Philadelphia Marriott Downtown Reviews

Weddings are among the most meaningful and high-pressure moments in life. Every detail matters, timelines are tight, emotions are high, and consistency is everything. Throughout our entire wedding planning process, one constant we could rely on without hesitation was the exceptional team at the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Philadelphia Downtown/Center City, led by Austin Dyees and Malik Bonney.

From our very first inquiry, Austin and Malik demonstrated nothing short of extraordinary professionalism, kindness, and attentiveness. They are the true definition of exceptional customer service. This was not typical hotel service. This was true partnership, care, and ownership of an experience that mattered deeply to us. From start to finish, they went above and beyond at every opportunity, genuinely rolling out the red carpet for us and our guests. The hotel truly bent over backwards to accommodate our needs, and both my wife and I can honestly say we have never experienced this level of platinum-diamond service without additional charges, hidden fees, or any sense of being nickel-and-dimed.

We hosted the majority of our wedding guests at the hotel, and Austin and Malik handled every aspect seamlessly. During one of the most stressful moments of the weekend, our best man was dealing with a sick family member while also navigating valet and transportation concerns. Austin and Malik stepped in immediately, handled the valet coordination on his behalf, and ensured everything was taken care of so he could focus on his family and his role in the wedding. That level of compassion and awareness meant more to us than words can express.

They also assisted in coordinating catering for the groom and the entire wedding party as a celebratory thank-you lunch. They helped ensure the timing, setup, and logistics were handled smoothly, allowing us to enjoy the moment without distraction. These thoughtful gestures consistently demonstrated their ability to anticipate needs before they were even voiced.

Their care extended to our families as well. When the bride’s stepfather required a more comfortable chair in his room to be able to rest and sleep properly, the team addressed the request promptly and without hesitation. The solution was handled quickly and discreetly, reinforcing their commitment to the comfort and well-being of every guest.

In addition, during an extremely busy New Year’s period, we required extended time at the hotel, including early check-in and additional flexibility in the days leading up to the wedding. Despite the high occupancy and demands of the season, Austin and Malik never hesitated to assist us. They worked with us to ensure we had the time, space, and accommodations needed to prepare, all while maintaining the same exceptional level of service.

They generously accommodated us with a king suite and a queen suite for the night prior so we could remain separate, allowed us to rehearse elements of our wedding in their office conference space, and ensured our guests were cared for with the same level of attention we received. They even surprised us with champagne waiting in our suite. Each detail, no matter how small, was handled with precision and genuine care.

Beyond the flawless execution, what truly set this experience apart was the sense of connection we felt. Over the course of our stay and planning process, we did not just feel like guests. We felt like we had made friends and even family along the way. That level of warmth and personal investment is rare and speaks volumes about the character of this team.

We trusted this team with one of the most important weekends of our lives, and they exceeded every expectation. Austin and Malik represent the platinum-diamond standard of hotel concierge and hospitality service. They embody exactly what A+ service should look like and are a credit not only to this property, but to the Marriott brand as a whole. This level of service sets this property apart not only within the Fairfield brand, but across the hospitality industry as a whole. Marriott leadership should be incredibly proud of the team at this location.

We would also like to sincerely thank the incredible supporting staff who helped make our wedding weekend flawless: Ta’jal, Tim, Letitia, Lauren, Brian (Maintenance), John, Jihad, Quamir, and many others who worked behind the scenes to ensure everything ran smoothly. Every interaction reflected professionalism, warmth, and a genuine desire to help.

The wedding of Lauren and Farrell Moskow would not have been possible, nor nearly as successful, without Austin, Malik, and the outstanding Fairfield Inn & Suites team. We will absolutely return to this property whenever we are in Philadelphia and will confidently call upon this team again whenever we need accommodations or support in the future. We would recommend this property without hesitation to anyone planning a wedding, milestone event, or high-stakes stay, knowing they will be cared for at the highest possible level. If it were possible to rate this experience beyond the standard scale, we would give it 10 out of 5 stars without hesitation. Their level of care, professionalism, and execution is simply unmatched.

