Richmond, Virginia / Courtyard by Marriott Richmond Chester

January 2018, Weekdays, 2-nights, King guestroom 509 with balcony 

I had a difficult time choosing a hotel this trip. I really did not want to stay downtown and deal with the traffic driving in and out of the area when I only needed to visit the outskirts of town. Every hotel review I read for the hotels south of town had negative comments (Homewood Suites, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn, Residence Inn, Marriott Courtyard--all of them). I scrutinize reviews quite a bit before deciding how much merit to give to the comments, and all of the unsatisfactory comments I read were similar: rude staff, mold, water did not work or get hot, had to change rooms, etc. I also read staff replies, which affects my perception, as well.

Gold perks and check-in

I arrived in the early evening after check-in time. I waited a couple of minutes behind one guest to check-in. The room I received was possibly an upgrade, although the agent did not say anything to me. In fact, he did not tell me anything about the guestroom until after I asked if it is on the top floor. He said yes, and then he told me the rooms had been recently renovated.

Guestroom 509

The guestroom had been remodeled, and the descriptions and photos on the hotel website were still incorrect at the time of this post. This king guestroom does not have a sofa sleeper as listed in the room descriptions. I did not need a sofa sleeper; I am merely providing this information for anyone who may be looking for this. Also, none of the guestroom descriptions say they have a balcony, so I am not sure if they just give balcony rooms to guests with status, or how that works. My husband would have loved having the balcony; however, I would have preferred if the agent had asked my preferences and told me my options. More about that below.

Guestroom 509

This guestroom is on the top floor across from the elevator and next to the ice machine. Looking at this building from the outside, I do not think the guestrooms just off center are larger than the others; I think the diagram on the guestroom door (photo farther down in this post) includes the balcony.

Guestroom 509

I have included a few guestroom photos in this post, and I am listing some pros and cons, which address most of the comments I read from other guests.

Bathroom, vanity, and closet in guestroom 509

Pros

• Nice bedding, comfy bed and pillows.
• Cordial staff. I did not encounter anyone rude of uncaring, like others posted. In fact, one staff member went out of her way to assist me with a food purchase when The Bistro was not open.
• Nice room setup with good work area and comfy sofa.
• Small fridge in guestroom.
• Huge flatscreen TV.
• Balcony door that opens with a screen.

Gap under guestroom door

Cons

• Even though the guestroom had been remodeled, it did smell musty/damp, as others stated. I think this comes from the water supply, because the odor is more apparent when the water is turned on.
• Housekeeping details were overlooked, like others reported. There was an extreme amount of dust on the bathroom tissue holder (which also did not hold the toilet paper rolls properly; they kept falling out), and on the telephones.
• Guests smoked on the balcony, which I could smell in the guestroom even after I shut the balcony door. This made the balcony unusable, for me. My understanding is that the entire Mariott guest areas (outside pool and courtyard, balconies, etc.) are smoke-free; however, this is the third Marriott Courtyard I have stayed in where this was not enforced.
• Large gap around door allows hallway noise to be easily heard.

Dysfunctional and dusty tissue holder

Fortunately, most of the guests in this hotel were considerate, so I did not hear an extreme amount of noise from the ice machine and elevator/hall. I did hear enough that I placed a towel on the floor at the bottom of the door. I usually request top floor end rooms, in order to be away from this type of activity.

Guestroom diagram from back of door

Food and Beverages

I had two food items and one beverage at The Bistro: seasonal salad, egg white frittata, and cafe mocha. Everything was good quality and fresh.

Cranberry Apple Salad

I had read complaints from previous guests about the length of time it took to have breakfast, and that was my experience, as well. I stopped a bit before 7:00 AM to order my breakfast to-go after my morning workout, and waited about 20 to 30 minutes. First, I waited in line behind three patrons, and then I waited 15+ minutes for my food.

I stopped at an excellent restaurant for breakfast one morning in Midlothian; The Egg & I, located just west of Commonwealth Center on V-360. The cost was the same as the frittata I had at The Bistro, and the meal was far superior.

Fitness center

The fitness center is open 24 hours. The two treadmills were functional; however, cardio-theater did not work on either machine (one did not operate at all, the other had no reception). There was no reception on the TV in the room, as well. The fitness center is located on the bottom floor, below street level, which may have had a bearing on the TV reception. There are also guestrooms on this floor.

Misc. and overall

Other than the hallway noise, I was happy with the sleep quality in this hotel, which is one of the most important things for me when traveling. The bed was comfy and clean.

There are several restaurants west of I-95, although there are not many choices on the east side where this hotel is located. The only dining options I saw on the east side were the different hotel restaurants.

The best hotel reviews I read for hotels outside of downtown, at the time of my stay, were for Four Points Sheraton at the airport. I thought about staying there, and then settled on Marriott Courtyard because the location was more convenient for my trip. I actually had three hotel reservations until the week before my trip! I do not usually have that many. There is a Holiday Inn Express located next to the Marriott Courtyard, which I did not recall reading about before my stay. Next time I visit this area, I think I would also consider that Holiday Inn Express, and Hyatt Place, which is located a bit farther from I-95 near Residence Inn and I-295.