I would've given this Marriott 3.5 stars if I could have. It gives off a very hip vibe without being uncomfortable, and I definitely appreciated that.
PROS: the lobby and immediately adjacent areas are just beautiful. There is a great fireplace and seating, artsy lighting, very open and bright. Check in and check out were smooth and painless (I'm a Marriott Rewards elite member so they tend to be a little nicer).
My room was clean and well stocked. The usual BBW bath products, nothing special. The bedding was comfy (no bedbugs I did check), decent amount of towels.
I was working in my room a lot and didn't feel like leaving to have it made up, and they never hassled me about that. (believe it or not sometimes they do)
My colleague had a paid room upgrade and we had breakfast together in the concierge lounge the first morning. Their breakfast set up was nicer than average for Marriott, and the restaurant choices in this hotel are limited, so the upgrade would be worth the cost.
The fitness center is very clean and nice with new machines, but nothing else really. There is a locker room with showers (but no towels, no soap, no sauna, no lockers).
CONS: the public areas are brutally cold, and no one seems to care. The indoor pool area is just lovely and I tried to sit there with a book one evening, but had to leave after about 10 minutes because it was SO-OOO cold even just to sit there clothed never mind to swim. What a terrible shame. If you think to stay here with kids because there's a pool forget it.
The restaurant service was horrible. To be seated, we actually had to go to hotel check in and ask. Three times my colleague had to leave the table to find someone with requests. Turns out the lone waitress was running around as fast as she could, the Giants playoff game was on and the place was just jamming. This was really poor planning on management's part...would you not staff up for a Giants playoff game in this area of the country??? hello.
Another con, the location is bad. If there is any way to enter off route 10 from the opposite direction I was never able to find it, even with iMap. Had to make a few illegal turns on this super highway and cut through a parking lot (much cursing involved). I don't know if they can petition for a traffic light--but how about some signage at least ("Marriott turn next left")!!!
The room service menu is limited to the EXACT same choices as in the downstairs pub restaurant. For me this was a negative because I was on my own most of the trip so I ate in and some variety would've been nice. (But everything came up hot, tasty and on time.)
Last item: the heating in the room was hard to balance out, and it was also loud firing up overnight.
Yes I would stay here again when in this area. I'm not very demanding when it comes to business hotels and the above negatives I consider minor, but working on them would improve an otherwise pleasant property.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC