The Marriott at the Washington Dulles Airport is the kind of hotel that will give you a good pause when you first see it. But at least it’s friendly-looking enough to make you shrug your shoulders and say “f**k it – I’m going in” as you approach the main entrance.
It’s one of the oldest looking Marriott hotels I’ve ever stayed at. It’s nice though, the staff is great, and it’s proximity to IAD can’t be beat.
A full review of my most recent one night stay at the Marriott Dulles Airport (IAD)
Truth be told, I’ve stayed at this Marriott adjacent to the Dulles Airport four times since 2015. This wasn’t my first rodeo. It’s my go-to hotel anytime I need to stay near IAD, and I’ll very likely stay there again. The following pictures (and video) will explain why:
Note: I might earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Location
Yes, this Marriott is technically “adjacent” to the Washington Dulles Airport. It’s not connected to the terminal however, so it will require either a shuttle bus ride or a 15 minute walk to reach. I always prefer to walk.
No, you’re not gonna get mugged (and killed) walking to this hotel from IAD. The walk looks a little sketchy, I know, but it’s a really safe area!
For those of you who think I’m full of s**t and would rather take a shuttle bus instead, this pic (showing with the shuttle buses look like) is for you.
Welcome to the Marriott at the Dulles Airport. Should you be concerned that it looks more like a vocational tech center than a hotel? No!
Well, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to double check the logo on the side of the building before going in (just to be sure).
$100 says that they put all these Marriott logos here the entrance to make it less confusing for anyone who wasn’t sure if this was really a hotel or not.
The lobby (and checking in)
Checking in at the front desk is no longer necessary thanks to the Bonvoy mobile app. I checked in via the app five hours before arrival, and had a room assignment and electronic key ready to go upon arrival.
Don’t worry – the staff at the front desk are a friendly bunch, and will be more than happy to check you in manually if you prefer to do it the old-school way.
The lobby bar. Why do all these people look like they’re having the same conversation? You know the one: “yeah I thought it was a vocational tech school too!”
It’s not a bad looking lobby actually. There’s a Concierge Lounge at the far end which looks kind of nice – but I lacked the credentials (and/or secret password) to get in, so I can only assume the caviar and champaign was spectacular.
Note: I might earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
Getting to my room
The layout of the Marriott IAD is one of the weirdest I’ve ever experienced. It’s a two-story property that is mostly shaped in a square with a central courtyard. They’ve expanded though, and there are additional wings that extend outward from that main square.
Basically what I’m trying to say is that it’s likely to be a very long walk to your room through these long hallways. At least you won’t have to spend a lot of time in an elevator.
As a bonus, you’ll have plenty of time to solve the meaning of life during the long walk to your room.
Although I’m not willing to share with you the meaning of life (you’ll have to figure that out in your own), I am willing to share with you this picture of the door to my room for the night. Room 1301 FTW!
Room overview
Not much has changed in this hotel since my first visit way back in 2015. That said, they’ve done pretty well to keep the room decor fairly up to date. My 1st floor room felt modern and clean, and I had a really hard time finding reasons to be overly critical about it.
Using ‘FTW!’ to describe my excitement for this room in the previous pic was perhaps overly ambitious. ‘Ta-daaa!’ seems more appropriate.
This is a room with double queen beds. Did I need two beds? Absolutely not. Did I want two beds? Of course I did. I probably would’ve taken three if they would’ve offered it.
Let’s just say that I’m relieved that there’s nothing ‘vocational technical school’ about this room. This is nice (and very hotel-ish).
That’s a pretty nice “I’ll just watch you while you sleep” chair.
That’s right! The TV is YouTube enabled. All you PornHub fans are out of luck though.
It’s not like you’re gonna be able to see anything in great detail with the TV so far away anyway, so maybe the smut can wait until you get home.
Looks like someone got a really good deal on faux green marble! I don’t know the first thing about interior design, but I can’t say that I’m not liking this.
