Courtyard By Marriott Columbus Downtown

So first thing I noticed is that you have to climb stairs to get to the elevator… Really?!? In a hotel with lots of suitcases you want every guest to carry their luggage up stairs?
Room was ok except for red splatter on my closet door that I’m hoping wasn’t blood, some dark hair on my towels, and water damage on the artwork in the bathroom. Calling down to the front desk to ask for my car to be brought around I was placed on hold for 10min before I hung up and walked downstairs to which I was greeted by a front desk staff attending to no one.
The morning I checked out I came down to the valet reading the paper, he didn’t even look up from his paper when he handed me my keys. No thanks, I didn’t need help carrying my suitcase down the stairs… or putting it into my car.
I wouldn’t stay here again.

Bathroom was not clean — disgusting in fact, but I’ll spare you the vomit-​inducing details. Called desk, manager visited, housekeeping came and re-​cleaned. Bathroom still not clean. I asked if he had inspected after re-​cleaning and he said «yes». Only took me 1 second to find more grunge and hair all over floor.
Manager came back, housekeeping came back to try again. Better, but still not what I’d call clean. Three strikes and you’re out. Follow up from management seemed more oriented toward apologizing than fixing the problem. Apparently, they have no standards for cleanliness. I checked out after one night and won’t be back.

Not up to Marriott standards. Room is musty/​smoky smelling and a/​c is struggling to keep the room cool. Check in was pleasant and quick. I will not be returning.

No PARKING! Only $ 20 valet, what? If you are there for work, don’t trust their text system,
the valet parking is mostly 20 year old kids and they hardly ever got my car on time.
anyways, I was there for business. Rooms are big and clean, very quiet.
There is a restaurant below but casual and not too many options.
Staff is friendly and is located in a central part of Down Town. Small gym, but not that bad.
Plenty of restaurants open late at night.

Excellent hotel. Very friendly staff, from the valet to the cleaning staff. I stayed in 229 and loved the raised separate area for my kids. Pool was freezing because the heater was just replaced, but still fun. Great location (close to COSI) and Starbucks on premise. We’ll be back.

Another great stay. We were upgraded to a suite for my wife’s birthday. Easy walk to the restaurant. Helpful staff.

Passing though Columbus, so I decided to reserve a room near the brewpub I intended to visit. The weather was bitterly cold, so I wasn’t going to walk far. The Courtyard seemed like the ticket. Not so much.
Check-​in is friendly and quick. Good valet service but they need a larger pull-​in lane. My vehicle’s rear end was sticking out in traffic while I waited for another car to clear. Probably not much to be done about that in a city. The next morning, my vehicle was ready in minutes after I called the front desk (their valet text service wasn’t working).
Room was fine. No complaints there. No noises, HVAC worked as it should.
The big issue is the WiFi crapped out, which is super annoying when you want to plan the day’s schedule in the morning. And when I went down to use one of the ‘business’ computers, the first one I jumped on was locked up. So I had to find another one. I was cranky by that point.
Why is there no TV channel guide? The hotel booklet said to check the guide channel on the TV itself but didn’t even provide the channel number for that. And you know how slow the channels change on hotel TVs (and why is that, I’ve always wondered?). Once I did find it — I think it was Ch 94 or something, not the first one when you turn on the TV — many channels that were listed weren’t actually received.
No free coffee that I could see other than the horrid stuff in the room. I think I’m spoiled by Hampton. They always have free coffee no matter the time of day.
There’s no security at all. I walked in from the street and used the elevator without even seeing an employee. The front desk was momentarily unattended. The elevator didn’t have a room card reader. Yeah, I know this is how it is in many places I stay, such as suburban Hamptons, but it is not good for a downtown hotel and not good for the price I paid. I’d like to know that the only people on my floor are guests and employees.

I think this hotel is pretty nice and they have some cool stairs built in from being a shoe factory in the early hay days. Friendly staff and very clean. Has An ATM inside and valet parking only. Very close (Walking distance) to the convention center.

