Review: Marriott Geneva Hotel, Switzerland

During our trip to Geneva, we spent our last night at the 263-room Marriott Geneva. We had an early morning flight out of Geneva, so staying at the Marriott seemed like the best option, given that this is sort of an airport hotel.

While I wasn’t able to check out everything (due to our early departure), I was generally impressed by this hotel. The Marriott Geneva only opened in 2022, so it’s one of the newer designed Marriotts, with modern rooms and nice public spaces. While I wouldn’t stay at this property with the intent of visiting Geneva, I’d absolutely return in a similar situation, with an early morning flight.

Booking the Marriott Geneva

We paid cash for our stay at the Marriott Geneva, and it wasn’t cheap (which isn’t surprising, given how expensive Geneva is). Our one night stay cost ~$300 all-in, which is of course a lot to spend for what’s ostensibly a nice airport hotel, but I didn’t see any better options that were still decent.

Of course I could have redeemed Marriott Bonvoy points for the stay, though the requirement was 45,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for the night we were staying. I value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.7 cents each, so I’d rather save my points for another redemption.

Marriott Geneva location & airport shuttle

The Marriott Geneva is essentially located in a business park not far from Geneva Airport (GVA). It’s an area that has clearly seen a lot of development in recent years, and it’s also not far from the Palexpo International Exhibition and Convention Center.

I got the sense that most guests at the hotel were business travelers with commitments in the immediate area, with only a minority of passengers using this as an airport hotel. Fortunately the hotel offers a complimentary hotel shuttle, which is a treat in Europe.

The shuttle runs every 20 minutes on a set schedule from 4AM until 12AM, so we found that to be super handy. The drive to and from the airport only took a few minutes.

Let me emphasize that I wouldn’t stay here if your goal is to actually go into town, as it’s not well located for those purposes (though there’s always public transportation, if you don’t mind the commute).

Marriott Geneva lobby & check-in

The Marriott Geneva has an open and modern lobby. Just inside the entrance to the lobby and to the right is plenty of comfortable seating, in a variety of configurations.

The hotel’s restaurant is the main part of the lobby, as there’s no real separation between that and the other areas. It makes the lobby a bit more lively than you’d typically find in a hotel.

Reception was located inside the lobby and to the left, and consisted of four separate desks. We were quickly checked in by a friendly associate, who acknowledged my Bonvoy Titanium Elite status. While there were no suite upgrades available, we were upgraded to a king premium room, and we were granted access to the club lounge.

Within minutes we had keys in hand, and headed up to our room. Note that the lobby also has an area with drinks and snacks for purchase, which is open 24/7.

Marriott Geneva guest room

The Marriott Geneva has 11 floors (plus a rooftop), and we were assigned a room on the ninth floor. The hotel has five sets of elevators, located in the back far right of the lobby.

We were assigned room 910, located down the hall on the ninth floor, and to the right.

The king premium rooms at the hotel are marketed as being 291 square feet (27 square meters), so they’re compact, but still modern and well designed. The room featured an entryway, with an exposed closet area to the right and the bathroom to the left.

The room then had a king size bed with a bench at the foot of it, a sofa of sorts, and a desk with a chair.

I found the bed to be comfortable, and appreciated the outlets on each side (as you’d expect for a new hotel).

There was also a wall-mounted TV across from the bed.

With so many hotels having eliminated desks, I was happy to see that this room had one. However, there wasn’t really an ideal setup if two people wanted to eat in the room, since the only other seating was on the couch.

The room didn’t have much in the way of views — it just looked at another hotel, and at nearby roads.

Waiting on the table at the end of the room was a welcome gift of sorts. This consisted of two reusable bottles that were intended to promote sustainability. The catch? These were plastic bottles… oy, what an odd “sustainability” effort.

Back near the entrance was the in-room coffee and tea setup, which included a Nespresso machine and a kettle. I believe only premium rooms at the hotel have a Nespresso machine, so that’s one difference between the rooms (as the premium rooms aren’t larger).

The bathroom was back at the entrance, and had a sink, a walk-in shower, and a toilet. Annoyingly, it was one of those showers with half a glass shield, which I’ll never fully wrap my head around.

Toiletries were in reusable, wall-mounted containers, from thisworks.

All-in-all, I thought the room was perfectly nice. It was modern and functionally designed, though definitely a bit compact.

Marriott Geneva restaurant & bar

The Marriott Geneva’s main restaurant is called Moments Social Eatery, and it’s an all-day dining restaurant located in the lobby. The restaurant has all kinds of seating options, from high-top communal tables, to couches, to standard dining tables.

The hotel serves breakfast in this restaurant from 6:30AM until 10:30AM, and this is also where club lounge guests can eat in the morning. Unfortunately because of our early flight, we weren’t able to have breakfast here, but below is part of the buffet setup (without any food).

Then the restaurant has an a la carte selection from 10:30AM until 11PM. We ended up having a late lunch (or early dinner, really) here, as it was raining outside, and we were exhausted after being at a wedding over the weekend. Below you can find the restaurant’s lunch and dinner menu.

Ford and I both ordered the vegetarian burger. At 32 CHF (~35 USD) it was super pricey, but Geneva does have high costs for just about everything. At least it was tasty.

In addition to the lobby restaurant, the Marriott Geneva also has Suite 1201, which is a rooftop bar on the 12th floor. It’s open from 5AM until 12AM on Wednesdays through Saturdays. We were staying one of the days where it was closed, so we weren’t able to visit.

Marriott Geneva club lounge

The Marriott Geneva has a club lounge (referred to as “M Club”), located on the ground floor. It’s at the back of the lobby, and there’s a door to the right — you could easily miss it if you’re not looking carefully. The lounge is open 24/7, and can be accessed by those who pay for such a room, as well as Bonvoy Platinum Elite members and above.

The club lounge was small but quite nice, with dining tables, sofas, and other chairs for relaxing. There was even an outdoor area where you can sit, though that wasn’t an option, given the rain.

I briefly checked out the club lounge in the afternoon, before the evening reception.

There were light snacks available, like candy, cookies, nuts, and chips.

On top of that, there was a coffee machine, as well as a selection of soft drinks.

Unfortunately we didn’t make it to the happy hour, as we went to bed super early due to being tired.

Marriott Geneva gym

The Marriott Geneva has a 24/7 gym on the second floor. The gym was quite large, with a variety of modern weight and cardio equipment.

I always try to photograph gyms when they’re empty (to respect the privacy of others), but despite visiting literally eight times to get pictures (including at 3AM), I didn’t once manage to get the gym completely empty. So below is a picture of part of the gym from the hotel’s website.

Bottom line

The Marriott Geneva is a modern and comfortable hotel, and it’s probably one of the better Marriott branded properties I’ve stayed at in some time. The hotel has a convenient location if you want to stay near the airport, or if you have business in the immediate area. However, I definitely wouldn’t recommend staying here if you want to sightsee in Geneva, or be right in the heart of the action.

The hotel is definitely on the pricey side for what’s basically an airport hotel, but then again, that just reflects that Geneva is an expensive city.

What do you make of the Marriott Geneva?