My reasoning for choosing to stay at the Marriott at the Dulles Airport (IAD) was easy. I had just arrived in Virginia on a 6-day road trip from the west coast, and I had a flight back to California the next morning. This was the nearest hotel to the airport.
I was so tired that I didn’t even care how bland airport Marriott hotels can be. The Houston Bush Intercontinental (IAH) Marriott that I stayed at a year prior wasn’t all that impressive, and it was that experience that made me vow to never stay at an airport Marriott ever again if I didn’t have to. But here we are.
A full review of my 1 night stay at the Marriott / Dulles Airport Hotel
I walked to this Marriott from the main terminal at Dulles International Airport in less than 10 minutes, choosing to forgo the free shuttle service. After being cooped up in a car on a long cross-country road trip all week, it was a pleasant walk indeed.
This Marriott is a huge property, though it doesn’t look that big from the outside. My room was on the second floor in the back section of the building (which was quite a long walk I might add), but I lucked out with a room that had a really nice view of a grassy area next to a huge pond. The bonus was the steady stream of aircraft landing in the distance.
The room
Large king bed at the Marriott hotel at Dulles Airport. For those of you on the verge of puking, just know that not all airport Marriott’s are created equal (you can check out my Calgary Airport Courtyard Marriott review to see what I mean).
It was ugly, and it reminded me of a s’more, but I was tired so it didn’t matter.
Large side chair and ottoman next to the window. A nice place to sit and unwind after a long week of driving!
The desk was small, but at least there was a section that pulled out from underneath for more working space.
I’d go as far as to say that the interior design of this hotel was not impressive. The Waterfront Marriott at the San Francisco Airport was far better than this for crying out loud!
Though not very attractive, the cabinet opened up to reveal a very generous space for general storage and hanging clothes.
Here’s a wide angle shot showing the entire room. Just be glad that I remembered to pick up my dirty underwear before taking this pic.
The bathroom
This was a handicap accessible room, which meant a larger bathroom and a smaller vanity.
TThe vanity was useful. And ugly. At least when you compare it with the bathroom in the room I had at the Calgary Airport Marriott.
Handicap accessible shower and tub
A handicap accessible toilet as well. And a typical dull Marriott color palette.
The view (was really nice)
A pretty nice view from my second-floor room!
Cherry blossoms and wildlife – the best view from a hotel room I’ve had all week (by far).
I’d go as far as to classify this as a plane good spotting hotel if you get one of these outside southern-facing rooms. Nice pics of airplanes could be had with a really long lens of about 400mm or so.
Lufthansa 747-8i landing in the distance as seen from my room (shot with a 105mm lens)
Final thoughts
This was arguably the best hotel I stayed at all week, and it was the one I was actually looking forward to the most even before I started this journey. But I was completely exhausted by the time I reached Washington DC, and the full week of driving and living out of hotels had definitely caught up to me.
Quite frankly, I was burned out and I had enough of trying to document every single part of the trip – especially these mundane hotel stays. Even before walking through the front door I had told myself that I wasn’t going to take pics of the room and write a review, but somehow I mustered the strength to snap off some pics before settling in.
I’d definitely stay here again if I needed a quick overnight in close proximity to IAD – even if it is a bit on the pricey side.