The recent renovations are lipstick on a pig. It’s pretty clear that it’s just cosmetic façade on a very poorly designed and dated building. Some of my experience is undoubtedly biased by the fact that they put me in a horrible first-​floor room which was about the size of a medium security prison cell, with a view to match, despite charging my company a rather high rate.
The parking is too much for a mandatory valet situation.
The layout is terrible-​nothing they can do about a bad building with renovations-​and so the bar/​restaurant has all the charm of a basement dorm cafeteria. Despite the new furnishings, that’s what it feels like. Call it the «first level» all you want, if there are no windows it’s a basement.
This place is the first hotel I’ve ever checked out of early due to low quality. I’m surprised Marriot is willing to have their good name tarnished by this hotel.

Ugh, I got athletes foot without ever stepping foot near the pool or gym. :(We stayed in the handicap room for two nights. I would expect them to wash the showers between guests.
The staff were friendly, and they gave us an extra cot for a 3^rd person.
The two options for parking were street parking or Valet for $ 19. No complimentary breakfast.

If you are a casual traveler or on vacation you will like this hotel.
If you are a business traveler like myself (40+ weeks a year) keep reading, then go find a new hotel!
*not handicap friendly
Cons:
–elevators and first floor rooms are 8 steps up from the lobby. Supper inconvenient with luggage and impossible for wheelchairs
–when I arrived I knew it was valet only for $ 19 a day, what I didn’t expect to find for that much as a cluster. This hotel is on a busy downtown street and there are 3 spots for valet. The valets attendants (lack there of) had me park in the street due to lack of space. Keep in mind this is an active busy downtown ST. See picture of someone’s car, after he was told please leave your car in the street, it will be safe. As other readers mention it takes 15+ mins to get your car.
— when I got my room it was on the first floor, ask to change and got a higher room with dirty sheets (although layout was spacious). Decided to take the 1^st floor room. Super tiny room. Opened my blinds to find someone staring at me from the indoor hot tub. No sunshine for me!
— for breakfast asked if their egg sandwiches had milk or butter in them, no one had a clue, coffee was good though. And the girl gave me attitude for approaching to order when her café lights were off at 640a (suppose to open at 630a)
— I regularly leave a do not disturb sign up and opt out of daily room cleans, but no door sign. Ask for one at front desk and girl said she has no clue where they are and housekeeping doesn’t work at 6p. Came back from dinner to a taped handwritten note on my door.
— can hear everything through walls and door.
–everyone at the front desk acts as if you are bothering them.
— TVs on gym bike didn’t work
Pros
–clean updated gym. Up to 50 lb free weights
— comfy bed
–free wifi
–location
–standard Marriott feel.
I will not be returning! The Hampton Inn down the street is the nicest I have stayed at in a Hilton chain. Only booked at this courtyard for Marriott promo and no rooms at any of the Hilton’s.

Probably read about the fact that their is no parking.
I had a run-​in with the café staff — someone didn’t get the «Marriott» training.
The hotel is super-​handy if your working in the Nationwide complex. Food is about 5 block walk away — so is the coffee. I didn’t bother eating here.
There is one entrance that I know about, relatively small entrance. Seems that there is always a congregation of employees hanging out at the parking valet desk outside. The public sidewalk is actually quite narrow at same point, so they are always in your face.
My alley view of the rear of the YMCA wasn’t too bad since I didn’t want to look outside the window anyway.
They have the strangest sink faucets I’d ever seen. Couldn’t figure out how to make it work. But here a tip, pretend that strange vertical metal thing is a joystick and you’ll do fine.

