Still a good place to stay.
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 1/23/08
As a frequent business traveler, I've stayed at this location seven (!) times since it opened in the 90's (first Courtyard in the Albany area). I've always enjoyed my stays, and enjoyed the pleasant, courteous staff as well. This location is a bit pricey for what it offers, but it's reasonably competitive for the area. I would have stayed here a few more times, had they not been sold out on my requested dates.
My experiences have been mixed as far as interactions with the staff.
- Housekeeping has remained good with each stay, with generally well cleaned rooms, linens & towels always clean and new looking.
Maintenance has slipped a bit. To me, this is important as I use *everything* in the room. As a memorable example, the maint. guy on my first stay in 1997 was exceptionally helpful (he was called in to repair the TV in my room at 11pm, he arrived and had it fixed within 30 minutes!). When I stayed in 2007, the phone in my room didn't work and it wasn't fixed until late the next day. Big difference.
Morning breakfast servers are always cheerful and a pleasure to chat with, the food is on par with other hotels in this price range.
Snow removal always seems to be an issue at this property in the winter. Keep this in mind when traveling to the Northeast, Albany can get plenty of snow!
The pool is *tiny*, noisy & unenjoyable when the kids invade it. Front desk staff have been a joy to deal with every time I've stayed, having a good knowledge of the area and what there is to do. The check-in and checkout process has always been quick & easy, and I've never had a billing issue here.
Location is great with plenty of shopping & dining choices within a few minutes drive, but in all fairness there's no shortage of places to stay within a few miles of Wolf Road. It's very close to the airport, but luckily aircraft noise is minimal unless you're on the top floor.
All in all, a great place to stay if it's within your expense budget, always professional and enjoyable but not quite as personable (should I say fun?) as it was when it first opened. Regardless, it's the best Marriott-branded hotel in the Albany region.