February 2014, Sunday night, Free night certificate, King concierge guestroom #827
Arrival and Platinum member perks
We arrived at the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti Marriott before check in time, and the front desk agent said that our room was not ready yet. She said that she could assign me another guestroom, if I wanted. I asked if the two rooms were the same, and she said that the room that was not ready yet was a king corner guestroom on the executive floor, and that the one available was near the elevator. Since corner guestrooms are usually nicer, I said that I would be happy to wait for that room.
We sat down in the lobby by the fireplace to wait, and I received a call when the guestroom was ready about an hour later. I also received the standard Platinum bonus points. Both of the employees I spoke with were sincere, helpful, and accommodating.
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| Sunrise from guestroom |
Guestroom 827
This guestroom is located at the end of the hall on the top floor. The view faces the golf course and lake, and we had a fabulous view of the sunrise in the morning. The guestroom was clean, comfortable, spacious, and well-soundproofed. The Internet connection speed was good, especially considering the hotel was quite full the night of our stay.
The tile/marble bathroom near the entrance contained a tub/shower combination with a shower curtain on a curved rod. The towels were good quality.
The vanity was located outside of the bathing area, and a closet with mirrored doors was located across from the vanity. Bathing amenities were provided on the vanity, and a hairdryer was mounted on the wall.
The closet contained extra bedding, hangers, a folding luggage rack, and a plush bathrobe.
The bedroom area contained a king size bed, and two nightstands with a lighted clock and a telephone. Lamps, and small adjustable reading lights were mounted on the headboard of the bed.
A sofa, coffee table, and a floor lamp were located next to the bed. I missed not having an end table for my beverage when seated on the couch.
A desk and chair, and a flatscreen TV on an armoire were located across from the bed and sofa. A single-serve coffeemaker with supplies, a small fridge, an ice bucket, two glass glasses, and a bottle of water were located inside the cabinet under the TV. Two packets of regular coffee, tea bags, and liquid creamer had been provided with the supplies.
I have refrigerator and extra pillows on my Marriott profile, so I thought maybe the fridge had been added to the guestroom; however, the hotel website has refrigerator listed as an amenity in concierge guestrooms. There was also an extra pillow on the bed. I love it when hotel staff actually reads my profile and special requests! This seems like such a simple thing to make guests happy, yet I am amazed at the number of times that hotel employees do not know anything about my desires or requests.
The bed was extremely comfortable, and the bedding and pillow quality was superb. Even though this guestroom was well-soundproofed, we could hear some kind of noise from outside of the guestroom behind the bathroom area. It was a constant droning noise, and did not really bother us. It must have been from something running inside the hotel, although I do not know what. Constant noises like that do not usually bother me. I tend to be disturbed more by guest chatter and the opening and closing of doors, which was not a problem in this guestroom.Concierge lounge
The concierge lounge was open Sunday evening, and on Monday morning. I did not try my key outside of open times, so I am not sure if the lounge was accessible for water or other items during non-open hours. I did notice that the hotel went through a considerable amount of bottled water, due in part to guests taking advantage of the amenities. We observed some guests inserting their key in the elevator to let other guests have access to the 8th floor, and we observed several guests take many bottles of water from the lounge. I sometimes take a bottle of water with me after breakfast or in the evening, but not six or more! Two guests in the elevator from the 7th floor had four bottles of water from the lounge visible in their carry-ons the morning that we all checked out. The 8th floor guestrooms did not seem to be filled, and many of the guests that we observed in the concierge lounge were not staying on the 8th floor. I know that sometimes guests from other floors are given access to the lounge. I understand why some hotels, like the Chicago-Schaumburg Marriott, limit the number of bottles of water guests can take from the concierge lounge.
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| View from concierge lounge |
The sunset view from the lounge was fabulous! The service was excellent in the evening and in the morning. The seats were comfortable, and the TVs were set at a pleasant volume, although I thought the room temperature was kind of cool.
Evening food items included pasta salad, four fresh vegetables (carrots, celery, red peppers, and broccoli) and dip, two flavors of cheese cubes (cheddar and spicy), small pieces of buffalo chicken pizza, potato pancakes, and sliced bread. The pasta salad contained fresh ingredients, although the flavor was kind of bland. The vegetables were fresh, and the dip had excellent flavor. The pizza had good flavor, although the chicken was kind of tough. The potato pieces had good flavor with a bit of cream and bacon flavor inside. A refrigerated cooler contained sodas, water, milk, juices, and yogurt. We were surprised and delighted to see Coke products available.
Breakfast in the morning included scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, three different breads, cold cereal, oatmeal with toppings, fresh fruit, and pastries. The cooler contained the same products as it had in the evening. I observed cream cheese with the condiments; however, I did not see any bagels. A staff member was restocking food items when we departed, which may have included bagels. All of the food items I tried had good flavor. I almost did not try the scrambled eggs because they looked like they had been out since the lounge had opened at 6:00 a.m., and it was after 8:00. I was glad I tried the eggs, because they were very good. The bacon had good flavor, the oatmeal was fresh, and the fresh fruit was superb.
Pool area
The pool area is located on the lower level, and it was accessible from the elevator without having to walk through the main lobby. The area was warm; however, we did not end up using the whirlpool tub since the pool area was very busy. There was some kind of hockey tournament going on during our stay, and there were many children and adults in the hotel.
Fitness center
We visited the spacious fitness center, although we did not use any of the equipment. The cardio machines were set up to look out the windows over the golf course. Fresh apples, newspapers, and a map of a walking trail were available. The trail map said that the trail is one mile long, and that it goes around the lake behind the hotel. Lobby and sitting areas
There were many public sitting areas in this hotel. The seats by the two fireplaces in the lobby were comfortable. Seats and tables were available between the lounge dining area and the elevators. More chairs were available in the hallways by the ballrooms.
It looked like there is also a nice outside area at this hotel when it is not so cold and snowy out. We observed a gazebo type wooden structure out back and a covered grill.
Misc. and overall
We thought this was a great hotel, and we would definitely choose it again. It is well maintained, and all of the staff members provided excellent service. We felt like everyone was genuinely interested in meeting our needs.
This hotel is easily accessible from Interstate 94. There were a couple of restaurants across Huron Street from the hotel: BWW, McDonalds, and Rio Wraps.
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