Where do I start??? No parking??? How can you be a Marriott without parking… so you have to valet (which is costly per day) or you can park in a garage down the street that charges you to come in and out… what a rip off.
The girl who checked me in (I want to say her name was Kaitlin), she was pleasant & checked me in swiftly.
My room was clean. It was actually a little nicer than I expected. I was pleased with my digs… I couldn’t get the TV to work w/​my iPad… which was annoying… no Netflix for me.
I wanted to wash clothes… Dan was at the front desk texting & I could have sworn he was high… I was talking to him & he seemed tuned out. I needed soap for the laundry & he took forever to get it… I was super annoyed
Overall, my visit was okay… but I’m used to having the luxury of parking my own car… that would be my biggest gripe…

3 Stars– They are improving, but there are still a few things they need to workout
This hotel has recently under gone a major renovation and they are still in the process of finishing some of the minor touches, i.e. one of the elevators. The Downtown Columbus Courtyard is now inline with the current Courtyard standards, including the Bistro/​Starbucks combo, which can be a love/​hate thing.
Pro’s:
+Location– It is conveniently located within blocks of the Arena District and is located within a ~7 minute walk of restaurants.
+Shower– This may not be a big deal to some, but the shower head was hung high, and I didn’t have to duck to take a shower
+Rooms– The rooms were recently redone. I love the number of power outlets that the room had. From the desk to the lamps, they incorporated additional connections in. Also, the bedding was brand new as well as the other furniture and the tv.
+Work space Areas– There was a sitting area with a TV by the elevators near the lobby floor and another sitting area down near the Bistro where groups of people could hangout and talk. They also had a row of computers to use if needed down off the Bistro area.
+Wifi– It was free
+Staff– They were friendly and they handled a noise complaint in a timely manor.
Cons:
–Noise– Avoid staying in a non-​interior room. You will hear the street noise. Also, there is noise that comes through the doors from the hallways.
–Wifi– Yes it’s free, so if there are a lot of people on, don’t expect the best connection rates.
–Shower– For whatever reason the water didn’t stay a consistent temperature throughout use. There is nothing like a cold shower in the morning to wake you up.
–Parking– The only option is to valet your car. The lot is right next to the hotel and you will be charged $ 19/​day. Fair warning, if any thing happens to your car, the hotel/​parking lot is not liable. I would suggest finding a garage to park your car or use another hotel’s garaged parking.
–Layout– Like other downtown hotels in older buildings that I have stayed in, the layouts for the check-​in counters are a bit odd. The lobby is on the ground floor, but you must decent half a flight of stairs to get to the elevators. This is fine for the average person, but others may find this challenging. They do have an elevator for guests to take to bypass this, but keep in mind, it will take them more time to exit/​enter the hotel.
–TV’s– This is not just a Marriott problem, but one that I have been noticing across all brands of hotels due to their cable providers, digital channels take longer to appear on screen than analog. We are talking upwards of a 10 second delay and it is annoying.

AVOID.
I stay at a Courtyard Marriott several times a month. This location isn’t one of the worst Courtyards, it’s one of the worst hotels I’ve ever stayed at. There are several other downtown hotels in Collumbus — I would stay at any other place before I would go back here. It is simply not up to the standards we expect of a Courtyard Marriott.
My complaints. First, this hotel is not wheelchair friendly. No, I don’t use one and I’m quite capable of taking stairs two at a time. But I do have family members who aren’t as fortunate and I notice when you have to climb six or seven stairs just to get from the lobby to the elevators. And if you have any luggage, you will have to lug it up those stairs.
Second, there are two elevators and one was out of service during our stay. We had to wait more than 15 minutes just to get on to a totally packed elevator (which was NOT fun — it stopped on every single floor) to take us to our room on the fifth floor.
Third, in the morning, we discovered that the water in the shower did not work. No, this wasn’t just no hot water… it was no water AT ALL. We called the front desk to complain and the clerk acted like it had never happened before. Ultimately, the manager told us that several guests had complained about the very same thing that morning. There is no excuse for this.
Fourth, we called to have our car brought up from valet parking about 10 minutes before we left our room when we checked out. Despite providing that notice, the car was not there when we wanted to leave. In fact, the valet guys hadn’t even received the order from the front desk to bring our car up! We had to wait about 15 more minutes for the car. That’s a nice touch for paying $ 19.
To their credit, the manager «comped» our room that evening and admitted that the service we received during our stay was unacceptable. While I appreciated her accommodation, I would have preferred to have paid and received the usual excellent Courtyard Marriott service and style during my stay.
In summary, this property is not to the standards you expect from a Courtyard Marriott. There are other choices within a block or two of this property. Use them.

