I recently checked in for my first stay at the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead. I’m always a little apprehensive staying at a property where I hold no elite status, but I need not have worried because my stay could not have been better. I arrived at the hotel via taxi. Shocking as it may seem, I’m not high maintenance, and I don’t need the bell staff to retrieve my 21″ Samsonite carry on from the trunk. That said, I do appreciate a warm greeting and the offer of assistance as soon as I arrive at any hotel via vehicle. No luck on this visit as the bell staff was a little too busy chatting with themselves and ignoring my arrival. Oh well, life goes on…..time to head to check in. That would be the only negative observation of the stay….and even so, it wasn’t a big deal. Just an observation.
I was the second customer in line, and greeted soon enough by the very polite front desk rep. He was very professional, and even thanked me for being a Marriott Rewards member, surprising since I hold no status in the program. We went through the usual formalities in a minute or two. The desk rep apologized profusely for being unable to provide the high floor king room that is listed in my Marriott Rewards profile. In fact, the only room available was a double bed room on the first floor of the hotel. I didn’t mind, and was even provided lounge access for my one night stay for accepting the room. He explained that the hotel was very full, and he appreciated my being flexible. I appreciated the lounge access….more on that later.
The room itself was pretty standard cookie-cutter Marriott, although I admit, I’m not accustomed to staying in a large city hotel on the ground floor! Nice beds, good bath, adequate closet, nice TV, and most importantly, a great and well-lit desk with plenty of power outlets, a pet-peeve of mine. In a side note, I overslept Tuesday morning and ran out of the house without my new camera, so I was unable to snap any crip pictures of the room. I did take a short video with my iPhone though.
This was just a one-night stay, and I arrived at the hotel around 7pm. I basically had time for dinner, some emails, and bed. I’d been jonesing for a good steak for several days, and as luck would have it, there’s a Shula’s 347 Grill right on the property. I dined at the bar, enjoyed the free wi-fi in the lobby of the hotel, and really loved the 16 oz Cowboy Steak….that’s a bone-in ribeye to the rest of us. The steak was cooked perfectly, and accompanied by grilled asparagus and a baked potato, loaded of course. 🙂 I’ll restart my diet this weekend. The Lenox Mall is directly across the street from the hotel, and Houston’s Restaurant is just down the street, so there are plenty of dining options within walking distance.
After dinner, I decided to take advantage of the comped access to the Concierge Lounge. Made me long for my days as a Marriott Rewards Gold member. 🙂 The lounge is on the 8th floor, just off the elevators. The Concierge, Joyce, could not have been more personable. It was obvious that a lot of guests were regulars, because Joyce greeted them like extended family….and she was just as nice to me. Made a point to stop by my table and see how I was doing. The lounge itself was equipped with the typical comfy chairs, tables, and sofas. There was a decent dessert spread and honor bar setup. I decided to pay Marriott back for my access by imbibing for a nightcap, and actually started this blog post while I was there. Unfortunately, I did not get to check out the dinner spread and did not make it back up for breakfast the next morning. Just didn’t have time.
The hotel is an easy walk from the Lenox Marta station (Gold Line), so public transit is a good option to get to the hotel. I liked the Atlanta Marriott Buckhead a lot, and especially the staff I came into contact with. All in all, a great option for Atlanta bound travelers. Check it out on your next visit to Buckhead and Atlanta.
