We arrived to Winnipeg at about 9:30 PM at night. Our plans were to travel onwards to Killarney, Manitoba by car; a town that is about two and a half hours away. As a result, we opted to spend the night in Winnipeg prior to making the drive. We ended up at the Courtyard Marriott Winnipeg Airport.

Review: Courtyard Winnipeg Airport, Winnipeg John Richardson Airport YWG, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

“An enjoyable addition to Winnipeg’s airport hotels. The Courtyard Winnipeg Airport is a modern addition to the scene that offers a newer experience compared to other tired hotels in the airport area. The highlight of the property is the 24 hour gym on the top floor which offers great air side views.”

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Planning and Getting There:

I booked direct via the Marriott Website. Thanks to the pandemic, the rates were at an all time low at about 84$ CAD ($63 USD) on a AAA rate with 7 days notice, with about 95$ ($71 USD) showing as the best available Marriott Bonvoy Rewards Member rate. I happened to notice a few days before our stay that the rates were even reduced further. As a Marriott Titanium, you’re supposed to be upgraded to the best available room on check in, including standard suites. I happened to notice that the suites were available for only $120 CAD ($91 USD) on a AAA rate. Instead of haggling for the extra space and upgrades you’re supposed to be entitled to, I just booked the suite outright. I didn’t have to think twice for this for a room that was only a $25 CAD premium over the regular rate and only $36 CAD premium over the regular rate.

The property is currently a Category 3 property, meaning that rooms are available for 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points per night. Given that Marriott Points are worth approximately 0.005 cents per night ($76), and the time and effort it takes to earn 15,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, I felt that paying cash was the better route. Despite this, you’d actually be slightly ahead redeeming points at this property if the rate was greater than $76. 

On arrival at the Winnipeg Airport, we collected sole checked bag. The hotel usually offers an “on request shuttle” but due to the pandemic, this service was “temporarily suspended”. Thankfully the Courtyard Marriott Winnipeg is somewhat connected to the airport by being on the same grounds with a paved and level walkway. It wasn’t winter but I’m not sure I’d be so keen on walking it if it were minus 40 Celcius outside. The hotel is situated less than 600 meters walk from the airport, or less than 5 minutes walk.

We were straight through the parking garage and over to the Courtyard by Marriott.

It was my first time ever staying at a Courtyard Marriott. There aren’t many Courtyards in my home country of Canada, except for a really run down looking one in the Byward market in Ottawa, Canada. The Four Points by Sheraton and the Fairfield Inn’s seem to have a much larger footprint. 

Checking In:

After walking over, we had a small queue of 3 groups being checked in with one person working the desk at this late hour. Most appeared to be from our flight. I assume one of them had taken a $5 taxi ride over as we hadn’t seen her on the walk.

We took “500” points as our Marriott Titanium welcome amenity and rode the lift up to our assigned room #626.

The Room: 1 Bedroom, 2 Room Suite, 1 King, Sofa Bed

Our Room 626 was situated at the end of the hall; almost on a corner but aside from a housekeeping room, we would have had views. Being on the top floor of the hotel, and being a suite, this was likely the nicest room, by configuration and location, that the property had to offer.

The Bedroom

It had interesting décor for a hotel room. It was thoroughly modernized. The décor was a cross between a conservative W and a Westin with greys, browns and whites. 

The Living Room & Sofa Bed:

Being a proper suite, the hotel also had a living space along with a sofa bed. It was a relief to have a little bit of space to organize our luggage and relax after our flight. The couch was a little strangely shaped in that the back of the couch was pretty far back from the seat. I think there may have been cushions on the couch in order to make the seating a little less awkward, that were removed thanks to the pandemic.

The living area featured a proper but small work desk underneath the 2nd television. There was also an integrated luggage storage unit that was large enough for two carry on bags.

The room also featured a fridge and a microwave in triangular cabinet. The cabinet also featured a countertop for a convenient charging drop point.

The Bathroom:

The bathroom was adequately sized. Surprisingly for a hotel, the bathroom had heated in laminate floor.

The toiletries were branded as the usual Paul Mitchell. It included a show polisher which MrsWT73 quickly snapped up.

As can be expected from newer hotel builds near airports, the room was well insulated from airplane noise. Looking at the floorpan, there didn’t appear to be many suites available for purchase (or upgrades).

MrsWT73 overall offered her comments in favour of the hotel, which was a relief due to her exacting high standards. “Good job – a nice room”. Phew!

Around the Hotel:

The next morning, I explored a little of the hotel. 

One of the Nicest Airport Hotel Gym’s out there:

The 6^th floor happened to have one of the nicest hotel gym’s that I’ve experienced in a while. Instead of being buried in a small room in the basement or ground floor, it occupied a large space on the top floor in the centre of the hotel with large panoramic windows. It was large and spacious with large views of the north airfield operations at Winnipeg.

There were lots of treadmills, in addition to a small stack of free weights.

The gym is 24 hrs / 7 days a week.

Food and Beverage:

I wandered downstairs to see if there were any other amenties for this particular hotel. In addition to some meeting space, there was the “Bistro” market. 

Unfortunately, the bistro market is offering split hours – only open for breakfast and dinner 07-10 AM and dinner between 5-10 PM during our visit. It offered the typical pub and snack fare fare. Seating for the bistro was in the lobby, which was spacious and pleasant. Being that we were still on pacific time, we missed the breakfast entirely. 

We were also unable to get room service on our arrival at 10 PM the night prior, so if you arrive after hours, it’s local pizza to be delivered to the hotel and not much else.

There were also a few computers for boarding pass printing and other check in abilities.

Nearby the Hotel:

The hotel is within walking distance of the Winnipeg John Richardson International Airport. While there are a few facilities available at the airport in terms of restaurants, there really isn’t much there that is a suitable option for an alternate location for dinner. There is a light edition of Stella’s Bakery on the departures level with limited hours and a Tim Horton’s on the arrivals level that was closed when we arrived here.

Regrettably, thanks to it’s location, aside from the hotel food and beverage, there isn’t much immediately around the hotel for food and beverage.

The Courtyard Marriott Winnipeg Airport Bottom Line:

We enjoyed our stay at the Courtyard Marriott Winnipeg Airport. The hotel met everything needed for a convenient stay for the night near the airport. The property is much newer than the competing Lakeview and Hilton, the latter which is a short drive from the hotel. The room was comfortable and the gym made the place to be quite appealing. There were exceptionally reasonable rates for the property given the current pandemic situation, which added value to our stay. The only minus is the limited food and beverage at this property, which is also partly a condition of the overall pandemic. Despite this, this property would be at the top of my list for an airport hotel in Winnipeg YWG.

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