We loved our wedding here! The team, led by Gerard was amazing. Our guests raved about the food and everything was so wonderful. It was so easy to have our ceremony, cocktail, hour and reception all in the same area and in such a great place in Philly. Cannot recommend more!

The Marriott Downtown was such an amazing find for our wedding day. First, the ballroom is absolutely beautiful with such elegance and class (and the balcony looking out to City Hall is so fun!). The staff is extremely professional and made everything run smoothly leading up to and on our day. On top of that, the hotel is large and centrally located, so it has everything that you or your guests might want. We had a lot of out of town guests but never had to worry about having enough space (even though we expanded our room block twice). The hotel has a Starbucks, a market, a gym, a bar, multiple restaurants all right in the lobby so we knew our guests would be well taken care of. We had our rehearsal dinner there as well and were so impressed by the venue. The luxury of the experience, the ease of planning, and the stunning beauty of the spaces were all so incredible, and especially given the extremely reasonable price tag, we would highly recommend the Marriott to anyone planning a wedding in Philly!

This was our main hotel for all of our out of town guests for our wedding. We had over 50 rooms reserved here. The staff was SUPER helpful and accommodating, answering my ever need! Early/Late check-in's and out's- they made everything super stress free! We also had a post wedding brunch at Restaurant 13 and the staff was absolutely amazing! The best!

My wedding on 9/28/19 was the most amazing time because of the Marriott! Barbara was our sales woman and was amazing to work with. She explained all the details and showed us where the event would be held. Once we booked, she even offered us free flyers tickets in a box! It was the best time!

Gerard Mendoza was our Wedding Planner & he was the most incredible person! He catered to our every need, was always quick to respond to any questions we had. We wanted to make a lot of changes to the food and other things and Gerard made it happen. He made the whole day stress free for us. He even got little gifts for our flower girl & ring bearer and was pretty much taking care of them throughout the night. Everything looked beautiful and turned out amazing! Gerard gave us the suite for an extra night and provided transportation for our honeymoon as well. He goes above and beyond and is simply amazing at what he does! I would put my full trust in him for any event. I cannot thank Gerard and the Marriott enough for making my wedding the day I have always dreamed about!

Great place to celebrate your special event. My guests had a lot of fun. Thank you

My groom and I had an incredible experience with our 10/20/18 wedding at the Marriott. I wrote a small novel to share our experience but I wished there were more reviews when I booked the Marriott so I hope this helps! Here are a few of the major areas where we had a great experience with the Marriott team.

