Adam H.
Yelp
I'm going somewhere different next time
My plane landed at 11p. I tried to check-in using Marriott's app saying I'd be there in 45 minutes. The app wouldn't check me in... it needed at least 30 minutes notice. Confused, I figured I would check-in when I got there.
I got to the AC by Marriott Midtown Atlanta around midnight. The lobby was dark. The doors were locked. It was 37º. I couldn't get in.
I pressed a call button near the door. A phone rang. A camera lit up. I had hope for a moment. Nobody answered the phone. I tried again. No answer.
I walked away from the front door looking for another entrance. No such luck. After about 5 minutes, I saw a guest carrying a pizza entering with his keycard. I walked briskly to catch the door to get out of the cold.
I walked around the lobby trying to find any sign of life. I checked the business area, the bar, and the restaurant. All empty. There was a small part of me wondering if I walked in on an apocalypse or if the rapture saved all of the Atlantans. After another 5 minutes or so, I called the hotel hoping to find a person.
As I navigated the phone tree, answering computer questions, a woman meandered through a door near the bar towards me. I hung up the phone. I asked if she worked here. She said she was security. I explained that I wanted to check in, but nobody was around. She said she would get the girl downstairs. I waited alone in the dark lobby.
A new woman slowly made her way towards me through the same door the security guard had disappeared into. She walked around the counter. The phone rang. She answered it, helping whomever was on the other end. After hanging up she asked my name, for my ID, said I needed to pay a $100 incidental fee, told me my room number, and said the elevators were to my left.
The front desk representative never apologized for my wait nor taking the call ahead of me. She didn't welcome me, thank me for being a Marriott Gold member, and didn't offer a welcome gift. She never told me what time checkout was.
I got to a very nice, seemingly clean, laminate floor room with a very loud furnace blowing. I tried connecting to the internet. The app informed me that my name and room number couldn't be found. By this time it was 1am.
I contacted support via the app. There was no response past automated messages. At this point I'm tired. I slept well. There was an in-app reply at 8a telling me to go downstairs to figure out the internet. I didn't bother. I left by 9:40a and I look forward to never returning.