Waterloo/Cedar Falls, IA Courtyard

Checked in on the mobile app. No upgrade offered there nor in person and I had to ask, as a Lifetime Titanium: "Not tonight but we can probably do it tomorrow!" in an extra-chirpy voice, meaning "I hope that turns him off to bothering to change rooms". OK, fine, whatever.

This building was a former John Deere facility built early 20th-century. The restoration preserved the high original concrete ceilings with machinery fasteners and thick support columns. Huge window with effective light-blocking shades. The Marriott booking pages insist this is a new hotel but it's been open for a few years.

Overall a large room for a standard non-suite fitted with the usual newer Courtyard furniture including the weird sloping desk and curvy couch that looks a lot more comfortable than it is.

The HVAC takes a long time to respond to temperature changes. I thought it was broken after nothing happened for awhile after I upped the temperature but it did kick on after about five minutes. Weird.

This one really annoys me: the TV is bolted to the wall right over the desk, way too close to watch from there, facing the bed, and it's not really viewable from the couch because of the angle. Most places the TV is on an extensible mount that lets you point it in different directions, but not this CY. I hate watching TV sitting in bed and I have the same peeve at most Alofts, but I'm not a desk-hating Gen Z'er so what do I know...

It's pretty quiet aside from the SLAMMMM!! of the room doors from the over-enthusiastic door-slammer things and most people don't bother to close em quietly. Don't be those people. The walls do allow some human sounds to pass through like loud sneezes but that's about it.

Unpleasant faux-Euro-style shower that's missing a door so chilly outer air flows right in which is a little uncomfortable. The shower head was clogged with mineral deposits so water sprayed everywhere besides me, but it was replaced at my request the next day. It still splatters water on the floor so I put a towel down. 

Going into the Second Year of Our Lady of COVID, housekeeping is only on request, which is fine. I think we all got spoiled with daily room fluffing which is totally unnecesary. Do you replace your towels daily? Change the linens every few days? You do not, so you can deal with reduced fluffage.

Gross packaged dry stuff for breakfast which was fine as I do not eat breakfast, and the usual Courtyard not-free coffee was in fact free, but horrible. There's a closed restaurant in the building which did not survive COVID. So basically no food service. I get it. There's no microwave in the room but there's a little dorm fridge. There's a community microwave in the lobby but ew, David.

It's a little isolated and if you want to get dinner it's gonna be a drive, or expensive and usually-cold delivery. Pick one. Parking is free and the area seems pretty safe.

I would stay here again mostly because it's a lot different than the usual generic CY, and I've gotten used to take-out/delivery. My biggest complain is the lack of a shower door and the stupid bolted-down TV but I can live with that.