COURTYARD BY MARRIOTT in Chennai - Hotel Review with Photos

India › Chennai Hotels › Courtyard by Marriott Review
Updated: March 17, 2022

Essentials
• Location: Egmore, in the city center.
• Hotel website: marriott.com
• Hotel phone: +91 (0)44 6676 4000
• Check prices for Courtyard by Marriott

Review of Courtyard by Marriott in Chennai, India.

Courtyard by Marriott offers spacious rooms and a nice spa with easy connectivity via the metro.

Courtyard by Marriott – Stylish and comfortable, but more modest – and therefore, cheaper – than rivals.

Facing the main road in an inner-city suburb, this hotel is not as large or impressive as others within the renowned international chain, and the lower rates reflect this. While there are a couple of pleasant bistros/bars and a fairly large spa and gym on-site, there is no pool. However, the rooms are comfortable and quite spacious, and the inviting apartments are extra-large. But it’s all about (a) the affordability, which make this a popular alternative to overpriced rivals in downtown, and (b) location, only minutes from a metro station with direct services to the airport and city center.

Courtyard by Marriott – The Location

Address: 564 Anna Salai (Mount Road), a major thoroughfare through Chennai, in the inner southern suburb of Teynampet.
Nearest Metro: The AG-DMS metro station is just 150m south of the hotel.
Area: Faces the main road in a fairly nondescript area. A few facilities close by, but these are set up for Indian locals, not foreign tourists.
How to Get There: There are efficient pre-paid taxi counters at the domestic and international airports; the trip takes about 45 minutes (13 km). (Uber and Ola seem to be off-limits there.) The hotel is linked by metro to the airport, Central and Egmore train terminals, and CMBT (Koyambedu) bus station. See Local Transport below for more information.

Courtyard by Marriott – The Basics

Guests: A variety of business people and tourists from India and overseas.
Views: Rooms to the front face the main road (and may suffer from traffic noise). Other rooms offer similar street views to the side or back but will be quieter. The ones within the U-shaped building face other windows about 20m apart.
Private Pools/Jacuzzis: Not really expected (or provided) at an inner-city hotel like this in Chennai.
Extras: Guests in the suites have access to the Club Lounge.
How to Book: Booking.com will have the best rates.
Phone: +91 (0)44 6676 4000
Email: Contact customer support through the hotel website.
Website: marriott.com

Courtyard by Marriott – Amenities

Pool: Surprisingly, there is no pool, but the lower rates reflect this.
Spa: Usual array of massages and manicures at the O2 Spa and Salon. Yoga can be arranged, too. Also, a steam room.
Fitness Center: Decent size with enough equipment to satisfy most. Open 24 hours.
For Families: Cots.
Other Facilities: Boutique. Money-changing. Laundry. Business services.

Courtyard by Marriott – Food and Drink

Restaurants & Bars: Paprika – Main restaurant at lobby level. Spacious, casual, and pleasant, with a long menu of western and Indian food. Hugely popular lunchtime buffets. • Rhapsody – Elegant and intimate bar. Packed after dark with local workers, and meals available. • Muffin Tree – Coffee shop for pastries and sandwiches. Attached to Paprika.
Breakfast: Not included but available for an extra charge. Free for guests in the suites.
Room Service: Available 24/7.

Courtyard by Marriott – Rooms

Room Types: Deluxe Rooms • Executive Deluxe Rooms • Club Rooms • 4 Bay Apartments • Courtyard Suites • Presidential Suites • List of all Rooms
Smoking Rooms: Ask about dedicated smoking rooms when booking.
Best Room: The Presidential Suites feature Club benefits such as breakfast, as well as living/dining areas.
For Families: Most rooms can fit in 1 extra single bed each, and a few have connecting doors. Apartments can accommodate families of 4 easily.

Courtyard by Marriott – Local Transport

Walking: Faces a busy road. There are some basic sidewalks and a few interesting shops in the area. Cross the road using the underpass at the metro station.
Public Transport: The metro offers services to both airport terminals, the major train and bus stations, and the city center. The nearest metro station – AG-DMS – is only 150m south down the road.
Taxis & Auto-rickshaws: The black-and-yellow taxis at the airport are nowhere to be seen in the city. Instead, they have been replaced by the app-based Uber and Ola. Plenty of auto-rickshaws around but the drivers won’t use meters, so they usually cost more than Uber or Ola.

