Courtyard Pittsburgh Downtown

I was in town for the National Veterans Small Business Engagement 2015 in November & I, along with my colleagues, elected to stay at the Courtyard due to its proximity to the venue (Lawrence Convention Center) and our prior experiences with Courtyard hotels; also, the pictures of the hotel look great and there were quite a few eateries within walking distance from the hotel — these are all draws for out-​of-​town guests. The pictures you see are very accurate — the courtyard was comfy, the lobby was welcoming, the breakfast spot was nice (the staff was AWESOME), the high ceilings and comfortable bed, the whole shebang … I can’t complain … yet. Now that the pros are out of the way, lets get with the cons (I will attached photos to validate my complaints):
Checking in: It took me quite awhile to check in as the hotel was overbooked, which was to be expected due to the magnitude of the engagement. I approached one young lady (I’ll call her «Nat») and began the check in process, she informed me that it would be awhile before I could check in (I arrived around 12p) even though I requested an early check in. I had already supplied the hotel with my credit card authorization prior to arrival, but I was told that I needed to do it again (the information for the second CCA was the exact same as the first, but okay). So I contacted home base, informed them of what was required, and waited for the green light … «Nat», who was supposed to be helping me, pretty much forgot I was even there — after about 15 – 20 minutes of no progress (and after seeing and hearing her pretty much flirt with another patron) I approached another young lady at the front desk. I asked her if I could just get a key to a room — I didn’t care which, I just didn’t want to sit in the lobby for 3 additional hours if there were rooms available. That young lady obliged with no hesitation — I was very grateful.
My FIRST room: The young lady at the front gave me a key to an accessible room on the 4^th floor. I was okay with that. My cousin is the owner/​operator of a very successful pest control business specializing in bedbugs, so I don’t even put my bag (s) on the bed or anywhere other than a hard/​solid surface (ie. the desk) until I’ve given the room the all clear. I literally tore the bed apart and the nice comfy chair next to the bed — no bedbug evidence. I couldn’t have been happier! So, I began to unpack a little bit, then I needed to use the restroom. I enter the restroom, which is large due to the room being accessible, and noticed the shower curtain was drawn back so I could see the shower, which again, was roomy … but it was also DISGUSTING! I saw «black stuff» from across the bathroom, so of course I had to investigate. There was SO much mildew in the grout of the shower, especially in the corners. Not only was there mildew in the shower, it was actually coming out of the shower (as the entire floor was titled, with a drain in the middle of the bathroom floor) and dirty footprints near the toilet. I took pictures, packed my things and ran out of there with the quickness. I informed the second young lady at the desk of the issue — showed her pictures (because as I was describing the situation she was beginning to side eye me … I don’t like the side eye), so when I showed her the pictures, she immediately began to apologize, because even she realized how nasty it was! No bueno and no thank you!
My SECOND room: Same line, 3^rd floor, also accessible. Of course I go back through my checklist, check for bedbugs (all clear), check the bathroom (eh, there’s still mildew in the grout, but it’s nowhere near as bad as the first room … I *guess* there are no other options. I either take this room or have no room at all. I had dinner plans, so I unpack quickly and begin to get ready for dinner. I decided to take a shower to get the «travel» off of me, so I bring my toiletries, clothing, etc. into the bathroom, close the door and NOW what do I find?! There’s a plastic laundry bag with some type of article of clothing or whatever inside hanging behind the door! :-/​C’mon guys! I call the front desk, let them know the deal, and they send up their «guy» (whose name I can’t recall) … he shows up with 2 bottles of water (my peace offering), apologizes, and removes the bag. Not only was there a bag of whatever still in the room, but there was also previously used complimentary lotion, shampoo and whatever the other bottle was. SMH.
Listen, I understand not everything in hotels is cleaned everyday, but a better job could’ve and should’ve been done, especially with the mildew. That’s unacceptable. I was compensated with (3) free breakfasts for my stay and I did get a nice handwritten apology note from the young lady who’s the head of housekeeping. Those efforts were greatly appreciated.
P. S. Shower shoes, I never leave home without them!

I frequently stay here while visiting in Pittsburgh. It is close to the Convention Center, restaurants and bars. The staff is friendly and always makes you feel welcome. There is a café that serves breakfast and a modest dinner selection. The rooms are comfortable and clean.

Clean room on the street with huge windows is what they gave me and I was happy with it. The staff was accommodating and helpful with all of my questions.

When I come to Pittsburgh on business I stay here exclusively because of its convenience to food, bars and ease of getting in and out.
Everyone that works here is super helpful and and nice. I always enjoy walking next door or across the street for food or drinks. Just up the street is the wholesale district that has many great places to eat. A five dollar über ride is all it takes.
Rooms are clean, spacious and well decorated. The business center works well and there is a good place for breakfast just off the elevators.
Nothing flashy or fancy but this place works for me really well!
I forgot to mention the free shuttle. Great idea.

Excellent hotel located to some of the best places to dine in Pittsburgh! Sella Mercado is right across the street and the wonderful Sonoma is next door! The rooms were beautiful and the service was prompt. The tipping is a little overboard, but definitely take care of your valets! Great experience!

Location is perfect and close to everything. We got the handicap room so we had an extra large bathroom. Loved the high ceilings because it made the room appear bigger, but it was a good size already.
Staff was wonderful and friendly, including the awesome valet guys. Starbucks location right downstairs for a light breakfast or your daily dose of caffeine.
Can’t say enough how much we loved the location. It was right downtown so it was easily accessible to the Strip Disctrict, PNC Park, etc. If you couldn’t walk there. you could definitely take a cheap cab/​Über ride around.
Little store in the lobby sells beverages and other necessities. It was perfect to be able to stock up on water and gatorade after a late night out.

Excellent location in downtown Pittsburgh and very accomodating staff. One of the best perks is their shuttle which will take you anywhere within the downtown area. They will even pick you up and take you back when you’re ready to return.
The rooms are comfortable with high ceilings and nice bedding. It is an older building so the floors creak, waking some of us up during the night when others walked to the bathroom. Also, the bathroom did not have a vent which always irks me in hotels.
Nice lobby with lots of papers set out in the morning. Starbucks in the lobby with comfortable seating — it gets really busy around checkout time.

Walking distance to PNC park and great area around hotel for dinner n drinks. They do valet also

I give this rating based on other Courtyard hotels. It is a fine hotel however I did not encounter friendly employees like others have reviewed. My first experience was watching the front desk attendant toss a cigarette butt that she finished into the street which is one of my pet peeves.
I arrived late — a little after midnight — but I used the mobile check in which I’ve had great experience with in the past — your keys are ready as soon as you arrive. I was within 30 minutes of my planned arrival but I guess they gave my room away since they did not have the 2 beds I had reserved. Additionally she took a few minutes finding me a room. I don’t think Marriott informed this location how the mobile checkin is supposed to work.
I like that Marriott is smoke free — however they allow it in the actual courtyard here (they have a true courtyard at this location — that’s great!!) — which I’m surprised — but it was not anyone actively smoking that bothered me — it was the old cigarette butts in the ashtrays and I could not avoid the awful cigarette smell anywhere in the courtyard.
On the plus side: my room was large with a high ceiling and you cannot beat the location.

Perfect Location. Friendly staff. Love this place! The valet guys are extremely helpful, and pointed me in the right directions a few times.

I hate being the person that brings bad news to a business. But I would rather Unilocal about it and people know rather than it goes unnoticed. More on that later in the review.
I booked this stay about two months prior to me showing up on New Year’s Eve. Check it went fairly smooth with a little bump. I forgot one of my IDs in my car and could not be checked in until after I had that ID in hand. After walking back to my car I returned and everything went smoothly afterwards. Kudos to the front desk staff for allowing me to leave my bag there instead of having to drag it back to my car and back to the hotel.
The room itself gave the impression that it was huge. As several people have already stated, the ceiling were very high. I was lucky enough to have a front facing room that looked out over Penn Ave. I kind of loved this as I could watch the New Year’s Eve parade from my room and save myself from the freezing temps outside. However, you could tell that this was an older building as the floors creaked as I walked around the room. I could also hear the person above as they walked about. The beds were comfortable and the bathroom was very clean. I am not sure how this happened, but I got a handicap room. So I am assuming that this is why everything felt so spacious in here as well. Everything about the room screamed modern, from the paint colors to the carpeting.
Now, to get back to what I was referring to at the beginning; the bad news. Upon arriving at the hotel and after checking in I decided I needed to take a nap in preparations for the night’s festivities. It was a fairly short nap, roughly about an hour. When I woke up after my nap and turned on the light, I noticed something crawling across the sheets. *starts itching* Yes people, it was what you are thinking, a bedbug. BEDBUG! I immediately grabbed a tissue to dispose of the hideous little monster (I know, it did me no good by doing that, it was more of a reflexive response than anything). I have made contact with Courtyard about this, but have yet to hear back from them on how they are going to rectify the problem. I felt dirty afterward and moved all of my belongings into the bathroom, on the counter for the remainder of my stay. I also slept in the other bed (I know, that may have been futile) and with the lights on for the rest of my stay.
Other than that snag, I really have no complaints about this place. Everything and everyone was pleasant.
*Things to note: there is room service available, valet service, or if you prefer, park in one of the city garages and walk to the hotel, business center, fitness center, ATM and Starbucks available around the clock at the front desk.

Great service, very clean and comfortable! Definitely recommend!

I had a great experience when I stayed here in July. The hotel is right next door to the convention center and within walking distance of numerous restaurants and other sights including the riverside park. The interior is newly renovated so everything is clean and up to date. The lobby is spacious and convenient for meeting people. The bedrooms are generously sized and ceilings are very high since it’s an old building — something you don’t find very often in contemporary hotel rooms. Staff was very nice and available at odd hours to support our travel plan.

My husband and I spent two night here for a weekend get-​away. I was very impressed with the friendly and helpful staff, the ambiance and noise level. I work with a lot of hotels and couldn’t believe how quiet it was in the rooms and hallways. The rooms have high ceilings and were modern, clean and updated. We also were in a great spot to walk everywhere. We didn’t use our car all weekend. We walked to several nearby restaurants, The Strip district and the Heinz History Center. I would definitely stay here again.

I attend an annual convention at the David Lawrence Convention Center, and have many choices for downtown Pittsburgh hotels — year after year, I have found none I like better than this Courtyard Marriott.
When I checked in this year, I was having a full-​blown airline crisis, a colleague who was to help me set up my convention booth had been bumped from a flight and it was taking forever to find a workaround using different city pairs for travel that same day. I was able to leave my vehicle PARKED right in front of the hotel for nearly 2 hours while I sorted it out. The valet staff and front desk staff as well were VERY helpful in allowing me the time I needed to sort out my travel disaster, extending every courtesy in the process. In particular, Jean Stefan was the most helpful. My booking agent made a transcription error shortening my stay — and that mistake was quickly corrected by Jean.
From the super high ceilings in the room, along with the much larger than usual sq/​ft of both the room and bathroom, I will not choose to stay at any other downtown Pittsburgh hotel. The «courtyard» is lovely, well decorated, and amazingly comfortable on summer evenings. The proximity to the convention facilities next door are MORE convenient than the Westin, which is directly attached to DLCC — but actually a much longer walk (to get to DLCC Hall B anyway).
My only suggestion to improve the guest experience: leave the courtyard open until midnight (or even better, never closed) instead of 10:30pm — and simply warn loud guests that the courtyard will be closed early if they can not keep it quiet.
Kudos to the staff, for making my third stay the best one yet.

This courtyard has had the renovation treatment that most are getting around the country. Not every room has a mini fridge yet but they can bring you one if you request. I had a room looking into the courtyard which is nice for sound but weird for having the blinds closed for privacy.

