Courtyard by Marriott Cincinnati Downtown

Courtyard by Marriott Cincinnati Downtown opened in July 2021 inside the Ingalls Building, a 16-story tower completed in 1903 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975. The 126-room hotel is owned and managed by SREE Hotels, a Charlotte company, and is the first Courtyard in downtown Cincinnati.

The place

The Ingalls Building stands on East 4th in the middle of downtown Cincinnati. Fountain Square, Great American Ballpark, the Bengals' stadium, Smale Riverfront Park and the Duke Energy Convention Center are all near enough to reach without a car. The airport, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International, is 14 miles away.

For a visitor who wants to be among the offices, the ballgames and the riverfront rather than in the suburbs along the interstate, the address works. It suits a convention week or a match weekend better than a stay built around a neighborhood to wander.

The concept

A skyscraper from 1903 is an unusual thing to turn into a Courtyard. The Ingalls Building is described as the world's first reinforced concrete skyscraper, and it had never operated as a hotel before SREE Hotels converted it. The company says this is its fourth historic renovation in downtown Cincinnati, all carried out with HGC Construction, and its sixth Courtyard.

Three original elements were kept and put to use. The lobby retains its ornate ceiling details. A curved grand staircase leads up to The Bistro, the hotel's main public room, which spreads over two levels with flexible, informal seating. And the fitness center sits in the mezzanine's former bank vault.

Every room has a downtown view. Six of them are loft-style, bi-level suites with 20-foot ceilings and 15-foot windows, a layout that only a building of this age could produce. The standard rooms follow the brand's current formula: a rolling desk, a mini-refrigerator, a microwave, a coffee maker and a flat-screen television, with furniture and architectural features standing in for wall art.

Other services are those of a Courtyard: complimentary Wi-Fi, guest laundry, a business library and a 24-hour Market for snacks and drinks.

Dining & wellness

The Bistro serves classic American dishes with a contemporary twist, and in the evening The Bistro Bar pours cocktails, beer and wine. The Market, open around the clock, covers snacks and drinks outside those hours. There is no separate signature restaurant.