The Marriott Louisville Downtown is well-located but lacking in service.
Written: Oct 25 '09 (Updated Oct 25 '09)
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Pros: Good location, nice, toiletries, clean rooms, on-site dining options.
Cons: Slow service in several respects, rooms a little worn.
The Bottom Line: We'll probably try a different hotel next time.
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| chelledun's Full Review: Marriott Louisville Downtown |
My little sis is now a proud resident of Louisville, Kentucky, so I anticipate lots of derby hats and mint juleps in my future. As part of our quest for an ideal home basis for these visits, we spent this past weekend at the Marriott Louisville Downtown. Sadly, the stay was only passable. Happily, there are dozens of other hotels in the area for us to try out on future trips.
Know Before You Go
Louisville's hotels seem to vacillate wildly in pricing depending on what is going on in the city on a particular evening. The Marriott is no exception. Nightly rates were listed at $200+ when I originally started searching, then dropped to around $124 as part of a fall weekend promotion. I booked at this low rate, which then disappeared, leaving my mom forced to reserve her room at the AAA rate of $140 or so. In short, start searching for rates early and continue to check back for a better price up until the time of your stay.
As the name suggests, the Marriott Louisville Downtown is located right in the heart of downtown within walking or driving distance to many restaurants and attractions. Parking is available directly underneath the hotel which means it is both convenient and priced at a premium. Self-park costs around $20 nightly, with valet costing $5.00 more. This may not sound bad to those accustomed to large cities but is definitely out of whack with normal Louisville parking rates. Fortunately, as Marriott Silver Elite members we were able to finagle a VIP prize of free self-parking, thereby saving nearly forty dollars over the course of the weekend.
Public Areas
The Marriott's lobby is a bustling place, with folks coming and going to various events all times of the day and night. We arrived in the midst of a church gala or some sort and had difficulty getting help with our luggage from the bell staff. We then had trouble getting waited on at the front desk. Eventually, a desk clerk who didn't seem to quite know the ropes began a very tedious check-in process. The entire arrival to in-room process lasted about thirty minutes, which seemed like a lot to me.
While we were waiting, we had a lot of time to scope out the Marriott's lobby. There are three dining options shooting off in various directions. Starbucks is, of course, Starbucks. Champion's is a brightly colored, casual sports bar with an Applebee's-type menu. BLU Italian Grill is the classic modern hotel restaurant serving buffet breakfasts and Italian dinners. We ate breakfast here our second morning and found it about average in terms of selection and quality. The pastry selection was lacking, but the made-to-order eggs were light and fluffy.
The Marriott Louisville Downtown has a huge number of banquet/conference rooms with kitschy derby-based names like "Win," "Place," and "Show." It also has a pool and fitness center, neither of which we used (or even saw) during our visit.
Rooms
We had reserved two rooms and asked for them on the same floor. During check-in, the clerk had indicated that she could do this only if we all agreed to accept double beds, despite having signed on for queens or kings. We agreed to this, but might as well have just kept our big beds on separate floors, as we ultimately ended up literally at opposite ends of a very long hall. By the end of the stay we had taken to calling each other and saying, "I'll meet you by the elevators!"
Mr_chelledun and I found our room a little disappointing disappointing. Our mattresses, sheets, and comforters were not nearly as plush as those we usually receive at a Marriott. The rooms were brightly decorated but seemed a little worn around the edges. They also seemed small to me, which is not a complaint I make frequently. The double beds took up nearly all the available floor space although there was a desk squeezed into one corner. The television had Marriott's typical pay-per-view movie/television show program but sadly, it was not functioning during our visit. Internet did work which was fortunate because we were paying $12.00 per day for it. My biggest complaint about the room, though, is that it was HOT, HOT, HOT. The thermostat was absolutely lying with its claims of "68 degrees," because we woke up sweating multiple times each night. We probably should have gotten maintenance in our room to look at the air conditioner because there was clearly a problem.
After losing points in the bedroom, the Marriott did make up some in the bathroom. The shower was very user-friendly in terms of temperature control and offered great water pressure. We received four or five large towels, all of which were exceptionally fluffy. Mr_chelledun is always happy to see Marriott's Bath & Body Works toiletries including shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, and bar soap. I personally find the amber scent a little mannish but the conditioner works so well that I would consider purchasing it to use at home.
Housekeeping service was surprisingly slow at this Marriott. After a long day of sightseeing on Saturday, mr_chelledun and I returned to the hotel at approximately 4:15 p.m. to take a nap and found a sign on our door indicating that cleaning was taking place at that time. We went down the hall to my mom's room to wait and found that room was not yet cleaned either. It all worked out in the end, although my nap was sadly shortened by about a half hour.
Overall . . .
I think the Marriott Louisville Downtown was having an "off" weekend when we visited. Unfortunately, it seemed like the hotel was simply not equipped to handle being full to capacity. We encountered several minor service issues which, in the aggregate, make me unlikely to pick this hotel for my next stay in this fun, funky, city.
Recommended:
No
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