Robert Carter Mar 7, 2018:

Veranda sounds perfectly fine to my ears, nothing to do with balconies or council estates where I come from. It is a word that was used to describe exactly the same kind of architectural structure in my primary school (in the south of England). I don't know about its use in the US, but it seems to mean the same thing from what I can tell.
On the other hand, to me, a courtyard is an open space.

courtyard - An unroofed area that is completely or partially enclosed by walls or buildings, typically one forming part of a castle or large house.
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/courtyard

What this is in fact is in the style of a "cloister" of a convent, etc., but I'm not sure that would be appropriate for a hotel:

cloister - A covered walk in a convent, monastery, college, or cathedral, typically with a colonnade open to a quadrangle on one side..
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/cloister

Veranda seems the nearest thing to my mind, but as Phil says, it may have a slightly different meaning in the US, at least in the south, i.e., a raised porch.

veranda - A roofed platform along the outside of a house, level with the ground floor.

MollyRose Mar 7, 2018:

veranda I'm not sure I've ever HEARD the word "veranda." The contexts I remember reading it have been around Civil War time in the South, and pictures come into my mind of southern belles and gentlemen sipping mint juleps and "Gone with the Wind." I don't know if that's how most other people in the U.S. think of a veranda, though.

Cecilia Gowar Mar 7, 2018:

By any chance is this near a train station? I found this definition for Mex: "Espacio descubierto cerca de las estaciones de ferrocarril, en que maniobran las locomotoras."

neilmac Mar 7, 2018:

Veranda Doesn't sound at all exotic or upmarket where I come from. In fact, I associate it with subsidised council housing. IMHO, "courtyard transformed into a restaurant" sounds more upmarket and imposing, so might be a better choice for this type of text. Strangely enough, I also associate "yard" with scrapyard, junkyard, breaker's yard or Yardie gangsters from Jamiaca. But adding "court" makes it somehow more... courtly :-)