hhoope01

Has anyone stayed at the Courtyard in Chennai, India? I may have a business trip there and it is the only Marriott listed in Chennai.

I noticed from its website (on marriott.com) that it has an Executive Lounge. Is that the same as a CL and would Gold/Plats get access?

VA1379

IIRC, this property was mentioned on FT a while back. Someone said the hotel was originally supposed to be a FS property, but they did not get approval for that. Hence, it is a CY with a lounge. My guess is that gold/platinum members will get access to the lounge.

iralevine

The courtyard is right near the airport, not bad for a courtyard but not as nice as some of the other properties. I have been to Chennai a few times over the last year and there are some good places to stay in town or out towards the beach.

If you are gung ho on the Marriott, then the Courtyard is your only option. The starwood properties are nice there as well. I have camped out at Le Royal Meridien for weeks at a time and been very well taken care of there. The Park Sheraton is also a good place to enjoy.

Would be happy to answer any questions you have about travel to chennai, feel free to send me an IM or e-mail.

Cheers,

Ira

Aggie

I stayed there earlier this year and thought it was the bet CY I have stayed at.

I’m Plat so they gave me a very large room with sitting area. I was given lounge access with my status. Lounge was nice and had good food.

If you search you can find my original post about the property.

hungarianhc

Do you get free breakfast there as a platinum?

hungarianhc

Well my rate includes breakfast, it appears, so I guess so!

hhoope01

As a Plat you will get access to the lounge. And the lounge does provide breakfast.

quarryking

There is a JW Marriott coming up in the city & should be a beach front property from what i gather...But as of now for chennai, it's only the Courtyard

hhoope01

Beach front in Chennai? Isn't Chennai's beach one of the most polluted in the world?

quarryking

Chennai's main stretch of beach, which is in the city sadly is polluted. The coast is pretty clean once you leave the city and drive south. The Marriott property is coming up away from the main stretch on a section where not much of the beachfront is used ( i think)

Considering that Marina Beach is the second longest beach in the world, so much more can be done with it.

hungarianhc

I'm in Chennai right now, and I was at the beach yesterday. It's pretty chaotic and crowded, but it's a HUGE beach with a LOT of sand. I mean... second biggest beach in the world. I don't think the water is polluted so a beachfront property would do well. Most americans in Chennai get drivers to wherever they're doing business. So if I had to choose between a beachfront JW Marriott or the Sheraton Chola I'm at right now, i'd probably pick the JW.... very nice sheraton though! HUGE suite-style rooms.

J_Hawk

The JW may go up near Mahabalipuram (30 KM outisde of Chennai) where the Radisson and a few other Western hotels are located. The beach there is quite pristine and the 1500 year old city carved into rock is quite an impressive back drop.

I was in Chennai a few weeks ago and stayed at the Courtyard; since I am a Marriott Plat I would stay there again but if I did not have an affiliation with Marriott I would consider one of the nice local hotels or the very, very nice Sheraton.

hungarianhc

FYI I stayed at the Courtyard Chennai one night a couple weeks ago. That same week, I also stayed at the Sheraton Chola for 3 nights. The only reason I stayed one night at the Courtyard was to get my megabonus. I can tell you that it is really much worse than both Sheratons and the Rain Tree hotel. I was upgraded to a pretty big room, but even with the upgrade, the place didn't feel as clean / nice as the Sheraton Chola. Of course, it's cheaper than the Sheraton too. But even though I had a non smoking room, my bathroom STUNK terribly the whole time. I called to complain, and they assured me that my room is always a non-smoking room. If so, then somebody was smoking nonstop in a room nearby because it smelled awful when I arrived and awful when I checked out.... and every moment in between. Then I had problems with the internet. It would cut out every minute or so, making skype calls mostly impossible. Then I also thought the toilet was kinda gross... I suppose it's better than 90% of the toilet you would find in India, but for a Western chain like Marriott, you would expect something a bit more modern.

So yeah if you need to stay there for the points or something, then fine... but... if you have some choice, stay at the Sheraton Chola. i LOVED my stay there, and I'm quite excited to return!

sbedelman

Old Post, New Question.

What's the best way to get from the airport to the Courtyard?

We'll be arriving from FRA just before midnight and I'd rather not have to deal with finding and haggling over a taxi. Anybody know about what the charge for a meet and great car would be?