Hotel Reviews
Travel Tuesday: Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel Review
Over the years, I’ve spent countless hours in Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, but have never really ventured into the city itself (other than driving through it on road trips). So, when it was revealed that FinCon 2024 would be held in Downtown Atlanta, I relished the opportunity to finally explore the area and stay in one of the hotels. Specifically, after a short search, I knew exactly which property I wanted to book for my visit: The Atlanta Marriott Marquis.
So how did I choose the Atlanta Marriott Marquis for my FinCon stay? Well, for one, I found that it was located just across the street from the event’s host hotel and was about $50 per night cheaper. But more importantly, this hotel is where they shot part of the Marvel Disney+ series Loki. In that show, a CGI-edited version of the Marriott Marquis doubles for the Time Variance Authority — or TVA, for short. I had actually discovered this fact shortly after the show was released and had filed that info away for a future visit to ATL. Thus, when I saw just how close the hotel was to FinCon, there was no way I was passing up the opportunity to not only see the TVA but stay there.
Given that hype, did my stay meet my high expectations? Let’s take a closer look at the property and what it has to offer.
Atlanta Marriott Marquis Double Room Hotel Review
Booking (and how I booked)
The Atlanta Marriott Marquis can be found on several third-party booking sites as well as on Marriott.com. Ultimately, while I nearly booked directly, I ended up going through Amex Travel for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to earn 5x points on my booking. Secondly, I found that the rate on Amex was ever-so-slightly cheaper ($2 a night if memory serves), saving me about $10.
In total, my five-night stay totaled $1,218.84, including a base rate of $1,021.25 and $197.59 in taxes.
Parking and check-in
Like many other hotels in popular downtown areas, the Atlanta Marriott Marquis only officially offers valet parking with no self-parking options. Unfortunately, this option isn’t cheap, coming at a cost of $60 per night. While there were some other garages and lots nearby that were significantly less expensive, I ultimately opted for convience and peace of mind over savings — so I went ahead and valeted.
Interestingly, although you can drop off your car in the main porte cochere, valet pickup is in a completely different location. When you are ready to leave or take your car out, you can head to the elevators near the back of the lobby and go to P1. There you’ll find a valet desk/office and the parking garage. When they’re getting your car, there’s even a little monitor showing what ticket numbers are up next and who’s retrieving them.
Another word of warning: over the weekend, a sign in front indicated that valet was full. Therefore, if you do plan to stay here, you may want to come up with a plan B should this happen to you as well.
As for check-in, this is where my stay at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis nearly came to an abrupt end. After pulling up my reservation, the front desk agent let me know that they’d need to talk to their manager so that they could find me a room. A few minutes later, she returned and said “Sir…” in such a tone that I for sure thought I was about to get walked. Instead, she just wanted to reassure me that they were working on it.
Not too long after that, she returned and said that they’d managed to scare me up a room. Phew. I’m guessing that the fact that I was booked for five nights is what saved me from just being canceled. Also, for the record, I was very much regretting my decision not to book directly during those few minutes she was away (although that’s not a surefire trick either).
In any case, after that scare, I headed up to my room.
Elevators
There are a couple of reasons why I want to mention the elevators. For one, despite the hotel apparently being at capacity for much of my stay, there was only one time where I had a wait more than a minute or so for an elevator. That’s extremely impressive to me. And while the door closing/opening mechanism was a bit slow at times, these elevators move — to the point where you’ll probably need to pop your ears at some point during each ride.
As for the other reason, well, it’s truly an experience. Zooming through the Maquis’s unique architecture made me feel like I really was inside the aforementioned TVA. Admittedly, I took more than one video of my rides because it was just so awesome. Highly recommend.
The room
I’ll admit that, before getting to the room, I started to worry just a little bit. That’s because, as I got off the elevator, the age of the hotel was fairly apparent. This is to say that the wall and carpet combination on display weren’t the most attractive. Luckily, once I opened the door to my space, those concerns faded.
The first thing that caught my attention was the lovely three-paned sunset-colored paintings displayed behind the two beds. I loved the way these looked — and, in fact, I made a point to shoot one of my YouTube videos in the room to take advantage of the backdrop.
