CPRich

Parking is now $25, and I agree it's in need of a significant facelift. But it was less than 1/2 the price of my standard option.

Horace

Marriott Motor Lodge at Key Bridge (now Key Bridge Marriott) opened in 1959.

It was the second hotel opened by J.W. and Alice Marriott after their Twin Bridges Motor Hotel (later Twin Bridges Marriott), which they opened in 1957. But that hotel was demolished in 1990.

That makes the Key Bridge Marriott the oldest operating Marriott hotel. Of course, Marriott now has many hotels built much earlier than 1959, but not as Marriott properties.

The first Marriott I ever stepped into was the Key Bridge Marriott in 1973, when I was a college student. It was just to have breakfast. I still remember being very impressed with the hotel and the breakfast.

I have an upcoming reservation at Key Bridge Marriott because I could a very good weekend rate. It will be my second time to step into that hotel.

Here's a good article about early Arlington motor hotels:

http://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/Jan.../Motor-Lodges/

DJ_Iceman

This property tends to get a bad rep here, but I've always liked it. Maybe because it was the first Marriott I ever stayed in, back in 1993, and where I filled out a folded cardboard application to start my Honored Guest account?

In any event, I continue to find it a perfectly acceptable (though largely unremarkable) hotel. If eating on site, definitely try the lobster mac and cheese--heavenly!

SkiAdcock

I remember staying at the property w/ some biz colleagues years ago & we did a 'pepsi taste test' of vodka martinis, shaken vs. stirred

Cheers.

pinniped

I've used this one for both business (without a car) and leisure (car street-parked a couple blocks away). It's been a few years, but for years it had very attractive weekend rates - often sub-$100. In that era, Georgetown was the most common location for our evening festivities, so it was perfect for that.

I'll admit: it's not a great Marriott. But as long as it's priced for what you get, I'm okay with that. It does feel like the main reason it gets to fly the "main" Marriott flag is because of its historical significance to the brand.

SkiAdcock

May or may not stay a Marriott:

http://wtop.com/money/2016/08/key-br...-is-uncertain/

Cheers.

hnewman

Yikes. Stay here every few months and have reservations out to Feb. 17 already. Not good.

pinniped

I have mixed emotions. On one hand, I like a cheap-ish Marriott in such a prime location. On the other hand, that's a crazy-prime piece of real estate on which to build a fantastic new hotel.

Either way, it's good that the landlord is a hotel firm....and hopefully it will stay in the Marriott family either way.

hockeyinsider

I stayed here the other day as the rates at the Georgetown Marriott were too high for my budget. I knew it's an older (you might even say dilapidated) property, as I've stayed here countless times over the years. Seven or eight years ago, I used to get it on Priceline for under $70 a night.

Anyways, I was surprised by the concierge lounge. Breakfast was weak, but the evening selection were OK. Yes, they weren't as good nor presented as well as the offerings in the M Club at the Marriott Georgetown, but the selection was better than the chicken wings and cheddar cheese cubes found in many concierge lounges these days. They had brown rice; fried tilapia (I don't eat fried food let alone tilapia); several varieties of sliced cheese, including gouda; a fresh salad station with mixed green, tomatoes, diced cucumbers and two or three choices of dressing; hummus; and some other light snacks. For sweets, they had brownies, cookies and blondies. There was an honor bar with a full selection of spirits and several types of wine, but the attendant was closely monitoring it. The wine was all $9 per glass. The chardonnay was Canyon Road -- the same type offered at the self-serve bars in the Detroit Delta Sky Club lounges.

I never saw any newspapers, anywhere in the hotel.

I booked a Georgetown view room with a king-sized bed. I specified a high-floor in my reservation. The front desk gave me a double-bed room on the 11th floor. I refused. I was then offered a Georgetown view room with a queens-sized bed on the 7th floor. Again, unacceptable. Finally, they gave me what I booked. I had a room on the 11th with an excellent view of Georgetown and the Potomac (minus all the bird poop on the window ledge, which used to be a balcony).

The room itself was clean, but tired. Furniture scratched. The 32-inch LG TV was 9 years old (it had a 2010 date on it), though it at least had the new Marriott system. No bathrobe or slippers provided. I was told the hotel didn't have slippers, but they had bathrobes. It took 4 phone calls and 5 hours to finally get the bathrobe delivered. After it was delivered, a manager called me and gave me 3,000 points.

PDX4MSU

Does this property have utilize Mobile Room Key?

johnston21

No, but the “old girl” still has some shine... And a quick walk across the bridge to Georgetown. I would not dismiss this property if you don’t require a downtown location.

twa777

Major renovations should be forthcoming at some point. According to this article, another investment group acquired the hotel back in November and they "plan to invest roughly $20 million on extensive renovations to update the property and potentially reduce the room count. They are also likely to explore additional development on the approximately 5.5-acre site. The upper-upscale hotel will continue to operate under a brand contract with Marriott."

https://realert.com/search.pl?ARTICLE=175240

Though I'd expect it will be largely status-quo for a while until the new group can draw up plans for the wholesale renovation.

hockeyinsider

Yeah. When I last stayed there and had some issues the manager afterward indicated that many things were planned to happen. That surprised me because I thought I had read the property was sold and the building would be demolished. Frankly, I can't believe the current structure will be preserved because it would probably be cheaper to tear it down and erect something new. Everything, even the building's proverbial bones, are old.

dr_torch

Question for y'all -

I'm booked into the Key Bridge Marriott from Dec 10th - 13th. Does anybody know if it's actually open?

I ask this since the app showed it would reopen in December but now all dates in December show no availability. What happens if I get there and it is closed?

Thanks!

Horace

Have you tried phoning the property?

If the Key Bridge Marriott will not be operating when you have your reservation, you should be contacted to arrange an alternate hotel at same price. You may or may not be given a choice of hotel.

If the Key Bridge Marriott will be operating, then there's no issue.

This new thread will probably be merged into the Key Bridge Marriott, Arlington, VA (near Washington, DC) [Master Thread]