140-Key Marriott Hotel Opens in Indiana

By Keith Loria

Courtyard by Marriott South Bend Downtown

Developer JSK Hospitality has opened Courtyard by Marriott South Bend Downtown, a $14 million, five-star, 140-key hotel in South Bend, Ind. The company now operates nine hotels, six of which are in St. Joseph County.

Located at 121 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., the five-story hotel features an innovative lobby space and Courtyard’s contemporary room design, with an aim to allow guests to optimize their travel experience. The new hotel’s location offers convenient access to the University of Notre Dame, The Century Center, the HealthWorks Kids’ Museum, the Morris Performing Arts Center and Four Winds Field. It’s also close to South Bend International Airport.

“Today’s technology has changed how people travel. Our guests want a room that has purpose and flexibility that enables a seamless transition between relaxing and working. Courtyard is designed to offer them a relaxing and functional space to work the way they want to, when they want to,” Callette Nielsen, Courtyard’s vice president & global brand manager, said in a prepared statement.

Design of the times

The hotel is boosting its tech offerings and personal services for guests. For example, once guests arrive, they can store their bags in a “luggage drop” and plug any personal devices into a “tech drop” ledge. Indirect lighting and a neutral, tone-on-tone color palette is designed to create a soothing environment.

Guest room design includes signature furniture and architectural elements, rather than the more traditional art normally available, such as a lounge-around sofa and a light desk on wheels. All rooms also equipped with a microwave and refrigerator.

Common-area amenities at The Courtyard by Marriott South Bend Downtown feature a heated indoor swimming pool, fitness center and guest laundry. The hotel boasts Courtyard’s most recent lobby design, where guests can enjoy an open and modern environment outside of their rooms. This includes the newly designed Bistro, which encourages social connections and collaboration thanks to flexible and informal seating options.

There is also a business library with several computer terminals, a printer and separate computer stations dedicated solely to printing airline boarding passes and checking flight status. And it champions a guest recycling program, encouraging guests to recycle with numerous receptacles for paper, glass, plastic and metal conveniently located by all side exits.

Earlier this week, Hospitality Ventures Management Group and Investra Capital Group teamed on the acquisition of a 1,465-key national portfolio of hotels operating under various Marriott and Hyatt brands, including eight Courtyard hotels.

Rendering courtesy of JSK Hospitality