* Intros / Contract – We started the process with Barbara Bruck who gave us our tour, after which she treated us to a drink and apps at the lobby rest ‘13’. She was very accommodating during the process and stayed in touch but was not pushy. She also provided a detailed folder of information with menus, and floor plans of event space and guest rooms which I used up through the event to help with planning.
* Planner Assignment – after working with Barbara, Gerard Mendoza was assigned as our day of coordinator. He was AMAZING from the beginning – immediately started off very personable, responsive to all requests, and I never had to keep pushing on any specifics (he just remembered and got it done). He was on vacation out of the country the week prior to our event but was still responsive to questions, and his team was able to help me through questions in his absence. Once the event was over – we genuinely missed Gerard since we got so used to talking to and emailing him for the past 10 months! He also made a huge impression on our parents, and even our bridal party, who consistently said he was extremely helpful, friendly, never stressed, and provided any day of request without hesitation.
* Pricing – One of the most attractive points of the Marriott is the package that they offer and the all inclusive rates for tax/gratuity. It was an extremely reasonable cost especially for Center City Philadelphia. Gerard also threw in a handful of extras beyond what our package stated which was a huge treat.
* Accommodations – a huge benefit of the Marriott is the amount of rooms that were provided as part of the package. I (bride) was given a VP Suite starting Friday evening and was used for bridal prep the day of wedding and sleep the night of. This was a 3 bay room with a full dining room, living room, kitchen, powder room, and then a standard bedroom with huge bathroom. More than enough space for 3 makeup artists, 6 girls, bride, moms, and a few others that hung out during the day. See pics for a few of the VP suite. The groom was given his own room for Friday night which was attached to a “grooms suite” which was a cool wood paneled room for groomsmen prep, as well as storage for all of our DIY items. Our parents were upgraded to Marquis Suite rooms (living room area, small kitchenette, bed/bath). The other point is we had multiple requests for locations of other guests’ rooms – to ask that they be near parent rooms/etc to accommodate children. Gerard did a great job accommodating all of these requests which was extremely helpful for our parents. He also guaranteed late checkout for us, and allowed us to have the groomsmen suite/storage room through Monday so we had enough time to pack up and remove all of our decorations. This was a really stress free part of the process and I can’t imagine having to have planned all of this with an independent hotel if we had chosen a venue without a hotel attached.
* Food – we had heard great things about the food prior to our event, and we were glad we heard correctly! First the tasting is amazing – come hungry! Lots of apps of your choice, plus you get a healthy tasting of each of the entrée options. When it came time to pick our selections, Gerard was very generous and threw in a few extra app options since we had too many favorites. As for the day of, we had no complaints on the food – the guests loved all of the options at cocktail hour. There were multiple servers walking apps, there was hand passed champagne and wine, and the pasta station was a hit. We really loved the soup/salad combo for the appetizer which was unique and the guests said it was delicious. The entrees were great - Gerard forced me to eat dinner (thank you!) and the filet was so tender and a very generous size. They were also very accommodating to food allergies – we had a few GF plates which were no problem, and a couple major milk/nut allergies and they were very keen on cross contamination. As for the bars, we worked with them on bar placement to make sure we had enough bartenders per guests, and I had multiple compliments on the signature drink and lack of long lines to get a cocktail.
* Extras – Gerard isn’t just the Marriott “do-er” – he helps with so many other things, here are just a few of the extras that he provided to us throughout the process:
- Uplighting – he provided a deal on uplighting through the in-house vendor which saved us hundreds of $$ after obtaining independent quotes from other vendors, and it looked amazing the night of.
- Meals – we met multiple times over lunch at ‘13’ and was always covered – even the day before the wedding, the groom grabbed lunch with a couple friends – Gerard popped in and saw, and made sure the entire meal was covered.
- Welcome Reception – prior to our Rehearsal at the church, Gerard organized a 1 hour cocktail reception with wine/beer/cheese – which was so nice for family/friends to congregate before our walk to church which was also just provided by the Marriott
- Pre-Cocktail Hour Reception – additionally the day of, we had a private bridal party only cocktail reception with wine/beer and all of the passed apps for cocktail hour – gave us an opportunity to take a breath and EAT prior to mingling with all of the guests
- Room Treats – Gerard made sure all of the parents had drinks waiting in their rooms based on their taste, and cheese plates on Friday to have a mid day snack. He even made sure that a few of our friends who had just flown in had drinks sent up to their room. Beyond that, we had choco covered strawberries and full coffee/drink service the day of the wedding. They even brought some cake to my room so I could enjoy it the next day since I didn’t have time the night of
- Setup/Help – I had a handful of DIY items I brought – Gerard’s team helped to setup the day of, and pack up after the reception. The also made sure all some things I didn’t want lost (champagne flutes, cake cutters) were delivered to room with the cards/gifts and other valuable items.
* Staff/Service– overall, the staff was amazing, from all of the servers the night of, to even the staff at the lobby restaurant ‘13’. The night of, they had one server dedicated by table (we had 23 tables) and they were able to get plates cleared quickly and have food put on the tables quick. My MIL worked in catering for years and was quite impressed, which reinforced my thoughts that they did an amazing job in that regard.
* Overall – we were extremely pleased with our experience at the Marriott and would recommend it to anyone – especially working with Gerard!! We had a family party 2 weeks post wedding and still had people gushing over how amazing everything was - wish we could do it again!

