Marriott Vs. Hilton. Which Is Best?

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Mar 23 2024, 10:13 am

Which hotel brand is best, Marriott Vs. Hilton? Marriott hotels are good quality 4 and 5 star hotels but are less luxurious than the Marriott subsidiaries Bulgari, EDITION, Luxury Collection, JW Marriott, and Ritz-Carlton hotels. Marriott and Hilton hotels are usually generic in decor and often have smaller rooms than their luxury counterparts, and Marriotts are usually slightly more luxurious than Hiltons.

Both hotel brands usually have a club lounge. Both typically have excellent facilities, extensive grounds, spas, and often pools.

It’s worth mentioning at this point that there are other Hilton brands, such as the Waldorf Astoria, Conrad, and Canopy by Hilton, that many consider superior to Marriott. For this article, we are mainly comparing Marriott with Hilton Hotels, not with Hilton subsidiaries.

Many major cities and resorts house both a Marriott and a Hilton hotel. These locations include London, New York, Los Angeles, Paris and Venice. We compare these two brands below.

1. Loyalty

Marriott is part of the Marriott Bonvoy brand loyalty program, so you collect the same points by staying at Marriott Hotels. Marriott Bonvoy Members with Platinum Elite, Titanium Elite, and Ambassador Elite status enjoy complimentary club lounge access at JW Marriott hotels.

Hilton hotels are usually 4—or 5-star and, in most locations, sit slightly below Marriott on the luxury brand scale. Diamond Hilton Honors members and up to one additional guest registered to the same room will enjoy complimentary access to executive club lounges if there is a club lounge at that Hilton hotel.

It’s worth mentioning that Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors loyalty benefits are usually nowhere near as good as the benefits you get by booking via luxury travel concierge. Our travel agency with JW Marriott and Hilton hotels means you will also get brilliant free benefits, usually including breakfast for two, prioritized room upgrades (subject to availability), hotel credit, and more if you book with our concierge. Our deals are almost always better than booking directly on the hotel website for both brands.

If you book with our team, you will also get all your usual Marriott Bonvoy or Hilton Honors points during your stay. In Paris, New York, and London, you get free club lounge access when you book an InterContinental hotel via our team. Your loyalty tier is irrelevant to this perk.

2. Style

Regarding style, Marriott hotels fall just below JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis, BULGARI, EDITION, and The Luxury Collection. These brands occupy a 5-star luxury category, with room quality and size, service, restaurants, and the hotel offering an ultra-luxurious setting. Marriott offers excellent quality but lacks the customer service and room size found in these more luxurious brands.

JW Marriott Venice is probably our favourite Marriott hotel and one of the best Marriotts in Europe. This hotel has its own modern style set on its own private island.

While it does not have a club lounge, all the rooms are great. The breakfast is excellent and is served indoors and outdoors, and some of the rooms even have their own garden and plunge pool, so this hotel is worth a try.

The Hilton Stucky Venice, which we have reviewed in detail, is also outstanding and considerably cheaper than the JW Marriott. It has the advantage of being in the center and only a short shuttle boat ride away from St. Mark’s Square, and the shuttles are extremely regular. Plus, you are a short walk from the nearest water bus stop, which means the whole of Venice is accessible from this hotel, unlike the JW Marriott, which is remote and is only accessible by the hotel shuttle or a water taxi.

The rooms at this Hilton are gorgeous and have phenomenal views, and the rooftop terrace is a fun place to hang out. The Hilton’s breakfast is amazing, although it is served indoors, so it lacks an Italian atmosphere. This hotel also has a Hilton club lounge.

The disadvantage of this Hilton hotel compared to the JW Marriott is that there is only one very busy rooftop pool, no green grounds, and the overall hotel is not as impressive as the JW Marriott on its own exclusive island. But the Hilton is much, much more convenient, and all the above points, plus its brilliant breakfast and comparably reasonable price, make it a great choice in Venice.

We have also reviewed the JW Marriott Venice in detail, so do take a look at both hotels as great options for staying in Venice.

Beyond Venice, we have also reviewed the JW Marriott Grosvenor House, London, which offers an excellent club lounge with a fantastic food offering. However, the rooms and corridors are a little dated. The Sheraton in London Park Lane, which is also part of the Marriott brand, is overall a better choice if you are staying in London.

The London Hilton Park Lane sits between these hotels, a 3-minute walk from each. This Hilton is very Marmite. It has a decent club lounge but is set in an old tower block with slow and usually full lifts. I did not like this hotel, as I’m not keen on old tower blocks. I’m always reminded of the old movie Towering Inferno, which puts me off, although the views from the Hilton are arguably the best of these three hotels due to its height. In London, most hotels are positioned in less high and sometimes historic buildings.

The boutique London Marriott Park Lane is located further North of the Hilton and the JW Marriott Grosvenor House and has a great club lounge. This Marriott feels intimate and unique.

There is another Marriott on the far side of the River Thames called the London Marriott County Hall, which is another great choice in London, particularly if you like to walk along the river and want to be able to see Big Ben from the hotel.

Honestly, all the Marriotts mentioned above in London beat the Hilton options. The only contender within the Hilton brand in London is the Conrad London, which has a very decent club lounge, one of the best in London.

The Sheraton Park Lane in London is brilliantly located around the corner from the main Four Seasons hotel in London, so this Sheraton is brilliantly located and ultra-luxurious. It is arguably better located than any of the other Marriott hotels in London, even the JW Marriott, which is opposite one of London’s wonderful parks. The JW Marriott is much further from Picadilly Circus, Soho, and Regents Street, which is a pain, particularly if you are walking. The JW Marriott is less convenient, making the Sheraton probably the best Marriott choice in London.

Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel and the JW Marriott Essex House are not particularly luxurious properties in New York, although both have interesting historic aspects, such as the JW Marriott lifts. If you are looking for an alternative to the Ritz-Carlton hotels in New York, the St. Regis NY is also worth considering as it has a very good breakfast. We prefer the Ritz-Carlton hotels in New York.

The Hilton New York Times Square and the New York Hilton Midtown are both solid hotels, but the aforementioned Marriott-branded hotels are far superior. Like London, The Conrad in New York is worth considering, and the Waldorf Astoria is very good, too.

There are numerous Hilton hotels in Paris. We think the best Hilton hotel in Paris is the Canopy by Hilton Paris Trocadero. We love this brand of hotel because many have fantastic rooftop terraces, and the Paris Canopy has a superb rooftop terrace with views of the Eifel Tower.

There are also numerous Marriott hotels in Paris and have outlined the best Marriott hotels in Paris separately. The Bulgari Paris is the best Marriott-branded hotel in Paris, and none of the Hiltons are close to this hotel in terms of style and luxury.

The Paris Marriott Champs Elysees Hotel is probably the best, reasonably priced Marriott hotel in Paris.

3. Location

As a general rule, Marriott Hotels and Hilton Hotels are both centrally located in cities. Most of the Marriott and Hilton hotels in New York are located in the concrete jungle, a walk from Central Park, unlike the Ritz-Carlton hotel, which is located on the edge of Central Park with gorgeously green park views. The Ritz-Carltons win our hearts in New York.

The Canopy by Hilton in Cannes is brilliantly located with incredible waterfront views from its rooftop terrace.

4. Size

Marriott and Hilton hotels vary hugely in size. Some larger JW Marriott and Hilton hotels are used for conferences. Again, there are exceptions, with some that are almost boutique in size, so it is worth investigating each hotel individually. Canopy by Hilton is a lovely Hilton boutique brand and is worth considering if you want a more unique place to stay.

Canopy by Hilton Cannes has panoramic views over the Mediterranean from one of the city’s best rooftop terraces, interiors designed by acclaimed designer Ramy Fischer, and a relaxing swimming pool that flows from indoors to outdoors. This hotel’s gorgeous terrace is pictured above.

5. Rooms

Standard rooms at Hilton hotels tend to be smaller than those at Marriott hotels, but again, this depends on the individual hotel. Some Sheraton rooms are particularly good, spacious, and unique, such as those in the Sheraton in London but many are small and generic without much character.

6. Pool & Gym

Whether there is a pool and gym is very property dependent. In Orlando, the JW Marriott has a lazy river and some super slides, and the neighboring Ritz-Carlton has a more classic rectangular pool. These two hotels share facilities. This shared pool area is comparative to the shared pool area at the Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria Orlando

In New York, very few Hiltons and Marriotts have pools, although the Park Hyatt has a good one set high in the sky.

7. Ski

Both Hilton Hotels and Marriott Hotels have some brilliant ski hotels. We have investigated the best Hilton ski hotels and the best Marriott ski hotels separately which include St. Regis, W, and Westin ski hotels.

The best Hilton ski hotel is the Waldorf Astoria Park City, which offers unmatched accessibility to the best of Park City with its historic Main Street, three ski resort properties, and inspiring Olympic Games venues. However, if you are looking for a great Hilton ski hotel, we love the Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa, which can be found in the heart of Whistler Village. Enjoy staying just steps from the Whistler and Blackcomb Mountain gondolas, located only minutes from the Whistler Conference Center.

8. Club Lounge

Most Marriott hotels also have club lounges, and if you have top-tier Marriott Bonvoy status, you get access to Marriott club lounges for free.

Platinum, Titanium, and Ambassador Elite Marriott Bonvoy members can access Executive Club M Club lounges at Marriott properties, including JW Marriott, Marriott, Renaissance, or Sheraton hotels. They can also bring one guest to the lounge as long as the guest is staying in the same room. You will get Platinum Elite status after staying 50 nights a year at a Marriott property. To get Titanium Elite, you need to stay 75 nights each year.

The same is the case for Hilton Club Lounges and there are some great club lounges within both brands. The best club lounges are Ritz-Carlton club lounges which are not free to anyone but fall under the Marriott brand.

9. Family Facilities

Marriott and Hilton hotels are both great for families, particularly if they are located on a beach. Ritz-Carlton hotels are even better, but the best brand for family-friendly luxury hotels are the best at Four Seasons as well as some Belmond properties like the Hotel Cipriani.

10. Price

Marriott hotels are usually more expensive than Hilton hotels, some are less expensive, but you tend to get what you pay for with large rooms and a higher level of luxury at the more expensive hotels within each brand.

For a more reasonable Marriott stay, check out our review of some of the cheapest Marriott hotels.

11. Conclusion

While both Marriott and Hilton hotels are great hotel choices in a city or a resort, Marriott and Hilton hotels are often convention hotels with hundreds of rooms. Some are amazing, like the Sheraton in London, but do your research before you pick your hotel. We prefer the more boutique hotels within each brand, like the Canopy by Hilton Hotels.

Note: Benefits & upgrades subject to availability. Benefits offered correct at the time of writing. Terms & conditions apply. Enquire for more information. Benefits offered correct at the time of writing but may be amended at discretion of the vendor. Posts may be sponsored by the proprietor or brand being appraised. All opinions remain our own & are in no way influenced.