Difference in staying at a luxury brand

In the last few years I have traveled significantly and generally I stay at the courtyards, Marriott, Doubletree or Embassy Suites without being picky especially for my work travels.  For my personal travels though, I prefer and love the Marriott brand.  Recently I attended a conference and it was being held at the Ritz Carlton in DC.  Since it was just for a one night last minute stay, I ended up booking at the Ritz (though shocked at their high rates, but then it is DC, everything is pricey here). But after a one night stay, I truly believe the price is justified and it would definitely be something I would pay for, if the intention of my travel is luxury.  It was a fantastic experience in customer service and I can understand the loyalty from customers deciding to chose that brand over its competition.

From the moment I stepped out of the can, the attendant asked me for my name, which may seem casual at the time, till I realized the main purpose was that when I went inside the hotel to the check in desk, they addressed me by my name, had my keys ready for check in.  Had to give my id and credit card for verification and bingo, I was done with the check in process..so smooth and so quick...the room was nothing extraordinary.  I have stayed at Caesars palace, Venetian, Beau Rivage Palace and other Marriott hotels and it was comparable, but again the whole idea of luxury is service and comfort of the customer.  Since I was attending the conference, again the interaction with the staff was not much, till when I checked out and realized I needed to finish a file to send out last minute, so was standing in the bar area with my bags and laptop on a coffee table, working on a file, when one of the bartender comes in and gives me a bar stool to sit comfortably to fish my task at hand.. I was genuinely amazed by the attention to detail followed by each employee part of the hotel family.  Now the next thing, which has never happened to me before, but I realized I forgot my charging cable for laptop and one of the employees checks immediately if my room was already serviced and if they found something and the runs upstairs and returns with my charging cable in less than 10

Minutes.. Truly impressive...

A disclosure that this was not my first time at this hotel.  I have hosted our company event at this hotel 3-4 years ago and it was completely amazing with our customers. They were impressed with the food and service they received as well. I had never stayed at the hotel, but it was definitely a fabulous experience.