There’s not shortage of Marriott properties in the Indianapolis area. In fact, according to Marriott’s website there are 30 Marriott properties in Indianapolis. With that many choices it’s hard to decide which property to stay. During my recent trip to Indianapolis, for my friends’ wedding (congratulations if you’re reading this), we decided to stay at the Indianapolis Marriott North location due to convenience. I originally planned on staying at a Courtyard property to use my free night certificate from the Marriott Rewards card. At the last minute I decided to switch to the Indianapolis Marriott North because I noticed the hotel featured Marriott’s new interior design.
Indianapolis Marriott North Location
The Indianapolis Marriott North location is approximately 11 miles North of downtown Indianapolis and approximately 30 miles from the Indianapolis airport. If you plan on spending time in downtown Indianapolis this location is not exactly ideal. If staying or working in northern Indianapolis then this property is perfect. Room rates tend to be higher during weekdays which suggest majority guests are business travelers opposed to tourists.
The surrounding area is home to several shops and restaurants, many of which are walkable. Lastly, the hotel is extremely close to a large athletic complex which makes the location idea for traveling sports teams. During our stay we noticed several kids in baseball uniforms both in the lobby and playing stickball in the parking lot.
Indianapolis Marriott North Property
The property itself looks like most full-service Marriott Hotels built in the past 20 years. Luckily the inside recently received a facelift and looks nothing like traditional Marriotts. In total Marriott spent roughly $15 million dollars renovating this property. Considering how much money went into the property I was definitely excited to stay for our wedding weekend. Overall the refresh is fantastic and I loved the newly designed interior. Older full-service Marriotts often feel dated with light wood finishes and awful gold or red carpet. The new design helps modernize the property and brings an upscale finish to the brand.
A large fireplace greets guests as they enter the main lobby though the automatic revolving door.
Behind the large fireplace is a small gathering area to meet, work, or relax during your stay. The hotel reception counters are to the left and the hotel bar is on the right. Farther back is a dining room featuring an incredible solarium. According to the manager, this area of the hotel used to be an outdoor gathering space, but during the renovation management decided to enclose the area. I’m glad they did because the space is beautiful.
The above picture shows the solarium during an insane rain storm which blew through Indianapolis during our stay. It was highly entertaining to watch the rain cascade down the glass clings. Just to the left of the above photo is an enclosed dining room which can be opened to create one large event space.
In addition to the newly designed lobby, the hotel’s restaurant (Bistro 33), fitness facilities, and pool also received a makeover. As is the case with most full-service Marriott properties, this location features a Concierge Lounge as well, but during our stay the lounge was closed for renovations.
Indianapolis Marriott North Guest Room
During our stay we were lucky enough to get a lake view guest room with a balcony. I love the new design and the guest rooms feel much more premium than older properties. Anyone who’s stayed at a Renaissance property will feel right at home in the newly designed Marriott guest room.
Next to each bed is a floating bedside table featured two different sized surfaces. The lower surface is large enough to keep a laptop or tablet while the upper surface is perfect to place a charging cell phone. Against wall are traditional wall plus and USB charging outlets. Bed lighting controls are also located just above the bedside table.
The hotel staff had already turned down our couch bed when we arrived. I was a bit confused as I did not request the couch bed. I’m not exactly sure why this was the case, but storing the bed proved simple enough.
Lake-view balconies are only available in the center 40 rooms of the property. We were in room 811 which features a fantastic balcony and view. I wish the balcony came with more than one, sad, chair. On a nice day or evening the balcony could be an excellent place to relax by the water with a friend. The lone chair reminded me of the countless lonely business travelers who frequent the Indianapolis Marriott North.
Marriott Indianapolis North Bathroom
The bathroom is very bright which is a big improvement from the older hotels bathrooms. The use of light colors and bright lights makes the room feel large and most importantly, clean.
This location, as is the case with most Marriott properties, features Thann bathroom amenities. I personally find the little display a bit pointless. Also, I wish hotels would just put the products in the shower, but that’s a whole ‘nother discussion.
I love hotels with walk-in showers and especially love walk-ins with large, barn door style, doors. This shower reminds me of the Renaissance Minneapolis The Depot I stayed at months ago. One thing worth mentioning is that this shower does not have any sort of ledge to rest a foot. This isn’t a huge issue for men, but some women may find it difficult to shave their legs, or so I was told.
Overall Impressions
I enjoyed the Indianapolis Marriott North property, but had two issues with the hotel during my stay. The issues were quite minor, but I noticed both early Sunday morning which I didn’t enjoy.
My first issue with the property is the toilets. These new toilets feature one of the most powerful flushes I’ve ever experienced. We’re talkin’ modern aircraft strong where you go partially deaf after flushing. I really didn’t mind it for my own room. It’s somewhat comforting knowing not amount fish tacos can ruin your stay. The issue is that on Sunday morning we kept hearing toilets flushing in other rooms. I wish I were kidding. I’m not really sure what Marriott can do to fix this, but if you’re trying to sleep in on the weekend you may need to bring earplugs or use a white noise app on your phone.
My second issue is one Marriott can easily fix. In fact, the issue is something I’ve never experienced before. The issue was the outrageously loud “HOUSEKEEPING!” announcements. As we tried to sleep in on Sunday morning we kept hearing “Knock, Knock, Knock, HOUSEKEEPING!” This lasted well over an hour on Sunday morning. At one point, a guest in another room came into the hall. When the guest emerged from her room the maid mentioned she was knocking on the adjacent door! Clearly the knocks and announcements were so loud another guest though they were coming from their own doorway. This is definitely not something you’d expect to hear at 10AM on a Sunday morning.
The volume was bad enough, but things got worse when the maids made it to our room. At 11:20AM the maid knocked on our door. Our door had the “Do Not Disturb” sign clearly displayed and check-out wasn’t until 12:00PM. I’d completely understand if this happened after noon, but thought knocking prior to noon seemed unreasonable.
Final Thoughts
I honestly loved this hotel from the moment I walked in. The lobby is fantastic, the newly designed guest rooms are beautiful, and our room with the lake view balcony was perfect. Sadly my experience prior to leaving left a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve been staying at Marriott properties for several years now and have never had this issue with housekeeping before. I understand this property gets a ton of business travelers who arrive on Sunday evening which means the rooms must be turned over quickly, but knocking prior to noon with the DND sign on the door seems out of character for Marriott and I’ll leave it at that.
Overall, you can’t go wrong staying at this particular property. I’m glad this stay gave me the opportunity to try out the new Marriott guest room design. For years the Marriott brand felt old and dated, but the new design brings a fresh modern feel to the Marriott brand.
