Bethesda Marriott Reviews

We are SO HAPPY with the Bethesda Marriott. From start to finish, we had the best experience. Jim was our sales manager and he was super nice and helpful with figuring out if this was the right fit. From there we worked with the event coordinator, Michelle Le, who truly made our dreams come true. Super responsive via email, was there for the entire process including the day of the event. She went ABOVE AND BEYOND to make sure everything was perfect, including but certainly not limited to setting up our tables while we were at the church. The entire staff at this hotel is incredible and they all deserve raises. I am so thankful for everyone there and can’t recommend it enough!

We hosted wedding for 270 people last January. Everything was OUTSTANDING. We had an amazing Senior Event Mgr, Catrena Townes who worked tirelessly to ensure our daughters day was what she dreamed of. People raved about the food and the chef was 5 star. Accommodations for guests were perfect and at a very attractive rate. I would not hesitate to recommend !!

The service/staff of Marriot made my wedding a breeze and a touch of peace during a happy but also stressful (lots of moving parts) day.
All in all thankful to have had a public space where my family could have gathered for my COVID wedding. Our wedding moving to Marriot was last minute, so we had short time of communication, nonetheless the Ms.K showed us the room and space. Great food options!

We had an extraordinary wedding event at the Bethesda Marriott. The venue looked magnificent – from the ceremony to the cocktail reception to the sit-down dinner. The table settings and chairs were gorgeous (we used white covers for the chairs with orange sashes for the Fall). The staff was unbelievably accommodating. We appreciated the good cheer, patience, incredible attention to detail, and unbelievable diligence of everyone assigned to our event - from the person with whom we signed the contract, to the incredible wedding planner, to the wait staff. They enabled us to enjoy the festivities with peace of mind, knowing that everything was under control. The food was delicious (one of my favorites was an awesome quesadilla bar). The guests loved it all, and raved over everything. We could not have hoped for anything more – having the event at the Marriott was truly the best decision we could have made!

As the first same-gender couple to be married at the Bethesda Marriott, my husband and I can report that the hotel and its staff were second to none when it came to helping us create the happiest day of our lives.

We first met with Sharon, one of the hotel's certified wedding planners, in late January. She made us feel very, very welcome, and she not only helped us understand what the hotel had to offer, she also pointed us in the direction of other vendors who might be able to help. That kind of thoughtfulness made a positive impression, and within a week, we knew we had found the right venue.

The great service continued as we worked with Sara, the Director of Event Planning, from that time onward. Sara exemplified everything we loved about the Bethesda Marriott: energetic, personal service; friendliness; a "What can we do for you?" attitude; and a superior level of responsiveness. From the food tasting in late May to the minutiae of event timing to the wedding-day stressors, Sara and her team handled it all without so much as a wrinkled brow. At every step along the way, she worked with us to make sure every detail was covered.

The result? Our wedding, from start to finish, went off without a single glitch, and it was EXACTLY as we had always imagined it! The Congressional Ballroom and the adjoining hallway bustled with activity, some of which was the wonderfully professional service of the hotel's staff as they cared for us and our guests. At no time did we think that something wasn't going as planned or needed to be different, because everything was PERFECT.

Everyone remembers their own wedding day, mostly because of the family and friends who are there. My husband and I also remember it for what the Bethesda Marriott was able to provide: a welcoming, friendly and professional staff who helped make our day everything we ever wanted.

A few snafu's during the planning process but the Marriott and our event manager Rosel Moral were quick to make things better. Our reception couldn't have been better. Guests keep telling us how great the food and service were. Thanks Marriott and Rosel!

Rosel and Carolyn did a fantastic job and were so helpful with everything! The wedding was beautiful, the food was amazing and everyone had a great time!

Everything was great!

Everyone we worked with at the Marriott was amazing. They were knowledgeable, helpful, friendly and just warm. We needed certain hours and they made it work for us and it made the day so much more smooth. I don't have a single complaint. One thing that would have been accomodating would be complimentary appetizers while we were getting dressed. They allowed me to use my outside caterer since I had already started paying her so I was a really happy bride. I would recommend without hesitation!! We loved them!

