Review: the new Marriott Geneva hotel

This is our review of the new Marriott Geneva hotel at the airport.

I was recently on the inaugural Ethiopian Airlines flight from Manchester to Geneva. I needed somewhere to stay for the night and Marriott very kindly put me up in the new Marriott Geneva hotel, which only opened over the summer.

The hotel website is here.

Where is the Marriott Geneva hotel?

The location of Marriott Geneva worked well for me, sandwiched between the airport and the centre of town:

It is about 5 minutes from Geneva airport and offers a free shuttle bus every 20 minutes which makes it exceptionally convenient to get to.

Despite being an ‘airport hotel’, Geneva is so small that you can catch a tram into town in about 15 minutes or so. It never feels like you are far away from wherever you need to be. Trams 14 and 18 are just down the road and take you into the city centre (for free!).

Inside the Marriott Geneva hotel

To be perfectly honest, I didn’t have high expectations. Airport hotels are rarely at the forefront of good design, and Marriott can occasionally be a bit of a dull ‘businessy’ brand. It was therefore a pleasant surprise when I walked in and saw this:

and:

There’s a convenient airport arrivals / departure board as well:

The ground floor is almost entirely open-plan, with a 360-degree bar at the centre. Casual lobby seating merges into the restaurant area, which overlooks an entirely open kitchen:

The check-in desks are on the left and well-staffed, which meant I never saw a queue whilst I was there. It was late when I arrived and the staff checked me in very quickly and efficiently, and also provided me with a couple of pointers about how to get into town.

Rooms and suites at the Marriott Geneva hotel

I was upgraded to a Corner Suite. But fear not! I also managed to take a look at the entry level Deluxe Rooms and was impressed by what I saw.

At 65 square meters the Corner Suite is the same size as my two-bedroom flat, but even the Deluxe Rooms were a good size – certainly more spacious than a standard room in London.

The Corner Suite features a small kitchenette:

…. and a guest toilet, plus a large dining / living room. The guest toilet means you could have business meetings in your room, closing off the bedroom and main bathroom.

You have a large bedroom:

There’s a king bed, plus a nice desk and chaise longue:

To the right is the bathroom, with twin wash basins:

Plus a big bath tub, separate shower (with view!) and toilet:

and

Toiletries are by thisworks, in big squeezy bottles in the shower:

Strip out the second room and guest toilet from the corner suite and you basically have a Deluxe Room, which is pictured below:

The big difference is in the bathroom, which only comes with a shower and a single basin:

Otherwise, the rooms are very similar in style and size – you just get more space with a suite.

Like the lobby, the rooms are stylishly neutral, with dark wood and neutral grey wallpaper. It works well together and isn’t trying to be more luxurious than it is. There is no faux marble tiling in the bathroom, for example – just high quality grey tiles. The addition of a Clusia Rosea growing in water adds a lovely touch:

Breakfast and lunch at Moments restaurant

Marriott Geneva features a restaurant and bar called Moments, which is where I enjoyed breakfast and lunch during my stay.

As mentioned earlier, Moments is incredibly open plan which helps it feel more like an extended lobby that also serves good food.

I like the fact that the kitchen is totally open to the restaurant, so you can see the chefs working. I was worried it would be noisy or fill the entire hotel with cooking smells but I needn’t have worried, as you can barely tell they’re there.

Breakfast is served in a buffet area next to the open kitchen. There is a range of bread and pastries, including a really long loaf of bread:

Juices and coffee / tea are self-service. There’s a range of cut fruit, yoghurt and more, but as this is Switzerland a significant portion of the breakfast is of the savoury sort, with a good selection of cold cuts and cheeses:

If you want something hot there is a small and not particularly impressive selection of sausages, bacon, pancakes etc:

…. so the better option is to get your eggs cooked to order by the chef at the egg station. I asked for eggs royale, which I had to explain, but the chef certainly delivered:

Moments restaurant

Dinner was even more impressive. In general I find that food is generally high quality throughout Switzerland, but I was still impressed by what I had. The food concept is to source everything as locally as possible. The ginger, for example, is grown in Switzerland by the chef’s cousin!

Moments has just launched a new winter menu with a strong focus on vegetable based dishes. In the interest of eating healthily – but not too healthily! – I went for the vegetable tempura, which was delicious:

For mains, I had the chicken supreme:

I was also able to try the Tabbouleh which was phenomenal.

Whilst I like meat, I also love vegetables and the flavours were fantastic – earthy and wintery. For anyone less adventurous, the restaurant also offers a classic Marriott burger and club sandwich, but I really wouldn’t bother.

Everything tasted fresh and was clearly prepared freshly as well – it was almost certainly the best airport hotel restaurant I’ve eaten at.

Conclusion

I was impressed with my stay at the Marriott Geneva. Whilst it will naturally attract business types thanks to its airport location, it isn’t a bad spot to stay on holiday either given its proximity to the city centre and the free trams.

Having opened just three months ago, you can be guaranteed that the entire hotel is brand new and in excellent condition, with enthusiastic staff.

What really impressed me however was the food. The chef team at the Marriott Geneva have created a unique menu that goes beyond your usual burger-and-chips airport food and really delivers on fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Whilst I normally dismiss talk of ‘local provenance’ as marketing rubbish, it was evident in the preparation and taste of the food here.

Rooms at the Marriott Geneva start at 219 Swiss Francs (£195) in January 2023. Redemptions start at 63,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. You can find out more, and book, on the hotel website here.

---

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)