Courtyard by Marriott Richmond Downtown — Hotel in Richmond

This is a very nice property - brand new within the last year - that sits in the heart of Richmond's Shockoe Bottom entertainment area - including many restaurants (Sam Miller's - Excellent) and bars (Sine - Irish Bar - across the street - fun - good food). The hotel itself sits back from Cary street and is very quiet. The fitness center is spacious and includes life fitness equipment - ellipticals, tread mills, Pulley Gym - in addition to free weights...a good size gym includes a water dispenser, towels and wipes also. The breakfasts we had in the café area - near the bar - were very good and the service like all of the service we received was timely and courteous.

If you are exploring Richmond, a couple of the impressive Civil war attractions nearby that you can visit include the Tredegar Iron works where the first canons during the civil war were manufactured (down by the river - walking distance from the hotel) and the Museum of the Confederacy which was actually the home of Jefferson Davis and the White House for the Confederacy - the house contains a wealth of artifacts from the war and you should give yourself some time to truly enjoy all that it has to offer (Up near the Medical College of VA (MCV Hospital) off Broad Street - up hill walk past the state capital - depending on your personal situation - may want to drive or take a cab.

If you would like a personalized tour of the Downtown sites you should consider renting a Segway and taking the Tour with Segway of Richmond. The shop is 1 block up Cary Street on the left hand side of the street. Buck, the proprietor, is a lifelong resident with tons of insights regarding the historic sites and the development of Richmond into the present day. If you are not up for a Segway ride, RVA Trolley also operates out of the store and provides historic tours of the downtown area, including Hollywood Cemetery where President's James Monroe (5th) and John Tyler (10th) in addition to Jefferson Davis (President of the Confederacy) are buried. Hollywood Cemetery provides great views of the James River as will your trip down to the Tredegar Iron Works if you decide to go there.

Other attractions that may be of interest include the Edgar Allen Poe museum which is also within walking distance and the Holocaust Museum (short drive or taxi).

Obviously there is a lot more depending on your interests, but these are just a few we...

I checked into the hotel on Friday July 3rd with a checkout date of Sunday July 5th. The location is amazing and parking access is cost-effective and convenient. You also have a great staff working at this hotel as we couldn't arrive in Richmond until after midnight and the 'graveyard shift' front desk employee was very professional.

We got our key cards and went to room 427. Room looked great, perfect temperature when we walked in and an amazing washroom but that's where the experience goes downhill for one reason; BEDBUGS. In the bathroom on the shower floor were two dead bedbugs sitting in the corner. I actually took them downstairs in a tissue to show the front desk employee and he said "I would have taken your word for it. You didn't have to bring the tissue down here." I reply "So...that must mean this is a common occurrence?" The front-desk employee had a blank stare. That's a little concerning because it felt like this is something that happens often at the downtown Richmond Courtyard but guests are still being put into rooms where the parasites haven't been eradicated.

The front-desk employee then put us into another room, 625, and after my guest and I removed the blankets, lifted the mattress and inspected the room for bedbugs we felt 'OK' in trying to sleep there. It wasn't comfortable knowing that we were in a nicer hotel and had encountered bedbugs. I know it's something that's tough to control, but it's the peace of mind factor that I enjoy in a hotel that I just didn't have at the Courtyard in downtown Richmond. Especially in a hotel that was finished in just 2014.

Room 625 was clean, and looked great but the big issue was the noise coming from the vent in the bathroom. I think that maybe because we were on the top floor that our proximity to the fan caused sounds issues. We had to keep the bathroom door shut at all times because of a loud howling that came from the intake vent in the bathroom. This wasn't an issue in 427.

All in all, the staff was great but after my experience it's honestly very tough for me to ever recommend this hotel, and therefore the Marriott right next door, to anyone. Based on my experience, if you were in my position, would you honestly recommend the Courtyard Downtown Richmond to anyone?...

Overall this was a good hotel, but in the hotel business, it's the small things that add up. Starting with waiting 15 minutes to park via valet do to under-staffing. It took another 15-20 minutes to check in, in part because we had a new desk clerk and she was struggling through upgrading our room on the computer system. She did give us 2 complimentary beverages from the mini-store. The upgraded room was a lovely corner room, but it wasn't sound proof and we had two nights of late bar music from the neighborhood around us. We were hungry when we arrived and a review of the in-room bistro menu showed no prices, no gluten free options and no phone number to get more information. A call to the desk, then transfer, took care of that, but when we asked for the direct number to the Bistro when we called back our order, the number given took us to a group room reservation desk? Wanting to watch TV we reviewed the in-room printed channel guide, which didn't correspond to the real channels. More fumbling! We walked the halls of our 5th floor room at least 8 times over 2 days and saw the same green Bic pen top sitting on the floor, being ignored by all the hotel staff on that floor. And finally at check out I asked whether the $10.00 F&B credit had been applied to our bill and assured it had been. When the bill was emailed to me, it had not been applied. OK, another need to contact the hotel, leave message, and get response hours later. Not what I would expect from this hotel. I will say, they do have location. I might add that this hotel has converted to the bulk dispensing of shampoo, conditioner and body wash - but all are in identical bottles. Someone who takes their classes off before they get into the shower is challenged with reading the little print while being pummeled by the shower. And where is the bulk...