Marriott Bethesda Downtown at Marriott HQ — Hotel in Bethesda

We spent 2 nights at the Marriott Bethesda Downtown at Marriott HQ last week. We stayed here after attending the Marriott Bonvoy 5th Anniversary Party that was held at the hotel. The hotel is next to Marriott International Headquarters – the properties share a courtyard between the buildings, named after former CEO Arne M. Sorenson.||I found a very good AAA rate for the 2 nights – Thursday for $179 and Friday for $129. Prior to check in, I saw in the Bonvoy app that we were upgraded to a 1 room King, corner suite. A very nice upgrade from the standard King room I booked.||We arrived around 3:45pm, after spending a night at the Bethesda Marriott that is only a few miles and 5 minutes away. The hotel is in Downtown Bethesda and is recently built, I believe opening in 2022. The vehicle entryway is small, and will only accommodate 4 or 5 vehicles comfortably. The hotel only offers valet parking at $55/night. I did have to retrieve the car a few times and all our experiences with the valet team were very good throughout our stay.||Check in at the front desk went great. Janeth greeted us and checked us in and provided some welcome gifts. While we were initially assigned to room 832, she asked if we would mind waiting a few minutes in the M Club while a different room was being finished up. She noted it was still an upgraded room, but 832 was not quite ready. We headed over to the M Club, grabbed a beverage and some small snacks and within a few minutes, Janeth came to tell us room 732 was ready for us. She offered to have a bellmen helps is with our luggage, but we were traveling pretty light and didn’t need it.||Our upgraded room, still a 1 bedroom King corner suite, was fantastic. It’s a large living space, that has views of the Arne M. Sorenson courtyard, Marriott HQ and into the city and beyond. There is a dry bar, fridge and closet by the door along with a small 2 person table, and a well appointed living room. The bedroom and bathroom were very well sized, with a large closet in the bathroom and separate shower and toilet stalls.||The HVAC in the room worked well, but would also turn out to the rooms Achilles heel. It was so loud during operation that we had to turn it off around 1am as it was keeping us up. Not a deal breaker for the upgraded room, and not something we complained about to the front desk. We’ve stayed in some other rooms that have loudish HVAC, plus we were already unpacked and staying 1 more night.||We ate dinner in the hotel restaurant after the Bonvoy Party. The appetizers during the event were good, but we still wanted dinner. Our server Griffin was another exceptional member of the team. We had dinner for 2 from the Restaurant Week offering that was a salad, Short Rib pot pie and a 7 layer cake for desert. The food was delicious and being restaurant week, was only $70 for two people. A great deal on a great meal.||I was up early the next morning for work, and did eat breakfast in the M Club that is on the 1st floor next to the front desk. It was a good M Club breakfast, with plenty of food for the members partaking – scrambled and white scrambled eggs, bacon, chicken sausage, a good selection of fresh fruit, breads, oatmeal station, along with fresh coffee, hot water, coffee machine and juices. After breakfast, I headed over to the front desk to check in for the 2nd night. Janeth assisted me again with the 2nd reservation.||Returning to the Achilles heel in the room - the loud HVAC - This wasn't something we reported to the hotel or front desk, but around noon the day after we checked in, the front desk called our room to see if maintenance could come in to check the HVAC system. They had reports from other members in the same room on different floors, about the very loud HVAC. They weren't wrong, but it was fantastic that the hotel was being very proactive in asking about our room and stay in the room.||I was out for the day at a work site, so my wife received the call in the room. Maintenance came up a few minutes later and spent about 30 minutes with her - explaining the HVAC system. The corner rooms get blasted with reflective sun from the HQ building and the 2 walls of windows. He explained that these rooms have a larger HVAC system to handle the extra load in the rooms, but was honest in his assessment that it was much too loud. During the conversation he offered to reach out to the front desk to move us and even offer extra points as compensation. We were happy with the upgrade and only staying 1 more night and my wife was ok with staying in the room.||About an hour later while at the job site, I received an unexpected phone call from Thao at the front desk. She let me know that maintenance went up to the room and recommended we be moved, and she offered an upgrade to the Presidential Suite. I was a little confused as we had not reported any problems with the HVAC, but sure we'll move for the night :-)||I stopped at the front desk on my return to the hotel. Thao greeted me as the desk and apologized for the HVAC in Room 732. Providing me with a set of keys for the new room, she also offered to send up a team member to help us move rooms. I declined that as we only had a couple of bags.||The Presidential Suite, Room 1224, is a fantastic room. It has a very large living space with a nearly full kitchen, only lacking a cook top. The kitchen had all the other amenities including plenty of storage space, microwave, sink, dishwasher and a Fisher-Paykel drawer fridge. In addition to the living and dining space, there is also a 2nd bathroom in the main living area.||The bedroom and bathroom are very large - the bathroom has a fantastic soaking tub in it, along with dual sinks, separate shower, toilet stall and towels for days! While we did find that drawer space in the bedroom was a little slim, the two large closets with drawers in them were more than sufficient for our needs.||After dinner at La Panetteria, a local Italian Restaurant 2 blocks from the hotel, we took a trip up to the 13th floor of the hotel where the Hip Flask bar is. It was pretty busy on a Friday night. The bar has indoor space as well as an outdoor rooftop terrace with great views. On the smaller side of the outdoor rooftop space, they have 2 heated igloos that can be reserved. The views from the rooftop are fantastic. In warmer weather I'm sure the rooftop stays very busy.||Overall we really enjoyed our 2 night stay at Marriott HQ. The hotel and grounds are great and I am sure the Arne M. Sorenson courtyard gets a lot of use in good weather, it's a really nice outdoor space between the buildings. I found some great rates, we got upgraded twice to fantastic suites and every interaction we had with staff was exceptional. While this hotel is a little further from the project site I'll be working on the next ~18 months, I'd be willing to spend a little more time commuting each day to stay here.||Overall, we had an exceptional stay at the hotel. Yes we should expect the best service at the hotel at Marriott HQ and that’s what everyone provides. The service, the friendliness, the outreach all truly exceptional and absolutely the standard all Marriott hotels should strive for.||For perspective, I am a Marriott Ambassador...

