, but now i have to dispute a charge that i never Incurred.

5 . I received an email from the manager of the hotel or someone who checks reviews, she asked me to contact her at the hotel. I called the hotel asking for her, i was put on hold for a long time then the person gets back on the line and says she's not here, said ok can you put me through to her voicemail, they said sure one moment. Again they put me on hold for a long time, they come back and they say just a second.. he then comes back and asks me if i was a client here or something.. why does it matter? she's not there right? I just want her voicemail.. he then puts me on hold AGAIN.. eventually I hung up. I am convinced they were lying. This person was there but they don't want to put me through. I explained that this person emailed me and i am returning her email. It's not complicated to forward me to a voicemail box.. Not staying here in October, staying at the...

Overall I think the whole experience of staying there for 3 days from last weekend was okay. I think they need to work on the staff being more customer service oriented. For example there is rules that people that stay there are not aware of and they should be explaining these things not scolding or disrespecting the people staying at the hotel. For example I had a waiter around dinner time on Sunday and he had asked me which room I was staying and I answered and he then kept going with his conversation with a different table that he was already talking to. I was talking to my niece how we were getting just a little bit of food for my sister and mother who were taking care of my other niece who is a baby in the room. So then I was confronted by the waiter telling me I could not take the food to the room and to which I said

-Oh sorry, I was not aware of that I was under the impression I could-

he then jump on asking me who told me that as if I was a criminal and I said the people at the lobby and again he jump in saying well is wrong is not -"room service" (all this was said in Spanish except for the room service part)-

He added "is politics" which I think he meant policies as in policies of the hotel. I dont have an issue with the staff telling me what im not allowed to do but I do have an issue if they are coming off at me with an attitude like I should know these things and it obviously was a misunderstanding so he did not need to be rude to me in that matter. That was the only the big issue I had for the weekend. Everything else was alright, the guy who was checking the people to go into the parking lot of the hotel was falling asleep but that just made me feel bad for him. Another guy who seem upset that he did not get a tip (we had run out of cash since we were tipping everyone).

There was two excellent waiters that I did have which made my stay at the Marriott a better experience. They were both in the breakfast time for two days Saturday and Sunday was Martha and Monday it was a guy who usually is at the Deli but they had assign him to a different area that morning. I would lile to express that I hope they give them a raise and move them up the latter because they were customer service oriented, they were friendly, respectful and you can tell they were hard working.

In conclusion for that person who was rude to me and basically my family I hope they keep a close eye on him because he represents the Marriott Hotel and I dont think thats a good image he is portraying. I am hoping for my next visit this will be taken care of since I do plan to...