Bloomington-Normal Marriott Hotel and Conference Center Reviews

The bar was very nice, the staff was accommodating and friendly, and I was more intoxicated on Meghan the bartender than I was on the Basil Hayden.

Beautiful hotel. Great location by the train station, many great local bars and great food within walking distance

Nice place but I was told I'd pay $180 on the reservation but I was charged $213 on my card. I don't know why

The hotel and rooms overall are nice. Wifi is not free and expensive to add. Biggest downfall though was the pool. Nice view but absolutely disgusting! Just stayed here with a group of friends, and together we all have 6 kids. The pool was cloudy and the water smelled like sewage. The hot tub had an even stronger sewer odor. Our skin smelled after swimming, just to explain how bad it was. Now I know why we were the only ones swimming the whole time. There were also hairballs on the side of the pool in various areas. Again, gross. Additionally, as if the pool wasn't bad enough, the area around it was very dangerous for little ones. Someone didn't use their brain when they constructed this area, and they put in glass tile all around the pool area. Glass tile + water = super slippery. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen, as all of our children fell at least 2 times each, and they were not running. What a let down, as this hotel should be nicer, and we had planned on using the pool facilities with the kids for the majority of our time there.

Room was very clean and accommodating. The route to find the hotel were hard to understand. Overall I really enjoyed my time in Bloomington.

Nice & Clean hotel. Friendly and helpful staff! Catered meals were phenomenal!

Nice location, plenty of parking. Great meeting room

Always a pleasure attending events at the conference center.

I had a great stay here. Rooms were pleasant and well kept, and it was nice that you could walk to shops and restaurants. No free wireless, though - it's been ages since I had to pay for hotel wireless, so that was a bummer.

Seems like a high price, everything smells like cleaning soap.

The place is quite, the rooms clean, parking convenient. Defientely would stay here again.

When I told the front desk the next morning that a big glob of toothpaste have been left in the sink by the cleaning staff the response was simply, "OK, I'll let them know." It was the lack of response that surprised me. There was no apology or no surprise. I did not mention the lack of an apology, but I did tell them there was no surprise or even a negative reaction. There were two people sitting behind desk behind plexiglass, neither one even stood as I approached. This is not your grandparents Marriott! Any class or luxury seems to be completely missing.

Because of COVID-19 The staff has been reduced. Still the ABSOLUTE BEST in TOWN!!!

I was scheduled to stay here January 7-8, 2020 and of course made my reservations prior to arriving. Upon arrival, I was told I was moved to a nearby hotel due to overbooking. Some would be upset at this gesture, but the front desk staff was very pleasant and gave me an accommodation of a nearby hotel and they PAID for it. I really appreciated the small gesture and maybe in the future I could reside here for another ISU school visit.

I visited for a symposium, so I can't comment on the rooms, but the overall atmosphere is high-quality. Nice decor. Friendly, helpful staff. Lunch-spread was buffet-style and very enjoyable.

Went here recently to have breakfast with a friend passing through town. Nice spot with prompt service and a number of breakfast options, including a small buffet.

Beautiful hotel. Nice clean rooms. If has a pool didn't get a chance to use it but looked fine. Food was great!

The last 2 years I have had trouble booking a room for Future Problem Solvers State Comp. The week after our school found out they were going to State I called and the block of rooms at the special rate were sold out. Yes, I do realize this is for the entire State of Illinois. But when you try to book said room over 1 month in advance and there are none available.. This tells me that there is poor planning on the hotels part. I was told the special FPS rate was $131. At the time I called there were no rooms available in the block, but if I booked that day I could lock in a price of $138. The guy came back on the line and said he was sorry he gave me the wrong price and the new quote was $161. For 1 night! He would not honor the original quote of $138 even though it was his error. Here is an interesting fact; they specifically hold rooms available for State Farm. Their special rate is $116. So that is real fair to all of the schools, right?!?! Last year I called 4 people for a total of 15 times before I got what I needed. This time I am paying the $161 and spreading the word of the disregard they have for their customers.

Location is great, parking garage is connected. The rooms are always clean.

Clean rooms, easy parking and central to downtown and the university.

Rooms are close to being considered outdated, housekeeping work me up from a nap after 5pm after I assumed they skipped my room earlier in the day.

Stayed for a professional conference. The rooms were nice and modern and the staff was exceptional and friendly. Watch out though, that train outside blows its horn pretty regularly.

