Review: Courtyard Appleton Riverfront

Wisconsin, home of cheese and the world's largest general aviation fly-in every year. I was in town for EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, and while hotels in Oshkosh, Wisconsin were outrageously expensive, I managed to score a deal in Appleton, Wisconsin about 20 minutes north of Oshkosh.

Booking

While I manged to find a hotel in Appleton, it was still eye watering expensive for the end of July and the location. On non-peak days, it seems like you can find the rate closer to about $120 per night.

Even point redemptions seem very high, averaging 30,000 points or more during all throughout the year. You could only find just a handful of 23,000 point nights on random days during the month. I find this very expensive on the points and feel like they're better served just paying the cash rate, even if it is inflated.

Location

As the name suggests, the Courtyard is located on the riverfront of the Fox River that runs down the center of town. It's a very picturesque spot, although it feels like you're taking a back road from the main road to the hotel.

It might be because the area near the river is still being developed. The hotel is quite new and there were some very new looking apartments and a park being built along that section of the river. It's quite possible that the area is still being developed out, however it still requires you to travel down a steep road to the water, and on a quiet side road.

Check-In

While the town was overrun with visitors from all around the world, and despite arriving early, my room was ready upon check-in. Everything went very smoothly, and the property seems pretty new, so there was a little bit of a process getting checked in.

Also, very luckily, as I had a late afternoon flight on my check-out date, my late departure request was approved at check-in which was a nice bonus.

I had originally booked a 2 Queen room, as I was expecting a guest to be staying with me during AirVenture. However, due to the CrowdStrike issues, the person rooming with me could not show up.

I offered the front desk if they needed rooms with more beds that I could switch to a King room, however it seemed like they had mapped out all the rooms for the week and were unwilling to make changes to reservations.

The Room

For a Marriott Courtyard property, the room didn't seem as basic as they usually do at these lower end properties. I enjoyed the wall artwork and how big and roomy the room felt. Even though I don't usually book 2 Queen rooms, I always enjoy it just a bit better as those rooms seem to be much bigger than single King bedrooms.

The bathroom was large and well stocked with many towels. The shower had fantastic water pressure, but the only problem I had was with the wall mounted amenities. The shampoo bottle was empty and the body wash pump was broken, something you would think that would be found when the room was being cleaned. Thankfully, a quick call to the front desk and they had someone come up to fix both problems.

Both beds were large and comfortable. I enjoyed the third pillow and all the blankets were soft and felt new. The desk was large and a good place to work on, there was a smaller pullout desk that could be used to extend the surface area to work on.

There was a small area next to the desk to mount up a suitcase and two small drawers to organize clothes. While you can't see it, there was a small fridge under the desk that was quite loud. I ended up unplugging it during my stay because of the noise.

If you happen to be the sleeper next to the window, you will have the air conditioner right next to you. I found it significantly colder next to the air conditioner opposed to the bed near the wall. I was pleasantly surprised that it was fairly quiet, normally air conditioning units are quite loud at lower end hotels.

Food

In the lobby there is a small bar that operates during the evenings with drinks as well as serving Starbucks coffee in the morning. There is also food that is served during the morning which looks to be similar to typical Starbucks breakfast hot options, and a handful of typical bar food options served during the evening hours.

Service

Everyone was perfectly great, in a Midwest kindness. The room was cleaned and freshened up daily, which was great to come back to after a long day out in the beating sun and high temperatures.

Overall the coffee and food were ok, nothing to write home about, but acceptable if you need a quick bite to eat while running out of the hotel or need a quick pick me up.

There are numerous small places to eat around Appleton that serve much better food, and would suggest heading out to eat rather than staying in if you can help it.

Final Thoughts

For a busy summer week, the hotel seemed on top of it with all the guests staying at the hotel. The location is slightly off the beaten path, however the surrounding area is still being developed. While I thought the rates were higher than they should be, they were still a great value for the time of year and the major event happening quite close to the hotel. Everyone at the hotel were pleasant to talk to and seemed receptive and responsive to requests or problems. And the large lobby area along with the back patio were great to socialize during the evening.