firstworldproblems

I saw this thread and took some notes. In general the hotel appears to have that new feel in look and in service. They want to do a good job. It is on the smaller scale and thus less clustered.

Check in and general staff service
Check in staff was very friendly. They invited all people checking in to the grand opening party being held on Mardi Gras. The restaurant was to be closed from 5:30-8:30 for the party. It was open bar of some beers and their house wines (Fox Run). The general manager thanked people and some other guy talked about the Delta brand and thanked the Tran family (investors I believe).
I demagnetized my keys not once but twice, and while I had my ID out both times, it was only checked the second time. I am a stickler for security, so this would be a recommended area of improvement.

Elite Pantry
Is just what it is, a pantry. Every time I stopped by, there was no one there. Available were continental breakfast items like English muffins, some pastries, a variety of oatmeal and cereal choices, frozen waffles in the freezer, and hard-boiled eggs in the fridge. They also had snacks like fruit, muffins, ice cream, and popcorn. A hi-tech coffee maker was also in the room, with a variety of drinks available. Near the end of the stay, many of the coffee selections were out since the milk needed to be refilled. A great place to pop in and get a decaf at night, or to get your kids a snack.

Room
Room was spacious - less roomy than a Residence inn and larger than a courtyard room. Similar to some JW Marriott standard rooms I have stayed in. Room was tidy and well-lit. Housekeeping was professional and helpful. Even on the top floor (7), you may be awoken by a 4:30AM garbage pickup out on the street. Other nights I had great sleep. Perhaps get a room not facing a street or an alley if possible.
Walls are kind of thin, and I could hear the neighbor's bathroom quite clearly. Nevertheless the TV options were modern with the Netflix interface I am seeing more and more frequently.
There was no fridge or safe, but there was a small coffee service, and about 2-4 bottles of water next to the ice bucket every day, no charge for those.
The hotel information booklet referenced an in-room dining menu, but I did not see one. I also could not get onto the internet. For both of these items I am certain I could have gotten assistance. My room did not have a Do Not Disturb sign for example, and one was delivered immediately.

Tell Tale Restaurant
There is an Edgar Allan Poe theme throughout the hotel since the author is from Baltimore. The bartender seemed inexperienced, and she was not from the area, so that would be a missed opportunity for the hotel to provide great service. The card reader was not working, and a customer told her to go check on his room availability (which she did), so I believe she could have used some additional help since there were quite a few customers. Crab soup is not to be missed.

Zeke's Coffee
This is the small to-go coffee place right off the lobby. You can also get a few breakfast items like sandwiches or fruit I believe. They are a small batch roaster based in Baltimore, so I really like that they went with a local business. The coffee in the pantry is also by Zeke's.

I don't post here often, so if I can shrink and upload some photos, I will do so. I would stay here again, especially since the Baltimore Inner Harbor is more expensive. I had a conference in another hotel, and I walked there every morning with no problems, with the exception of the wind. If you have any questions, please let me know.

SkiAdcock

Thanks for the trip report! Much appreciated.

Cheers.

Cloudship

How are the beds here? Also, question about the location in general - I want to go down for Light City, which is I guess right around the harbor. I see mentioned above that it is not the best area - is this someplace I would want to go out and walk around?

silverthief2

The Light Festival is located in well-trafficked and tourist heavy areas, and this property is just a handful of pretty benign blocks (mostly office high-rises) away. The usual precautions about being aware of your surroundings apply, but I would not be concerned beyond that.

Marko123

Agreed. Don't walk alone, keep your phone in your pocket, go home before 2am, etc. You should be ok.

firstworldproblems

Beds are new, and of course comfort is in the eye of the beholder, good mix of firm mattress and soft bedding.

Agree about the area- be aware of surroundings, don't be out there super late.

seawolf

What is the breakfast offering at this property? If it is elite pantry, it would appear to be against terms and conditions

Okto

I'm thinking about making a reservation at this property, but the answer to seawolf's question may sway me to look elsewhere. Has anybody stayed there recently?
Also, I'm coming from the SPG side and have no experience with Delta hotels. How common is this "pantry" concept?

Thanks

DELee

If an elite breakfast benefit that requires service is what you desire, why don't you call the property and ask.

WRT stays, I've had 3 total - all during last summer and its megabonus so I was more room running as well as finding cheaper MR hotels than seeking benefits as a Platinum Premier. However since then, I've not been able to re-book given how much more they've increased their rates compared to what I've been able to book at the Ren Harborside or Marriott Waterfront. I've stayed once at the Marriott Inner Harbor and will never again if I can help it.

FWIW, here's what the "Elite Pantry" looked like:

June 2017:















August 2017:




The pantry is on the 4th floor of the property and accessible by room card key. Availability of different foods, items in the freezer or fridge, etc. is driven by how often the staff restock.