Want to know what else I like? Obnoxiously oversized (and weighted) pillows. It’s like throwing around dead bodies when you fling them off the bed.
Muchas gracias for the complementary bottled water!
While I’m at it…arigato gozaimasu for the ice cold refrigerator!
I’m all out of clever ways to say ‘thank you’ in regards to the closet however. In this day and age, a closet (with an iron and ironing board) better be part of the package. No exceptions!
Doing my best “and that’s all I gotta say about that” Forrest Gump impression.
Use an online booking engine (such as Booking.com) instead of booking directly with the hotel.
Booking engines are sometimes able to offer the lowest prices thanks to special partnerships they’ve developed with the hotel brands.
Most booking engines have excellent loyalty / reward programs (which makes it easy to accumulate points for free nights). This is one of the reasons how I’m able to travel so frequently.
Note: I might earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
The view
The worst part about this experience was the fact that I paid extra for a room with a “lake view.” It’s more of a pond really, but that’s not the point. The point is that it’s impossible to see any of it from the 1st floor.
The view. Basically, there was too much shrubbery in the way, and I couldn’t see s**t. It was better than the view I had from my room at the MSY Hilton though – so I guess it could’ve been worse.
At the very least, it was nice looking at greenery rather than a parking lot.
I did have to endure the discovery of this crusty sock upon opening the blinds however. Come on, man!
For all you AvGeeks out there, just know that views of landing aircraft are possible from rooms on the second level. I shot this Lufthansa 747-8i landing in the distance from a room I had on the second floor here several years ago (shot with a 105mm lens).
The bathroom
Expecting anything more than a basic bathroom (that hasn’t been updated in the last 10 years) would be foolish of you. Just like the exterior of this hotel, the bathrooms seem to be fairly low priority on their list of things to modernize. I did get lucky by having an “accessible” bathroom in my room this time – and it was hard not to appreciate the extra space.
If you thought the view sucked, wait till you see the bathroom!
Granted, this is more modern than my bathroom at home. Maybe I just like being over critical of things that aren’t mine, ok?
Looks kind of bland, doesn’t it? I do realize that it costs a lot of money to keep hotel bathrooms looking modern, but these are in dire need of an update IMHO. I mean, they don’t need to be as nice as the bathroom you saw in my Calgary Airport Marriott review, but perhaps some semi-modern finishes would be nice.
This is always the part in my hotel reviews where I start second-guessing my choices in life. Why am I taking pictures of hotel bathroom sinks?
Worse yet, you’re the one who scrolled all the way down to look at a picture of the toilet. You’re just as weird as I am!
I’ll give you a pass on the shower pic though. That’s kind of important to me too.
The showerhead (sucked balls).
While I will never complain about having plenty of soap and two rolls of toilet paper at my disposal, there’s no excuse for thin towels! I was half tempted to dry off with that crusty sock instead…
Speaking of soap, this is the stuff by the sink.It was ‘aight.
Pros and cons of the Marriott IAD
The fact that I’ve stayed at this property four times already (and I plan to do so again) says everything you need to know about how good it is. Actually, “good” is perhaps too nice of a word to describe it. “Decent” and “good enough” is more like it. Heck – I’ll even throw in “convenient” as well.
Pros
It’s usually very quiet (which is impressive for such a large hotel next to one of the world’s largest airports).
The fact that it’s only two levels means that it’ll be easy to take the stairs to your 2nd floor room if you don’t have the patience to wait for the elevator.
The free shuttle service from the airport is frequent and fast.
Walking to this hotel from the airport is easy (and nice). It takes just 15 minutes at a normal walking pace.
Cons
The hallways are the longest I’ve ever seen in a hotel anywhere in the world. RIP to your travel weary legs if you get a room all the way at the end.
It’s (usually) a bit more pricey compared to other airport hotels in the area.
Posh it is not. This isn’t a hotel for anyone hoping to impress their followers on social media.
