It’s been awhile since my last post, but now that we U.S.-based travelers are mostly doing domestic travel these days, I thought I’d share my Baltimore Marriott Waterfront review. Here’s what I thought of this hotel, and some tips for staying for free on points!
In This Article...
Overall review of Baltimore Marriott: Great views, comfortable luxury hotel
Pros: Views, great in-room amenities, high-end neighborhood
Cons: Lacks personality (but nothing bad!)
I paid: $505 in cash for 2 nights
How to stay at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront on points
This is a Marriott Category 4 hotel, which costs either 20,000, 25,000, or 30,000 points per night depending on whether it’s Off-Peak, Standard, or Peak pricing times (respectively). This is a pretty good value even at Peak times, given how up-market the hotel is.
If you book 4 nights on points at any Marriott hotel – even if you don’t have status – you get your 5th night free. I think 5 nights at 80K-120K points is a great value here, and it’s a trip you could take in COVID times too!
Check-in at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront
This hotel makes a good first impression, with impressive views from all directions on the water. The lobby is large and looks like a standard (but full-service) Marriott. I was staying here for work just before COVID-19, so I paid the normal rate in cash. As a Marriott Gold due to my Amex Platinum, I was hoping for an upgrade, but alas I got a standard Two Queen City View all to myself. The hotel was pretty well-occupied with other business travelers, so this made sense to me. The other perks I received due to my Gold elite status included 500 points and “enhanced” internet, nothing too exciting. I checked out at 7 a.m., so I didn’t make use of my late checkout benefit.
As readers know, I think having hotel elite status normally makes a big difference in experience. Perhaps most importantly, you avoid the worst rooms, which hotels avoid giving to elites. To learn more about how to gain elite status by using “status match” programs, check out my ultimate guide to hotel status matches here.
Location
The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront is located in the Harbor East neighborhood of Baltimore. Harbor East is, as it sounds, on the east side of the Baltimore harbor. It’s a very nice neighborhood with lots of walkways along the river and great views and high rises pretty much everywhere. This is a recently-developed neighborhood, which is reflected in the new high-rise offices, trendy restaurants, and amenities. It’s a safe, high-end neighborhood for urban professionals, and it feels pretty self-contained. To be fair, I was here for work and unable to explore much beyond Harbor East! The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront is centrally located.
Baltimore Marriott Waterfront review – The Room
My room was a standard Two Queen City View, no upgrades and two beds even though it was just me, but I was happy with it. It had a lot of in-room amenities that made for a comfortable stay.
The beds were standard but comfortable, with soft sheets and fluffy pillows.
Room decorations were based on the city of Baltimore, which I thought was a nice touch of personality. (Otherwise, this hotel tended to lack personality, so the decorations stood out.) I also liked how the hotel room had a lot of lights as well as fantastic blackout drapes.
I really enjoyed my City View, taken both at night and at sunrise below. Most if not all rooms at this hotel appear to offer great views, and my standard room was no different. You can see a bit of the harbor in the distance.
I really enjoyed the large, flat-screen internet TV, where you can log into your own Netflix account. I love when hotels let you do this and hope that this trend continues. When I travel for work, I really like to be able to relax and watch my own shows for awhile. I normally bring my iPad for this, but it’s better on a big TV!
Another nice amenity in the room: A fridge you’re allowed to actually use, without a nastygram about putting your own items into it. They included coffee too.
The bathroom was modernized, but otherwise pretty standard. There was a single sink but a good amount of counter space, and bright lighting. I liked the “thisworks” toiletries, which had subtle but modern scents. They even provided a small facial towel.
They gave me more than enough towels, which were soft and of high quality.
Not pictured was a standard desk that was good for, well, work.
Overall, this was a nice and very comfortable room.
Amenities at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront
I enjoyed a drink with a colleague at the on-site bar, along with a lot of other business travelers. A couple of groups were wearing badges for a (pre-COVID) convention. This is primarily a business hotel, so you can expect cocktails to be a bit pricey but well-made.
I had a meeting in one of their 42 different meeting rooms, which was standard and functional for a hotel event room space.
There is a fitness center that I didn’t visit, but that looks to be full-service (at least, aside from COVID).
Bottom line
Would I stay here again? Sure! I thought this hotel was modern and very comfortable, if a little nondescript. I’m not normally a huge Marriott fan, so I probably wouldn’t have visited if not for a work trip. That said, I had a very pleasant stay here and am glad I had the opportunity to check it out. If my work travels take me back to Baltimore, I’d stay here again for sure.
I hope you enjoyed my Baltimore Marriott Waterfront review! As always, please shoot me an email if you have any questions about luxury hotels on points, or if you would like to see me cover anything special in a future post. I promise to respond!
