I audited this property during a personal award stay as a genuine guest using my own Marriott Bonvoy points. Zero comped rooms, zero brand sponsorships. Every folio charge, lounge assessment, and amenity benchmark reflects authentic traveler conditions with complete editorial independence.
Primary Edition: Published directly to GeneTravels.com as the repository of record. Full room acoustics, folio receipts, and elite recognition metrics were audited firsthand during Gene Salvatore's personal award redemption stay.
Ambassador Elite Folio Verdict
"Great 151,000-point redemption ($1,576 cash rate) for our 6-night North Wilkesboro Speedway race week stay — remodeled rooms, a 24/7 ground-floor M Club stocked with every flavor of Bubly, and a friendly valet crew who took great care of our Tiguan."
1,860 Miles to North Wilkesboro Speedway and Back
Maureen and I just returned from an 1,860-mile road trip to historic North Wilkesboro Speedway and back. It may be the only professional sports venue to come back from the brink of extinction to host a successful national event again. The story behind the track is a great one — a short track that actually pre-dates the formation of NASCAR itself.
We’re big motorsports fans and especially love attending unique, historic events — this time, the resurrection of a track that last held a NASCAR Cup race 27 years ago in 1996. Our trip covered 10 days, 3 Marriott hotels, and 7 races. We tailgated for 5 days out of the back of our ‘22 VW Tiguan SEL R-Line (with our tabletop Blackstone griddle) and put 1,860 miles on the odometer.
Packed grandstands under the twilight stadium lights for the historic return of NASCAR racing at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Maureen and I in the Section BB grandstands at North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Five days of race-week tailgating out of the back of our ‘22 VW Tiguan SEL R-Line with the Blackstone Adventure Ready griddle.
Moving to the Winston-Salem Marriott & 151,000-Point Redemption
Our first day of travel was a long one — 650 miles straight from Connecticut to Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The area was packed with weddings, sports events, and college graduations, so we needed to stay our first night at the Winston-Salem Fairfield Downtown (a property we wouldn’t stay at again).
On Tuesday we moved over to the Winston-Salem Marriott for 6 nights. It’s an older Marriott property that has had a thorough modernization, with updated guestrooms, a remodeled ground-floor M Club lounge, and refreshed common areas.
The modernized main lobby corridor at the Winston-Salem Marriott.
We showed up early on Tuesday — well before check-in time — and the hotel was clearly busy with checkouts as well as other early arrivals. The front desk agent was very pleasant, let me know that a few packages I had shipped ahead were already waiting behind the front desk, and got us right into a King room on the 15th floor.
I booked this trip late and on points — 151,000 points for 6 nights against a $1,576 cash price (over 1.04 cents per point). I didn’t ask about suite upgrades; this is a downtown convention hotel that doesn’t appear to have many suites, and most of our time was going to be spent away at the racetrack anyway.
Our 15th-floor King room with hardwood-style flooring, corner sofa seating area, and wall-mounted HDTV.
Comfortable King bed and window seating area.
The desk and dresser setup — a bit limited on drawer space for a full week stay, but we made it work.
Our room was a comfortable King room — a bit limited on drawer space for a week-long stay, but we made it work. Beside the entry hallway and sliding bathroom barn door, the open closet cabinet housed the Keurig coffee maker, in-room electronic safe, and mini-fridge.
Entry foyer looking back toward the hallway door, sliding bathroom barn door, and full-length closet mirror.
Open closet shelving with the Keurig coffee maker, electronic laptop safe, and mini-fridge tucked inside the lower cabinet.
The bathroom was a good size with a backlit vanity mirror and a walk-in glass shower equipped with a handheld wand.
Renovated bathroom featuring an illuminated vanity mirror and counter space.
Walk-in glass shower with wall-mounted and handheld shower fixtures.
From the 15th floor, our window looked out over downtown Winston-Salem toward the rolling North Carolina countryside beyond the city.
The view from our 15th-floor window looking out across downtown Winston-Salem to the countryside and distant hills.
Valet Parking & How They Took Care of Our Tiguan
We valet parked our car every day. The posted cost is $25/day, but when I reviewed my emailed folio on the morning of checkout, I wasn’t charged a dime for parking — which was a very nice surprise.
The valet team here is really good: friendly, remembers you by name, and takes genuinely good care of your vehicle. They seemed to like our ‘22 VW Tiguan SEL R-Line enough to keep it parked in its own angled spot out of the way right by the lot entrance gate all week long! Looking straight down from our 15th-floor window, we could spot the Tiguan sitting in that protected corner spot every morning.