We had a wonderful wedding at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. From the beginning, we met with Barbara who was extremely hospitable. My husband and I went to take a tour with her, and we were greeted with welcome bags and then cocktails after the tour. We went to look again with our mothers, and the same thing happened for them - it was such a nice treat! We were then given a coordinator, Gerard, who was great from beginning to end. He also responded promptly to emails, and checked in on us the entire wedding weekend. The quality of service that my husband and our families received was top notch the entire weekend. Gerard was also FANTASTIC with motivating our 3 year old ring bearer - his parents were so impressed, as were we. The wedding itself went very smoothly - we heard great feedback from our guests for the food and bar - which we thought was delicious as well. The lights were turned off once the dancing got fully underway around 9 or so, which made it really dark in the room, but that is really my only complaint and I'm sure we could have asked them to be turned up a little bit without a problem - but we were having too much fun at that point! Also, for the tasting, definitely go hungry!! There was so much amazing food. We had a fantastic time for our wedding there and we would highly recommend this venue.

Our wedding was an unforgettable night thanks to everyone we dealt with at the Marriott ! Gerard , especially, was very accommodating and helped us create the best evening! The liberty ballroom is beautiful and elegant . The bathrooms are clean and updated . Food is awesome ! Guests are steps away from their hotel room - which is great after a long night of dancing! I would highly recommend this venue !

YOU HAVE TO BOOK YOUR WEDDING AT THE MARRIOTT DOWNTOWN!!! It was an unbelievable, over the top experience. I cannot say enough good things about the people, venue and food. We had exceptional service throughout the entire wedding planning process (from initial site visit to contact signature to the day of the wedding and after). The Marriott Downtown made us feel so special. The attentiveness, the service, the food, I cannot say better things about our experience with them. The first thing we noticed when we went on our initial site visit was that Marriott employees are THE BEST, everyone from the valet guys, to check-in attendants, room service people, they are the friendliest employees ever. I also cannot say enough wonderful things about our event planner, Gerard, he is amazing. He was professional, extremely responsive and knowledgeable. He truly made us feel like home at the Marriott and helped us create the perfect wedding. If you are considering having your wedding in the heart of Philadelphia, you have to have it at the Marriott Downtown!!!

We had our wedding at the Marriott Downtown a few weeks ago. From the start, Patrick, our wedding coordinator, was amazing. He was so organized, helpful, very attentive (to my thousands of emails) and patient, and was one of the reasons why our wedding was great. The Marriott has amazing service and really takes care of their bride/groom along with all of their guests. We had around 105 guests which was a nice size for the Liberty Ballroom. All of our guests commented on how pretty the actual ballroom was. The food was also delicious which we also got comments on. The guest hotel rooms were also really nice and clean with no complaints. Patrick was so flexible and accommodating with every request. Everything was so easy having it all in one place with such a helpful staff and Patrick that we are so glad that we chose to have our wedding there. Thank you!

Will was amazing! She made sure everything was perfect from start to finish. She was very accommodating. The ballroom was beautiful. The food was incredible. The cocktail hour was delicious especially the sushi bar. Everything went according to plan and we couldn't have asked for better service.

We used the Mariott for our hotel block and their service was incredible. As the bride and groom, they truly made us feel special. The night of our wedding was made extra special when we came in to a little card reading, "Mr. and Mrs. Koch" a long with chocolate covered strawberries and some champagne.

We had the BEST WEDDING EVER and the Philadelphia Marriott was partly to blame. Their staff (especially Gerard Mendoza and Katie) went above and beyond what I would have expected and took care of absolutely everything from making sure I was able to change into flip-flops when my feet hurt to collecting of our belongings by the end of the night (guest book, cards, table numbers) and having them in our upgraded room before we even started looking for them. We have had so many compliments on how amazing the food was and how beautiful the Liberty Ballroom looked. This staff is professional and 110% accommodating. We loved being in a place where our guests could go right down to the hotel lobby bar after the party, stay over and then meet for breakfast the next morning. Highly recommend!

