April 06–Walla Walla’s new Courtyard by Marriott hotel is located in the chain’s smallest metro area in the Pacific Northwest, showing the Courtyard brand’s commitment to leisure travelers along with its core base of mid-priced business travelers.
Walla Walla, the main city in Washington’s southeast corner, has a population of 32,000. The other 21 Courtyard hotels in Washington and Oregon are located in Seattle, Portland and their suburbs, plus Tacoma, Spokane, Tri-Cities and Medford. The smallest metro area previously served in Oregon or Washington by Courtyard was Medford (population 78,000).
Walla Walla attracts business travelers with its agricultural-based industries and by being home to three colleges. In recent years, leisure travel to the city has grown exponentially due to wine tourism. Along with Woodinville near Seattle, Walla Walla has the largest concentration of wine tasting rooms in the Pacific Northwest.
Courtyard by Marriott celebrated the March 31 opening of its Walla Walla hotel in a special way, since it was the 1,000th hotel in a chain that has grown from its founding in 1983 (as a competitor to Holiday Inn) to have properties in all 50 states plus 38 countries.
The Courtyard Walla Walla is at 550 W. Rose St., a short walk west from the heart of downtown.
The hotel has a shuttle van to drive guests for free in a five-mile radius, especially helpful for those who arrive by Alaska Airlines flights from Seattle at the Walla Walla Regional Airport. Service is twice daily, except one on Saturday, though the airline will add flights for special events (Mumford & Sons concert in August).
The Walla Walla Courtyard has the brand’s signature Bistro, though this one is designed to showcase the area’s wine ambience. The hotel also has a demo kitchen for Walla Walla chefs to give cooking classes, or to feature special winemaker dinners.
The lobby is customized with Walla Walla area photographs and wine barrel furniture. A local sculpture from the Walla Walla Foundry of a deer, coyote and owl together should catch the eye. A recent visitor to New York City noted that five museums were displaying work from the Foundry.
The hotel has 120 guest rooms, including eight suites, plus an indoor saltwater pool, exterior hot tub, 2,500 square feet of meeting space and a 12-person executive meeting room. The three-story hotel has a horseshoe shape around a courtyard.
“Having a Courtyard by Marriott is a great validation as a tourist destination,” said David Woolson, president of the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce. “It gives us a global brand.”
Woolson grew up in Walla Walla, then left to make a career thinking he would never return. One of his stops along the way was to run the Oregon Film Commission.
“I had not been here for 20-plus years,” he said. “It’s fun to see how it has emerged with its wine and food scene. It also has outstanding performing arts and the Foundry is known around the country.”
Walla Walla will continue celebrating the opening of the 1,000th Courtyard with its annual business summit on Friday (wwbizsummit.com), followed by Feast Walla Walla (downtownwallawalla.com) next weekend, April 10-11.
Walla Walla has plenty of other lodging, including Holiday Inn Express and Best Western Walla Walla Suite Inn. It also has the Marcus Whitman Hotel, a fully modernized century old hotel that will continue to have its loyal following, host large business meetings and be one of the top wedding venues in southeast Washington (use the link to read my report).
Read my 20 things to love about Walla Walla at this link.
Terry Richard
trichard@oregonian.com
503-221-8222; @trichardpdx
