Marriott Hotel, Waltham Abbey

The Marriott hotel in Waltham abbey is about five minutes down the road from me, and my company had its Christmas party there. Because I live so close I had to argue, but eventually they agreed to book me a room in there fore when I was too drunk to want to get a cab home after!!
Because I have always lived near this hotel I have never had any reason to go into it and therefore had no idea what I looked like from the inside.

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...cannot comment on how this Marriott compares to other ones, as i have never stayed in a Marriott other than this one, however I think that this one is probably average compared to all the others, being as this one is in a low populated area with a small amount of reasons for why anyone would visit the area.

I think that if I was asked to pay or the hotel room, I would rather have got a cab, although the rooms are not extremely expensive ... more

The Marriott hotel in Waltham abbey is about five minutes down the road from me, and my company had its Christmas party there. Because I live so close I had to argue, but eventually they agreed to book me a room in there fore when I was too drunk to want to get a cab home after!!
Because I have always lived near this hotel I have never had any reason to go into it and therefore had no idea what I looked like from the inside.

Location and outside appearance
The Marriott hotel is right next to the M25 turn off and a few turn offs to other A roads, this means that it is in a location with no ships near by and it is not an easy place to get to (you can't walk to it).
From the outside the hotel has always looked nice and big and like it really is a quality hotel, however due to the location and due to the inside always being left to my imagination I have never imagined it to be plush inside.

The real inside
When I walked in, I was pleasantly surprised; every piece of furniture is elegant and slightly posh! And the people who work there are dressed smart. The ceilings are high giving the whole atmosphere that 'expensive' sense.
All the rooms are along one of two corridors which travel in one big circle around the whole of the building. This make the hotel seem huge, and travelling to room 137 seem endless. Even though it was a long walk in my big drunken heels, I liked it because it gave the hotel a lush feel.
The bar was small and was in the middle of the main entrance room, so it was a big centre piece of the room.
I would say the bar is quite small, so although I had a long watt (there were hundreds of people there) I can imagine it is very quiet normally and the bar is sufficient to the amount of people who are normally there.
The hotel room was a good size and everything in it was clean and of a good quality. My bed was very comfortable and it really was a pleasure staying there!!

Parking
Parking is free and there are literally hundreds of spaces outside the hotel so there wasn't a problem finding one. The front gates are code operated which makes drop off and collection slightly difficult, my dad had to get out of the car, walk to reception, get a code then type it in, just to leave after dropping me off there!

Prices
On an average night a room is around £69 and include usage of all of the facilities. The hotel also has a gym and a swimming pool, both of which are good facilities.

The pool
The swimming pool is indoor and heated, and is a lush centre piece of the whole hotel, the swimming pool could be looked on by one of the windows in the main hall and it looked lavish and very inviting!!

The main function room which we ended up in was slightly smaller than I expected but managed to house everyone without anyone being cramped or without compromising a dance floor.
The evening consisted of a coursed meal which I thought was poor, I obviously cant comment on the food that they usually serve as this was obviously made for the party and therefore quality will have been compromised due to the hundreds of people there. However it was still a disappointment.

I also found that by the end of the night a few members of staff I had asked assistance from had a very poor understanding of the English language. This obviously made it hard for me to explain what my enquiry was and get a reasonable response. One waiter couldn't understand me when I asked if I could have just Vanilla ice cream and not the dessert they were handing out. Eventually I gave up trying to explain and skipped dessert altogether.
This didn't ruin my night but it obviously didn't make me too happy.

Another disadvantage would be that the smoking facility is 'stand outside the main entrance' which meant that in order to get into the hotel I had to walk past a big group of gossiping smokers, which I did less confidently at the beginning of the night (no alcohol).

The hotel was very quiet at night and I could not hear the roads from my room at all which I found surprising, due to it being along a main junction for his motorway. And I had an excellent nights sleep there.

I would recommend this venue for staying in; however I don't think it would be my favourite choice for a party, wedding etc, due to the function room being on the small side and the food being a bit stringy. I think it's a good hotel to stay in if you are travelling in the morning as obviously it is next to some big roads which would help you get a jump on your journey.

I didn't see many facilities for children and although the pool was big and had a welcoming atmosphere I don't think the hotel caters for children at all. It is more of a getaway for adults and it relies on its gym and perfect outlay to unwelcome the presence of children.
Therefore I would definitely not recommend this as a family hotel but would recommend couples to give it a try.

I cannot comment on how this Marriott compares to other ones, as i have never stayed in a Marriott other than this one, however I think that this one is probably average compared to all the others, being as this one is in a low populated area with a small amount of reasons for why anyone would visit the area.

I think that if I was asked to pay or the hotel room, I would rather have got a cab, although the rooms are not extremely expensive I think value for money was average.

Overall I enjoyed my stay and had little to complain about, but I was not over excited by any of the facilities.

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