The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront is in a good location and has good facilities, but the quality of your sleep could depend on whether a concert is playing next door.

Booking

This stay was necessary as part of an industry conference. While I did not pay for my stay out of my own pocket, the commentary mentioned below remains my own opinion.

The room for this stay cost $254/night before taxes and fees. It’s ultimately a fair rate for this Marriott given the hotel is in a convenient location and quite walkable to many restaurants. If booking with Marriott points, expect rooms to run around 35,000 to 40,000 points. This is yet another hotel that’s an effective use of your 35k free night certificates.

Earning Marriott Bonvoy points

If you’re looking to earn Marriott points quickly, you could look into picking up a Marriott credit card. Both Chase and American Express offer Marriott credit cards.

Full disclosure: in this section are refer-a-friend links where I may earn some points for referring. There is no requirement to use the below referral links to apply but note your offer may differ when going directly to the card issuer.

Chase offers the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card that gives a sign up bonus of three 50k free night certificates for spending $3,000 in the first three months for a $95 annual fee.

Or you can turn your eyes to American Express:

• The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy (not an affiliate link) offers 85,000 Marriott points for $5,000 spend in the first six months for a $250 annual fee.
• The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant (not an affiliate link) offers 100,000 Marriott points for $6,000 spend in the first six months. It also comes with instant Platinum status but with a higher annual fee ($650).

Since Amex credit cards are generally one-in-a-lifetime, it might be worth waiting for a better deal to come by.

Arrival and First Impressions

I arrived at the hotel to find a rather large piece of artwork showcased in the center of the lobby. The lobby itself is on the smaller side, which helps add to the size of the artwork. There is a smaller alcove off to the side with a few chairs and couches, where people primarily waited for their friends or drivers to arrive.

Checking into the hotel, I was proactively offered a 4PM checkout thanks to me holding Titanium status with Marriott (this is also a feature of holding Platinum status). The agent checking me in was friendly and efficient, and detailed features of the hotel including where the lounge breakfast can be found (more on that later).

Off to the side of the front desk, you’ll find a water refill station and a well-equipped convenience store.

The Room

I made my way up to the 27th floor where I found my room for this stay (2701).

The room felt modern and, most importantly, clean. One particular note about this room is a reminder to keep the blinds closed during a summer day like this. As the room is situated on the corner and has windows on two sides, it can get a bit warm in the afternoon.

The beds were decently firm, but personally I would have liked thicker sheets. The sheets didn’t do a good job retaining heat at night and, with temperature controls that didn’t work as well as I would have hoped, it left me needing to steal sheets from the other bed. Good thing I was traveling alone for this trip!

In front of the beds were the desk and TV. This is yet another desk that did not agree with my optical mouse. It continues to surprise me how often I run into this issue.

In the corner of the room, you get to appreciate the nice views of Baltimore. The chair here isn’t good for lounging but I still managed to lounge here a little bit.

By the entrance is a mini-fridge in case you need it.

The bathroom was similarly clean and I appreciated the indirect lighting behind the vanity.

I have no complaints about the shower here. I felt the water pressure was good, with good flow, and the controls could be accessed without getting yourself soaked with cold water.

Toiletries are once again the Marriott standard thisworks brand.

While the Baltimore skyline isn’t as impressive as other cities, it still is nice getting an awesome vantage point from your room.

As I’m talking about the room, I should point out something that might be relevant. On a Tuesday(!) evening, there was a T-Pain concert across the street from the hotel. This concert, which had substantial bass that shook the walls all the way up to my room on the 27th floor, went on until 11PM. If you have young kids needing sleep or are otherwise sensitive to the noise, you might want to check if there is an event at the Pier Six Pavilion next door and choose a different hotel. Since I was alone and needed to work at night, I wasn’t impacted. Yes, I’m boring for working that late.

Concierge Lounge

Up on the 31st floor is the hotel’s concierge lounge. This is included if you are a Marriott Platinum elite status member or above or if it is included in your room rate. The hours for the lounge are as follows:

• Breakfast: 6:30AM to 9:30AM Monday – Friday
• Light Reception: 5:30PM to 7:30PM Sunday – Thursday
• Desserts: 7:30PM to 10PM Sunday – Thursday

I wasn’t here over the weekend to understand what breakfast service is like (or not like) when the lounge is closed.

Overall I’d say the staff here is pretty friendly. I got into a few conversations with the attendants and they seemed to take pride in their work, which is always nice to see. Speaking of staffing, during breakfast, there was someone standing outside the entrance with a computer. I assumed this person was going to verify everyone entering had access, but perhaps since I was alone, I wasn’t asked for my room number. During reception or dessert service, I didn’t see anyone monitoring access.

Once inside, you’ll find a lengthy hallway with plenty of natural lighting.

The one thing to say about this lounge is the plentiful seating. I never encountered an issue with too many guests in here, but it could also be that I eat breakfast earlier than others.

In case you need it, there is a small business center and printer here in the lounge.

Throughout the day, there are fruits and snacks available, even outside the posted meal times.

The breakfast setup here isn’t bad. I typically like eating smoked salmon for breakfast and I was happy to see some on offer here, along with the typical breakfast items you’d generally expect. The sausage was a bit overcooked and I would have liked fresher eggs but otherwise it was fine enough for a Marriott.

In the corner of the lounge by the food, there is a water station where you can bring glass bottles back to your room (no plastic, one-time-use bottles here). But if you want this water, better grab it early as it’s all gone by the time dessert service came around.

Cookies seemed to be available all day and the selection changed daily. Nothing like eating cookies for breakfast.

The light reception service had a couple of hot items. The kale and vegetable dumplings had decent flavor but the edges were overcooked. It seemed strange to be overcooked already since it was just placed out and I was the first to eat any.

The other tray had what they called Peking duck ravioli and artichoke and goat cheese bites. In all my years of eating Chinese food, I’ve never had fried Peking duck ravioli before. The flavor did taste like Peking duck but it’s best described as more like a chicken nugget that has the duck sauce in it. I wasn’t a fan. The artichoke and goat cheese bites were fine—the goat cheese wasn’t overpowering and the artichoke was fine enough.

Aside from the hot items, you have your choice of cold cuts, vegetables, and tortilla chips. It’s a fine enough spread. I suppose you could make a meal out of this if you tried, but I’d rather eat elsewhere. There is supposed to be an honor bar, but I never asked where it is and I didn’t a setup anywhere.

Dessert was a choice of a white chocolate mint ganache, some layer cake, and more cookies. It would have been nice if they had fresh fruit to balance out the offering; that’s all I really want at the end of the day.

Bonus: Walk to Thames Street Oyster House

If you’re looking for dinner a short 10-15 minute walk away, go to Thames Street Oyster House. I ordered the lobster roll and it was one of the better lobster rolls I’ve had, certainly within the past ten years. Go early, as the place did seem to close on the earlier side (9 PM) when I were there in late June.

Recommendation: Only if there is no concert next door

I think the hotel is good, especially for the points price paid. I had plenty of good interactions with staff here and the room is clean and modern. The place where I hesitate recommending the hotel to everyone is simply because a loud concert next door can have such a significant impact on sleep even on the 27th floor. Do yourself a favor and check if there is an event during your stay before booking a room here. Of course, if you are attending the concert, this hotel is incredibly convenient.

Where do you like to stay in Baltimore?