Courtyard: A Comfortable Choice Near DFW Airport
Written: Aug 20 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Clean, comfortable, quiet, and a GREAT VALUE!
Cons: Just some minor complaints...
The Bottom Line: There's a ton of hotels around the DFW Airport. I don't know beans about most of 'em, but I do know that the Courtyard is NICE!
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| mrkstvns's Full Review: Courtyard by Marriott DFW Airport North |
If anyone ever doubted the economic impact that an airport has on a local economy, they only need to look around a big airport like Dallas-Fort Worth. There must be a hundred hotels all around the major roads into and around the airport, and I seriously doubt that if the airport weren't here, that there would be any reason for towns like Irving and Las Colinas to be much more than a townhouse community, a self-store warehouse, and a Diamond Shamrock station. But the airport is here, and businesses abound near it -- especially hotels, which are everywhere. There are so many of them, in fact, that it's tough for a traveler to tell which ones are really the best places to stay.
I can't claim to have any opinion worth listening to on 99 percent of the DFW area hotels, but I can tell you that I stayed last week at the Marriott Courtyard DFW Airport location in Irving, and that it was an excellent hotel -- clean, well maintained, comfortable, and with rates that won't bust the budget of even a frugal traveler like me. Come take a look...
In and Around the Hotel...
The lobby is warm and inviting with polished marble floors and a large open atrium area that's conservatively decorated in deep, warm, reddish colored woods. There's a bar area in the back corner, and in the front corner, a small restaurant serving breakfast in the mornings (not complimentary, but not terribly expensive either -- about $7-8 for a fresh made-to-order omellette, rolls, and hot coffee).
From the oversize windows in the lobby area, you can look out into the courtyard area, where there is a large gazebo, a very nice swimming pool, and a whirlpool spa. I love to swim, and inadequate pools irritate me, but no worries about that at this Courtyard. The pool only went to about 5 feet deep, but there was plenty of space for laps or just plain floating and cooling off under the blisteringly hot Texas sun (105 degrees at DFW while I was at this hotel). Despite the heat, I still sat and soaked in the hot tub for a while too. Very nice, especially followed up with a plunge into the relatively cooler waters of the adjacent pool. I liked the big spacious deck with plenty of lounge chairs around it, and I liked the inviting landscaping of the courtyard area -- the only thing I didn't like was that the towel supply had run out before I got there, so I had to run back to my room to grab one.
These days, it seems like pretty much every hotel has some kind of workout room, but I didn't see anything like that at this hotel -- not even a single treadmill. Also a bit unusual, but in a good way, was the laundry room on the ground floor, complete with washer and dryer, and free for the use of hotel guests. (Hey, kids! We're going to stay at the Courtyard -- put all the dirty laundry in the car!!)
The hotel also provides a free shuttle service to and from the DFW airport. The shuttle runs twice an hour.
Step Into a Comfortable Room...
I'm impressed at how quiet my room actually is. From just sitting in the room, I would never have guessed that the hotel was located practically on the end of the runways of one of America's busiest airports. Sure, a jet roared overhead every 32 seconds, and you know it if you're sitting out by the pool, but you don't hear so much as a whisper inside the rooms.
The room is very comfortable in a clean, Danish modern sort of way. The furniture is all soft woods with brushed aluminum handles and edges, and it all looks practically new -- like everything else in the hotel. I love the work desk, with a table that pulls out to double the workable area, complete with second phone. I love having the big stuffed easy chair to kick back in late at night.
The hotel currently offers free internet connections, so bring your laptop. You have to pay a $10 deposit for the connectors, but that's it. If you don't have a laptop, but just want to browse the web, there's also a keyboard that works with the TV -- it costs about $10 per day to use this service. There's also Nintendo games on the TV, or pay per view movies.
The TV itself is pretty good -- big enough anyway. It gets about 20 channels, all of them the "most popular" cable brands. I was disappointed that they couldn't be bothered to provide all the local broadcast channels since none of their 20 favorites included so much as one single spanish language channel.
The bathroom was spacious and spotlessly clean. The towels were thick, and I like the oversize soap bars that they provide (bigger than the dinky sampler size I get in a lot of hotels). I also like having a sink that's outside the bathroom itself, and I like the elegant feel of the marble countertop around the sink.
Naturally there's a coffee maker, complete with your choice of either regular or decaf. Overall, a comfortable place to relax and unwind.
Service with a Smile...
I haven't been remarking on service in most of my recent hotel reviews because, well, service in a lot of hotels is pretty unremarkable these days. I was pleasantly surprised at this Courtyard hotel by the generally friendly attitude that I found. I appreciated that the desk clerks actually chatted a little bit, and offerred up suggestions for local dining and shopping options that I might not have thought about (namely the not too distant Grapevine Mills, which I abhor, but that I would still rather have suggested to me than to have local insight withheld...)
I also liked the bartender in the lobby lounge, and I liked the friendly shuttle bus driver, heck, even the maid said "hello" to me -- it was like the employees genuinely liked their jobs and didn't mind passing on a smile and a friendly comment to a guest. Maybe it's just that the hotel wasn't very busy when I was there, so nobody felt stressed, but I sure felt welcome there.
By the way, I'll just mention it for the folks who haven't stayed in Courtyards before -- these aren't full-service hotels, so don't expect to find concierges, bell men, or valets. There's also no room service, but you can get food delivered from local restaurants or pizza joints. There's also a Whataburger across the freeway.
Location Please...
This hotel is located south of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport (DFW) at the intersection of Airport Freeway (183) and Valley View -- about a 2 mile drive to the terminal buildings. It's probably about 15 miles to either downtown Dallas or downtown Fort Worth, and there is not easy access to public transit here. There are no top-flight restaurants nearby, nor any significant tourist attractions, so the location is really pretty inconvenient for everyone -- unless you really want to be close to the airport, in which case, it's a hard act to beat.
Bottom Line...
I'm very impressed with the cleanliness, comfort, and overall value that I got at this hotel. I managed to snag an outstanding deal ($42/night) by reserving through Marriott's web site. To get the best rates, you need to guarantee and pay using your American Express card -- just look for the small checkbox on the site's home page -- it gives you 15 percent discounts off their already good promotional rates. Considering the level of quality at this hotel, I consider this an excellent value for the money, and one of the best lodging deals in the DFW airport area.
I will definitely consider staying at the Courtyard DFW Airport South again next time I'm in Dallas.
Until next time, see you on the road. As always, I'm the guy digging hard to pay the rock bottom prices I can possibly find.
Recommended:
Yes
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