Review: Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek

Last updated on January 13th, 2019 at 04:07 pm

Despite my recent trip to Utah being somewhat of a hardship for me, there was a silver lining.  The conference I was to attend, which was also the hotel I’d be staying at, was a Marriott.  The Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek to be specific.  A hotel, I’d learn, I have deeply conflicted feelings about.

After retrieving my Silvercar, I headed straight for the hotel.  The flight the night before was rough, but rather than eager for sleep, I wanted to drop my bags off and head straight back out.  Luckily, it didn’t take too long to get to the hotel, despite the somewhat heavy traffic.  And, even better, the self-parking lot was easy to get into, wasn’t crazy tight, and had a good amount of decently sized stalls.  From there, it was a short elevator ride up to the lobby.

Check-In

So, technically, I checked in the day before via the Marriott mobile app.  I listed an early morning arrival time, given my red-eye flight into SLC.  And when I got to the front desk, they informed me that they had a room ready for me, but it was on the second floor.  Being a Marriott Platinum, though, they offered to move me once a room on a higher level opened up, which is really kind of them.  And here’s the thing, the service at the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek is among the best I’ve ever had.  I’d say 95% of the employees were phenomenally friendly and helpful.  The lobby had a clean, modern, welcoming look to it too, with lots of seating, natural light, and a fireplace.

 

Room 1

After checking in, I headed up the elevator to the second floor.  But, the elevator might as well have been a time machine.  When I stepped out I was greeted with the most dated decor I’ve seen yet.  And yeah, I think the decor is more dated than the now-closed Parc Waikiki.  Ironically, though, the property has NFC (tap-and-go) door locks, so… ??‍♂️

But anyway, my initial room was a two queen room.  It was a very standard Marriott room as these things go with a desk, a sitting chair, the beds, and a TV.

There was also a coffee maker, a corded phone, a USB hub clock radio thing, a fridge, and a surprising number of outlets around the room.

And the bathroom, well, it was a standard Marriott bathroom on the small-ish side.  Nothing special, but no complaints either other than maybe the size. 

Well, I can’t really say much about the room anyway, as, maybe 20 minutes after arriving, I got a call notifying me that another room opened up and that they’d be up with the key.  Five minutes later, one of the front desk associates was knocking on the door with keys for a room on the 16th floor.

Room 2

My second room was mostly the same as the first.  The most significant differences aside from the floor number were the fact that this room is a king room and has a balcony.

Why are there extra pillows?  No idea.  You’ll also notice that the TV and coffee maker swapped places in this room.

Otherwise, this room had the same phone, same radio alarm clock thing, still has a mini fridge (though a different brand), and an identical bathroom.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, yes, both rooms have irons and ironing boards, but no, neither of them have a safe.  Oh, and if you didn’t already notice in the bathroom photos above, no soap dispensers yet.  Water pressure, might I add, was ok.  And while the water got nice and hot, the temperature would fluctuate throughout my shower.

The room also has one of those media panels that most Marriott have nowadays.  Whether the other one had or not, I’m not sure.  I’m going to say yet, but I didn’t notice it in the brief time I was in there.

And while the room was clean, it was definitely showing its age.  The strange lamps (the base isn’t attached to the body; see coffee photo above) flickered anytime I bumped the desk.  Also, the fixtures in the bathroom look like there were forcefully pried off the counter at some point.

The room also had a hilariously basic, old school, and worn sliding door lock.  I’ve never seen one of these in a hotel before, but there it was…

View

Being that my second room was on the top floor and had a balcony, you’d think my room would have a view.  And, you’d be right!  But the view from my room was of the City Creek complex and of Temple Square.

That black cloud in the above photo?  I think that’s from the oil refinery around the hill.  And the below image is a zoomed-in photo of Temple Square at sunset.

Amenities

The Salt Lake Marriott Downtown City Creek has a decent number of amenities.  There’s a restaurant (more on that later), a bar (I know, they do exist in SLC!), a Starbucks, a fitness center, and a pool.  And, I went to none of those amenities aside from there restaurant.  I’m willing to bet the pool was dated like the rest of the hotel, though.  The pool and fitness center, by the way, are both located on the second floor of the property.

What I did check out, though, is the Concierge Lounge.  At the Salt Lake City Marriott Downton City Creek, the lounge is on the 16th floor, which is the top floor.  And, conveniently, it was located a few doors down from my room.

The lounge is open Sunday night through Friday till the end of breakfast and has its own bar, complimentary soft drinks, and the usual breakfast.  They also had a spread of heavy appetizers (more like a light dinner) at night as well as dessert service.

The view from the lounge was also nice!

Now, I ended up having breakfast in the lounge every morning rather than deal with the conference crowds.  And, at breakfast, it was the usual scrambled eggs with sides of salsa and cheddar, bacon, potatoes, one selection of cut fruit (usually pineapple or a melon), and a selection of bread. Nothing great, but nothing I’d complain about either.  I’m not a fan of the eggs, so I usually ate some bacon and some fruit.

Unusually for me, though, is the fact that I kept returning to the lounge at night.  No, it’s not because I was eating dinner there or even dessert really, it’s because of the people.  The three ladies that worked the lounge in the evening were fantastic!  I wish I remembered their names, but they were so welcoming and just a joy to chat with.  They really did make you feel like you were in someone’s home, not a hotel, and always went the extra mile for guests.  Truly the epitome of the Marriott way.

Restaurant

As mentioned earlier, the Salt Lake City Marriott Downtown at City Creek has its own restaurant, Elevations.  I never ate there for dinner, and by the looks of it, not many others did too.  It was almost always empty when I passed by, except for on the weekends.  And that’s because the Concierge Lounge is closed on Saturday and Sunday, so breakfast is offered in the restaurant instead.

And, so on my last full day at the hotel, I decided to check out Elevations for breakfast.  To my surprise, given how slow the restaurant is, the staff were all very warm and attentive, at least during my visit.  Service style for weekend breakfast, though, is a buffet.  The buffet, as you might imagine, is very similar to the Concierge Lounge breakfast with the same eggs and bacon.  But it did have a few more hot options, more fruit, waffles cereal, bread, and an omelet station.

The spread wasn’t anything special but was nice.  My favorite part of the buffet was, naturally, the omelet station.  It was nice to have fresh eggs for once!

Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek, Final Thoughts

Despite the Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek’s shortcomings, I enjoyed my time here.  The staff, throughout my stay, were so warm, welcoming, and personable.  They really made up for the otherwise mediocre and dated property.  Especially the ladies in the Concierge Lounge.  If only all Marriotts were staffed with people like those found here at City Creek!  Now, just imagine if this property got the tender loving care it needs?

Utah 2018

• Introduction
• Delta Sky Club Honolulu
• Delta Airlines 2768 HNL-SLC
• Silvercar Salt Lake City
• Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek