A Stay at the Albany Marriott

Sometimes you just want to get away from the regular, take a second and take a breath from your every day. I got to do that recently but didn’t even have to get on the thruway.

It was my boyfriend’s birthday a couple of weekends ago and we had a ton of stuff planned so we couldn’t go very far but wanted to take some time away together. We went to Colonie and had a great evening at the Albany Marriott.

I was really impressed with the look of the hotel. I’ve stayed at Marriotts in the past and this was a completely different experience. The Albany Marriott just underwent a $15 million renovation and it looks beautiful! I felt like I was staying in a NYC hotel with the modern style and upscale art that integrated the Capital Region. The renovation includes 360 guest rooms, imported Italian tile, all new bathroom renovations, new technology innovation like Netflix and mobile check-in.

Aside from the room, they also have an amazing update to the room service with their new program Fresh Bites. There are two options, pick-up or delivery and delivery only has a $5 charge. I was so surprised by how easy it was to order from the menu. For dinner, we just called down to the front desk and our meal was at the door in about a half and hour. For breakfast, we filled out the form, told them what time we would like it, hung it on the door and as long as it was done by 11PM, breakfast would be ready when we woke up.

For dinner, we kept pretty light. We ordered a pizza to split and a bottle of wine. We even asked for them to accommodate our topping preferences by putting onions on only half the pizza and they had no problem with that. I was really impressed with not only the food options but how late the food was available. There was even food available 24 hours!

Breakfast was amazing! I ordered “Two Eggs Any Style” with poached eggs and my boyfriend got a broken yolk sandwich that tasted like a piece of heaven. It arrived right on time and everything was hot. If you’re in the area on business, this room service is perfect. Everything comes in easily transportable containers with a bag that turns into a tray.

The only downside to the hotel was the internet. I checked on my phone when we got there and for regular speed internet it was $13/day and that’s way too expensive, especially if you’re looking for businesses people to stop over after flying in to Albany International. They say that they’re advancing technologically but in my opinion, in 2017, hotels shouldn’t charge for WiFi. UPDATE: It was brought to my attention that if you sign up to be a Marriott Rewards member, the internet is actually free. That includes any level of membership so before you check-in to your room, sign-up to be a member!