Victor Bernace

Review of REMODELACION SPA HOTEL JW MARR...

I wanted to share my bad experience at the Quito M...

I wanted to share my bad experience at the Quito Marriott. I've stayed at numerous Marriott hotels in diverse locations such as London, Prague, Vienna, Washington DC and even the one located at Zizur Mayor! I've never had a negative experience and would rate my stays as five stars.

Today after walking throughout downtown Quito, I was craving a good Bloody Mary-- why not the Marriott bar? I'm not staying at the hotel and this review in no ways reflects on their quality rooms.

As I walked in, I asked the first employee where the bar was, he stated that it opened in 5 minutes, 4 pm. I said thanks and stated I would wait in the public area. My companion and I looked into the gift shop briefly but then sat down in the lobby. As I was making a business call on my cell, my companion was approached by an employee who brusquely stated to her, that we needed to leave the premises of the hotel or enter the bar.

This one employee suddenly made all my prior great Marriott experiences feel cheapened. I was being treated like a vagrant who should be tossed out. This employee was different from the first employee who told me the bar would open in 5 minutes but he obviously knew what I intended to do. I had just been in the public lobby of this Marriott for a total of perhaps 10 minutes when my companion was confronted. I sincerely believe she would not have been treated like this if she a were white, blue eyed, "Gringa," instead of Latina.

We complained and the guest relations manager, Andrea, was nice enough to apologize excusing the employee as being too security conscious. However, we were never "sneaking" into any non public areas and thought this security excuse for racial profiling to be flimsy in the general public area.

We had our drinks. They were fine but just a little too much lemon, a bit sour for our stomachs. The employee who tried to kick us out was a bit to sour for our dignity too. So as someone who loves Marriott hotels, I may still visit other venues but certainly not the Quito Marriott.