Courtyard by Marriott Dulles Town Center

Being right by the airport was handy, and it was surprisingly quiet. The beds were okay, though not especially comfortable. We were disappointed that breakfast wasn’t included and there was no concierge lounge. There were only three towels in our two-bed room for four guests. We called for more, which wasn’t a big deal, but then we also ran out of toilet paper and tissues and had to call again. Lots of little annoyances you don’t usually expect at a Marriott. The guest service staff were cold and unwelcoming, which really surprised us. The shorter gentleman seemed bothered when we checked in. Maybe he was having a bad day, but the interaction left a poor impression. I don’t understand how this location has more than two stars.

The location was convenient for the mall and restaurants, parking was easy in the large lot around the building, and check-in went smoothly. The woman who checked me in was nice and professional. When I asked about a fitness room, though, she said there wasn’t one, even though I’d seen photos of it on the Booking.com app. She thought they might be generic photos from another property. After I returned with the photos loaded, she recognized the room and offered a breakfast voucher for the trouble. I already had breakfast plans, so I didn’t use it. It was odd that she didn’t know about one of the hotel’s main amenities. I couldn’t work out how to log out of Netflix on the TV, and the room phone wouldn’t connect to the front desk despite several tries. I eventually found that turning the TV off reset Netflix and signed me out. There was no microwave in the room, which I haven’t encountered at a hotel before. I had soup and popcorn for a movie, so having to find the microwave in a small room by the elevator was frustrating. The mini fridge was strange too: it had a two-hour timer and kept shutting off, so I had to press the button repeatedly to keep my drinks and food cold. The hotel was nice, but these are issues I didn’t expect at a place with this name and reputation.

This place needs updating. My room hadn’t been cleaned: food garbage was in the main bin, bathroom trash was left behind, and there was a used bar of soap in the shower. The furniture was badly scuffed, and the beds were lumpy and uncomfortable. At night the AC shut off, leaving the room stuffy until it came back on in the morning.

The staff were nice, there were a couple of water bottles at check-in, and the room was clean with a good bed. The mini fridge was frozen up and had an eight-hour button inside for cooling food and drinks. The microwave was shared by the floor and located at the ice machine. The toilet paper was scratchy and single-ply, and the tub drained slowly. The road leading to the hotel was poorly lit, which is outside their control.