Residence Inn by Marriott

Newer, awesome, modern hotel. I’ll start with the «bad»:
No hot tub (yes, occasionally it’s winter down here)
Fairly industrial view off the back side (I know, I’m reaching here)
Loud heating/​cooling fan.
Brand new so a lot of carpet/​paint off-​gassing. But, the windows open.
Sometimes nothing but styrofoam and plastic for the dishes available at breakfast. Kinda low-​rent and an environmental catastrophe every morning.
No bicycle in the gym. What?
Good:
Cool, modern room layout. And kitchonette, bar, etc. Big fridge. So good.
The windows open. One more time… the windows open. I can get air when it’s pleasant outside. So very nice.
I can stay connected to the internet without logging on each and every time I disconnect. This is so nice.
Offset from the highway. Very nice. I cannot abide by traffic noise. I’m weak like that.
Walls seem thick, ceiling’s high, and I have not heard my neighbors (if there have been any).
Real dishes and silverware available most of the time. This is great.
I tell you what, for longer-​term stays I just want to stay connected to the internet, and open the windows.
This is a great place. I love these new RI’s…Hilton will have to work hard to match.
I’m sure I’ll edit as our stay progresses.

I love this hotel.
Let’s just start off with the breakfast AND Dinners that they offer. Dinner was served on Monday through Wednesday. This wasn’t just like a simple dinner; they had Salisbury steak for Monday, tacos on Tuesday, and baked potato with pulled pork on Wednesday, each day they were served with a nice salad bar. All of this, with a drink of your choice:
1) beer– for the stressed
2) wine– for anyone.
3) lemonade– for the kids and non-​alcoholics
4) Pepsi– for the gassy
The cleaning maids always cleaned up nicely and never left a spot in my room. I love the way that the residence inn hotels are structured.
You have a kitchen, living room, and bedroom all to yourself. Platinum members like myself who stay for about a week or an extensive period would be happy to stay here. You have free dinners Monday through Wednesday and you can cook for yourself on Thursday/​Friday!
Take note: lots of border patrol officers stay here. I was the only non-​officer for one morning crowd of about 20

For the most part, I’ve found that you get what you pay for when it comes to hotels (see my previous hotel review)… but, delightfully, at The Residence Inn, that is not the case. For $ 89/​night, you get a one bedroom unit, complete with kitchenette! This place was bigger than my first apartment!
Other than a slight billing issue (because I booked through Kayak… not a huge deal, really), this was one of the best hotel stays I’ve ever had. The bed was SUPER comfortable. The wifi was strong and dependable (perfect for my online Black Friday shopping). The kitchenette was pretty much fully stocked, I could’ve prepared something to bring to Thanksgiving dinner, even!
I didn’t check out any of the amenities, so not sure about that, but I had a great stay nonetheless. I’d definitely consider another stay.

These folks have been given a pretty nice facility to manage. They just don’t quite know how to do that very well.
Not the most spacious room. But everything works, the room and common areas were clean, and the central (versus wall/​window unit) A/​C always makes for a nicer, quieter space.
The comp breakfast was okay — but nothing to write home about either. Real half and half for the coffee would have been nice. So would have been hot coffee. And a bit more room — the eating area was far too small for all the guests using it.
The front desk staff tried to be helpful.
Adequate water pressure in the shower, but not good or great.
The worst experience was checking in. We were traveling with a lot of technical gear, and needed to get it up to our room and out of the parking lot. But the hotel apparently only has one luggage cart, and some asshole had taken it to their room … and kept it. When I asked the kid at the desk, he said they used to have two carts, but someone stole one. So rather than buy another, the guest is put to great inconvenience? Simply amazing.
On the other hand, these guys earn an extra star by not having Fox ‘News’ blaring from the common area TV in the morning. When will hoteliers learn that better than half of all Americans, and about the entire rest of the world, find that one-​sided bullshit utterly revolting? Much less being accosted by it first thing in the morning?