The evernt coordinators at the Bethesda Marriott were amazing. They did everything and all I had to do was show up. The food was great and the tables looked wonderful. We had a wonderful time.

This review is exclusively for using the Pooks Hill Marriott for a wedding block for out of town guests, and for the use of a common room in the hotel for a reception the night before the wedding. Pooks Hill Marriott is good value for the money, but keep in mind their location...near the interstate, but not particularly close to public transportation, so our guests took taxis to most locations. Djelika and the team at Pooks Hill were on top of everything, and even upgraded us to the Honeymoon Suite for the two nights (before and after) we were booked at the hotel. We appreciated the support we received, and would recommend them to anyone looking for a combination of value and service for their preparations in the Bethesda/Chevy Chase area.

Jennifer was our wedding coordinator from the Marriott, and she was great! We used the Congressional Ballroom because we loved the colors in it - hunter green, cranberry red, and gold. When all was decorated for the reception, it looked gorgeous. I would recommend this Marriott to anyone; the rooms are pretty comfortable, too!

My wife and I decided to go with the Bethesda Marriott – Pooks Hill as the hotel for our out-of-town wedding guests. It is a beautifully renovated property and in a great location. Unfortunately, the reservation process was a bit rocky as it took some convincing on our part to get Marriott to concede some of the perks we wanted for ourselves and our guests, such as free parking and complimentary breakfast. The original customer service representative was quite rude and unprofessional, but his supervisor stepped in and remedied the situation. Our local point-of-contact from then on, Rebecca Smoot, was very courteous and emailed us every week with updates on guest reservations. We ended up with a free room for our wedding night, and many of our guests commented on the nicely appointed rooms and delicious breakfast options.

This hotel is beautiful and it photographs well. Food was excellent. However, the wedding coordinator wasn't as responsive as I would have liked. Other than that, I would recommend this hotel.

The event planning team at the Bethesda Marriott were amazing! We had a number of menu options which as a vegetarian was important. Plus, my now husband is a chef so food was a big deal for our reception. They were incredibly accomidating for us and worked within our budget to make sure our day was special and unique, which can be a problem at some hotels, which makes weddings feel 'cookie-cutter'. That was not the case at all here. I would highly recommend them.

The good: their space was perfect for what we were looking for - an affordable, flexible indoor space that we could customize to our needs, where all our guests could stay and we could have everything in one place. The day of was wonderful and perfect - everything was set up beautifully, and our banquet manager Mike was phenomenal. They prepared a fully vegan menu for us, which was delicious (even according to the biggest meat eaters!) and exactly what we were looking for.

The bad: our point of contact, Brenda (who I believe is no longer there), made our planning process an absolute nightmare. When we did the handoff from the sales rep, they clearly did not speak about our needs and about what we were promised, and we had to start from square 1 . It was nearly impossible to get in touch with her throughout the process, and we would have to repeatedly send follow up emails over the course of weeks just to get a response. Once it was so bad we tried calling, but we couldn't get through to anyone helpful at the venue either. Thankfully we did not even see Brenda at all during the day of and just relied on our day-of coordinator that we brought ourselves. We were also disappointed with some lack of thoughtfulness on the day-of - they said they would provide a stage for the ceremony, but it was just the plain gray stage with nothing covering the floor of the stage or the steps (just a skirt around it). Thankfully our groomsmen sprung into action and went to Joan Fabric to make it look presentable.

TL;DR: the venue was great but be VERY aware of the fact that you will need to stay on top of things during the planning process. Double and triple check your contract for everything that you discussed with the sales rep before you sign it. And if you have any special needs, make sure they are clearly communicated to your event planner up front. And you MUST bring your own day-of coordinator to stay sane.

Overall our stay was fine. We booked over 30 rooms though and were not even comped 1 for the bride and groom. The housekeeping and other staff were extremely kind and helpful, but management and the front desk did not seem to care that so much of our family was spending so much money to stay at their hotel. I would not recommend them to another party looking for a block of rooms. Save your money and stay somewhere where they want your business.