Courtyard by Marriott – What’s Nearby?

Best Nearby Restaurants & Bars

Hyatt Regency

Spice Haat – Buffets and a la carte meals created at live cooking stations. Popular for Sunday brunch.
Focaccia – Traditional Italian cuisine. Book ahead for the Saturday brunch.
Stix – Authentic street food from China in a fascinating setting.
Yakiniku – Genuine Japanese. Communal tables, family-friendly, and teppanyaki station, but dinner only.

Otherwise, head south down the road and continue along Cenotaph Road (about 2 km from the Courtyard). In a cluster about 100m apart are:

Hokkaido Japanese Restaurant – Award-winning cuisine and authentic décor at pleasing prices.
Ambrosia Café & Bakery – Delicious baked items. The cafe is known for its contemporary Korean fare.
Café Coffee Day – One in a countrywide chain of reliable cafés selling drinks and light meals.

Nearby Shops

A few shops of mild interest just north past the hotel gates. The Ramee Mall, adjoining the Hyatt hotel, about 500m south, is mostly closed, but may pick up later.

Courtyard by Marriott – The Hotel

The hotel's splendor is less compared to sister hotels, but so are the rates.

The Courtyard by Marriott hotel is not quite as sumptuous as others within this renowned international chain, but the lower rates reflect this.

The Paprika restaurant is spread across the ground floor.

The Paprika restaurant at the Courtyard hotel dominates the ground floor.

Paprika is a colorful, cheerful, and popular restaurant.

Paprika is cheerful, colorful, and also popular among people not staying at the hotel.

Paprika's lunch buffets are very popular.

The lunchtime buffets at Paprika are renowned across the city.

Muffin Tree patisserie and coffee shop is attached to Paprika.

Attached to the Paprika restaurant at the hotel is Muffin Tree, a patisserie and coffee shop.

Particularly classy is the Rhapsody bar/bistro at the hotel.

Rhapsody also features intimate seating arrangements.

Rhapsody provides a range of intimate seating.

The souvenir shop by the lobby is worth browsing.

Near the elevators, the souvenir shop is worth browsing.

The spacious rooms are functional and comfortable.

All rooms are functional, comfortable, and reasonably spacious.

The unfussy room decor features contemporary artistic touches.

The décor in the rooms is unfussy and features a splash of contemporary art.

The U-shape of the hotel means many rooms look directly into others.

Some rooms and suites within the U-shaped building face other windows barely 20m apart.

All accommodations feature window-side sofas.

All rooms and suites feature cute sofas beside the windows.

The hotel neighborhood has few interesting facilities.

There are very few facilities of interest to tourists along the main road outside the hotel.

Spice Haat at the Hyatt Regency is an excellent bistro within walking distance.

Worth an easy 500m walk south of the Courtyard hotel are the numerous bistros and bars at the Hyatt Regency hotel, including the Spice Haat.

Spice Haat serves buffets for lunch and dinner.

The Spice Haat restaurant at the nearby Hyatt Regency hotel offers buffets for lunch and dinner.

Yakiniku Japanese restaurant at the Hyatt is only open for dinner.

On the ground floor of the Hyatt, the Yakiniku Japanese restaurant is only open for dinner.

Café Coffee Day is among a cluster of good cafes about 2km south of the hotel.

About 2km south of the Courtyard hotel are a cluster of great places, including the ever-reliable Café Coffee Day, one among a vast country-wide chain.

Ambrosia nearby is a pleasant cafe and bakery.

Near Café Coffee Day is the Ambrosia Café & Bakery (being renovated in mid-2019).

Hokkaido Japanese Restaurant is located beside Ambrosia.

Next to Ambrosia is the quaint and authentic Japanese restaurant, Hokkaido.

The few shops near the hotel gates are not that interesting.

There are a few shops just north of the hotel gates, but not much of interest to foreign tourists.

Auto-rickshaw drivers refuse to use meters, so bargain hard.

Auto-rickshaws have meters but drivers refuse to use them, so bargain hard. Otherwise, try Uber/Ola.

The nearest metro station is very close to the hotel.

The nearest metro station is only 150m away. The metro provides direct links to the airport and city center. Check rates and availability: Courtyard by Marriott

Courtyard by Marriott Hotel in Chennai, India

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