Personally, when I was there, I would arrive later, check in, go elsewhere for dinner, pick some items out of the pantry and then head out early so that my rental car, parked on the street two blocks north on Fayette wouldn't get a ticket - this was the closest street parking that was free after 6 PM but the latest in the area turned into a pumpkin (paid) after 8 or 9 AM. Parking on Charles (relatively plentiful) or Redwood (if you could get one) either went to paid after 7 AM or was no parking/tow away after 7 AM for morning rush hours' traffic flow management.

Why did I care about the street parking? See below:



From my perspective, albeit as a male but still in dress clothes, walking around the area in the evening and at night is acceptable - there's plenty of office buildings, traffic along Charles either north toward Mount Vernon or south toward the Inner Harbor. I've also gone west toward the Royal Farms Arena but it is a little bit rougher. To the immediate east are a whole bunch of other hotels so there's usually a bunch of foot traffic as well.

WRT commonality of "pantries" in the Delta chain, this is the one and only Delta hotel I've stayed at. I would assume that a little bit of research on their website will let you know how common these are.

David

hockeyinsider

Full review coming, but as I posted here:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/30760683-post487.html

hockeyinsider

I stayed at the Delta Baltimore, which despite its name is actually a couple of blocks from Inner Harbor. Once again, this is a case of Marriott using SEO to name hotels, irrespective of their actual location.

This is relatively new (3-ish years) property. In fact, unlike most of the "new" Delta properties it wasn't a re-flag from an existing hotel either in Marriott's portfolio or in a competing brand's portfolio.

On the whole, it's a nice, basic hotel. Staff were very friendly and professional. Housekeeping was generally good. Where this property performs poorly is elite status recognition, elite status benefits, and food-and-beverage. None of my special requests (extra towels or extra feather pillows) were fulfilled.

At check-in I was recognized with the wrong status, though I had been upgraded to a suite before arrival after asking for an upgrade through the Marriott mobile application. Who knows if I would have received the upgrade had I waited for arrival.

This is also one of the Delta properties with a pantry, which is less than ideal because it's seldom restocked. When I was there the coffeemaker in the pantry was broke for a week, meaning no coffee unless you went to the bar and restaurant. There used to be a separate coffeehouse in the hotel but it closed and that outlet is now empty, awaiting redevelopment. The bar and restaurant doesn't have an espresso machine. Moreover, the hotel refuses to provide elite status guests with a breakfast, insisting that a "light continental breakfast" of bagels, muffins, juice and coffee is sufficient. The bar and restaurant was empty almost all day, even at breakfast, except for a couple of people drinking in the late afternoon. I never ate on-property.

Also, the property is beginning to show some wear-and-tear, which is more proof that some of the designs and furniture that Marriott is using aren't durable. I've seen this at other properties across multiple brands. Furniture already had excessive scratches and damage. Wallpaper was peeling off in one part of the room. The shower had considerable mold or black mildew. The TVs in the gym weren't operational.

I don't think the third-party management company, Aimbridge Hospitality, is intentionally cheap. It's the ownership. In fact, the front office manager told me the owner decided to provide the absolute minimum breakfast requirement, opting against anything "more lavish." The owner also owns two other hotels, one a former Quality Inn that lost its flag and another former Best Western that also lost its flag. That's not encouraging.

My room, a handicap accessible suite, was comfortable, despite the wear-and-tear. The two TVs were 55-inch Samsung TVs with the usual assortment of channels and the relatively new Marriott system that allows for Netflix, YouTube and so forth. No bathrobe. No slippers. No mouthwash. No body wash; just shampoo, conditioner, lotion and two bars of soap. As usual, the in-room lighting was really bad. Yellow and not very bright. The only window was in the bedroom and it looked out into an alley and the side of a neighboring building.

The Wall Street Journal was available both during the weekend and at the weekend in the lobby.

DELee

For me, one of the biggest issues I have with this property is the self closing bathroom doors. As you indicated, without any ventilation, the bathrooms tend to grow mold/mildew.

WRT to other Delta Hotels, the only other one I've stayed in is the Delta Quebec City which has a Signature Club and serves up breakfast and hors d'oeuvres.

David

hockeyinsider

I had a handicap accessible room, so, no sliding room but that's the same door Marriott is using at new-build and renovated properties without bathtubs, including many or all flagship Marriott brand properties. I see the same mold or mildew at those properties. It's difficult to clean when a housekeeper is only allotted 20-25 minutes per room.

As for Quebec City, totally different property, as with most or all of the legacy Delta properties in Canada. The post-Marriott Delta properties are more on par with a Holiday Inn than the legacy Delta brand, which was closer to Marriott or Sheraton. Even the in-room coffee is different at the legacy Delta properties in Canada. With that said, I was not impressed with the food-and-beverage at the Delta Quebec City. It was on par with a Big Boy or Perkins family-style restaurant.

I imagine the Quebec City property will be renovated soon, as the food-and-beverage outlets, lower lobby and upper lobby need a renovation.

Delta is on my no-stay list moving forward.

koreanair720

Why hasn't the airline sued for copyright infringement?

seawolf

There's also Delta faucet and Delta Dental insurance.