Fiance and I stayed for one night while visiting our old university where we met. Located right between Campus and the downtown area which is perfect! Room was clean and had everything we needed. Service was friendly and professional. Great stay!

Great lobby. Very fancy. 1$ food in vending maching. Has nice friendly workers. Views and rooms are beautiful

Good hotel with lots of restaurants around. Also the train station is nearby. Covered parking is an asset during winter or rain

Arguably the "nicest" hotel in Bloomington, but given how small this market is, there are only a small handful of hotels.

As far as a standard Marriott goes, this one delivers. The rooms are very clean and well kept. Everything is in working order. The front desk staff is incredibly friendly and helpful. There's lots of conference/meeting space and the lobby is well-designed to support informal meetings with colleagues. The restaurant leaves a lot to be desired, particularly the breakfast options. The menu items are pricey (basic omelets and eggs benedict, etc) and not particularly fresh + overly greasy.

However, if I'm being budget conscious I might look to stay at the Hyatt Place across the street. It's 10-15% less expensive (on the dates I've stayed), with exactly the same amenities (actually, maybe better amenities since there you get free breakfast).

The hotel is around the corner from several restaurants and a really good coffee shop (less than 3-minute walk).

Had a conference there. Enjoyable experience would recommend.

I LOVE this place!! It has become a home away from home. We visit our grandchildren here in Normal and always stay here!! Jared in Jesse's Grill is the candidate for best employee EVER!!

Awesome place! Super clean and the staff were really friendly. The room was really clean and had a nice view. The parking is what you would expect.

Good property, nice staff, clean rooms. A lot of good places to eat nearby, as well.

The hotel appeared to be clean, staff was friendly and attentive. But after several days my back began to itch and I had bug bites all over it. I called the front desk and asked if the on duty manager was a woman, which I was told no. Then I asked to speak to the on duty manager and was asked why. I told them I thought they might have Bed Bugs. Within 5 minutes I had 2 people in my room "looking" at the bed. I showed the female employee my back, which had gotten extremely uncomfortable. They told me that the room didn't have bed bugs and the manager would be coming to speak to me. THAT NEVER HAPPENED! They suggested that it was from their laundry detergent. The drive home was extremely uncomfortable so I called my physicians office and made an appointment for the following day. She confirmed it WAS BEDBUG bites. She also pointed out some bites on my arms I didn't realize I had. I called to speak to the manager today, after leaving my Dr. appt. Again I was asked why I was asking for the manager, and I told them regarding an incident while I was there. I was told the manager was "out to lunch". My stay was March 18th - 23rd, 2018. My room number was 723. I was savvy enough to leave all my clothing in the garage and only carried in to wash it. Hopefully I have not brought any in my home!!!
After getting the below response I went on Ecolab website and it is cleaning solutions used in hotels, hospitals etc..I did make a return call to the below number and as of last Friday, I still have yet to receive a return phone call. Funny, they say I'll hear from their manager, they post a response to call and discuss, and I have followed through. No return phone call, no sorry that your back was chewed up during your stay. Not a word!!
By the way, my back is completely clear of any bites now!!

I enjoyed this hotel. It was very nicely furnished and clean. I was only there a short time and therefore cannot comment on the rooms or staff.

Large conference room, great food and friendly service.

Although I did not stay there for the night, the hotel was in Immaculate condition. The ballroom where the event was held was absolutely beautiful. The staff was friendly and helpful.

Nice place. Bartender Jared was wonderful. The place was packed he handled the bar like a pro. Marriott hotel

I visited Jesse's Grill for a book club and drinks. It's a nice quiet environment, good for events where you want to have a drink, but want to have a conversation as well. It's a nice open space

Have had a few parties here for my niece and have always had great service. We also had a dinner here catered for my grandmothers service after here funeral, they did a fabulous job!!

Hotel was clean. However, food was not great, toilet paper was basically half ply and the frame of the beds extended past the mattress (covered by the blankets) so we hit our legs on it several times...very painful. I would stay here over, say, a low end hotel but I expect more from the Marriott brand

Anna, bartender was great. Wonderful personality, cordial to everyone, worked great in a fast paced environment. Greeted every customer. Nice work Anna!

The Bloomington-Normal Marriott has such a great aesthetic to the building and an extraordinary staff! I highly recommend it to anybody passing through!

