Good not great. I'll split this review into 4 areas, as not all parts of this stay were less than pleasant.
The actual hotel: The hotel was very nice. The lobby had a lot of open-spaced couches, chairs and a nice conference center and business center. Unfortunately actually getting to the front of the hotel seemed to be a mission for almost the entire week. There were multiple large trucks, pretty much permanently in front of the entrance to the parking garage and actual hotel. This made ride pickup/dropoff very difficult, as well as parking to get into the building after a long night out (these trucks were still there past 11pm).
The front desk staff: Almost a 50/50 split of good and bad. Prior to my stay here, I'd been in communication with the hotel staff, and wanted to ensure the POSSIBILITY of a room upgrade was at least existent, since I'm a Gold Elite Member (hence eligible for a free upgrade IF available). I am completely aware of the fact, this is based on availability. I'd communicated with the staff 2 weeks before my stay, 1 week before, and a few days, and at that point it seemed like an upgrade was possible. Upon check-in, it was not. This wasn't my issue, as there is a very real possibility the day before, or day of my stay, someone booked the remaining suites. What I did confirm upon check-in (I was staying 3 nights total) was that an upgrade WAS available for my last night there. As I was constantly entering/exiting the hotel due to a conference, I'd frequently check in with the different front desk staff. I was told/confirmed an upgrade was available the night before, and the morning of, and told to stop by between 11am-1pm as they had to clean the room. Completely reasonable, so I packed up all my belongings, went down to the front desk around 1pm only to find out there were no upgrades available. This is my issue. There actually WAS, and I'd come home at lunch during that day specifically to pack up and switch rooms. The evening of my final night there, the person I originally spoke to saw I looked upset and asked if I needed anything. I explained the situation, and she confirmed there was a suite upgrade available, but at that point, it was close to 8-9pm and I'd already unpacked everything and that was my final night there, but the inconsistency was very frustrating and time wasting.
The cleanliness (or lack thereof): My stay was on a Tuesday to Friday, so 3 nights total. After a long commute to Ottawa, I'd gone out the first night, then went to the gym (very clean gym, as well as the pool and hot tub). I did what some people do when exhausted on vacation - go straight to sleep without showering. The next morning I pulled all the sheets off the bed onto the floor and left the towels on the ground, only to come back to the room around 5-6pm the next day (was at a conference all day) to find all my towels/sheets still on the floor. I'd asked the front desk if my room was still on the list to be cleaned, only to find out this specific location "only cleans the rooms on Mondays and Fridays". Hence, I had to sleep on dirty/smelly sheets for 2 more nights. Now, I completely understand these were dirty because of me, however at all other Marriott's I've stayed at (and yes these were during 2021/2022) they did daily/nighty cleaning, or would send cleaners upon request. Fresh towels were brought up, but they wouldn't take my old ones and hence by the end of the trip I had a pile of towels in the corner of the room.
The restauraunt: Probably the shining star of this hotel IMHO. The tables were socially distanced quite nicely, and space itself was massive and our second night there we brought a very large group with short notice, and they easily accommodated all of us with very fast and efficient service. The waiters and bartenders were amazing. We were initially disappointed as their cocktail list only had 4 items on it, however both the waiters and bartenders had said something along the lines of "if you can describe it, we can make it" and they easily did make every request we had, noting which items they'd have to substitute if necessary. Their burgers and apps were cooked perfectly, and again very fast service. read more