The Marriott made the wedding of my dreams come true, and more. From the start, the staff was creative, flexible, and devoted. Our banquet manager, Gerard, in particular went above and beyond. From the tasting, to the amenities he provided my family and I, to the personalized attention he gave my wedding, I truly could not have asked for more. Beautiful venue, phenomenal food, and service that truly sets the standard.

We held our reception and overnight accomodations for the wedding weekend at the Marriott Downtown. Service aside - which was phenomenal and I'll get to later. Logistically - this hotel was perfect to host a wedding weekend. Many of our guests complimented the centralized location, which offered ease and many options for our out-of-town guests. Between nearby bars and restuarants and several transportation options - this hotel was the best decision we made for our friends and family. Also - as a bride, with last minute needs, the on-site FedEx and Starbucks (of course) was a lifesaver for last minute details!

The service staff was exceptional. The hotel, restaurant, and valet staff were very helpful, courteous, and professional to our guests. And the biggest value and help was our Event Manager, Gerard Mendoza. For the past 12 months, Gerard has been my right hand man. He was responsive, helpful, thoughtful and very professional. The food was delicious, the guest rooms were clean and spacious, and the staff was friendly and very helpful every step of the way.

The Liberty and Independence ballrooms - they're worth every penny. Grand and warm and intimate at the same time. Our guests felt comfortable and well taken care of the entire weekend.

Hands down - the Marriott Downtown was the best decision we made to host our wedding celebration.

Before I got married I lived on these review boards. I know how important feedback from other Brides can be. I spent a lot of time reviewing and planning, after all, after 33 years, I wanted this day to be PERFECT! I am thrilled to say it was! I also can say, you don't need to spend any more time reviewing. If you are getting married in Philadelphia you have to do it at The Marriott Downtown. There isn't one thing I would change about my experience from start to finish it was wonderful.

We had met with many venues in center city and after a lot of review decided on The Marriott downtown. We had the pleasure of meeting our event planner, Gerard Mendoza. I cannot say enough about him except if you are lucky enough to work with him you will see why. We had a fun food tasting and got to bring our close family. It was such a fun experience and helped us figue out what we wanted our entrees to be and all of the appetizers as well!The food was AMAZING! I never knew The Marriott had professional chefs there! Throughout the planning Gerard helped and there wasn't one thing he said no to or made difficult. He is passionate about this and a true professional. I had a HUGE Suite to get ready in with the bridesmaids and they let us have it a couple of additional days before we took off on our honeymoon.

Everything went smoothly with the help of our wedding planner, Gerard. We even had a hiccup with the limo driver. They didn't show up but The Marriott helped with that and got us all to the church. It is a BEAUTIFUL ballroom and I have the most BEAUTIFUL pictures now. Our guests have been telling us how impressed they were from check in to check out at The Marriott.

I know that if I had to go back in time, I would still chose The Marriott hands down. There is so much to think about and possibly stress about on your big day but they have it covered here! They will take care of you and make your big day special and run exactly how you want it!

We are so happy that we decided to have our wedding at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. Everyone we worked with throughout the planning process was helpful, patient, available, and knowledgeable about the process.

Our initial interactions prior to booking were with Nicole Trotter. She was extremely helpful in working with us to define the terms of the contract and she made sure that we were getting a fantastic deal that included all of the features that we wanted our wedding to have.

After booking, we worked (for months) with Gerard Mendoza to plan our wedding. Gerard was amazing to work with and it’s primarily because of him that our wedding turned out to be spectacular. Gerard assisted us in making all the major decisions and was always available to answer my many, many questions about the different elements of the wedding. Gerard was very flexible in letting us do what we wanted and he made sure that all of the details were taken care of. We did not have to worry at all on the day of the wedding because he ran the show and worked with all of the vendors. All we had to do was get ready and get caught up in the moment.

We held both the ceremony and reception in Marriott’s Liberty Ballroom. The room was decorated exactly as we discussed, all of the details we had worked on were set up to our specifications, and the day progressed on schedule. All of the staff, including the waiters, bellmen, and bartenders were friendly and professional throughout the day.

One of the elements of the day that particularly stands out is the food. We LOVED everything we had at the tasting and it was very hard to choose what we wanted for dinner. We must have chosen correctly because we still get compliments on how good the food was. We had different options for appetizers and dinner and based on feedback from our guests everyone loved everything that they tasted.

I highly recommend having a wedding at the Marriott.

I can’t even begin to say what a pleasure it was to work with the Marriott. My bridesmaids and I were completely spoiled by the Marriott during our stay-- I really felt like a queen in their care. The day of our wedding was flawless—every staff member was so kind and professional, particularly our event manager, Jessica. Jessica was a superhero—incredibly sweet and friendly, professional, and willing to bend over backwards to ensure the day was perfect.
Our wedding was a 200-guest Indian fusion wedding that was going to be very complicated—and about half our guests stayed at the Marriott. Jessica ensured perfection throughout the entire process and completely put me at ease. I was particularly impressed with how thoughtful and organized Jessica was—I had a lot of little details (tablecloth color, lots of diy decorations, a special memorial table, etc) and she fulfilled everything I asked, exactly to my vision. My centerpieces had to be partially put together at the Marriott and Jessica and her staff executed them perfectly. We brought so many boxes of decorations and supplies the day before it looked like we were moving in, but Jessica remembered to set everything out—beautifully--and when my husband picked up our stuff the next day, every last thing had been packed up neatly and in perfect condition by the Marriott staff.
Every staff member we encountered was so kind (and I mean everyone—we even had an amazing bellhop who packed up our entire hurricane of a room the next day because I was literally too exhausted to move). I’d also like to give a special shout-out to our bartender, Sharnette, who concocted the most impressive specialty drinks I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting (strawberry-lavender vodka, anyone?). The Liberty Ballroom was a stunning backdrop to our festivities with its gorgeous crystal chandeliers and portico overlooking Market Street. Overall, I can’t say enough good things about the Marriott.

Dion Sanchez at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown is fantastic! We were assigned to Dion after our original coordinator was promoted. At first I was disappointed - then we talked to Dion and felt so at ease.

I am a planner. Like obsessive compulsive, spreadsheets for my vacation packing lists planner. I had an itinerary of the entire weekend prepared months in advance, had designed a guestbook/placecard table with crazy bridezilla intricacies and one night got extremely sad that I couldn't work my own wedding. Like wished there was a body double that could attend the wedding and I could work it. Well ya can't. So Dion did and he did an AMAZING job and did not at all disappoint. My crazy designs were set up flawlessly, he worked amazingly well with all of my vendors preventing those back-and-forth headaches from being pulled in all directions. He was spectacular along with his team.

Alicia and Katie both were amazing - running my shoe changes back and forth to the table, handing me my lipstick before our entrance, lint rolling my dress when it was collecting lint from the carpets, etc. etc. I could go on all day.

Dion feeding us crab cakes and ravioli's before we did our entrance and then magically having a mint for me afterwards so I didn't have crab breath for our first dance. They really catered to us.

I'm always disappointed with wedding food, so at our tasting (which they allowed us to bring 4 people to - how awesome?) when the food was OUT OF THIS WORLD, I was nervous that it wouldn't be AS good on the wedding day. Night of the wedding we were SHOCKED the food was spectacular, just like we had at the tasting. In fact, since we were up and around with our families and friends, our food came out when we sat down (a little later than everyone elses) and it was still hot and delicious. Everyone raved about it.

The points system with Marriott is great. Get the Marriott Credit card for 50K points + 50K points for getting married there! Wahoo!

The Downtown Marriott (Independence Ballroom) provided exceptional service and catered to my families every request during the 18 months we planned my wedding. A wedding coordinator is paired with you from the moment your contract is signed and answers every question and request you could possibly have in addition to liaising with your outside vendors leading up wedding day. Every detail was perfect and our coordinator went above and beyond to ensure my family and 180 guests were well taken care of.

The decor was gorgeous, the food delicious, the staff professional and gracious, and in general we were made to feel extra special the entire weekend we spent at the hotel. This venue should be at the top of every Philly bride's venue list!

