Courtyard By Marriott Hotels

When it comes to traveling, I always have the hardest time deciding which hotel I want to visit. There are so many different ones that have so many different things. I have two important requirements that must always be present, however, and those are a really great bed and a restaurant onsite. This narrows the list down somewhat, but when you add price and location to the mix, it can get confusing. Twice in the last year I have stayed at Courtyard by Marriott, though I think I probably won’t ever do so again.

Courtyard by Marriott is not a bad place; it’s just not the place for me. I think this chain is geared towards the business traveler, and I find that the place seems a little sterile for my liking. The beds are great, don’t get me wrong, but the rest is just not fitting with my personality. Not only that, they do not have a restaurant, which was something that was a huge miscommunication between the Courtyard by Marriott representative I spoke with and myself. I drove six hours to Connecticut only to find the restaurant they said they had didn’t exist.  When I asked where it was at the front desk they said, “Oh, we don’t have it any longer.”

Lovely. Here I was in a hotel in the middle of nowhere with no place to get my child something to eat. They gave me directions to where there was a restaurant, and it was a good ten miles away. Not only that, to get from the Courtyard by Marriott to the restaurant, I had to travel on six different roads. This was not something I wanted to do in an unfamiliar area with a young child. I was very upset, but there was nothing I could do unless I wanted to pay to stay there and then pay for a different hotel. Courtyard by Marriott has a strict reservations policy, and by the time I got there, it was too late to cancel without being charged.

Against my better judgment, I stayed at Courtyard by Marriott again this summer, only because they assured me there was a restaurant “right next door.” It was also close to the beach, and I did have some gift certificates for Marriott. Since the Courtyard by Marriott was the only Marriott available in the area, I decided to give them one more try. Not only was there not a restaurant “right next door” I was seriously overcharged. They aren’t a bad chain for a business traveler, but if you are going for personal reasons, you may want to reconsider. For me, I doubt I will ever stay again.