THE GOOD: Our stay here was pretty much perfect! The location was close to everything so that was awesome. We were upgraded to a King-​sized room located on the fifth floor — great start to a vacation! The room was clean, not at all old and decrepit (like mentioned in other reviews) and comfortable all around. The hotel is pretty old but they seem to be in the process of upgrading so it really doesn’t seem that bad. Good price and great service throughout our stay too!
THE BAD: Their hot tub was out of service which was very disappointing as that was one of the reasons I picked this hotel.
OVERALL: Definitely worth a second visit!

This is where I stayed for the Columbus Marathon.
I am so glad that I picked this location. I knew in preparing for the trip that I would not want to have to walk far before or after the race to get to my hotel. It is conveniently located in the downtown area, close enough to get to the marathon expo, start and finish lines. For location for a marathon stay I give 5 stars.
When we we’re visiting this location was undergoing some extreme renovations. Not only in the lobby but rooms on the second floor were under construction. Now I understand that this may be necessary for any hotel during some point in time but it may be considerate to let your patrons know that this will be going on during your stay. Luckily for us we weren’t located by any of the rooms undergoing heavy/​loud construction and I was able to get a good nights sleep for my race.
I feel like if I am paying top dollar for a room I shouldn’t have to walk around caution tape, dusty floors and inhale drying paint. Perhaps there should be some type of discount or at least let guests know of this before hand. I could see how this could inconvenience people with allergies or even rooms that were disturbed by the construction noise. Construction 2 stars.
The staff was considerate and helped me out when I had finished the marathon but couldn’t find my family. My phone had died during the three and a half hour run so I was out of luck. My only choice was to limp back to the hotel. I barely made it but they gladly got me another room key, as I didn’t run 26.2 miles with it in my pocket, I collapsed as soon as I got to my room. Service 5 stars.
Another moot point, I’m not sure if it was because of the construction but the shower in our room took a really long time to produce hot water. Hotels usually don’t have this problem so this was kind of a bummer. Shower 1 star.

I had two recent stays here for work. I chose this property for it’s downtown location and the fact that it was the only Marriott property with rooms available at my corporate rate.
Overall the hotel was very clean. Both of my rooms were clean as well. The staff was very friendly and (for the most part) helpful.
Unfortunately all of the furniture and fixtures are dated and worn. The sheer curtains had holes in them in both rooms I was in. The power outlets on the desk lamps in both rooms didn’t reliably retain any power cable that was plugged into them.
While the valet parking was the best option (with the option to come and go as often as you like) the service itself was spotty. Sometimes they were outside. Sometimes they were inside. One time upon arrival I waited well over 5 mins for someone to even acknowledge me.
Had the buffet breakfast not been included in my room rate, I probably would have skipped it. At best it was your average hotel breakfast buffet. Two mornings I had to ask them to bring out yogurt for the buffet and one of those times the waitress just brought me directly a single yogurt cup without even asking me what flavor I might prefer rather than replenishing the buffet.
While reviewing my expenses for my first stay, I found that they had mistakenly charged me for breakfast one of the days even though breakfast was included in my rate. Upon check in for my second stay I brought this to the attention of the desk clerk. First, she tried to convince me that I had charged something to my room. I advised her that I knew I hadn’t. She told me she would have to find the receipt and investigate the charge, but she ensured that there would be either an explanation or a refund by checkout the next morning. When I went to check out it was obvious she had done nothing about it as the clerk at checkout (a different person) was completely unaware. The checkout clerk immediately acknowledged that I had been mistakenly charged and issue a refund on the spot.
They have posterboard displays throughtout the lobby showing the details of the planned upcoming renovation. Although it looks like it’s going to be very nice I would highly recommend avoiding this property until after they have completed their renovation.