Looking straight down from our 15th-floor window at the hotel valet lot.
Zooming in from the 15th floor: the valet crew kept our blue Tiguan SEL R-Line tucked in its own angled spot out of harm’s way all week.
Our ‘22 VW Tiguan SEL R-Line that carried us 1,860 miles across 10 days and 7 races.
Remodeled Ground-Floor 24/7 M Club & The Full Bubly Lineup
The hotel has a remodeled M Club on the ground floor, right next to the front desk. It was open for hot breakfast in the morning and evening snacks and desserts at night, and remains accessible 24 hours a day via keycard.
Inside the remodeled ground-floor M Club lounge with café tables, HDTVs, and lounge seating.
The M Club buffet counter, center island, and business center workstation alcove.
Evening M Club cold spread with salad, salami and prosciutto, olives, and fresh sliced fruit.
Evening hot hors d’oeuvres in the M Club: roast beef and pulled pork sliders.
The staff does an excellent job keeping the lounge very well stocked with beverages and sweet and salty snacks throughout the day — even when lounge access gets heavily abused by parents letting 6, 7, or 8 kids shadow them in and raid the fridge and snack jars!
The 24/7 sweet and salty snack counter stocked with trail mix, pretzels, M&Ms, and gummy bears.
The M Club espresso machine, iced tea dispensers, and glass-door beverage coolers.
And I have to highlight the drink cooler: we have NEVER seen the entire range of Bubly sparkling water in a hotel lounge! Usually you’re lucky to find just the Lime flavor. Maureen and I aren’t soda drinkers, so opening the cooler to find Orange Cream, Lemon Sorbet, Lime, Blueberry Pomegranate, Peach, and Blackberry Bubly — right alongside North Carolina’s signature Cheerwine and Cheerwine Zero Sugar — was genuinely refreshing.
The M Club beverage fridge stocked with six different flavors of Bubly sparkling water plus local North Carolina Cheerwine and Cheerwine Zero.
Not just Lime: Lemon Sorbet, Orange Cream, Blueberry Pomegranate, and Blackberry Bubly alongside Cheerwine Zero Sugar.
Downtown Walkability & On-Property Dining at Butcher & Bull
The hotel is very well situated in downtown Winston-Salem, walkable to plenty of local restaurants, shops, and cafés. Most days after late nights at the track we got up too late for lounge breakfast, so we walked to different local spots around downtown for breakfast and dinner, and also grabbed burgers and drinks right off the lobby at Butcher & Bull.
Entrance to Butcher & Bull restaurant and bar off the main hotel lobby.
Burgers with branded brioche buns, crispy fries, and cocktails at Butcher & Bull.
Bottom Line
Overall, this was a very good 6-night stay. The Winston-Salem Marriott was about 45 minutes from North Wilkesboro Speedway and is less than an hour from other tracks we visit down here (like Bowman Gray Stadium and Charlotte Motor Speedway) when we don’t bring our RV. Between the 151,000-point redemption ($1,576 cash value), the 24/7 M Club, and the standout valet team, it’s a location we gladly recommend and would return to.
Unedited Field Assets & Room Architecture
Frequently Asked Questions: Winston-Salem Marriott
Field-verified answers compiled firsthand from our paid stays and folio reconciliations.
How far is the Winston-Salem Marriott from North Wilkesboro Speedway? ▼
The hotel is located about 45 minutes east of North Wilkesboro Speedway via US-421, and less than an hour from Bowman Gray Stadium and Charlotte Motor Speedway.
What makes the M Club at Winston-Salem Marriott stand out? ▼
The remodeled ground-floor M Club is open 24/7 and stocks the entire flavor range of Bubly sparkling water (Lemon Sorbet, Orange Cream, Lime, Blueberry Pomegranate, Peach, and Blackberry) plus local North Carolina Cheerwine and sweet and salty snack jars.
How did the points redemption compare to cash rates during race week? ▼
Booking late for a 6-night stay during the NASCAR All-Star race cost 151,000 points against a cash price of $1,576, delivering over 1.04 cents per Bonvoy point.
Local Destination Environmental Conditions
Real-time microclimate and airport reach data for Winston-Salem Marriott (Winston-Salem, North Carolina).
Primary international airport connectivity verified via rideshare.
Redemption Window: Off-peak Bonvoy pricing typically opens 60–90 days ahead for Marriott properties in this corridor.
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