IL Chicago Courtyard Marriott Downtown

[AaronJB]

In an episode of "The Apprentice", the candidates were assigned the task of rehabing a hotel and opening it for guests. Everything else aside about the episode, there is a note made towards the end that "people remember the last thing about the experience", and the candidates made sure to thank guests and show concern for any problems they encountered.

So it went with the end of my stay at the Marriott Courtyard in downtown Chicago. When we were leaving in the morning, the attendant at the desk was very friendly, and made me feel appreciated. He asked if we needed a cab and when we did, he made sure someone went right out and got one for us. Check-out was less than a minute.

Backing it all the way up to the beginning, I was fooling around on priceline.com a few days before going to this hotel and "stumbled" into getting this hotel for $47 for the night. Even though it was a great deal, I wasn't crazy about going to this hotel, as it *previously* was not too high on the list of hotels I'd want to stay at in Chicago. Not because it looked bad or anything, but simply because it appeared to be "just another hotel". Since I go to the occasional hotel just to get away, I usually look for hotels that offer something extra or are unique.

So, we arrived at this hotel at approximately 3:40pm, and were allowed to check in early (check-in is 4). I had signed up for Marriott Rewards a couple days before coming, and gave it to the desk person (who was very satisfactory - certainly friendly, but not overly so). I knew that I wasn't going to get any points for the room, given that I got a heavily discounted rate. However, I thought that maybe this could get me a better room or maybe some other perks.

This was a Thursday and, despite some shows and conventions in the city, the hotel seemed pretty empty. There were no lines at the front desk and I didn't see many people in the halls. However, this is apparently often a pretty busy hotel - I think we were just there at an off time.

We were assigned room 1119, which provided a pretty magnificent view of Chicago's Merchandise Mart, which lights up in gorgeous fashion when the sun sets. Off to the side, we could also see Marina Tower and the House of Blues building. So far, I was very pleased, because I was not expecting a view, given this location. The rooms in this hotel start at the 6th floor, which is nice - no one is at practically ground level. Some of the rooms likely don't have views, but I'm guessing a fair amount of the rooms have a pretty good view of the Merchandise Mart and the other side has a view of the Wrigley Building and NBC tower.

The room itself was nicely sized and furnished. The bathroom was certainly adequate and everything was in working order. The bed was huge (it seemed like it could easily fit 3-4 people) and there was also a couch and desk. The room wasn't huge, but even with all that was in there, there was still definitely a lot of room to move around. A few paintings (interesting work, too) were on the walls.

There were no instances of stains or wear. Impressively enough, the room smelled really nice. This did not seem to be "spray" or "perfume", but the room just genuinely smelled fresh. The smell wasn't overwhelming or even that obvious - it just felt nice. The room had air conditioning and heat.

The room offered a very nice flat-screen TV, with a solid selection of channels and pay-per-view (the pay-per-view had "Sideways", which was still in some theaters at the time of this review. There were also a lot of movies that were still 2-3 months away from being on DVD.) We soon ordered a Pizza Hut pizza from room service, and they were nice when they answered the phone. They said that the pizza would take 30-45 minutes, but it actually took 15-20. The person who brought it up was extremely nice. Nice enough that, despite the fact that a delivery charge was included in the pizza (I think $1-2, making it $13, which is still pretty reasonable for a good-sized pizza), I gave him a really good tip.

What surprised me further about the hotel was the facilities. The swimming pool was very nice - not huge, but certainly mid-sized and appeared clean. There was also a hot tub, steam room and very nice exercise room. The exercise room seemed very up-to-date, with a lot of different equipment and a very nice setting, complete with televisions. There are a few elevators that are in very good condition, so I can't see there being much of a wait for elevators, even at the busiest times here.

There was also a nice restaurant and breakfast area in the hotel. A gift shop with drinks, snacks and other necessities was just off to the side of the front desk. Food prices in room service and the restaurant (aside from the pizza, which was reasonable) seemed a tad high, but certainly fine - less than in other hotels I've been in.

There was a USA today waiting at my door when I left in the morning.

For those unfamiliar with the area, this hotel is in a particularly good location. It is 2-3 blocks East to the Michigan ave. shopping area. The House of Blues is about a block and a half away and the theater district is about a 5 minute walk. Essentially, this is a solid location that sits right between the Michigan Ave shopping area and the downtown "loop" section.

Now we get to the bad parts, and I think most will agree that these are pretty/fairly minor:

* Minimal toiletries. There were a couple of soaps and one bottle of shampoo.

* Vending machines empty. There are soda machines and ice machines on each floor. On my floor, there was only one selection left (tea) and on another floor I went to, the machine was sold out.

* Dry. As with all hotels, the room was very dry (I actually had a meter with me and humidity was less than 20% in the room). Still, it's like this with every hotel.

* A little bit of noise. There was some minor noise from the street below (it's a busy street - State St. - so a bit of minor noise is more than acceptable) I also heard some water pipe noise in the morning, but again, nothing major.

Overall, I was very surprised that this is a ** 1/2 star hotel on Priceline.com. It is a *** hotel on other hotel sites (and I'm almost positive it is *** officially.) Honestly, even a *** rating for the hotel seems rather low. I would say I would think it could make it to *** 1/2, but not ****.

I liked this hotel a lot and it was really a pleasant surprise. I've stayed in **** hotels in the area before and felt like I was paying for luxury that didn't add to the experience. Here, I felt as if I was paying for what I should be paying for: very good service, a clean and well-run hotel and a solid selection of facilities.

I've read a lot of reviews online that are VERY positive about this hotel, and I would have to add myself to that list. I think this hotel needs to somehow put itself out there more. It's got everything going for it - a great location, a really solid staff and a good selection of facilities. This hotel should be advertised more by Marriott, and the page for this hotel on the Marriott website should be less of a "standard page" and focus a bit more on the staff and maybe offer comments from previous visitors.

For those visiting this hotel, be sure to sign up for the Rewards program at marriott.com before visiting. It's free.

This is definitely a "sleeper" hotel more people should know about.

(also posted on epinions.com)