First off, although I'm sure many people like it, I loathe the new bistro platform we've seen coming to CY. Call me old school, but I like the buffet. I do like Starbucks right in the lobby, but for the most part I avoid CYs that advertise "new lobby" on the website.

I stayed at the Portsmouth NH Market St. CY this week... checked in Monday and the whole lobby was under construction and for the most part sheeted off. I thought "uh oh, another one bites the dust." But as the week has progressed and things have been uncovered, it seems that they aren't switching to the "bistro" here. I've seen the new buffet, the bartop with (good) draft beer just as before.... some of the seating does look like the new style... but overall they are keeping the original theme here, and I like it.

I suppose that the remodel is up to the hotel operator, but if anyone has any info on this please share!

I hope this isn't the case - I really enjoy the Bistro. I've been staying at the Milwaukee Airport Courtyard (opened 6 weeks ago) and it's great. The staff working the Bistro are still a bit slow because they're new, but the lobby/Bistro is otherwise pretty full in the AM and PM.

I'm ambivalent on the Bistro. Not thrilled, but nice to have different options. The one thing that makes no sense to me, though, is the closing times I have seen. I'm sure the Courtyards can set their own times, but the majority I have been to close around 9 or 10 a clock. I thought one of the selling points was a place to socialize. Not sure about others, but I definitely socialize with my colleagues and friends past 9 - 10 PM. I've seen Springhill Suites with a bar area open until midnight.

Courtyard remains a conundrum of a hotel that Marriott seems to have no idea what it should do with it. It's not upscale, it's not downscale, it's just middle and even with the bistro, that's what it remains.

It is not because they are new they are slow, it is because the concept is slow.
I have been in ones that were among the first and still have same speed.

And the problem is that they are always full. That is the issue with the concept.
It is designed to cause lines, waiting and crowding. Not exactly what folks are looking for in a supposed business concept. I don't want to stand around in a line in the morning when I could be working.

From the looks of it the same group that redesigned the lobby also did the website. Supposedly looks better and more modern, but takes away actual business functionality.

I am pro bistro and eat breakfast there all the time. they have good options for a healthy start. its also nice to grab a drink after work.

I hope they stay.

To answer the Op's questions all hotels regardless of owners are getting the Bistro's...they have exceeded MI's expectations

Overall, I appreciate the Bistro. It gives you some dining (admittedly limited) and bar options in the evening that were formerly unavailable at most CY properties. On a rainy night without a car, it is worth its weight in gold.

As others have mentioned, the breakfast could stand some refinement. The old buffet was expensive but quick. The Bistro format is expensive but slow. There is room for improvement here.

If MI _really_ wanted to see the Bistro pop, they could offer points for Bistro expenditures. Hilton <cough, cough> does that for the Hilton Garden cafe.

+1. This is precisely why I avoid the Bistro.

And the CY Plano, where they sometimes give Platinums an appetizer or drink in the Bistro, I enjoy the concept and the food. I like the idea better than the older style which always looked tired...almost like a Perkins.

If they provided points on incidentals, I'd likely use it every time I stayed in a Courtyard. The "hotel premium" is already priced in to the food/drink, just like at any full-service hotel of any brand.

Is it possible that the OP saw a hotel that was putting in the Bistro concept but has somehow chosen to still offer a buffet of sorts? Does that exist?

While I have enjoyed the Bistro offerings in the past, I simply can't stay at CYs anymore. Their beds are just too uncomfortable for me - even if it results in losing my status.

This is a problem for me a couple of time. I couldn't get breakfast exactly at 6:30am to be at the work site at 7am and was late a couple of time to work.

Until CY offers points on incidental expenditures I will not stay at a CY unless it's so darn cheap it doesn't make sense to stay elsewhere or all other properties are so inconvenient that it makes no sense to stay elswhere. I'm boycotting CY unless either of those two situations occur.

Cheers.

I stayed for a few days at a CY without a car (colleagues picking me up each day) and found the bistro to be the only option for me each morning and most evenings. I was not satisfied. Service was slow and inept (getting orders wrong about half the time) Lines in the morning. Food quality in the evening definitely missing the price/quality mark. Make it cheaper or make it better. This is not competitive with the other brand's concepts in my opinion. My next stay will be elsewhere.

I guess this was more of what my question about. This CY is definitely doing something different... I saw the buffet serving stuff embedded in the new granite counters. I've been to this particular CY many times before and know that they are in new spots. Also all the furniture and fixtures are dark like they used to be before.... You aren't going to see any lime green, orange, or weird planters with grass in them.

I do agree that there are some definite plusses to the bistro platform, and evening dining is one of them (although this CY always has offered a full dinner menu.)

My CY experience is quite limited, but, I much prefer the buffet breakfast to the new bistro. Our experience for breakfast has been poor. The orders were not difficult, the food was barely passable, and the price was a bit on the high side. On one stop in a CY, the entire lobby and bar was reserved for a wedding party and other guests had to go elsewhere for food and drink.

If you say so.....but I highly doubt it. I know for a fact they have not exceeded mine. As a matter of fact I will not stay at one if at all possible. I'm sure they have to put a positive spin on it though.......

I have yet to met or speak with anyone on the road that likes the Bistro.....sort like the new Sky Clubs.