Stayed in this hotel with 2 other work partners (3 rooms) over a recent business trip through the Durango area, we chose this hotel due to ratings and reviews and after staying there I am inclined to believe other travelers that have given this hotel a 4 star or better rating must be folks with limited traveling and hotel stays or perhaps we just experienced the other side of things that they were fortunate not to experience.

I'm not one to bash any property on a first stay but I do believe in a fair and honest assesment of what I experieced and what I have grown to understand with hotels over my years of business and personal traveling (hundreds of hotels), I read these reviews and count of them for honest, non marketing evaluations of what I can expect and compare to other available hotels,

so.... First the good - was located near downtown and easy to find.

What the three of us experienced: Parking!! There appears to be enough parking for about 25-30% of the rooms, we got there later evening and the parking lot was a mess. Construction gear an big trucks should go elsewhere, your not getting in this parking lot. Parking lot on three sides of hotel, your not driving around the otherside. Got a car/truck with trailer on it? good luck. Hard to believe a Marriott would have such a small, poorly designed lot and so much grass but OK..

We found we had 3 different room rates even though we all booked under our rate for local government (state of Colorado), when mentioned to the manager to try to get them "fixed" so they were actually the correct contracted rate we were told that the hotel changed some of the rates as they had more "tourists" than expected and could make more money off them and they didn't need Government business as the "tourists" will pay double... really? Hard to believe a hotel worker would actually state this but ok... By the way, my rate was $95 a night - the manager said he can get at least $249 a night for the same room from any tourists. Be aware of this and get the right rate when you check in or make a reservation.

Dont expect much from the front desk - when we checked in we were handed a paper map and told if we have any questions that we should read the back of it and it will tell us what we needed to know, like breakfast hours and other stuff... then she walked off. Really? too lazy to even tell us the breakfast hours or other information that would be helpful to new guests? OK...

Hallways were cluttered with larger carts of boxes and other hotel "administrative" items, laundry carts and such, made getting to the one "very small" elevator difficult even with just a small bag. Elevator in this property fit two of us and bags.. not what you would expect from a Marriott property. Rugs were all well worn, stained and provided a musky tone for our travels to our rooms.

Rooms - typical Residence Inn layout - this property had worn furniture, floors and carpets that were in need of shampoo and or replacement. Another bit of musk but OK, its just one night. About an hour after settling in was shocked to hear what sounded like an aircraft start up outside the room (on second floor).. turns out its one of the properties AC/Heat units. LOUD!! metal banging noises and roar was anything but enjoyable - Hey, front desk, can I switch rooms? Sorry, at your "rate" thats all we have!! Really.

If you tend to use the hotel "business" lounge or area, computers or such, this hotel has it located right in front of the check in desk (I guess so they can see what your doing?) and right in the middle of the foot traffic area. Everyone can not only see what your doing on the computer but most bump into you as the space is pretty limited - especially around breakfast time.

Breakfast was decent and the two ladies that they have working it were super nice and helpful. They were the best part of my experience in this property. Had everything you could ask for at a hotel breakfast area.

Summary: rude staff lead by a property manager that has overtones of taking advantage of tourists and guests to maximize his bottomline $$$. I would recommend you do some research, we saw a lot of hotels in Durango, so had local tones and others were bigger chains - if you do book here, make sure you have proof of your promissed rate and check it when you check in. We had two other people working with us that stayed down the street... they didn't seem to have any issues that night. My next stay in Durango? Most likely the Double Tree around the corner from this property.

The Residence Inn Durango was everything we wanted for a three night stay.

Breakfast, coffee and tea around the clock, large comfortable room, plenty of parking and convenient location. The room had a full sized fridge, stove, and dishwasher. When you walk in the room, it's wide open and welcoming. For two of the nights, we got back late from touring and did carry out back to the room. With a separate bedroom, the living room/eating area made this very comfortable and enjoyable. In other hotels, you'd be eating while sitting on the bed - not such a good thing. Here, there was a table with cloth napkins, real flatware, dishes, and glassware. Flat screen TVs in both the living area and the bedroom were a treat. All the staff were friendly and greeted you whenever they saw you. The breakfast staff was happy to see you and thanked you without being over the top chipper. Just right for a morning greeting. Food was quite varied and included fresh fruit, cooked oatmeal (not the instant package), eggs, potatoes, pastries, other breakfast breads, juice, etc, etc.

It's located just off the downtown district which probably added to the peacefulness. No highway noise, no late night carousers on the street.

Nice bathroom and amenities. Plenty of towels and hot water. This is the place to stay for a relaxing environment after seeing the sights.

We only stayed one night, but the room was fine. We were disappointed that we paid for a king suite (1 king bed and 1 sofa sleeper) and were given a queen suite that was MUCH smaller than my in-laws room (king suite). It was the handicap access room that had a doorbell that scared the crud out of my kids when my nieces rang it. I was a little miffed they wouldn't discount it either since we are a family of 4 and needed that extra space.

The room was clean, bathroom was clean. The bed was VERY firm. It killed my back, but I'm used to my squishy bed. We had plenty of pillows and towels. We had a hard time keeping the temperature comfortable, but that could have been user error. The fridge ran all night (ice maker?) and was pretty loud but didn't keep my kids up. We did hear people above us and some water running during the night. My sister-in-law heard a baby crying in the room next to her that kept her up all night. Bring a white noise machine. The walls are thin.

Breakfast was good, but we aren't picky eaters. There were eggs, potatoes with sausage, a waffle maker, canadian bacon (it was dried out so we didn't eat that). Cereal, milk, fruit, yogurt parfaits with granola. Of course, there is the usual donuts, muffins, toast, bagels as well.The staff manning breakfast was VERY friendly and helpful.

We'd stay there again but I will be bringing a white noise machine.

Stayed at the Residence Inn in late September / early October with my wife and two children for four days. The two bedroom suite (with three flat screen tvs) gave us plenty of room to spread out. The hotel is conveniently located a couple of minute drive from downtown and the rest of Durango.