Excellent location! Walking distance to Strip District, theaters, PNC park, kayaking, Heinz history museum, and more! (Basically most of my favorite things about Pittsburgh).
Parking $ 22 a day, valet, with in and out privileges. Not bad considering it is $ 20 at convention center next door with no in and out privileges, or $ 20 at Westin and no guarantee of a spot when you return*, hotel guest or not!
*Last time I was in Pittsburgh I stayed at the shabby, seen-​better-​days Westin, and returned to the hotel one afternoon in a monsoon, only to be told parking was full — Never-​mind I had already paid for a full day of parking! Can you say annoying???
Moving on.
I deducted a point because I believe the couches, bench, countertop, or floor would all have been more comfortable than the creaky old mattress in our king suite. Come on Marriott. The room is beautiful, but buy a new mattress, or at least a mattress pad.

Despite being a Marriott-​brand hotel, Courtyard Pittsburgh Downtown’s service and room qualities were not up to par with the Marriott standard but still charged Marriott price.
I had a bad impression of this hotel before I even entered. I made a two-​night reservation for a business trip, but I was stranded in an airport overnight because of cancelled flights. I called the hotel to explain my situation and asked to change my reservation, but the receptionist was not having it. She was completely unsympathetic to my plight and insisted me to pay for the night that I’m not staying. Eventually, I had to get my project manager to resolve this issue.
Both the room and the lobby were not spacious, although that’s understandable given that the hotel was in downtown. What’s not understandable was the creaking floor throughout the hotel floor, which amplified no matter how light my steps were. Good thing that I was not living below night owls, but that would not matter because the AC unit was too loud to get a good sleep anyway. Why would a Marriott hotel have an AC unit that’s louder than my grandma’s AC unit from the 1980s is completely beyond me.
Seriously reconsider if you decide to live here. Aside from sub-​par room and service that are unusually low by the Marriott standard, note that the only available parking nearby will escalate the unjust price that you have to pay to stay in this hotel.

So this was an inadvertent trip… I found this hotel through
after I had driven to Pittsburgh. I ran away from NJ (long story) after a really bad week.
The hotel has a great location to PNC Park, the convention center and restaurants. Everything is walkable. That’s really important for me. I don’t like driving around new cities or trying to figure out public transportation if I am unfamiliar. (I am fine in Chicago & San Fran with that but their infrastructure is great).
The rooms have 17 foot ceilings so you really feel luxurious for what you are paying. My deal was under $ 100 for the night and it was well worth the expense. This Marriott had free wifi throughout the hotel and a free business center for printing baseball tickets! That was very helpful. I love free wifi. Data is expensive now that Verizon killed the unlimited plans.
The hotel has modern décor and a lounge in the lobby. Since it’s playoff hockey season they were featuring the BlackHawks game. (you’re killing me hawks!). There are also sitting lounges on a couple of the room floors.
I am not too sure about food options other than breakfast. But there are plenty of restaurants near by and the «strip district» is a couple of blocks over. You will not go hungry staying here.
The staff here is excellent. I am not sure why others are making derogatory comments about them. I was pick pocketed at PNC Park and they were helpful in sorting out my mess. They also calmed me down when I was YELLING angrily about how Pittsburgh is literally the worst city I have ever visited for that reason. They also suggested a craft beer bar for me to try which I really enjoyed. Great people. Thank you.
What I did not like was valet parking. But I’ll get over that. It is a hotel in the middle of downtown Pittsburgh, so I can’t really be too hard on them for that.
If I ever returned to Pittsburgh, I would stay here again.

The hotel is perfectly located if you want to enjoy the city on foot. The rooms are nicely sized and clean. Parking is a hassle, but I am walking everywhere anyway.
The gym is small and if any more that 4 people are using it you will feel like you are getting in someone’s way.
They used to have a proper restaurant years ago, but now it is just a breakfast/​Starbucks. There are so many places to eat nearby that it really doesn’t matter.
The staff is average and I only had one bad experience with the valets. It happens… no big deal.
Quite frankly it’s all about location. Always stay here whenever I am in town.