The Marriott Downtown was absolutely beautiful. The event planners did an amazing job getting every detail exactly right! They worked with me during the whole planning process and helped me so much. The decor was beautiful, the food was FABULOUS, and the staff were the best. All our guests were extremely impressed with every aspect of our reception. I couldn't imagine a more beautiful place for a wedding! Everything was truly perfect.

There is one word to describe this hotel and that is AMAZING. From the venue itself, to the food, and the service it was just an awesome experience. My husband and I as well as our guest had a wonderful time. I would definitely recommend this venue to anyone.

Every detail of my wedding at the Marriott was amazing. The employees we worked with responded very quickly to all questions I had and were flexilble when I had special requests. The food was amazing and the bakery the Marriott uses made a gorgeous and delicious cake! The ballroom was gorgeous without anything set up, but with the beautiful job my florist did, it was even more spectacular! We also had a brunch the next morning for guests who stayed overnight. This too was extremely well done! My only complaint is there were a few minor details I requested (which no one else would ever recognize) that were not followed through on. Despite this, the Marriott created a truly beautiful wedding for us!

I could not have asked for a better experience. Eveyone I dealt with at the Marriott was a true professional. Gerard, Katie and Anish were exceptional. Incredible servic and attention to detail.

This October, we had our 3-day, 5-event Indian wedding at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown. We had the best experience working with the venue from the initial meetings, emails, phone-calls, responsiveness, and follow through. Our events were in the Franklin Hall, Independence Ballroom, Liberty Ballroom, and Grand Ballroom. All of the event spaces where nicely managed, clean, and airy. We worked closely with Gerard Mendoza who was super helpful and flexible with us. The staff was culturally competent and totally understand about our cultural needs as well since we had a traditional Indian wedding. We were also assigned event staff who made sure we were well taken care of during the wedding events. I would highly recommended this venue for your future wedding, you will not be disappointed!

We held our ceremony at JWs balcony in the Marriott. The space was the nicest looking and best view, but was unfortunately noisy being that close to the lobby. We decided to hold it there anyway and just dealt with the noise since it was a short ceremony. Nicole and Mylene were great to work with and handled all of our requests. Nicole went above and beyond to resolve some initial problems we had reserving rooms and Mylene executed our day of events just the way we planned. Both very nice people. Great value if you're just doing your ceremony there and for guest rooms. A great location for out of town guests with the train station nearby and several available parking garages.

Great service, helpful in planning our wedding block and very attentive to our needs. All of the staff at the Marriott were very friendly, helpful and attentive.

We were one of the first weddings to use the Liberty Ballroom venue in the reading terminal annex (above the hard rock cafe) and it was beautiful. It was nice to be separated from the main hotel, yet have all the resources of the main hotel.

Since the review below is so harsh, I will start with the positive. 1) I am long time Philly resident and I had no idea the Liberty Ballroom was here. When we walked in for the first time, my jaw hit the floor. High ceilings, huge chandeliers, a big open balcony. During the reception, all of our guests kept told us how impressed they were with the space and it came out beautifully in pictures. If you want a traditional ballroom but can't afford the Bellevue, look here! 2) The food! Even before we had our tasting, every vendor I interviewed told me how fantastic the food was, and they were right. We had the short rib, the chicken and vegetable strudel and they were all good, not dry at all, with really well paired sides. They also have a dessert course as well, whether you choose to have a cake or not (they don't supply the cake). 3) The service. Although I'll talk a little bit about this below, all in all I was very sastisfied with the service. The week of our wedding, everyone from the valets to the waiters to the event staff was kind, attentive and flexiable.
To be realistic, however, there are few elements you should know ahead of time. Mainly, that this is a very, very busy hotel event staff. With the convention center next door, there seemed to be a new huge group there every time I stopped by. Because of this, in the beginning (I booked a year in advance) until about 3 months before the wedding, it was very hard to get answers. We started with one of the banquet managers, who booked the inital event, and it would take her two or three messages (voice and e-mail) before you got an answer of any kind. Then, she passed us onto our event manager Lisa who, once we hit 3-4 months out, was very attentive and good at responding to me and my mom quickly. Before that, however, I was pretty much left to my own devices. I was ok with this because I was extremly organized and on top of my to do list. If you're not like that however, and you don't have a wedding planner to do all that for you, this might not be the best place for you. Also, there was another event (a soroity formal no less) next door to mine and about 4 different large groups in the hotel. It took our guests a good 30-45 minutes just to check in and out because they were so busy. If you want a place were you are the only big attraction, this also might not be your place.
All in all, I loved the Marriott, Lisa and everyone invovled. It is a big hotel, but if you're ok with that, then I would defiantly call them!

