Courtyard by Marriott Wilmington Downtown — Hotel in Wilmington

My husband and I stayed at the Courtyard by Marriott in Downtown Wilmington, Delaware located at 1102 N West St, Wilmington, DE, 19801. From check in to check out our stay was absolutely terrible. Never have I had such poor experience with a hotel that I was reduced to tears. When we checked in on 12/15/23 ,after driving about 11 hours from Indiana, we were put in a room without functioning heat. We informed the staff and they switched our room. The room wasn’t in the best condition; there was mold/mildew by the window, the shower curtain was too small for the shower, the tub drain stopper was broken, the vent in the shower was moldy, and there was either blood or ketchup on the ceiling. But the heat worked, the bed was clean, and it was quiet. Things seemed fine until the following night. The guests staying in the room beside ours were extremely loud and smoking weed in their room. They were running up and down the hallway, banging, and shouting. The smell of weed filled up the hallway and our room. I called the front desk at 11:41pm to inform them that the other guests were being extremely loud. It sounded like a really fun party, but my husband and I needed to sleep to make the 11 hour drive back home in the morning. The front desk said they’d send someone up and the other guests quieted down for about 30 minutes before starting up again. This time it seemed they had tampered with their smoke detector because it began beeping every 45 seconds as though they had taken the batteries out. I called the front desk again at 1:01am. They said they’d send someone up. I waited another 11 minutes before calling again. They said they’d send someone up to “find where the beeping was coming from”. I laid in bed drifting off to sleep only to be woken up every 45 seconds by a shrill beep for another 36 minutes. I called for a 4th time at 1:48am. The man at the front desk told me that they couldn’t find where the beeping was coming from and that they’d send someone up again. My husband went outside our room and could very clearly hear it coming from the room beside ours. I had used the message/chat feature in the Marriott app hoping that I’d have better luck than I was having calling downstairs. It took them 27 minutes to respond to my message where they said “There is someone on the floor trying to find where the beep is coming from. I apologize for the inconvenience, but we are trying to find where the smoke detector beeping is coming from.” This was at 2:07am. At 2:19am they decided the best option would be to put us in a different room. So we packed all our stuff up and got dressed at 2:19am to head to the 3rd room of our 2-night stay. Once we got in the room, I pulled the covers back to finally lay down and sleep, only to find that the bedding was dirty. To double check that this wasn’t just a stain, I took a damp rag and was able to wipe away whatever it was that was on the bedding. At this point it was approaching 3am and we needed to sleep to make an 11 hour drive home in the morning. I was so defeated and utterly exhausted from being up for nearly 20 hours that I broke down in tears. I no longer trusted the staff (who were acting as though we were inconveniencing them) to even provide us with clean bedding. So I took the towels from the bathroom, laid them over the armchair in the room, and I just slept there. My husband chose to lay on top of the dirty bedding and slept without any covers. I will never stay at this location again and, quite frankly, the experience has changed my opinion of Marriott...

Subject: Formal Complaint Regarding Poor Check-In Experience – Courtyard Marriott Wilmington, DE (June 11, 2025)

Dear Marriott Customer Care,

I am writing to formally file a complaint regarding a deeply disappointing and unprofessional experience I had while checking in at the Courtyard by Marriott in Wilmington, Delaware on June 11, 2025.

I had reserved my room using the Marriott Bonvoy app. Upon arriving at the front desk, I approached two employees (general manager Grace Ann Gordon) & employee (Renea), with a concern about potentially being charged twice, as the app displayed a charge with a remaining balance. I calmly attempted to clarify this, but the interaction quickly became unpleasant and unprofessional.

One of the employees behaved in a manner that I would describe as inappropriate and dismissive. Then, what appeared to be a manager abruptly jumped behind the counter and loudly stated, “You weren’t charged, so we’re going to need another card.” When I tried to show them what I was seeing on the app, both employees refused to engage or explain further, stating “we don’t use the app” and brushing off my concern.

Still trying to move forward, I provided a different credit card to complete the check-in. I then requested a printed copy of the employee discount letter I had brought for my daughter’s Marriott employee rate verification. I was told, “We don’t do that here,” and denied the courtesy of a printout.

Feeling unsettled by the lack of professionalism, I asked for both employees’ names and business cards so I could formally document my experience. I was only provided with one business card and a first name for the other employee. To my disbelief, the manager then abruptly stated that because I had complaints, they were canceling my reservation altogether.

As a result, I was left without a place to stay after traveling all the way from Virginia, which was not only stressful but completely unnecessary.

This experience is not what I’ve come to expect from Marriott. I am a loyal customer and have always chosen your properties because of the professionalism and service Marriott is known for. This situation left me shocked, embarrassed, and inconvenienced — and deserves to be addressed promptly.

I respectfully request the following: A formal review of the conduct of the staff involved. A clear explanation regarding the billing/confusion with the Bonvoy app. Consideration of compensation or accommodation for the distress and...

Shocking addition of initially-undisclosed fees. June 2025

I’ve stayed in many Marriotts, and the deceptive billing here is the worst. Upshot: At online booking, disclose strange “in case your points don’t cover it fee.” Upon check in, don’t say “yes,” when I ask is parking is included in $50/night deposit. It was $25 when I last stayed, and there is nothing to spend $50 on at the motel.

I booked two nights in using points earned from spending thousands of dollars on hotel nights to become a Marriott gold member.

Thursday check in.

This hotel charged me $100 for incidentals. Surprised because it was only $25/night a few years ago, I asked “Does that include parking!” The front desk agent said “yes.”

In the time it takes me to unload my car and return, I see the hotel has actually charged my card $190. When I speak to the afternoon manager, she says that the $90 charge is “just in case my points don’t cover the room.” This is nonsensical on its face. So I say, “I have stayed in many Marriotts and none have ever added such a fee.” The booking system would not allow the points reservation if I did it have enough points.

I ask her to remove the $90 charge, and she says she will But that it will not show immediate because my bank will have to process it. I say I understand and will be checking my account.

Friday morning.

I wake up to find that the original charges remain (ok Thursday was a bank holiday), but hotel has now billed an ADDITIONAL $40 fee to my credit card, which I must assume is just for spite or perhaps for two days of parking (based on the comments below), which the employee who checked me in said would be taken from the initial $100 deposit.

So a short stay, which should have been “free” as a points reward for spending thousands of dollars to reach Marriott Gold loyalty status has cost $230 so far.

I’ll be filing a complaint, but honestly, my treatment here has been so far below the accommodation my loyalty status has earned me at other locations that I just have to chalk it up to some issue with this franchisee.

I’ve given it two stars. The room was acceptably clean, but it had a door connecting it to a neighboring room, and at the location of this door, my neighbors’ young children banging and loud talking could be heard. The hotel is in an area with many surrounding homeless and the external parking garage is around the block, but I had stayed here once before and knew this. It’s just the fees that came as an...