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Review: Marriott Marquis Washington D.C. Executive King Suite
I recently had the pleasure of attending BACON3 in Washington D.C. at the Marriott Marquis. In full disclosure Marriott was hosting us, gave us a private Q&A with some top Marriott Execs, and a discounted convention rate at the hotel. My room was not free, but I did receive an amazing upgrade from a standard room to an Executive King Suite. Was it because they knew I was a travel blooger with BA? Perhaps. But I’m also Marriott Rewards Gold Elite and have received similar upgrades in the past based on status. Also…not every blogger who was staying at the hotel received a similar upgrade…so maybe they just love Miles 😉 Don’t tell him because his ego is HUGE already. Here’s my Review: Marriott Marquis Washington D.C. Executive King Suite
The Deets:
- When: November 2016
- Where: Washington D.C.
- Loyalty: Marriott Rewards
- Status: Gold Elite
- Upgrade: Yes, to a Executive King Suite
- Additional benefits: M Club Access and late check out
Initial Impression
The hotel is big, new, beautiful, and airy. Just walking up to the hotel you feel like you’re in for a treat. The night before the convention started I stayed at the Grand Hyatt and redeemed cash + points for a one night stay. While that hotel is quite nice, the Marriott Marquis dominates it, and I’d assume is marketing to the same clientele. It’s just newer, brighter, and nicer.
Check In
There is a dedicated “Elite Desk” where Golds and Platinums can check in, but I actually was serviced by the regular desk. I was tended to in a gracious, appreciative, and personal way. I was thanked for being Gold and told I was upgraded to an Executive King Suite. BALLER! I was super stoked to see it, but unfortunately my room wasn’t available yet. NO worries, they’d just call me when it was cleaned, which happened about 15 minutes later.
No Miles! You’re room is not down there!
Your room is the ONLY one to the left. Yes…the ONLY ONE! Suite 14-070 has 270° views.
The Room IS INCRED. BIG, BRIGHT, AIRY with 270 degree views.
As I kidded above, I couldn’t find my room at first. I exited the elevators and turned right down the hallway. The room numbers started above mine. I turned and saw a sign that said JUST MY ROOM was the opposite direction. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! The room is situated in a way that it shares no common walls with other rooms – JUST BIG BRIGHT WINDOWS that highlight D.C.. Needless to say, I loved it. My buddy Shane was in town and he ended up crashing on the pull out couch. It’s a great room for a small family or friends looking for extra space to kick it and chill.
And the bed and bath. Look at the size of the bathroom!
M Club – Or M(iles) Club as we called it 😉 heh heh heh
Marriott knows how to do a lounge well. It’s huge with indoor and outdoor areas, a private bathroom, tvs, and work stations in the back for printing, etc. There is even a quick Starbucks station right inside the entrance if you just need to get a quick coffee.
The food in the morning was perfect for a lounge. Eggs, meat, yogurts, big bowls of fruit, muffins, etc etc. It all looked very fresh and there was plenty of it. Throughout the day there are various other offerings, including a happy hour with free booze ( not like Hyatt which makes you pay – ridiculous ). There are also small snacks laid out at night.
At night
The Gym – HOLY COW this is a SPECTACULAR GYM
I did an Instagram story on this gym, late at night, because I was so impressed. It’s a solid two floors with everything you would ever want, and not just in a hotel gym, but a membership gym. It’s as nice and big as some small, but high end, boutique gyms in LA. Big UPS to Marriott on this one.
Ugh I’m sorry for the quality of these…
Common Areas: Open, airy, and superbly maintained.
Overall:
The combination of impressive amenities and superb location make this Marriott hard to beat.
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Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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