When your first impression of a hotel is that they won't honor your reservation, it's hard for the place to seem nice at all. We tried to check in at 4:30 and the front desk manager kept saying she was sorry that there was someone else in the room we reserved--a king room with a view of the Charles to celebrate our 25th anniversary. And her offer of a double bed room with a view was not sufficient, even with a cheeky offer of a discount. Who can sleep well in a double? Sleep was not an option in the room we had to settle for--a King with no view. It was not so much the noise of drunken neighbors shouting, singing and slapping out rhythms on the wall above our heads after midnight...rather, it was the plastic mattress cover, which was impossible to take of, that kept us awake and sweating all night--even with the a/c set to 60 during February.
We must say, the staff are well trained: they protect management by preventing customers from speaking with them. Or perhaps overselling rooms is so commonplace in this hotel that the front desk supervisor has become expert at repeating over and over, "I'm sorry we don't have any rooms in that class. I'm sorry there are no managers here but me. I'm sorry I'd be willing to cancel your reservation without penalty and you can find another hotel."
Well I'm sorry Marriott thinks it's ok to break the contract of our reservation. And I'm sorry Marriott thinks wrapping mattresses in plastic is hospitable. And I'm sorry I didn't reserve at Parker House where the front desk staff are helpful, the mattresses allow for sleep, and the view is also not of the Charles. Mostly, I'm sorry my anniversary gift to my partner is ruined and we are both lying here at 2am sweaty and wide awake. That this hotel charges $12.95/day for wifi just adds insult to injury.