IN Indianapolis Marriott Downtown

[luckcooky]

I had the opportunity to stay at both the Marriott and Hyatt Downtown in one visit to Indianapolis. Based on my research of hotel ratings and reviews, I didn't hold high expectations of Marriott, while I was really looking forward to staying at Hyatt. Everything got reversed: I was very pleasantly surprised by Marriott and slightly disappointed by Hyatt.

Marriott has a nice spacious lobby, tastefully decorated with many comfortable sofas on which to louge on. On Saturday night it seemed like a very popular hangout spot for convention attendees. At the center there were two carafes full of ice water, one seeped in lemons and limes, the other frozen strawberries. All guests had access to them, and they made a most welcome refreshment in the hot, balmy weather. A watchful staff kept the carafes full at all times. I especially loved the strawberry flavored ice water.

Checkin was a quick and welcoming process. Front desk attendants were cheerful and plentiful. I waited only a few seconds before being called up by a backup attendant (vs. at Hyatt there was only one attendant and a line of 2 people waiting to check-in. When I finally made it to the front of the line, the attendant cavalierly said the person in front of me went to his car to get a slip of paper and told me to just use the automated check-in machines).

I believe the Marriott rooms may have recently been renovated because what I saw doesn't coincide with descriptions given in previous reviews.

The room was quite open and spacious (Hyatt rooms on the other hand, due to design flaw, gave off a closed-off claustrophobic feel). The large windows were spotless and held a great view of the Canal (Hyatt room windows were quite dirty). Even with two beds, there was still plenty of room for T-shaped desk, large armoir complete with mini fridge and safety deposit box, and a sofa. Bedlinens were plush and comfortable, including down comforter and the bed cover. I usually hesitate to touch the bed cover in most hotel rooms. But I had no trouble with this one -- it looked new, clean with a nice contemporary design (Hyatt bed cover on the other hand looked dated and just a tad on the old side, and there was no down comforter).

The bathroom too was quite spacious, enough room for large mirror and three-sided countertop that was big enough for a small carry-on.

Air conditioning was preset at a nice comfortable level and relatively quiet (Hyatt air conditioning system allows you to choose the settings, but it's a tad on the loud side and rattles).

Hotel parking is quite expensive - $19/day. But there is plenty of streetside parking. The streetside meters are monitored only during regular office hours, so essentially you get free streetside parking after hours and on weekends.

[Hippygal]

Very nice hotel. I stayed here in August for one night. Winning bid of $50.00.

Drawbacks:

Staff can be somewhat rude. I asked for extra shampoo (if you saw my hair you would understand.lol) and I was told there was a CVS down the street if I needed more. haha.

Room is small for the amount of money they normally would demand. However, the bathroom was nice and roomy as posted in the last review.

Fridge is not really a fridge, it requires you to put a bucket of ice in it to keep things cool. I think it used to be a room safe, but not sure. But the nice thing about this is, no noise to keep you up from a running fridge!

Pool is SMALL.

Bar is expensive!!

Kudos:

Fantastic weight room.

Excellent Housekeeping staff (they gave me extra shampoo no problems! LOL)

Valet staff are sooo nice! (From what I understand they do not work for the hotel).

The lobby and entry way are fantastic. I agree with the chilled water with fruit. That was such a pleasant treat.

I am a silver member, but they would not extend my check out time. However, when I went downstairs and showed my card, they did it for me. The gal on the phone when I had called from my room said they couldn't because they were overbooked. The guy at the desk said they were not at all.. So who knows! I think the Priceline cost had something to do with it, because when on the phone she checked my room and how much I paid (I could tell by her hesitation when I asked for a later checkout).

The hotel staff are kind of snobby, but I guess they can be. I am just not used to that from ANY Marriott.

[doggymcnuggets]

Stayed there last night (paid $55 + taxes/fees) and had a good experience. Just went for a quick get away with the family, called ahead the morning of our check in date to see if we could check in early. They courteously allowed us to check in around 2:30pm even though normal check in time is 4:00pm. All of the staff I interacted with were very friendly and hospitable - desk help, valets, concierge, etc. Nothing but good stuff to say about the staff. The lobby is expansive and warm with ample area for lounging. They still have the strawberry and pineapple flavored waters others have mentioned, but my 5 year old son didn't like it since it isn't sweetened :) The place was clean & well maintained and the room was very pleasant. Not a very big room but clean with a modern updated feel. One thing to note - the rooms do not have free wireless internet. You must pay for internet access or go to the lobby where free wifi is available. Room amenities were standard - 2 double beds, desk, flat screen tv, side chair, fridge, etc. The bathroom was roomy and clean, no complaints. A nice room for the price, though I would want something more unique if I were paying their regular rates. We didn't use the pool or weightroom and didn't eat at either of the 2 hotel restaurants so no comment on those.

What was really fun for our family was the hotel's proximity to adjoining entertainment venues via the above ground walkway in downtown Indy. We walked to the nearby mall, had lunch at the food court there, let the kids play at Gameworks - all without having to drive anywhere or go out into the weather (which happened to by cold and snowy the day we were there). There's a movie theater in the mall too for those interested, and everything was within about a 10 minute or so walk from the hotel lobby. Definitely gives this hotel more appeal for me and my family. I expect we will try this trip again as we have a membership at the Indy Children's Museum (really really cool place if you have kids) and had a fun time doing a quick overnight at the hotel followed by a day at the museum.

One thing to note is the somewhat expensive parking. Valet is $32, self-valet is $29, and even off site parking is pretty expensive - I paid $20 for overnight parking at the above-mentioned mall garage. There might be some metered street parking around but since it was snowing and pretty nasty out I didn't bother looking. Wish I could have Pricelined the valet parking too!