Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch — Hotel in Gauteng

Staff Training BADLY NEEDED!||Nice hotel in a safe area with restaurants within walking distance. Checked in by Jean. Wonderful employee, so helpful and informative.||Went to M Club for a drink before dinner off-site. Why Marriott continues to allow people to set up their computers, phones, etc. and then ruin the entire ambience by talking loudly, turning up to highest levels to hear the person on the other end is disgusting. Not only that but they take up a 4-piece seating area because no one wants to sit near them. NO HEADPHONES, NO COMMUNICATION. ||Walked to the entrance to leave for a walk to dinner. Asked the staff standing there doing nothing if he could direct us. He waved his hand and said “oh it’s outside across the street”. When I inquired again for a better direction he only then walked outside for better direction.||The following morning I came downstairs for breakfast. I stepped outside to the Porte Cochere because I felt warm and wanted a couple of minutes of fresh air. There were no less than 3 staff standing by the travel desk doing nothing. I received no greeting, no smile and no recognition of any kind. When I went outside there was absolutely no staff outside to inquire whether I needed a car, taxi, luggage, etc. This was over 3 minutes.||I asked the staff to order a taxi for a transfer to the Apartheid museum. She asked our room number and then advised it would be about 10 minutes. When we got into the car I asked him if he was a taxi. He said no he was a car service for the hotel. When I asked him the price he said he didn’t know because the hotel ordered it. He then kindly went back into the hotel and summoned the lady who ordered the car. She came out and advised a price which was acceptable. What was not acceptable was the scam she pulled by ignoring my request. On top of that her two cohorts standing with her began asking us if we were meeting a group, our timing etc. We were on our own and resented the inquisition.||When we returned to the hotel, again 3 staff standing around doing nothing but talking to each other. No greeting, no smiles, nothing.||Breakfast in the M club. No sliced fruit to go with yogurt. Just whole fruit I was not going to cut up. The staff, apologized and said they fresh fruit at the hotel buffet. Not the answer wanted.||The shining light in the M club was Irene. Kind, helpful, friendly. A lovely young lady.||Asked the front desk for change for a $20 bill for gratuities. They charged me 20% for bank fees. Are you kidding me?||I have been in South Africa for 3 weeks traveling the country. The lack of attention by this hotel’s staff was so noticeable I have decided never to stay or recommend this...

I stayed at this property in January for 3 nights and while there were some highlights, there were some significant let downs as well.

I'll start with the good, The hotel is really nice with great spaces and restaurants that offer a lot of options and places to hang out on the property. The M Club here is decent size with a good assortment of snacks and drinks on offer for those with Platinum status or higher. M Club staff were AMAZING, particularly Meghan was super nice and helpful during my entire stay. She definitely understands customer service and I hope she goes far with Marriott.

The breakfast spread was one of the best I've ever seen. Kitchen staff and executive chef deserves kudos. Definitely 5 star. Not only is the food delicious with many options, the presentation is a feast for the eyes.

The BAD: When I arrived, even though I had a suite upgrade confirmed, they didn't have my room available. They were nice to move me to an Executive Apartment, but the apartment is of lower quality than the suites. The room was sticky and dirty and whats worse I would later discover broken glass throughout the room (including the bed 😲)

During check-in the lady checking me in was rude and spoke to me like I was a criminal for asking for the benefits I've earned as a Platinum Elite member and the benefits she not-so-conveniently attempted to completely skip. She even did the whole neck twisting and head bobbing routine with me! It was very very ghetto to say the least. Absolutely the worst check-in I ever had. I made a point to speak the assistant manager on duty about this behavior.

The worse offense came my last night. As I was rolling around in bed I felt sharp pain in my leg and pulled back the sheets to see blood everywhere. I couldn't figure out what cut me until I gently ran my hand across the bed and slowly small bits of glass fell onto the floor. I then starting looking closely at the carpet, and noticed there was shards of glass there as well! It was a miracle I hadn't cut myself the first few nights there. I went throughout the room and found multiple shards. When I checked out and told the front door staff, they told me they would tell the manager. That's all. No apology, no offer of anything. Shocking service from a...

Overall it is 4.8 rating to me, and by far, the best Marriott brand hotel I stayed in, in comparison to Marriott hotel in Orchard Singapore and JW Marriott Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, within the last 6 months, here's to why:

Room - what I like: (a) upgraded, modern, elegant and good space; (b) all 3 towels available - shower, hand and face - important to me; (c) good quality shower, hairwash and lotion from ThisWorks brand; (d) coffee machine, complimentary capsules and also instant coffee and tea bags; and (e) maybe given but the complimentary water was awesome to me. Would be better if (a) the wardrobe area was a bit more spacious to come with more drawers; (b) more hanging hooks to hang towels or personal amenities; (c) would like to have in room slipper ready rather than upon request

Service - we experienced awesome services from each member except one specific doorman, who pretty much gave us a cold treatment when we pulled in with our rental car Nissan Almera and sending us a message that we do not belong there rather than welcoming us. When we stated here to check in to hotel and where to park the car, he just looked at us in disbelief that we are here to check in and wasn't of much help in explaining the parking option (valet/ self-parking/ cost difference). Thankfully, it was the only unpleasant experience. From check in to Mclub to housekeeping to dining, each and everyone was awesome, and made us feel at home. Forgive me for not remembering all the names, but shout out to those I remember - to Carol and Nakedi (they were checking us in and took instant notice of our unpleasant experience with the doorman), Junior (in MClub who was so warming, pleasant and helpful, making us feel so at home and took very good care of us) and amazing housekeeping team (pretty much cleaning around the clock), which I believe was a big contribution to enable the hotel to accommodate late check out for guests.

Location - whilst Melrose Arch was a fairly small area, but no complaints at all, as it allows us to stroll around in the evening with no concerns on safety, with supermarket (woolworths) and pharmacy (clicks) just around the corner. Plenty of cafe and restaurants to visit.

Definitely will return again the next time I am in...