We (unfortunately) decided a day in advance to spend the night in Traverse City on our way up to The Inn at Bay Harbor in Petoskey. Because of the late choice, we were limited in availablity in Traverse City. We normally choose Hilton properties, but the Hampton was booked. We chose the Courtyard because we are also Marriott rewards members. What a rip-off. We paid $243 for a non-descript room with absolutely NOTHING included--no breakfast, not even a bottle of water in the room. They have a so-called "restaurant" on the premises, but you would be much better off going off-property to eat. We ended up buying two muffins at Starbucks for breakfast because we refused to spend $10-15 on what the Courtyard had to offer.
I think we were so upset because we only paid $170 a night at the absolutely BEAUTIFUL Inn at Bay Harbor for an exquisite one-bedroom suite with a full breakfast included in the price. We will not choose this Courtyard again, as there are much better choices in and around Traverse City. Just be sure to make reservations in advance.

I was there for business but would stay there for holidaying. I don't care that it's not right in downtown. Traverse City is not Chicago: it's pretty small and it takes 5-10 minutes tops to get where you need to go in town from the hotel. But to the hotel itself: I loved it. The staff was super friendly and helpful. I asked for the quietest room they could give me and got one (#130) where I heard no road noise whatsoever and had a peaceful view of trees. The hotel fronts Airport Road so if you need quiet, make sure you ask. The rooms looked very recently re-done and mine with a king bed was a delight. It was spacious, pretty, well-decorated in terms of the colors and furnishings. I liked the blend of red,rust, cream, beige and gray that showed up in different ways around the room. It didn't feel like a chain hotel, nor did it feel like it was trying too hard to be hip. The mix was just right; the bed was great for sleeping (on the firmer side which I love). As an author, I do a lot of travel at home and abroad and there's nothing like a room that makes you smile with delight when you walk in. And best of all: the WiFI was FREE and there was NO password and it ALWAYS worked. I will stay here for sure on my next trip to Traverse City. No, it does not have a view of Lake Michigan, but the Lake is just minutes away, along with the other delights of a town with tons of good restaurants.

As the only Marriott-affiliated option in the area, the Courtyard was my first choice for our family vacation in the Traverse City area. It's a typical Courtyard, with the usual amenities, including an updated lobby area, casual restaurant for breakfast and dinner, indoor pool, and a small fitness center. The rooms were typical Courtyard: tidy, large work area, nothing fancy, though our room came with a refrigerator which was great.

For vacationers, however, it's a few miles from downtown Traverse City. That makes it a bit less convenient than some of the other hotels (including chains) in the area. Because it's south of downtown, there are no views of the Grand Traverse Bay, either. Depending upon what you're looking for in a vacation destination, you might consider whether that is important to you.

Also consider whether it's important to have good dining options around you. While some of the usual chains are only a mile or two from the hotel, if you're looking for something with local character, you'll probably end up downtown. The same is true for shopping.

However, if you'd like to be slightly closer to the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore, Frankfort, or their neighboring beaches, this might be your place. The same could be said if you have a camper at Interlochen -- it's only about 10 (or so) miles from the Arts Academy. There is also an indoor mall with a Macy's and Target less than a mile away.

Stayed (5) nights during my daughter's hockey camp in Traverse City July 16-20. I am a Marriott elite member and got my complimentary upgraded room, complete w/ balcony. First the good: Um......came with a refridgerator....the water worked.....OH and the air conditioning....it was cold. The rest? ANTS ANTS ANTS ANTS ANTS ANTS ANTS! Did I mention ANTS? All over that room..on the beds...on the night table.....on the curtains....on the windows....coming from behind the dresser, everywhere! This was BEFORE we even brought our stuff in the room! They sprayed the first day, didn't help. My suggestion was to close off the balcony, seal around the door, and that should solve the problem. Who needs a balcony anyway? And the stains on the carpeting look like they've been there for a while. All this made me very hesitant on using the coffee maker & unwrapped mugs on the vanity.

The pool had an interesting film floating on the top that seemed to "fold" instead of "ripple" when water was disturbed in it. Looked pretty gross.

The female front desk staff could care less about your needs, requests, suggestions, etc. Oh they'll write it down, but the amount of apathy they show in their blank stares is a bit more than I'm used to. The gentleman who helped us with directions to Sleeping Bear Dunes was the opposite. Very helpful, but was only there for a couple days during our stay.

Lobby was nice, the latest modern design for Courtyards these days. But above all, here's my biggest issue.

I've resigned myself to the fact that Marriott uses popularity to rate their hotels in categories to determine how many points per night they "charge" for their rooms. To put it in perspective, the Downtown Chicago full service Marriott on Michigan Avenue is a Category 6, or 30,000 points per night....in a 35+ story hotel (recently renovated) with all the amenities. Marriott rates this 3-story, carpet stained, ant infested with a film covered pool (oh, and no complimentary breakfast-typical of Courtyards however) a Category 5 (or 25,000 points per night). So wrong. They rated the Fairfield (which is supposedly the "budget" of the Marriott line-though offers breakfast) in TC the same amount. Something's wrong here and this policy needs to be adjusted for hotel cleanliness, secret shoppers, audits from parent company, something other than popularity of a hotel in a town that is clearly lacking for hotel rooms and proper accommodations (very few chain hotels in area as I discovered).