TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Our daughter said we should stay on the waterfront, and we followed her advice -- the location was the best: easy access to the boardwalk, far enough away to be quiet. Our room and bathroom were great, my wife enjoyed the indoor pool, and we appreciated the walkway out of the hotel that let us avoid the steepest hills. The hotel's Achilles Heel was the single working elevator in the North building, whose doors had no ability to sense an arm, body or stroller before closing fast and hard. It was a running joke with guests: we saw strollers slammed, and a gentleman dropping everything in his hands upon impact. We suspect that same problem affected the non-working elevator, so folks (including us) tolerated the problem because there was no other way, apart from stairs, to reach rooms.

I booked 2 nights at the Halifax Marriot for our anniversary. I reserved a room with a King size bed and harbour view 3 months in advance. But when we arrived, they told us they had "given our room away", and offered us a room with 2 doubles a side-view of the harbour. My impression from talking to the hotel staff is they don't like people using Expedia/Booking.com/etc. If I had booked directly with them, they might have tried to rebook something or give us a partial refund. But because we booked through Expedia, all they gave us was some coupons for the lounge. Also, the first morning we went down for our complimentary breakfast, they lost our order and we ended up leaving after waiting 45 minutes. We will never go back there.

The Halifax Marriott Harbourfront has it all. Great location, outstanding staff and superior amenities. We hit a minor glitch at check-in, but the rooms supervisor, Jill, went the extra mile to smooth out the kinks. The front desk staff was extremely helpful and pleasant. The overall appearance of the hotel is very welcoming and the public spaces are very well maintained and offer many areas to sit and relax. Housekeeping does a great job and the property is spotless. Rooms are large with great lighting and lots of outlets. Bedding provides for a good night's sleep. The indoor pool is clean and provides a nice oasis within the hotel. The on property restaurants are all outstanding. Harbourstone located just off the lobby has a full bar, wonderful, varied menu and outstanding servers. Stone's Throw Patio provides a great ambiance overlooking Halifax harbor with a similar menu to Harbourstone. Balancing Rock Cafe has lighter fare and coffee. A special shoutout to Jenn in the lounge who goes above and beyond. Located on the Halifax Boardwalk, the hotel is convent to the casino, Scotia Mall (connected by raised walkway) and a myriad of shops and restaurants.

This did not start well, and did not end well either. I was happy to arrive and found every staff person kind and hospitable throughout my stay. But I was dismayed as I first entered my M club level room and did the usual walk around room tour. There were 2 dirty glasses sitting on the tray with the ice bucket. When I asked the housekeeper in the hall to replace them, she offered me another dirty glass from her cart. It was concerning to me and made me wonder about the cleaning in the rest of the room. As it turned out, I found 2 bugs in the washroom floor, (I photographed them) which added to my concerns. I found the room is missing up to date electronic connections, I would expect a Marriott to have USB and C outlets in the room? Not yet anyway. I also was missing any hooks in the bathroom. It looks like the bathroom has been recently updated, but no place to hang the dressing gown, or towels to keep them off the floor, so that they can be used again. I had booked a Club level room with the hopes of enjoying afternoon tea in the M club, but on that day they had booked a large tour group to eat in the club for an early dinner, and there was no room for other guests to sit. I left the hotel to find alternative options. I would have thought a tour group that size would have a private room to accommodate their meal. It looked like they were saving money and staff by using the Club facility. I had paid more to have Club access, but was not able to enjoy it. The one staff person working at the Club M that afternoon was quite overwhelmed. The staff at the front desk informed me that evening the same tour group were also booked and would be using the M Club for breakfast, which concerned me because I did not want to repeat the afternoon. They advised me to come at 7 am if I hoped to find space. That was not my weekend plan to have to get up for 7, just to use a facility that I was paying extra for. After further discussion, they were kind enough to offer me a voucher to have breakfast in the main restaurant, but why was that such a hard thing to decide to do, given I would eat the exact same food sitting in either location? Most concerning of all, when I was at the front desk Friday evening, three females, mid teens, came to the desk clerk to purchase some snacks from the attached grab and go shop. They asked the clerk, a young man, to charge the snacks to their room. With me standing right near them at the desk, the clerk asked them, “What is your room number?” which the girls provided, so that anyone else in the vicinity could hear. I was quite shocked, and have always believed that a front desk clerk protects the security of guests, and does not speak or share room numbers, particularly of females, with others in the vicinity. The morning I checked out, I asked the front desk person,( who is lovely) if I could have the General Manager's name, or card? She did not know their name, she did not have a card. I asked, " can I have any Managers’ card? " She opened a box of cards, rifled through a few minutes, could not find what she wanted, and said she would be right back and left to go to the back. I waited ten minutes. Another desk clerk came out to the desk asked if I needed help, but I told him I could not wait any longer for her return, my Uber was arriving. I went outside, where the front doorman responded to my greeting, but did not help me put my bags in the car. It is really sad, I love Halifax and the location of this hotel is perfect. But having to pay for amenities that I can't use, and worry abut poor hotel hygiene, and poor security, makes this a hard pass for me!

Fantastic location with an exceptional staff. Special thanks to NM, Body and Kitty for an unbelievable birthday gift. So thoughtful and the items were unbelievable and appreciated. The dining room is outstanding. We had beautiful oyster mushrooms and asparagus, fish tacos and hummus. The presentation was lovely and the preparation was excellent. When visiting Halifax I would stay here again.