Speaking of the beds, though, I did think it was a bit odd that they were on platform rather than boxsprings. Granted, this is fairly common these days, but still looks a bit “cheap” to me in a hotel room. Despite that, the beds were perfectly comfortable and I slept well each night of my stay.
On the opposite side of the room was a large piece of furniture that included a closet, a TV, a desk, and more. The left side is also where you could find such amenities as a mini-fridge, coffee maker, and a safe. As readers probably know by now, I’m a huge fan of practical amenities, so having a mini-fridge was a big win. And while I’d love it if this was paired with a microwave, I’m not going to complain too much. Having a coffee maker was also nice… although the coffee itself left something to be desired and housekeeping mistakenly restocked me exclusively with decaf.
The view from my room was also nice, looking out to the lights of Atlanta. I enjoyed this so much that I left my curtains open on most nights so that I could soak it in as I nodded off.
Moving into the bathroom, I’d say that this was the weak spot of the room. While it was clean, I didn’t find it terribly attractive (yes, I sometimes find bathrooms attractive). Moreover, this shower tub wasn’t a favorite, but it got the job done. Although, one benefit of having not-so-powerful water pressure is that I could hang my towel in the back of the shower and still find it dry when it was time to use it.
Overall, I came to really like my room at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. Given my check-in troubles, I was a bit trepidatious at first, thinking they might have pawned a less desirable room (or one with known issues) off on me. But, as far as I can tell, that wasn’t the case.
Something else that I want to note is that, during my stay, I wasn’t once disturbed by any noises from the hotel or street side. Mind you, this was during a time when the massive hotel was at capacity! I’m not sure if this is a case where I was on a quiet floor or what but I was definitely impressed.
Dining and more
The Atlanta Marriott Marquis hosts a few different restaurants on property. This includes the steakhouse Sear, the bar/restaurants High Velocity and Pulse Bar, a Starbucks, and the M Store sundries shop.
Of these, the only ones I visited were the Starbucks (as a reminder, you can earn Double Stars during your stay when you link your Marriott Bonvoy and Starbucks Rewards accounts) and the market. In fact, I didn’t even try any of the other neighboring options as my friend lives in Atlanta and wanted to show me some other locations in the city. That said, rest assured that there are plenty of nearby quick service and table service locations to be found in the Downtown Atlanta area.
Lastly, I do want to highlight an area of the hotel that kept catching my eye as I headed to my room. On the 10th floor of the hotel is an area that has tables, seating, and a spiral staircase leading to the floors above and below it. I imagine that this area could be used for receptions or other gatherings, but it was empty when I decided to seek it out. Perhaps, should you find yourself at this hotel, something will be happening in this area of the hotel. If not, though, it’s still a fun little place to explore.
Final Thoughts on the Atlanta Marriott Marquis
Hands down, the Atlanta Marriott Marquis was one of the coolest hotels I’ve ever had a chance to stay at. The design of the property’s multiple floors proved endlessly entrancing and I enjoyed every trip I took from my room to the lobby and back again.
On top of that, while not exactly cheap, my stay was relatively affordable (valet fee notwithstanding) and the amenities on property made for a comfortable stay. As mentioned, I’m also shocked at how quiet it was in my room in spite of the fact that the place was packed.
For all of those reasons, if you’re looking to visit Downtown Atlanta for fun or for a business trip, I think the Atlanta Marriott Marquis is definitely worth checking out. That said, based on my experience, I’d make sure to have a backup plan for parking and check in early to avoid potentially getting walked (although, I should say that the staff made it sound as though this was a rare occurrence). And, of course, if you’re a fan of Loki as I am, then there’s even more reason to make a point to visit this particular hotel — I’m sure you’ll have a good time.
Author
Other Articles by Kyle Burbank
Personal Product Reviews
Travel Tips
Travel Tuesday: Donating Your Travel Currency on Giving Tuesday
Lest you think we're done with the retail holidays, today marks another — albeit quite different — one: Giving Tuesday. For those unaware, this is the day that emphasizes charitable donations over retail purchases. Actually, in addition to Giving Tuesday, today has also become known as Travel Tuesday (no relation...
Side Hustles
