| bill |
Posted
on 09-Jul-02 07:47 PM
ANA Location, Location, Location
Let me begin by saying hats off to the people who organized the Convention.
However they made one fatal mistake and that was to choose the Marriott Westfields Convention Center.
The only people who were not inconvenienced with this location were two groups: those who live in the DC area and are familiar with the roads and those who flew into DC and took some form of ground transportation to the hotel. Anyone driving into DC from other parts of the country had an awful time locating the hotel.
It is stuck away in the back of an industrial park on the airport approach path, with roaring landing planes overhead, with poorly marked roads and tiny signs indicating the way to the hotel, and inadequate parking.
Anyone arriving thirsty from any distance would have immediately noticed the lack of a water fountain, or ice, or any quick thirst quencher while waiting for his or her room. "Go into the bar and ask for a drink of water while you wait", really! And what should I do with my children and bags while I wait for service in the bar. Is this how they get customers into the bar?
The clerks at the front desk were discourteous. They should take some lessons in treating guests from the hoteliers back home. They could not recognize our foreign sounding names, treated everyone with disdain and were totally inhospitable. Worse if you had a question about directions or services. We waited in the lobby for an hour to get our rooms.
Ice; come on, every hotel except this one has an ice machine where you can take ice back to your room. Ordering it from room service is not a service but a disservice while you wait. And the size of the ice bags, what a joke!! Not enough for 4 drinks, and nothing left over.
The rooms, in a word, "small". A place to put your own refreshments in the tiny refrigerator, non-existent. Everything had to be purchased from them. That is how they made their money. They did not make their money by providing SERVICE. Organizers, whatever you paid to rent this place, you paid too much. For such a grand looking lobby one would expect more. Looking for an elevator if you were on the top floor, you had to walk a mile.
The much publicized Jacuzzi turned out to be a tub for 4 people to fit in. Space for 4 people out of 4,000. Another big joke! Crowding at the pool, pool access, insufficient deck chairs, and little space for shade out of the sun. Where was the hotel help, help with the lighting, help with the sound system, help directing people to the various meeting rooms, help with cleanup.
Marriott Westfields hotel has a great façade but that is all it has. Checkout was horrendous even with people leaving at different times. Getting out of those front doors, pulling your car up to the marquis to load the car, waiting while others loaded. We were all in the same situation. Are we to blame ourselves? or should we have had some HELP from the hotel.
I forced myself to enjoy, I would have much preferred if the enjoyment came from the hotel surroundings and facilities. Friends were great. Everyone had something to say. Most of the people I asked felt that the Marriott was inadequate.
Denver, you need a location with a view, a hotel with a courteous staff, readily available transportation to and from, and around the city, directions, signs, well publicized room rates, options for housing, food which is well prepared.
Definitely not a Marriott.
You need a good Location, Location, Location.
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| charlie60 |
Posted
on 09-Jul-02 11:55 PM
Agreed. Choosing the site for a convention is nearly as important as chosing the right wife, the right university, the right course of study, the right job. Success depends on the choices made.
Maybe I am stretching a point here but what qualifications did this hotel have that made it a good match for the needs of the planners and attendees.
I propose that it had NOTHING to offer except that it must have been cheap to rent.
The management and workers of the hotel did little to make their guests feel welcome.
A pretty face does not always make a good wife. A large student union does not make a great university. A chosen course of study does not necessarily provide one with the skill necessary to get a good job, and a good job does not mean that you are not working for years for a company like Enron.
I propose that the Marriott Westfields hotel had an attractive looking lobby and that is all it had.
Rather than the star of the Marriott chain, Westfields Marriott Convention Center, a circus tent on the lawn of a public park would have been a better place for the convention.
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| to pusateri?-ji |
Posted
on 10-Jul-02 12:26 PM
bill,
if you have not already done so, i strongly recommend forwarding your comments to both the manager of marriot westfields convention center in chantilly, virginia, as well as to the head office. they should know that you and many, many other ana 2002 conventioners expressed such dissatisfaction and will likely give a negative recommendation of the hotel--if any at all--to family, friends, and colleagues.
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