Our experience at the Courtyard New Carrollton was simply wonderful. The hotel was quiet due to its location in a business park, and it smells fresh and clean due to recent renovations. How wonderful it was to stay somewhere nice and quiet and clean! We chose this hotel due to having to travel to DC, Annapolis, and Baltimore. It was GREAT!
Tips and Info
1. When travelling to DC, use the METRO. Courtyard provides a free shuttle van to the Metro/ Amtrak/ MARC station. The New Carrollton Metro stop is at the end of the orange line which goes into the heart of DC. It's about 30 minutes to the Capitol or the Mall area. The Washington Nationals ballpark is on the orange line, too.
2. The hotel is in a business park, so due to lack of restaurants or shops in the area, it's good to have a rental car if you are staying longer than a night. Parking is free! (Although we actually liked the remoteness of the hotel, it could be a drawback for others. Just be aware of limitations... you can work around them, as we did. I rated the location a 5 due to proximity to Metro, the courtesy van, and having a rental car.
3. We could not figure out how to change the setting on the AC. It was never hot, though, and sometimes it was cold, but that made for good sleeping! The sofa in our room was a small sleeper, and there were supplies for it in a drawer. I used the blanket on the bed one night. That may be a drawback for some. I was grateful for the cool room!
4. You'll have a small coffee maker and coffee provided. Bring your own coffee fixings if you do not like black coffee. You'll have a mini-fridge in the room, but no microwave, so plan snacks or meals accordingly. There is a small marketplace with snacks and a microwave in the lobby.
5. You can print your boarding passes in the hotel lobby area at a computer/printer setup dedicated for this.
6. Wireless internet in your room is free!
7. Ask. They'll help you.
8. If you have to travel to DC, stay here. The rates are very reasonable. You are about 30 minutes away from DC by Metro, and about the same from Annapolis by car. Baltimore is about 35 minutes by car (beautiful drive on the parkway!) and closer to an hour by MARC from BWI.
9. Be friendly and treat the staff with courtesy. They will bend over backwards to make your stay enjoyable.
Our stay was exceedingly wonderful due to the staff at Courtyard New Carrollton, so the rest of this detailed review will be about our experiences with staff members. I'd like to give them a rating higher than 5! (I apologize for any misspellings. I should have written down names...)
Our flight arrived mid-morning, and my sister and I arrived at the hotel 3 hours before check-in time. We asked Asia if they would hold our bags and tell us where we could freshen up since we had to go into DC for a meeting, and I was wearing NO makeup (long story) Asia let us go ahead and check into a room! That was the first happy "exceeds customer service" (ECS) experience.
After freshening up, we were taken to the METRO by the Courtyard van. Enrique, our driver, was quite courteous, gracious, and helpful. He opened the doors for us and gave us directions about where to go. Enrique ended up taking us to and from the METRO every day he worked, and we were delighted! At no time did we wait longer than 3 minutes for the shuttle after asking the front desk to notify the driver that we needed a ride. (Second ECS experience.)
The next morning, we had to go into DC pretty early and even though the shuttle hours are not supposed to begin until 7 AM, they got the van at 6:30 AM and took us to the METRO to keep us from having to walk the three long blocks! (Third ECS)
That same evening we walked back to the hotel since it was after 10 PM, and although we suspected they would come get us from the METRO, we did not want to "expect" it, and the walk was nice! We felt safe in the area, especially since there was law enforcement or security present at the Metro and at the hotel.
Even though the interstate is nearby, you'd never know it.
There are no shops or restaurants within walking distance, so there were few people in the area. However, there are many restaurants and shops about 3-5 miles away, so if you have a car, it's absolutely no problem. Shawn at the front desk gave us a handout with directions to a variety of restaurants and gave us tips on other things in the area. (Fourth) We went to a shopping plaza less than 10 minutes away. Not a bad drive at all!!
We did have breakfast at The Bistro daily, and the food was good. (Starbucks Coffee, fresh fruit (strawberries were to-die for!!), yogurt, and a chocolate chocolate chip muffin... I mean, how can you go wrong?) Kaazir waited on us every day that he worked, too, and he was friendly, helpful, and patient as we tried to make up our minds about what to eat! (Fifth ECS)
There were several people with whom we interacted only once, like the fellow who looked up the phone number for non-emergency law enforcement when I had an incident with the rental car on the Interstate. He saw me hours later and asked if everything was ok and if there was anything else he could do to help. (sixth)
I encountered some of the cleaning staff in the halls, and they smiled and greeted me!
The staff at Courtyard New Carrollton pretty much act like family, and when you have several staff members who make you feel as if you are long lost cousins come to visit.... well, I just can't help but sing their praises. We were absolutely delighted with our stay. Can you tell? :-)
Thanks, Courtyard New Carrollton. We'll be back!