A Visit to the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel

A Visit to the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel

Braille Monitor

May 2004

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A Visit to the Atlanta

Marriott Marquis Hotel

by

Barbara Pierce

From the Editor: In

2000 we carried an article describing the layout of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis.

Some names have changed, but by and large the layout is the same. So, with adjustments

to the names, we reprint the May 2000 article for your use again this year to

prepare for our national convention.

The

spectacular fifty-story atrium of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel,

headquarters for the 2004 convention of the National Federation of the

Blind.

I don't know about you,

but I always find it helpful to know something about a convention hotel before

walking into it for the first time. Several people who have already visited

this year's convention headquarters hotel have pooled their information to give

you a preview of the beautiful Atlanta Marriott Marquis, and I have tried to

present the material in a way you will find useful. I am grateful to them for

their help, and I take full responsibility for any errors or confusion that

may have crept in.

The

main entrance of the Marriott faces Peachtree Center Avenue, which is west of

the hotel. To reach the Marriott from the street, you walk east through a covered

courtyard formed by the Marquis One Office Tower on the south and the Marquis

Two Office Tower on the north. At the east end of the courtyard are the main

entrance doors.

The

hotel lobby is long and narrow along its east-west axis. The bell stand and

hotel registration desk are on the north side of the lobby at the west end,

and the concierge desk is between the main entrance doors on the west end. On

the south side at that end is access to the Executive Center, a complex of meeting

rooms named for wines and wine-growing regions--Bordeaux, Rhine, Chardonnay,

etc. To the east of this area are the health center (free to hotel guests and

open from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.) and a locker area. At the east end of the

building on the south side of the lobby are more meeting rooms, this time named

for rivers--Tigris, Danube, Thames, etc. Along the north wall of the lobby are

hotel offices. Two elevators connecting the lobby level with the Convention

and International Levels and the parking garage are located at the east end.

Stairs and escalators leading down to the Convention Level and up to the Garden

Level can be found at the west end of the lobby (south of the hotel registration

desk).

The

elaborate set of glass elevators in the spectacular fifty-story atrium pictured

in the accompanying photograph occupies the center of the lobby and can be reached

on every floor by crossing any of up to four balustraded bridges. A word should

be said about the elevators. All fifteen are located in the center of the atrium

and stop at the Convention, Lobby, Garden, and Skyline Levels, but it is important

to board the one traveling to the guest-room floor you are hoping to reach.

They divide like this: floors 1 to 17, 18 to 30, 31 to 41, and 42 to 47. If

you should find yourself heading to the wrong part of the hotel, press the button

for the Skyline Level, which is the tenth floor. Stairs connect the Skyline

Level with both the ninth and eleventh floors.

The

Garden Level is immediately above the lobby. Several restaurants are located

on this floor. The west portion of the Garden Level is connected to the larger

east side by walkways on both sides of the escalators and stairs that lead down

to the main entrance. The courtyard in front of the hotel is beneath this west

end. Access to the two office towers is from the south and north sides of this

central space. Several retail shops, including a gift shop, are located in the

center of this west end, and a group of four meeting rooms occupies the far

west end and northwest corner of the space. These rooms are named for glamorous

get-away spots--Shangri La, Riviera, South Hampton, and Monte Carlo.

The

entrance to the Peachtree Center Mall is on the south side of the west section.

Access to the food court, a number of shops, and the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid

Transit Authority (MARTA) system is from this point on the Garden Level.

If

you walk east a bit you will come to the two curving staircases leading to the

Grandstand Lounge, which is partially suspended over the west end of the atrium.

You can enjoy a casual drink while viewing the fifty-story atrium from this

comfortable lounge. Hours: 4:30 p.m. to 12:00 midnight.

On

the south wall of the Garden Level at about this point is Champions, the American

Sports Bar. Choose from a wide assortment of appetizers, burgers, sandwiches,

and salads. Champions is open for lunch, dinner, and late-night entertainment.

It also offers wine, cocktails, and beers from sixteen countries. Entertainment

includes twenty-six televisions with satellite technology, two big screens,

basketball, football, and eighteen-hole putting games, pool tables, and more.

Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.

At

the north side of the Garden Level at the west end of the atrium is the entrance

to the Marquis Steakhouse: great steaks with a southern flair. Dinner is served

nightly from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and features traditional steakhouse fare

with southern culinary accents complemented by an outstanding wine list.

One

of the most attractive features of the Marriott Marquis is the Atrium Express,

located southeast of the Steakhouse. Quick fare includes specialty coffee drinks,

breakfast pastries, juices, fresh fruit, sandwiches, and sweets. Hours vary.

You can order quick-to-prepare items and carry them to nearby tables.

Almost

in the northeast corner of the Garden Level is Allie's American Grille: traditional

American cuisine, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It features a hearty

breakfast buffet every morning. The hours are breakfast: 6:00 a.m. to 11:00

a.m.; lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; dinner 5:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight. In

the southeast corner of the Garden Level is the indoor/outdoor swimming pool,

but please note that access to it is from the health club on the Lobby Level.

The

Convention Level is one floor below the lobby. The west end contains several

meeting rooms named for world cities--Sydney, Bonn, London, and Zurich. The

State and Cabinet Rooms are also in this area. The Marquis Ballroom occupies

the north wall of the Convention Level across most of its west-to-east length.

The smaller Imperial Ballroom, which divides into Ballrooms A and B, occupies

the south wall across from Marquis Ballroom 2. Two smaller meeting rooms (the

Consulate and Summit Rooms) extend a bit to the north at the east end of Imperial

Ballroom B, forming a shallow alcove at this entrance.

The

southeast area of the Convention Level contains a number of meeting rooms named

mostly for Canadian and European cities. An escalator connecting the Convention

Level with the lobby of the International Level is at this east end of the hotel

along with the two elevators already mentioned.

The

International Level (formerly known as the Exhibit Level) is immediately below

the Convention Level, on the hotel's east and south sides. The Courtland Street

entrance is also in the International Level lobby.

If

you are among those who made your room reservations early, you will be glad

to know that guest rooms at the Marriott are equipped with irons and ironing

boards, coffee makers, and hair dryers. If all the information about this year's

convention opportunities has convinced you to join us in Atlanta but you haven't

yet made your reservation, the Marriott may still have space by the time you

read this, but our overflow hotel, the Hilton Atlanta and Towers, certainly

does have room just across Courtland Street. The rooms at the Hilton are beautifully

appointed. They are also equipped with hair dryers, coffee makers, and irons.

The Hilton, too, has wonderful restaurants (five of them, including Trader Vic's),

and its elevators are likely to be less crowded.

To

make your room reservation at either of our hotels, call their direct numbers:

for the Marriott (404) 521-0000 and for the Hilton Atlanta and Towers (404)

659-2000. Like those at the Marriott, NFB convention room rates at the Hilton

are singles, doubles, and twins, $59; and triples and quads, $65, plus tax of

14 percent. Both hotels will want a $60 deposit, for which you can use a credit

card, and the charge will be made against your card immediately and then applied

to your hotel bill. Please note that both hotels have designated guest rooms

for smokers and a lounge in which smoking is permitted, but otherwise they are

smoke-free facilities.

The 2004 convention will

be like no other we have ever conducted. You won't want to miss the event, and

it won't be the same without you. So make your travel arrangements and room

reservation at the hotel of your choice, and join us June 29 to July 5 for the

most exciting and informative gathering of the blind to take place in 2004.

See you in Atlanta.

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