Wow, probably the worst Marriott property I’ve ever experienced. The only reason its two stars instead of one is the majority of the staff are really nice and doing the best they can with a fairly shabby hotel.
When I checked in there was an angry mob in the lobby. Apparently there was a concert in town and many had hoped to get into their rooms at check-​in time to get ready. It was almost 5:00pm and many had been waiting for two hours. The young lady working behind the desk was buried. It seemed like housekeeping was way behind or something. She was doing the very best she could and despite one upset guest after another getting in her face she remained polite and professional. The small lounge was offering happy hour prices to try to calm people down and the bar tender was handing out bags of popcorn to the waiting guests. This situation was a management or system failure that put these young staffers in this position and they were doing the best they could. Not being in a hurry I kicked it in the lounge and threw back a Makers Mark on the rocks, maybe two.
Once I got into my room I had to double check that I was in a Courtyard Marriott not a Days Inn circa 1994. Worn furniture, work out carpet, mystery stains in the bathroom and a small refrigerator that was dirty inside and out and was only «cool», not cold. It was like walking onto the set of Hotel Impossible in the «before» phase. I was waiting for Anthony to pop out of the closet and tell me this was just a test.
No such luck.
Here you go:
Dirty bathroom. Not last-​guest-​dirty, but a decade of wear & tear dirty.
The air conditioner is the loudest I’ve ever encountered indoors.
The carpet is peeling up and is completely worn out.
Mystery stain on the shower curtain.
Bubbling and peeling wallpaper.
The fridge — worst ever. Doesn’t belong in a 1963 VW van much less a Courtyard.
The door is out of adjustment and I had to push it closed with my foot.
The bar opened at 5:20p one night. The sign says hours are 5:00p — 11:00p.
No HD at all on the HD LCD television. Lame.
Slow internet connection! The PCs in the lobby «business area» are Gateways!
In room WiFi: 0.36 Mbps download and 0.18 Mbps upload with a 47 Ms ping, BAD.
However, every single person that works here is very very nice. They are courteous and professional. The valet crew sprints to get your car for you, the hostess in the breakfast area are super friendly and keep your coffee filled.
I’m a Marriott Gold member, pretty loyal to the brand, But until I see that this place has been given a complete remodel I will not stay here on my Columbus trips.

Of the Courtyard Marriotts where I’ve stayed, this is definitely my least favorite. Good luck if you’re carrying heavy pieces of wheeled luggage. You enter the lobby and have to go up about 10 stairs just to reach the elevators. I really don’t know how you would get to the elevator if you’re in a wheelchair. For what it’s worth, there were also two small stairs in our room, which we found odd.
Housekeeping is a disaster. We had a «Do Not Disturb» sign on our door, and the housekeeper banged on the door at 11AM until we opened it. And yes, we were still sleeping. We told her to come back later, and instead, she left a signed note stating the reason why we didn’t have service was because we refused to have service.
At noon, right before we were ready to leave, I called the front desk and requested the room be serviced. «No problem!» an employee assured. When we left, the maid was down the hall, and I said, «Hi, we’re ready now for service. Can you please take care of room #_​_​_​_​?» She gave me such a blank stare that I then just walked on. My friend said, «Good luck — it took me 20 minutes to explain I needed a trash bag and had to motion trash on the floor.» Given that we live in the USA and English is the most common language in this country, I really think maids need to be able to understand and speak English. Later when we arrived back in our room past midnight, the room hadn’t been serviced at all — total fail.
The air conditioner in the room didn’t work as well as it should have. We turned the AC to the second to the last knobs for both fan speed and cool temperature (no numeric temperature available). In the middle of the night, I had to get up and put the knobs on the highest fan speed and coldest temperature available because it was so hot. Even with the coldest temperature, the room really wasn’t that cold.
There were two good things about this hotel. We had booked under a room block, and the hotel provided a gift bag of small goodies (candy and bottled water), which was nice. The other thing is that they didn’t charge me for two days of $ 19 daily parking (just one day), so that was a pleasant surprise. Nevertheless, I probably wouldn’t stay here again. I’d probably pick a hotel closer into downtown.