The hotel was nice, and I was attending a catered event there. The tables were set incredibly well and the food was great.

I went to the Bloomington-Normal Marriott for a conference. The accommodations for the event were excellent and appropriately large. The staff appeared to always be working diligently, were respectful and courteous. I did not have the opportunity to stay overnight but I expect a similar level of professionalism in their room accommodations.

Great location, good breakfast, great servers, rooms are ok, at the business center the printer, scanner, fax were not working, front desk was friendly and helped us out.

The ballrooms and conference rooms are very clean and well lit spaces. Decor is neutral and pleasant. The food served at the conference was okay, but personally I think it could improve.

Beautiful hotel for this town. We frequently stay in Marriott properties for many years. Over 50 yrs.
Just attended a retirement event and it was windy and very cold that evening.
The valet informed us the charge would be $15 plus tip.
Not impressed

It was ok. I was disappointed in the housekeeping of the room from dusty phones to hairdryer was dirty. Internet was not accessible unless you paid for the upgrade. Dining room waitstaff needed training.

Very nice location. Rooms and lobby are nice; only downside is the food at the restaurant is pretty pricey.

Attended a professional event in the Conference room. Hotel staff was great, and food was delicious.

I have attended many events at the Bloomington-Normal Marriott Hotel & Conference Center. The staff is always very pleasant and accommodating.

Room and location were great. Service was nice and rooms were very clean. Beautiful lobby. Only complaint was TV was missing some popular channels and I had to leave for a bar to watch a playoff sports game. I was surprised they didn't have it at the bar either.

I was here for a conference. Food was fresh, coffee was good, facility was clean.

The nice thing about this hotel is the rooms were nice and clean, and over the phone when I was making my reservations the staff was very accommodating. We were having a trade conference there and they ran out of room quickly. I had to call in and speak with the coordinator to get a room at the discounted conference rate. She was very accommodating. They were also very good about helping me arrange a shuttle to and from the airport. The decor is nice throughout the hotel, and even the conference rooms actually have very good sound dampening. I didn't even realize there was somebody having dinner on the other side of the partition wall in the conference room until they started breaking down on the last night. Oh, and the cleaning staff was very happy, polite, and friendly. And there was one of the greeting stuff that was also.

Now for the bad. Speaking with some of my conference members I was not the only one to experience more than a little irksome treatment. One of my fellow conference-goers ended up in a room with a bed with broken legs. Another was a handicap gentleman who had a lot of trouble getting up and down stairs. They had a handicap room for him... On the 5th floor... God forbid. Like the ones that accommodated the bathtub in an able persons room. Best shower curtains for a tub do not work well on step and showers. He ended up with a huge puddle of water all over the floor that he then had to figure out how to clean up. The restaurant left a lot to be desired. They wanted$17 for what amounts to any old Continental Hotel breakfast. They argued that because they had an omelet station it was worth that price. I live in a town with casinos. We get a full buffet with an amazing selection for breakfast for $17. Box cereal and muffins and bagels does not have that kind of price attraction. And I ended up going with an economy breakfast there that was fairly good. The service was so so. But when I went there for lunch they could not manage to produce it before we got up and left. My table partner ordered a lava cake, and I ordered a salad. The lava cake would have been in their freezer and just needed to be warmed up, and it doesn't take more than about 15 minutes on the outside to make a salad. Over 30 minutes later we were still waiting. We finally got up and told them to cancel our order because our next continuing education class was 5 minutes from starting. We got a bismal service at the bar on the last night. More than one person at the conference sat at the bar literally holding money up in the air trying to get the bartender's attention and he would look at you and walk off. And if you manage to get a hold of the dishwasher who was helping him he would tell you he couldn't take your order and walk off. Wouldn't even alert the bartender to your existence. The couple of times I had to go up and ask the staff at the counter about something they were never rude but they were obvious with their eye rolls and heavy size. I just wanted to know when my shuttle was schedule for the next morning, and then when I tried to check out I stood there for 5 minutes before somebody even showed up at the front desk. And possibly most importantly the coffee for the conference almost never showed up on time.

Overall the hotel itself was nice, and there were enough nice members on the staff that I would stay again. But I would never mess with the bar or the restaurant again. And if I were planning a conference I would look around and see if any of the other hotels offered a better rate.