Residence Inn Huntsville

As hotels/Inns go, this Marriot was nice, but it was the people who made this place feel like a home away from home. From the young guy with the longish hair who warmly welcomed us, to the room organizer whose name started with D and who was an absolute joy to chat with, to the smart, sweet woman with a beautiful shock of gray who said goodbye to us, we were more than comfortable and happy with our experience. The room and grounds were clean and pretty, and we’ll definitely stay here every time we come back to Huntsville!

Three members of my family stayed in this property for around 12 hours and were charged $200. We had enough towels for 2 people only in our room. When I requested towels, I was told by staff they could let housekeeping know we needed some when they got there (despite the fact that my shower was already running). My husband went to the desk and they were told they couldn't leave the desk to get us any towels until their replacement arrived. Also one of us slept on the pull out cough and the room was not equipped with any sheets, or a pillow for this bed. There were no blankets in the room--not one thing for the pull out. The staff at the front desk was not able to locate us any. We honestly deserve a refund. We were way overcharged for our (lack of) amenities.

Let me start with a due introduction. I am a platinum member of the Marriott Bonvoy. I spent in the Residence Inn in HSV during last 20 years hundreds of nights and in 2002 I was one of the first customer ever. I used this hotel in my previous job that brought me to HSV many many times and also in my new job that now brings me to Huntsville no more than a couple of times per year. I am very well known by all the staff that originally was at the premises. Now, arriving in HSV on the 6th of August, due to bad weather there was a blackout with a relevant loss of power and I couldn’t check in ( my room was on the third floor and it was literally impossible to bring the three heavy bags upstairs). I therefore was forced, due to circumstances, to move to the Marriott at the Rocket Space Center to spend the first night there, the day after I would have gone back to the Residence Inn. And that exactly what I did. I checked in and with my surprise I wasn’t given the room on the third floor of the night before but one on the ground floor ( in Alabama called 1st floor). I will try to make the story short…. 1. All the room in the upper floors have been refurbished and refurnished. This was said to me from the workers working in the room next to mine. Well, actually I have to think that my room, nr 106, was one of the few left ( still to be refurbished) with old mattress and old forniture. Conditions of the room were really poor. That’s not what a long-standing customer and Platinum member like me would expect 2. The prices are simply outrageous…..and if you consider the points with what you get rewarded it is even more embarrassing. At the Marriott Rocket Space Center, I paid les than an half the price of the Residence Inn and received three times more the reward points. It’s clear that something doesn’t work. Nowadays, the Residence Inn is the most expensive Marriott property in HSV and this can’t be right. 3. The Residence Inn won’t be my first choice anymore in HSV AL

My wife and I were here to visit with family and see the Space Museum. Having grown up in the Hotel business, I found the staff and breakfast quite good . However ,the property is old and needs remodeling. Our room #203 while cursory clean had a toilet that took 3 good flushes to do proper work. The AC unit worked ok but should be serviced and vents near the ceiling cleaned properly. The carpet in the bedroom felt moist from the AC condensation and should be shampooed and cleaned thoroughly. My wife noted she had to wash her feet after walking on it. On a more positive note, the staff was super and tried to be helpful. The ladies in the kitchen were most hospitable at breakfast time. I am a Titanium member of Marriott for many years and this hotel was charging top Dollar ( $229) for the summer season which based on its condition was too much.

There were flying ants in the room, the tub was clogged, and the air conditioner was as loud as a airplane engine…

The maintenance was disappointing. Our toilet was broken and after waiting to get it fixed the next day it broke again. The hotel did arrange for us to move to another room but different problems were encountered: no hair dryer, broken tv/screen remote and uncomfortable layout. The staff were quick in responding to these issues after we brought them up.

Everything was lovely except peeling wallpaper in hallways. Lack of people at front desk. Did not feel Residence by Marriott hospitality. Breakfast so so due to infrequent fills. Other than that, rooms were lovely.

When we checked in the room, the trash cans from previous guests were full and not dumped. There were fresh stains on the blankets and sheets, I asked for fresh linen and explained what happened but none was brought to me nor did house keeping come upon my request. Also there was a leak on the 3rd floor hallway (a worker advised of this), however, the leak came down to our room (2nd floor) it came in both bathrooms as well as closets. It also had a brown color with is as well with this horrible smell. Along with that, there was some people song construction work next beside us and made loud drilling and knocking noise all night for both nights! We could not even sleep!!!!! I notified the GM Randy Brown and nothing was done nor was we offered to be placed in another room or offered a refund.

I am a Titanium Elite member and have stayed at Marriott brands including Residence Inns all over the US and this was one of the worst based on the following: 1) They have a serious towel shortage here and I've never run into that before. We were having family visit and asked for 4 additional towels and that was a major ask for them. They could not give me 4 but could give me 3 but I had to turn in my used ones at the front desk before. I have never run into this before and was shocked to be honest. How much do towels cost anyway? Is it more than a 3 night stay? 2) Mobile check in doesn't work but the only way you know is that you never get a key and manual check-in at the desk took almost 15 minutes. They never acknowledged my elite status which is a standard greeting at all other Marriotts. 3) Wifi was horrible and took forever to connect or never did. 4) I got coffee on the 1st morning and it was lukewarm and awful. To be fair, their breakfast was ok but this hotel is not worth paying for the Marriott premium.