We had an emergency trip out to Long Beach for one night, so decided to pick a location by the airport (for our return flight). We could choose between the Residence Inn or the regular Marriott. Now we wish we had chosen the other one.
We chose this location due to the "Airport shuttle service, reservation required, complimentary " listed on their website. Sadly, the one thing we used to pick this location was not available. Now we know it best call ahead. I used the central reservations number to book the room and they also stated the shuttle was available. We did manage to get to the airport via cab (but it is $10, not $8). *I know they list it as an estimate, but a little more accuracy would be nice.
Check-In took some time due to the New Year's Eve Holiday and some folks do not understand the concept of holds on debit cards. Once checked in, we still had 2 more stops to make before retiring for the night. Now we wish we had checked the room first. When we got to the room, we found it lacking in the normal standards of Marriott properties and specifically, Residence Inn. The door had been forced open at some point in time, so the locking faceplate was skewed. While the door still locked, it didn't resonate a secure feeling. The overall feel of the room was run down. The usual compliment of toiletries was missing. We had the essentials in shampoo and soap. The most unusual item was the smell. Either there was some sort of sewer problem or some animal had died in the wall. It was stronger around the sinks, so we thought it to be a sewer problem. it was not overpowering and after the extended waits at the front desk, we gave up on a resolution, so we just didn't go into the kitchen area and closed the bathroom door.
The linens were clean the bed firm, but the pillows not so much. Overall, we got a night's sleep. Just not what we were used to in Residence Inn.
The security checking people as they came onto the property was nice. We weren't sure if that was due to the holiday or a regular occurance.
Overall, the property had a rundown feel. It seemed that management felt that if no one complained, there was no need to maintain anything on the property. The staff was as accomodating as possible, with the exception of not having enough front desk persons to work the busy holiday. Nancyann was fantastic, albeit a bit overwhelmed. She did what she could within the confines of the local policies.
When we travel again to Long Beach, we will look to the other Marriott properties instead of this Residence Inn. This was just not up to the normal standards we have come to expect from Marriott properties.
If you are simply looking for a bed and a shower, this is your place.
