World Traveller 73 
Review: Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour, Vermont, USA
Our stay at the Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour was designed to take advantage of downhill skiing at nearby Stowe Mountain Resort. While I was looking for a convenient place to spend the night, we would end up finding a conveniently located full service hotel in the heart of historic Burlington, Vermont. While we didn’t get a whole host of Marriott Bonvoy upgrades, we appreciated the hotel’s features and comfort. Read on to see how our two day stay at this property fared.
This post is one chapter on a winter work trip within Canada. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status, Air Canada Aeroplan, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards. For parts of the trip, please see this index.
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✈️ Read more from this trip:
- Trip Introduction: Skiing in Vermont via Air Canada Business Class
- Air Canada Signature Business Class: Vancouver – Ottawa
- Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour, Vermont, USA
- Restaurant: Hen of the Wood, Burlington, Vermont, USA
- Two Days of Skiing at Stowe Mountain, Vermont, USA
- Fairfield Inn and Suites Ottawa Airport, Canada
- Air Canada Business Class: Ottawa – Vancouver
Review: Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour Hotel, Vermont, United States of America
“A comfortable Courtyard that’s an excellent base for exploring Burlington, well located in the historic Burlington district with excellent restaurants nearby.”
My visit to the Courtyard by Marriott Burlington, Vermont, USA marked a two day visit to the region. While my primary reason for visiting the area was for skiing at Stowe Mountain Resort, Vermont, I would end up using the Courtyard Burlington Hotel as a base of operations for this particular trip.
Booking The Courtyard Burlington Harbour:
I was based in Burlington, Vermont for daily access to the Stowe Mountain Ski Resort. Stowe Mountain Resort was located approximately forty five minutes drive away from the Courtyard Burlington Harbour.
There were a number of Marriott Bonvoy hotels within the Burlington area. While most seemed to be general hotels off the highway, I ended up deciding on the Courtyard Burlington Hotel as it was located within walking distance of the Burlington downtown historic district. This would end up being a wise choice, as the downtown district was quite interesting, quaint, and contained a number of great restaurants.
The Courtyard Burlington hotel generally offers rates between $200 – $350 USD during the week, for a standard guest room.
I booked through the Marriott Bonvoy website, which as a Marriott Titanium Member, entitled me to a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, including select suites, complimentary access to the Marriott Executive Club Lounge (of which there wasn’t one at this property), and a complimentary late check out up to 4 PM.
It is worth mentioning that there are only a few Executive Suites at this particular property. As a result, the likelihood of getting an upgrade into an actual suite (with a separate living room) is limited. The likely Marriott Bonvoy Elite upgrades offered will be a soft upgrade into a higher floor category, a better view or quieter area away from the elevator.
Marriott Bonvoy Redemption Opportunities:
The Courtyard by Marriott Burlington offers competitive room redemptions with the new variable redemption rates. Marriott Bonvoy rates were between 40,000 to 60,000, which represents value on some nights but not on others.
If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at $0.008 a point, you’d have to spend more than $320 USD room rate to come out ahead for a 40,000 point redemption, or $480 USD room rate if you happen to find a 60,000 point redemption. While this represents reasonable value under certain circumstances, you’ll want to make sure that your redemption is value based.
Arriving to The Courtyard by Marriott Burlington:
I had rented a car from Hertz at the Ottawa International Airport in Ontario, Canada. After driving down to Burlington, Vermont from Ottawa, Canada, I ended up arriving to the hotel after about a three hour and forty five minute drive.
The Courtyard Burlington Harbour Hotel is well located in the historic area of Burlington, Vermont. It’s a short drive off Interstate 89, through the University of Vermont grounds, with the hotel positioned near the water of Lake Champlain. The area surrounding the hotel has great restaurants that are well worth exploring.
Checking into the Courtyard by Marriott Burlington:
Upon entering the lobby, I walked to the front desk. I had a friendly welcome and was thanked for being a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium level member. While there was no room upgrade other than a high floor, I was offered 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy points or a one time $10 Food and Beverage credit. I ended up with the points as I wasn’t planning on spending too much time on the property.
Like most Courtyards by Marriott, the lobby contained a small market with sundries available for purchase. This was located immediately beside the front desk. The Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour’s version was quite a small one, and there wasn’t a lot of stuff in this particular market.
Overall the check in was friendly and pleasant and I was made to feel welcomed.
The Room: Guest Room, 1 King, Sofa bed, City view:
After parking my car in the underground, I headed up to my assigned room #716. We used a trolley to unload the car full of ski equipment.
