Embassy Suites OKC NW

[ljbab728]

I wasn't really sure which area this topic fits best. This Marriot is no longer a Marriott. It is now called The Tower Hotel. I know it's not unusual for a hotel to change affiliation but since this has always been a Marriott I was just wondering if anyone knows anything about this change.

[Pete]

Wow, it's no longer listed on the Marriott website...

Very strange.

[OKCisOK4me]

Well, that's a shame...

[kevinpate]

Had not heard this. may bother a few friends, as it was there go-to when in OKC.

[zookeeper]

Wow. Surprise! Does anyone know if this was a corporate or franchise location? Surely it won't operate with no flag for long?

[SoonerDave]

Had my wedding rehearsal dinner there umpteen years ago...really nice place. Shame. I generally have had really good experiences with Marriott hotels, hate to see the loss of the well-recognized name...wonder what happened?

[zookeeper]

Okay....just talked to Marriott. The operators/management of the hotel chose not to renew their long-term contract with Marriott. However, they expect to announce another flag soon.

EDIT - To clarify, I talked to the "Tower Hotel" and they told me the above.

[OKCisOK4me]

Okay....just talked to Marriott. The operators/management of the hotel chose not to renew their long-term contract with Marriott. However, they expect to announce another flag soon.

EDIT - To clarify, I talked to the "Tower Hotel" and they told me the above.

bueno

[ljbab728]

Okay....just talked to Marriott. The operators/management of the hotel chose not to renew their long-term contract with Marriott. However, they expect to announce another flag soon.

EDIT - To clarify, I talked to the "Tower Hotel" and they told me the above.

I'm sure they will have easily have a new flag but it would be interesting to know why they left Marriott. Marriott is a top brand for business travelers.

[MWCGuy]

The former owners lost the hotel to the bank. Marriott likely pulled there flag. I have coworker who used to work for the Waterford. The staff that ran the OKC Marriott into the ground is now at the Waterford and yes the Waterford is going downhill fast so you can expect the Waterford to lose it's flag at some point.

[bombermwc]

Too bad for sure. I had my wedding reception there. Was a bit pricey, but they did an amazing job with everything.

[SoonerDave]

The former owners lost the hotel to the bank. Marriott likely pulled there flag. I have coworker who used to work for the Waterford. The staff that ran the OKC Marriott into the ground is now at the Waterford and yes the Waterford is going downhill fast so you can expect the Waterford to lose it's flag at some point.

That surely makes more sense to me. Had not heard Waterford was having troubles....

[bchris02]

Sad news. Even sadder about the Waterford being run into the ground. Those were some of the best hotels in OKC. How does the Renaissance downtown compare?

[Jeepnokc]

Sad news. Even sadder about the Waterford being run into the ground. Those were some of the best hotels in OKC. How does the Renaissance downtown compare?

It is actually pretty nice and is full service. The Sheraton across the street has done a good job renovating an old property and it also is a decent place to stay or have a reception. The OK Bar Association has their annual convention there in the years it is in OKC and never really had complaint. Renaissance is a little nicer though imho. I'm not sure if Renaissance has any convention space at hotel. I think they do everything at the Cox Center which has a skywalk.

[SoonerDave]

It is actually pretty nice and is full service. The Sheraton across the street has done a good job renovating an old property and it also is a decent place to stay or have a reception. The OK Bar Association has their annual convention there in the years it is in OKC and never really had complaint. Renaissance is a little nicer though imho. I'm not sure if Renaissance has any convention space at hotel. I think they do everything at the Cox Center which has a skywalk.

Been a long time since I stayed there, but the Renaissance was absolutely beautiful when we did - surprised my spouse on our 15th anniversary for an overnight stay, and they bumped us up to some extra-nice accommodations, sent us a gratis platter of various snacks, although that hardly seems a fitting word for all the goodies they sent up. Our room overlooked the Myriad Gardens, which was all lit up for Christmas.

Very, very nice place.

[Urbanized]

The Renaissance does have some meeting rooms on property.

[Richard at Remax]

I stayed at the Waterford not to long ago and I thought it was great. maybe its more behind the scenes

[bchris02]

I stayed at the Waterford not to long ago and I thought it was great. maybe its more behind the scenes

I hope so. The Waterford is one of the best hotels in the city and I would hate to see it go downhill.

As for the now former Marriott, I hope the new brand is something decent. I hope it isn't a significant downgrade like when the Westin became the Sheraton. I am not saying that the Sheraton is a bad hotel at all, its just Westin was a better brand.

Does anybody know when the new brand will be revealed?

[soonerliberal]

Maybe having only a single Marriott in NW OKC will lead to a mainline Marriott being developed in the Urban Core... or I could be trying to make lemonade.

[shawnw]

They were working on covering up the sign yesterday...

[Urbanized]

Wow. Well, THAT makes it real...

[pure]

as a Marriott employee working at a corporate location, I can tell you all that there are certain standards that has to be met by a franchised hotel in order to keep the Marriott name, since I get deep, deep discounts with the company, I've been "lucky" enough to stay at this former location and I was surprised it was still a Marriott hotel at the time. For example, all Marriott hotels were to upgrade to flat panel HD tv's by Dec. 2010 and this location still had the old school tube tv's. The furniture was in just such bad shape and with the new direction that Marriott is going into, it would have cost in the tens of millions of dollars to update this hotel, probably not worth it to the owner. This is just my speculation on why they dropped the Marriott name.

For reference, here's the direction that Marriott will be going forward with. The Southern Hills Marriott in Tulsa is one of the first to start updating their lobby

[shawnw]

(Cue the "see, Tulsa IS better" posts, followed by the "Nuh-uh" posts)

:-P

[bchris02]

What's the difference between the Renaissance downtown and a flagship Marriott?

[bradh]

What's the difference between the Renaissance downtown and a flagship Marriott?

Not sure, but we stayed at the Renaissance one night on a stay-cation and the service and room were fantastic.