Warning: Even though we booked 50 rooms with the Marriott, the whole process was terribly managed and they mischarged us an extra $2K for someone else's event.
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We used the Marriott for our wedding block since we were getting married in Center City Philly and someone else had recommended the Marriott (and in particular, the wedding coordinator). We booked our room block a year in advance with this particular coordinator and he was fantastic!! He was friendly, helpful, proactive -- all of the things you would look for when you work with someone for your wedding. Everything went downhill from there though when this wedding coordinator moved into a new role in June.

After he left, the Marriott put a temporary person in the position and then fully filled it not long after. I did not hear, by phone, from the new wedding coordinator until about a month and a half before the wedding and from Day 1, I found her to be reactive, uncommunicative, and simply not helpful when it came to specific details. For example, the hotel was unable to book three consecutive nights for my aunt because they said that our block did not cover all three nights (it did). As a result, my aunt had to make a separate reservation for each night, which would have involved checking in and out of the hotel every day. I asked the wedding coordinator to combine the three reservations, thinking I was doing my aunt a favor and then, when the coordinator finally took care of it... my aunt received a confirmation that the reservation was CANCELED! She then had to spend significant time on the phone trying to get it fixed.

Other issues included:
- The Marquis suite not being ready for check-in in at the normal check-in time of 4 PM
- They put new cards in some of the guest bags for us, but didn't put them in all creating confusion
- THEY CHARGED US FOR OUR BRUNCH PLUS A RUTGERS EVENT

Our wedding will be a few months at the Marriott Downtown, Liberty Ballroom. The Liberty Ballroom is beautiful and the location is very good. However, so far I regret booking with them because they have not returned my emails or given me answers to simple questions. The wedding website they said would be included has been impossible to set up and use. The 'carlos bakery cake' is a joke...because you dont actually meet with Buddy and you have to choose from a few boring wedding cakes per their contract. I really regret choosing the Marriott for my wedding. Brides beware. I will give an updated review after the wedding (July 14,2012), but so far I am very dissatisfied with the service.

This hotel has lost all credibility.

My fiance and I were finalizing our contract with the Marriott for our Nov 15th wedding of this year and were about to sign on the dotted line, when we were suddenly told that date was given to another couple via EMAIL!!! The events manager has the audacity to tell me she had my wrong phone number when she has called it many times over the past month and just last week. Also, she gave me an option of using the portion of the ballroom on the date we were planning for but clearly the other couple would have use!

After many specific discussions that we were working together to sign a contract and after numerous calls to the Marriott about setting up the final meeting, they had the audacity to tell us that we were to blame for the loss due to price per person and my tardiness to get back to her (hence, her lie of having my wrong phone number). You can read between the lines that this hotel is only looking out for their business while disregarding the customer. Now we are out of a wedding venue and no longer loyal patrons of Marriott worldwide. I will never step foot in another Marriott ever!
I strongly warn you if you are planning any event or wedding here that you should be prepared to work with dishonest staff members. I would not recommend this hotel for your ceremony or reception unless you want to pay $50k for dishonest catering and events staff. They were inflexible from the start, the manager we worked with was incompetent and had to always rely on her boss who was unwilling to meet with my finance and I to discuss the details in person. We were strung along in this process while they were signing the other couple. BE WARNED!