Our Guest Room was located on an upper floor. While it didn’t offer a suite upgrade or a water view, the room was fairly large and spacious. With only a limited number of suites or lake view rooms at this property, Marriott Bonvoy members aren’t likely to get many water views or suite upgrades.
The Bedroom:
The room itself offered a King Bed with a chaise sofa, an integrated desk, along with a large window overlooking the neighbourhood.
The room was large enough for a standard room. It easily accommodated all our ski bags and equipment, without getting in the way of enjoying the room itself. The room was tastefully decorated. It was modern enough without looking dated despite it’s dark browns in some of the furniture.
The desk ran a little on the small side. However, I would guess that many aren’t actually in the room to work.
The room also offered the standard coffee maker along with a small microwave. While I didn’t use the in room coffee maker or the microwave, these conveniences are always nice to have for when you need them.
The room also featured a property sheet that laid out some of the features of the property. This included information on housekeeping (provided every other day), hours of the Bleu Northeast Kitchen Restaurant, and pool and fitness room hours.
The room also featured a layout of the property, with rooms in a “T” shaped format. It’s worth mentioning that the six rooms on the right hand side of the floor plan are the only ones with a water view.
There are especially few rooms with suites at this property, making a suite upgrade unlikely.
The Bathroom:
The room offered a single vanity sink in the bathroom. The bathroom was also nicely decorated. The Courtyard Burlington Harbour offered the usual 49 North shampoos and conditioners dispensed from the containers in the shower.
The room itself offered a city view over the streets of nearby Burlington Harbour. While the view did not extend to Lake Champlain, rooftops of nearby empty construction sites and other office buildings in the area. The high floor was a redeeming feature of this particular view, which overlooked the park and another building pad.
In terms of sleep quality, I am happy to report that I had a very good sleep over my two nights at this property. The hallway noise was minimal and I didn’t hear any noise throughout the property. Like most other Courtyards, I’d give this place top marks for a quiet place to sleep.
Around the Hotel Property:
The Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour has many features of a full service hotel. These are all packed into a compact space.
Fitness Centre – Indoor Pool:
The Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour offers an indoor pool and exercise centre. The pool is located on the bottom floor that is underneath the lobby and adjacent to the parking garage entrance.
There was also a small hot tub in the pool area. Despite loving hot tubs after skiing, this one was pretty basic in nature. It wasn’t appealing enough for me to get down there after a day’s worth of skiing up at Stowe.
The Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour also offered a range of gym equipment downstairs adjacent to the pool. The gym didn’t get a lot of use during my visit. I didn’t notice many people using the gym over my time through the property.
While I didn’t use either the gym or the pool, it’s nice to have an option available.
In a neat feature, the hotel had received correspondence from the United States Senator Bernie Sanders, and the United States House of Representatives. The correspondence was proudly shown in the basement of the hotel near the pool.
Food and Beverage:
The Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour offers an attached restaurant called Bleu NorthEast Kitchen that is accessible through the hotel lobby.
Bleu NorthEast Kitchen:
The Bleu NorthEast Kitchen was a popular spot for dinner. On the night of our arrival, the place was almost fully booked. The decor looked terrific, and it actually looked like a place that I would have enjoyed dining at.
The Bar at Bleu:
The hotel also offered a lobby bar Bar at Blue, which was nicely appointed. The Bar at Bleu looked a lot more attractive than the usual Courtyard hotel bars that I’ve passed through.
Overall, the Bar at Bleu looked really inviting with comfortable couches and a space that I could actually see myself hanging out in with a drink in hand.
Checking Out of The Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour:
On departure day, I checked out of the hotel using the front desk. We were able to get a 3 PM Titanium late check out, which was much appreciated by MrsWT73 as I finished off a last day of skiing up at Stowe Mountain.
I had no surprises on the bill with everything “as expected”. The check out was instant through the app and without incident.
My Marriott Bonvoy points posted to my account within 48 hours as promised.
The Bottom Line: The Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour Hotel:
The Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour surpassed all my expectations for a leisure stay.
The Courtyard by Marriott Burlington Harbour offered upscale accommodations a step away from the historic district of Burlington. The room was nicely appointed, and the hotel itself had all the features of a full service hotel, despite being branded as a Courtyard.
The Bar at Bleu actually looked like an appealing place to relax in. The property had a less of a Courtyard feel and more of a neighbourhood inn. I would happily return the next time I am in the area.
World Traveller 73 
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