A relatively inexpensive hotel found near the city center in Atlanta, Georgia. If the Marriott Marquis is near where you need to be, it’s worth considering a stay here.

Booking

As followers may know, I volunteer in the healthcare industry, which leads me to different cities and hotels. This time I ended up in Atlanta at the Marriott Marquis. While my stay was fully covered as part of my volunteering experience, the opinions and commentary in this post remain my own.

The group room rate for this stay was $179/night. I’d peg that as a pretty reasonable rate for this hotel. If you’re looking at using your Marriott points here, free nights here typically hover between 30,000 and 40,000 points per night. Should you have any credit cards that offer 35k certs or hit Titanium status and get a 40k cert, this is a decent spot to use them.

Earning Marriott Bonvoy points

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.

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.

Chase offers the Marriott Bonvoy Boundless credit card that gives a sign up bonus of 125,000 Marriott Bonvoy points & a 50k free night award for spending $3,000 in the first three months ($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 around 9PM in the evening and found the hotel very crowded. In fact, it remained very crowded throughout the entire weekend we were there. Thankfully, the desk operated an elite member line and I didn’t need to wait too long for assistance. Naturally, the front desk appeared a bit overwhelmed and sped through the check-in process. I wasn’t proactively offered a late checkout, but I didn’t need one anyways. The agent was in such a rush that I wasn’t informed of breakfast options thanks to my Titanium status. If I were thinking faster, I could have invoked the elite benefit guarantee Marriott has, but it didn’t dawn on me until after I left the hotel. I had breakfast anyways from my volunteer work.

I should say that other members in my group did not have elite status and when they arrived, it took one to two hours to check in. Their attempted use of the mobile app also didn’t help as a mobile key was never issued, requiring a need to visit the front desk. It’s not clear to me if this hotel is normally this crowded, but it’s at least a reminder that there is some value in having elite status to reduce the wait.

Once leaving the front desk, the thing that pops out the most is the giant spine-like design of the elevator. I would say it’s accurate that I have a mild fear of heights. By that metric, I have to say that I think the design is theoretically beautiful but I didn’t appreciate it.

In case you were wondering, most elevators are not going to provide you any protection from seeing the heights. There are some elevators that are fully enclosed, but no guarantee it will show up to take you where you want to go. Quite honestly, staring out the elevator window at all the identical-looking floors pass by in a flurry made me a little dizzy.

The Room

I courageously made it over to my room in the corner of the 39th floor of the hotel (room 3921).

Just inside is a large full-length mirror across from a connecting door. I should point out that the connecting door (and perhaps the walls themselves) seemed paper-thin, as I could hear everything my neighbors did, including when they held a party in their room until 4AM. I’m not one to complain when it’s just me on the trip, but I wish the hotel had more sound insulation.

The room itself I thought was fine, especially considering its price point. There was a little more emphasis on wood paneling that I haven’t seen in a few decades, but it didn’t feel particularly distasteful. I think the important thing is it didn’t feel unclean. So while the property could use a refresh, I don’t have any strong complaints.

Just in front of the bed is a TV and a functional desk.

Next to the TV is the in-room safe and mini-fridge.

And then across the room is the closet, which I didn’t use for my stay.

The bathroom felt clean with a placement of mirrors that made it feel larger than it actually was. The shower could have used a bit higher water pressure. I should note that others in my group had issues with water temperature in the shower but I didn’t have that problem. Not sure if it happens during periods of high demand or if it’s just the setup in certain rooms.

The view from the room was nice, but the major attractions in the city are in the opposite direction.

Odds and Ends

The hotel does have a pool that is partly indoors, partly outdoors. I didn’t have a chance to check it out during normal operating hours (besides, it was March and I wasn’t looking to take a dip).

Next to the pool is a fairly extensive gym available. Your room key is required for entry and I found it was very wide open in the evening for whatever machine I wanted to use. I have to say this was perhaps my favorite part of the hotel given the quantity and variety of machines.

I feel the need to also point out that there were a number of signs posted about that touted the recent security improvements to the hotel but, as crowded as it was all weekend, this security measure wasn’t in place. There was no need to swipe your room key to use the elevator.

Walking the City

The hotel is located a few blocks away from Centennial Park, which is a nice place to spend an afternoon. You’ll easily find the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coca-Cola. There also is a small playground for the little ones. I took a walk around the park one afternoon and thought it was a nice stroll.

I do have family who lives in the area, and they warned me not to head in the opposite direction from Centennial Park at night as it could get a little rough. There is a hospital in the area that specializes in gunshot and trauma wounds. No problems during my stay and I found no issues directly around the hotel even late in the evening, but I should at least make mention of the advice to anyone considering staying here.

Recommendation: It’s Cheap Enough

I wouldn’t be opposed to coming back here. I think the value is there both for cash rates but also for using your lower end Marriott free night certificates. For the price paid, it’s not a bad stay.

That being said, I have some apprehension about staying here when it’s very crowded as I feel the hotel isn’t adequately staffed. And I feel some level of hesitation from the open design by the elevators.

If this is the area of Atlanta you’re looking to visit, it’s hard to recommend against considering staying here.

If you’re looking for other hotels in Atlanta, check out our review of the Grand Hyatt Atlanta in Buckhead.

Have you been to the Marriott Marquis Atlanta?