Hotel4Real!

Before the most recent renovation, the Marriott Harbourfront had never been on my radar for a few reasons – dated rooms, meh lounge, and eye-watering rates to name a few. As of last year, though, the hotel had been fully renovated, and the multi-year construction project right in front of the hotel had also been completed, I thought it was a good time to revisit one of Halifax’s most iconic hotels and find out how things are now.

The arrival experience was easier compared to before, partially thanks to the redesigned traffic flow in the area. The check-in process was efficient and friendly. Anish was there to assist, acknowledged my status and offered me an upgrade. I got my keys and made my way upstairs.

The upgrade was to a harbour view king suite, which I had experienced before. While I admit it was a large room, I do not believe the “suite” title is justifiable – it was more so a corner room with some extra floor space and a bar/kitchenette area. The renovation did elevate the hard product quite a bit, especially the new carpeting which made things feel more contemporary. The new artworks and light fixtures also added some modern touches.

That being said, the room faced the Halifax harbour but still had a feeling of claustrophobia – to a point where I had to leave all my lights on during the day to not confuse my brain. The culprit was the one and only tiny window that served the entire room – it was simply COMICALLY small, even smaller than the already-small TV I had in the room. The view itself was decent, but I wasn’t able to enjoy it unless I made an effort to sit next to the window – anywhere else it would have been very hard to see what was actually outside.

I noticed all “armpit” corner suites were all like this, and every pair of suites shared one pane of window. To make matters worse, for some reason the top half of the window was blocked by an extra piece of drywall seemingly on purpose.

Apart from the tiny window, my biggest complaint was the new bathroom. In true Marriott fashion, the hotel got rid of the dreaded tub-shower combo units and opted for shower rooms. The remodeling was very well done and actually felt brand new as opposed to pig-wearing-lipstick kind of new. So what do I have to complain about? Well, the design was on point, but build quality was clearly not a priority. The biggest issue I had was the sliding shower door – it seemed to have its own free will, and every 15-20 seconds it would slide fully open while I was taking a shower. I thought I did something wrong the first time, and found it funny the second time, but it quickly became annoying after a few more occurrences.

Now, although the room was not fully to my liking, I have to wholeheartedly appreciate the effort the hotel had put into the new M Club. Gone was the old, unappealing and musty concierge lounge on the sixth floor – the new M Club was completely brand new and relocated to the ground floor. Not only was the space felt inviting yet exclusive, the food offering during evening and breakfast service was both very much upgraded, individually plated and handcrafted with actual thoughts put into presentation. The lounge staff was also lovely. I had a great conversation with Renata in particular, and when the renovation topic came up, she was clearly very proud of the new M Club product – and rightfully so, as genuine service only happen when there’s pride in it.

All in all, I liked what the Marriott Harbourfront had become. Yes there were issues and yes there were annoyances, but compared to its old self, the hotel was fully refreshed and ready for the next decade. But, if anyone important at the property actually reads this one day, PLEASE please please make the windows bigger. It was such an unnecessary dealbreaker, well for me anyways.

RealScore

Service: 7.5

Design and Room Size: 7.5

In-room Amenities: 8

Bathroom Size and Layout: 7

View from (my) Room: 6

Hotel Location: 9

Available Guest Facilities: 9

Food Quality: 7

Food and Beverage Service: 8

Executive Lounge Quality: 9

Final RealScore: 7.51

Final RealRating: A

Hotel is built/opened: 1985

Total number of rooms: 352

Length of stay: 4 nights

Membership level at check-in: Titanium

Room type experienced: Standard Room / King Suite