Review: Courtyard by Marriott Chisinau [Moldova]
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Great elite benefits and treatment; above what you'd expect from a Courtyard | Location sort of inconvenient |
| Good restaurant | King Bed is not the standard size |
Moldova has been a country that intrigued me… well it’s more like the “unrecognized country” of Transnistria that interested me more. But, getting there requires you to still land in Chisinau, Moldova’s capital, if you go by air, which I flew to from Belgrade. Thus, I set base in Courtyard Chisinau.
Courtyard Chisinau- Booking
I booked a 2-night stay in cash for 120 EUR per night. It’s normal for the hotel to charge around this rate. It’s also the only Marriott in the country.
Courtyard Chisinau- Location
The hotel is located in Chisinau’s outskirts by a highway that leads to the airport. Next to it is Shopping Malldova, Moldova’s largest shopping mall.
It is a bit out of the way, but it’s one of the more convenient option if you need to head to the airport. Traffic in the center of Chisinau can be quite bad, but on the other hand, getting to the city center from the hotel will take some time as well.
Courtyard Chisinau- Check-in
We arrived to the hotel at around 4pm, and it took around 30 minutes from RMO airport with Yandex Go, the most reliable rideshare app in Chisinau.
The lobby looks decently modern and colorful, yet still maintains the Courtyard feel.
Check-in process was smooth and I was thanked for my Titanium Elite status and upgraded to the Superior Room. Junior Suite seems to be the highest room category, but I didn’t care enough to push for it.
The elite treatment at this hotel is above what you’d expect from a Courtyard. Free breakfast was given on top of the daily $10 food & beverage daily credit, or 9 EUR give and take. Not only that, but two free drink vouchers were given to redeem at the New York Restaurant & Bar! Very cool indeed.
Before heading to the elevators, I checked out the market which counts towards the F&B credit to buy snacks, drinks, and necessities.
Courtyard Chisinau- Superior Room
I was assigned to the 6th floor, the second highest floor of this hotel. The Superior Room is located at the farthest corner.
The room is decently sized and laid out like a typical Courtyard with the bathroom being the first thing next to the entry behind frosted glass.
The queen-sized bed was comfortable and there’s complete amenities like TV, luggage space, and pantry across the bed.
The hotel also gave some welcome local treats of dried fruits and snack bars.
There’s a mini fridge with free soft drinks stocked when we arrived. It’s very nice with how much free stuff we got from a Courtyard!
Besides the bed is the desk. The size is small, but it gets the job done. There is a pamphlet menu for in-room dining as well.
Besides the pantry is the closet for clothes and where the safe is at.
The room I got had a view that goes towards the center of Chisinau.
Moving on to the bathroom, it’s laid out just like other Courtyards, with the notable toilet by the sink fixture.
Amenities like dental kits are provided here.
The shower room is spacious and decent enough. The toiletries are Nirvae, a Courtyard standard.
A good room overall. There’s no frills and it gets the job done. Plus, the free drinks inside the mini fridge were appreciated. The service is above what I’d expect from a Courtyard.
Courtyard Chisinau- Breakfast
Breakfast takes place in the New York Restaurant on ground floor, the hotel’s sole restaurant.
The bar area really does feel like an American casual bar with how the boards menu are set up. There are also shirts display of soccer teams from various countries.
There are inside and outside dining. Outside dining is livelier with the activities near Shopping Malldova at evenings.
Breakfast is buffet style of western cuisine. There’s omelette station, bread station, hot dishes, cold cuts, and sweets. Overall quality were pretty decent, and it’s nice that they’re free for elite members (assuming Platinum or higher).
Courtayrd Chisinau- New York Restaurant Dinner
After returning from Transnistria, we ate dinner at the hotel. There’s a bunch of international cuisine, and I started to miss rice a bit in my Europe trip. So, I had the chicken tandoori while my partner had the alfredo pasta, plus fries on the side.
We redeemed the wine vouchers, but only the red wine was available. We had pretty good meals at reasonable price, and the deal was made sweeter with the F&B credit.
Courtyard Chisinau- Gym
The gym is located on the 3rd floor and is open 24/7. There’s cardio machines, yoga balls, and dumbbell station for weight training.
Conclusion
Courtyard Chisinau is a good place to stay. The elite member treatment here is fabulous. You’ll get free breakfast, drink vouchers, and food and beverage credit on top. Oh, and there’s free drinks in the room’s mini fridge too!
The location is kind of far away from the city center though, and you’ll need to use a taxi to get around. There’s not much to walk around unless it’s the mall next to the hotel.