The beds are nice and the room design seems fine when you arrive, but the hotel's low rates do not include free internet, or parking, and breakfast is $15/person for essentially the buffett you get for free at a Residence Inn. Your actual cost will be at least $40 higher per night for two if you eat breakfast at the hotel.

While it's nice that the bathroom sink is separate from the toilet/shower room, the location of the sink and lighting is such that it's almost impossible to use it without waking up someone who is sleeping. Also, the toilet may be the loudest I've ever heard.

We've stayed at this Marriott three times in the last five years, because we have friends in Rickville, but this was our last stay at this hotel.

I stayed here Saturday, February 10th, 2007 because of unexpected business situation. Like many of other local hotels in the area, it's geared more toward business travellers than for families. Its decor and ambience confirms that feel. The room was very clean and bed was very comfortable. I love the seperate bedroom with french doors-gives it a romantic ambience to the room.
I like the fact entire hotel is smoke-free, so if you are a smoker, look elsewhere. The rates for these business hotels are a lot cheaper on weekends than on weeknights unless you go through travel agency or discount websites in advance (less than half the weeknight rate - a great deal for a hotel of this quality). I came without a reservation and was able to get a room without any difficulties. I was even able to check in earlier (1pm) than usual 3pm check-in. The staff was courteous and helpful. For $10 more, I could have gotten the breakfast package, but I declined.
If you go out toward Rockville (left turn out of the hotel, left turn on old Georgetown Rd., then left on to Rockville Pike - about 3-4 mile drive), ther are all kinds of restaurants for a stretch of several miles. There's a pretty good Thai restaurant, I think it was called Benjarong's(?), and inexpensive to boot. Give it a try.
Parking on 3rd deck connects directly to the hotel lobby - a plus. My only gripes are minor. 1) $8 for parking 2) no wireless internet in the rooms and they charge for the wired service-wirless is available in the lobby, no charge I think. Having said that, my overall experience was very positive and would stay here again.
If any questions, zanypoet@yahoo.com

My wife and I stayed and Marriot Suites in Bethesda this month for a friend’s wedding. After reading some of the reviews here, we were not sure what to expect, but it turned out to be a very pleasant stay. Our room on the 9th floor was peaceful and very nicely decorated. I assume that there has been some renovation since last year, since we experienced none of the problems that others have mentioned. The hotel was certainly clean and a lot less tired than some Marriots I have stayed in.

The hotel facilities were very good. We parked in the ajoining car park for $8 a day (not bad for a car park with 24 hr attendants), and found that it was connected to the hotel by a covered bridge, which I prefer, given how it can rain in this part of the world. I don’t expect an Olympic size pool at any hotel (this one was L shaped, with about 10m on each side), so this one was quite adequate. The exercise area seemed more like an after-thought, but the equipment was in good order, though mostly for aerobic exercise.

The rooms were extremely comfortable and the separation of the living area from the bedroom (double doors) was great. The bathroom sink area and separate toilet/ bath-shower area was also good, although hunting the light switch in the middle of the night was a nuisance. The water pressure was also good. Beds were supremely comfortable and the linens, etc were so good that Marriot now makes them available to purchase – well worth an investment! The abundance of pillows was just silly, but better to have too many than too few!

The breakfast buffet was very good, with a wide selection of items and freshly prepared omlettes available to order. As someone else noted, the staff in the dining area could be a little more attentive. The bar staff were just short-handed, and perhaps a little inexperienced with dealing with more than a couple of people at the bar at one time. Friends who used room service recommended it, although I am not a fan myself, they were convinced, although they would have liked a continental breakfast option.

Location-wise, this hotel is easy to get to from the main highways and we drove here from central DC in about 20 minutes on a Friday morning, so access is very easy. There were always plenty of taxis around, so if you are not driving, it should be easy to find.

Overall, I thought the hotel was great value for money and would definitely stay there again.

There are many positive things to recommend the Bethesda Marriott Suites, including the exceptionally comfortable beds. But if the room I was given when I checked in on 12/30/05 for 2 nights--which was identified as non-smoking, since I'd reserved non-smoking--is any indication, the hotel lets people smoke in non-smoking rooms and/or has an inadequate ventilation system that brings in smoke. My room reeked of stale smoke which made it hard for me to breathe and to sleep. Given that I was staying two nights, one of which was New Year's Eve, and the hotel was booked up, and that I'd requested a room on a high floor but got a room on the 3rd floor instead, I didn't figure I'd be able to move to another room. But I immediately called housekeeping to request they bring up some room deodorizer (along with some extra hangers). After 30-40 rings and no answer, I gave up and called the front desk, and someone finally did answer. They said they'd send someone up, but no one came that evening (although I did find a few extra hangers the next night when I returned to my room from sightseeing and NYE activities in D.C.). So I wound up leaving the window open (and I was grateful it did open) most of the time, in the dead of winter and with the heat on, which is not exactly environmentally sound. I also burned some scented candles I'd brought, but the smell was impossible to get rid of. So I'd fault the hotel both for non-responsiveness to guest requests and for not properly dealing with smoking and with room deodorizing between guests if a non-smoking room does smell like an ashtray.

Also, even at 2:00 a.m. on NYE, I would have expected the hotel to do something about loud and drunk people partying raucously and playing really loud music, but it took 3 calls over a period of an hour and a half to get anyone to finally do anything about--at 3:30 a.m. However, I did find my room very quiet the first night, since I'd asked for a room away from the freeway and got one facing the interior courtyard.

On the positive side, although the living room was rather small (and reeked the most of cigarettes, probably due to the upholstered furniture), the dual-sectioned bathroom was well laid out and spacious, and the bedroom was an adequate size. The toiletries and linens were fine. I especially liked having doors that closed between the bedroom and the living room (which helped keep out some of the hallway noise). And I liked having a small and empty refrigerator to keep my water in. And the bed was even better than Westin's Heavenly Bed--one of the most comfortable I've ever slept in. I even wrote to the hotel manager to ask what kind of bed it was, since I might want to buy one for home (and also to complain about the smokiness of the room, etc.), but it's been more than a month and I haven't gotten a reply.

It's possible that with the renovations currently underway at this hotel--they'd begun in late December '05--they will improve the ventilation system and/or replace furniture that has collected years of stale smoke smell. If the room had been odor-free and had been otherwise just like it was when I stayed there, I would recommend it strongly. If you have a reason to be in Bethesda (I was visiting an old friend after attending a conference in D.C.), and aren't sensitive to smoke smells or can cherry-pick a smokeless room, this would be a comfortable hotel to stay in with its mini-suites and great beds, especially after the current renovation is completed.