Marriott Bogota Review
Since weekday rates in Bogota's best hotels are rather high, I was looking for a way to redeem points. The Marriott Bogota was having a promotion and was just 15,000 points instead of 20,000. Coupled with the raving reviews that the property has received and my Gold status which gets lounge access, I really wanted to try this hotel.
The hotel is located about 10 minutes from the airport, on the way to the city. It is in a new development that is one of the better neighborhoods of Bogota and perfectly safe during the day. There are office buildings and a big mall nearby and it's also walking distance to the Simón Bolívar Park and the Botanical Gardens, which you can read about in my Bogota guide.
Check-in was super-friendly and in English. There was no line and the sole front desk attendant ran through all the steps right away. We had the keys to our room on the Executive Floor in less than a minute (even with the mandatory passport scanning).
The room was in typical Marriott fashion and colors. It was bright and roomy and the bathroom was stunningly big and done up to the highest standards.
The hotel is seven years old, but it looked very new to me.
The mattress wasn't too soft and we could connect to the internet in seconds. It came in at just about 5Mbit and felt fast our entire stay. Oddly enough, the AC was not able to cool down the room while it was sunny; once it started to rain heavily outside it was enough, though.
We were looking forward to the evening appetizers and were stunned by the quality we saw. The staff served alcoholic drinks and were all uber-friendly (almost too friendly). However, only TWO drinks are allowed per room on a complimentary basis. The food was fantastic, though, and there were many high-quality items. It was a true delight - see for yourself.
After this feast, we walked to our room (which was just two rooms away). The room was quiet and with the working AC, we were finally ready to sleep.
The morning breakfast at the lounge was also good, but did not offer the wow factor that we'd had at the evening reception.
The front desk granted us a 4PM late checkout without hesitation and we made use of that with the basement indoor pool and the well-equipped gym.
At 4PM, we were also able to check out from the lounge and it got even better - the hotel offers a free airport shuttle every 30 minutes, which dropped us off at El Dorado Airport.
All in all, this was a wonderful stay and I can't find a fault with the hotel. The location is good (though not central for exploring many parts of Bogota). The staff and rooms were fantastic and the lounge was a true delight. I'd love to return!