Okay, let's start from the top:

Reservation: Good: Called 1-800 reservations and that worked out better than the prices online. Was able to get a club level room for $10 less and a standard room for $50 less.

Bad: N/A

Check-In: Good: Front desk was nice and professional and you could see and feel Marriott's training. Good to see that this training is extended to the next generation.

Bad: It become a bit bumpy when we asked for the standard room to be on a higher floor than the 9th floor and they could not accommodate--despite another person at the front desk saying that they were not at full capacity. Upon entering the standard room, it was noisy--near the elevator and next door to the ice machine. We asked to be moved. Surprisingly, after ten minutes of waiting in the lobby for an answer, another room at the same price was available on the 11th floor.

Beds/Rooms: Good: You can get a decent night sleep if you don't have any back or sleeping issues. The beds are on a platform. They are average--not too hard nor too soft. But you can definitely tell you are not dealing with a high quality bed. Sheets feel like a 300-350 count. If you need a firm pillow bring one. The shower water pressure is average.

Bad: The doors are heavy and loud. You hear other people entering and exiting their rooms. The windows in the room are not properly insulated. There is a major draft where you can see the sheers moving. As a result, you have to keep adjusting to the thermostat to deal with the weather outside. This is not bad, but should be noted: The furniture and the room design are targeted for age group 21-40. There is no closet--just an open space to hang your clothes. Seating: There is a mid-century modern chair and a couch that sits low with a table. Walls are thin. You can hear conversations.

Hotel Vibe: Good: Everything is new.

Bad: Cheap looking and feeling! This is definitely not your classic Marriott where you feel you want to present yourself wearing causal business attire. Again, this hotel is targeting a specific age group placing low couches with ottomans in lobby, low chairs and trance music throughout the property no matter what time it is.

M Club: Good: A nice separate place to get some snacks.

Bad: The club is located on the 1st floor. Okay, we all know about small plates, but having practically saucers for the small plates...come on Marriott! They served a mixed of Mediterranean and Asian style snacks. They were tasty and I enjoyed it. For drinks, they offer limited Pepsi and Snapple products. Fresh fruit is available, but I saw gnats flying around the bowl, so I didn't get any. Coffee...good luck getting a hot cup. There is no microwave to warm up the brewed coffee they serve cold. You can also get coffee in a machine made with milk. Wine drinker? Well, pay up! They set up a "wine bar" where you place your cup under the spigot and swipe your room card to pay for 1oz, 3oz or more. I think the 1oz was $2.75.

Restaurant: Good: Had the fried chicken thighs and roasted brussels sprouts. They were delicious! The chicken was flashed fried and juicy. Not too much seasoning because they wanted to pair this with the hot and honey. The sprouts are unexplainably good. Service was good too.

Bad: The same window problems in the room is experienced in the dining area--very drafty! With low lighting for the evening, the music track is still trance music.

Rooftop:

Good: It is a nice set up. The outdoor tents are a nice way to use the space and make money.

Bad: It is not for the seasoned person--although they could blend in and mingle. Long bar counter with stools. Low seating on both sides of the counter. I didn't try any drink.

Summary: If you are 21-40, this is the place to be--it is cheap but nicely done. If you are 45+, this may not be the venue for you. You may be looking for different seating styles, higher quality, and more refined music tracks: classic pop or jazz with familiar artists (e.g., Billy Joel, Bee Gee Adair, Chris Botti, Michael Franks, etc.) mixed with a little...

Update for March 2024: This is around our fifth visit and third review of this hotel for a quick weekend get-away. We both thought it was another amazing visit. As always, all of the team members were friendly and helpful. As a titanium member, we’re always made to feel special from checking in through leaving on Sunday. Each stay is like coming back home. Every location - lobby, both bars, lounge, and room were very clean and well maintained. We were very pleased with the new drink menu at the Hip Flask (rooftop bar). My wife did the Vagabond Rose and I did the Everything Gold. Both were extremely delicious. Our favorite part of each stay is getting to chat with Alijah and Jessica in the lobby bar. My wife challenged Alijah to recreate a few cocktails she enjoyed from various other places we’ve been to on vacation. And, not only did he accept the challenge, he EXCEEDED her expectations. We truly appreciate his creativity and cheerful personality. I was even able to have my own creation this time. This is a great hotel in an amazing area with so many things to do around it. We look forward to seeing everyone again in a few months. Keep up the good work! It is truly appreciated.

Update for Oct 2023: As planned, we stayed here again 19-22 Oct 2023. The hotel was great. Alijah and Bria were hard at work at the first floor bar so my wife got her drink (Thank you both, you brought many smiles to her face). At check-in, they pulled up my name and mentioned how we'd been there once and if we had any new questions. That was a great touch that they keep track of times stayed.

New things done included walking to Tastee Diner and catching a movie. They are