I have stayed in dozens of Marriots all over the country, and I have no trouble saying this is one of their most elegant, comfortable hotels. Our room is beautifully appointed with a big, brand new bathroom, comfortable bed, and wonderful bedding. We ordered breakfast up to the room and received it in less than 30 minutes exactly as ordered. They follow strict COVID-19 protocols, which made us feel very relaxed and safe. The only down side has nothing at all to do with the hotel--it has to do with the hit downtown Albany has taken during the pandemic (as is true with pretty much all of New York State.) No nightlife, but still some very good restaurants in the area. So if you are going to find yourself in Albany for any reason, my recommendation is to book yourself a room here.

I stayed at this hotel for one night, my expenses were itemized on my overall receipt totaling 141.26.
When I checked my card utilization I was billed 174.26 and an addition 17. Making my grand total 191.26. They have yet to identify why.

the good:

the lobby of the hotel is pretty amazing - look up and appreciate the original ceiling. the rooms that face the capitol building have views that cannot be beat. the gym is nice and spacious. the breakfast with status is really generous. there's guest laundry on the 3rd floor - it would be nice if they had a quarter machine there as the front desk runs out of quarters.

the things that need work:

the front desk staff is nowhere to be seen and you have to wait for them to appear. there should be a bell or something.

if you come into the hotel before 6am from the "front door" it is locked and you need a key to get in. only the key reader is broken. so if you need to come in - AND no one is at the front desk - it can be problematic.

the restaurant on weekends is a hotspot - I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing, depending on how you like night clubs....but the food itself at the restaurant is just average at best and very little variety.

the rooms were not cleaned very well. it's newly redone so they can get away with it - for now. but it will get worse over time. examples - there was something that looked like a puddle of dried wax on the floor by the sofa and the remote was covered with grime (so much for covid sanitization).

overall I'm not sure there is a better hotel in Albany. this one is good but just needs a little bit of work. but I would recommend and stay again.