I had made reservations for this hotel since we are a family of two adults and two teenagers and looking for a place to stay since we were in the area. My main goals were free breakfast, internet, and indoor pool. My expections were disappointed in a hotel such as a Marriott. We booked the jr suite with two queen beds and pull out sofa bed (which had 4 stains, rips and holes in it and no sheets for it) I would not allow anyone from my family to sleep on it. I was also disappointed in no bedspreads just white sheets with a piece of colorful fabric about 20" wide going across the bottom of bed. The bathroom needed to be upgraded for sure. The indoor pool was really clouly looking and the water was not clear. We have stayed at Embassy Suites when we travel and I thought that Marriott was on a high scale then Embassy Suites but I was wrong. Embassy Suites are top notch right down to a big, cooked to order breakfast for a price cheaper then Marriott in cities such as Boston, DC.

My boyfriend and I wanted a mini getaway to Mystic, and due to financial contstraints, ended up staying here. While it was a bit further away from the Mystic area than I would have desired, it was still an easy trip to Mystic as well as Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun.
We had a clean but unfussy room. This is not, by any means, a luxury hotel. But the staff still took great care in their hotel.
The staff was very friendly, even sending us an e-mail a few days before, giving us a heads up on the weather as well as highlights of some family friendly activities. At the hotel itself, they had listed all the shows and events at the casinos, which was great, since the casino's website itself didn't even list the show we ended up seeing. When we asked the front desk clerk about a nearby restaurant, he was able to give us a personal reccomendation.
By no means should my rating make it seem like this is a top of the line hotel. But I have stayed in far shadier, dirtier hotels for more money than the SpringHill Suites cost. I have also dealt with far nastier staff and much "nicer" hotels.

**Use this address for your GPS – 401 N. Frontage Rd. North Frontage, CT. **
Some GPS’s have difficulty recognizing the address on the website (Waterford, CT). The hotel is actually on the border of North Frontage and Waterford. Once you arrive be sure to ask the front desk for a print out of directions to and from Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods as it can be a little tricky.
Pros: Free Breakfast, indoor pool, smoke free hotel, clean room with soft sheets, in room fridge and microwave, two TVs and pull out couch. A friend and I went to see a sold out show at Mohegan Sun. The recommendations from Mary and Stephanie at the front desk were spot on. They helped us pick a restaurant and told us which parking garage to use at the Casino so our entry and exit was painless.
Cons: Super Thin Walls! Woke up three times during the night: people talking in the next room, a baby crying down the hall and people walking around upstairs. If that wasn't enough, the A/C kept kicking on and off during the night.
According to management, the hotel is scheduled for renovation. Looks like extra sound proofing is in the plans. In the meantime, request a corner room on the top floor!

If you're like us, the economic situation has made you re-think your lodging choices. We've always been Marriott fans and stayed in some of their nicest hotels, but recently the new normal for my wife and I has been the Spring Hill level of their hotel line.

So what have we missed from our former lodgings? We'll no spas and salons to be sure. The nicest locations perhaps? But other than that, perhaps the thing we don't miss is the price. And that's where knocking back to the Spring Hill level makes total sense.

So how did the SpringHill Suites Mystic Waterfordone do for our two day trip to Mystic and up to Newport? Pretty good actually. Not that I was surprised, since Marriott has a reputation to uphold, but overall, it was a keeper. Here's why...

We're seasoned travelers. Been to Europe, all over the US and Canada and places in between. We're in our mid 50's and don't have kids. Our expectations are high and perhaps a bit snobbish. Sure, I admit it, I'm not one to accept a poor experience quietly (neither should you).

The place was clean. Really clean. That was great. Rooms were good sized with a sitting area, desk, kitchenette, separate bath and sink area, two twin beds and amazingly, two LCD TV's Each room had a unit heater/AC unit, and as expected, it was a little too loud, especially when it cycled on and off. I just shut it down, and the room still was comfy and airy. No problem

The bathroom floor had tile grout that needed to be scrubbed. It was not dirty by any means, it just needed to be bleached out to match the cleanliness of the rest of the room. Simple things mean a lot.

We were in room 306. Top floor by the elevator and ice machine. Still quiet. Except for Friday night between 8 and 10 PM when the family of elephants came bouncing down the hallway. On occasion the people in the room next to us would toss bowling balls or midgets at the wall, but soon tired of that and we retreated into a good, silent night's sleep.

As to the locations. Well it's better now. There was an old warehouse or something directly across the street that I saw on the Google Maps sights. But when we got there, it was torn down. All that remained was a flat, empty lot. Behind the hotel is a lovely little lake. Sadly it's hard to see from the all the trees between the room window and the lake, but you can walk down to it if you like.

There is just enough parking to handle the hotel size and the mall on the other side of the parking lot isn't a factor. The traffic from the mall and the hotel never mix.

Speaking of the mall and the general area...we'll it's New London, Connecticut. It's not Vegas by any means. Now we're from a big city and our neighborhood isn't homogeneous. If you're not familiar with people of various colors and accents, you might want to avoid going out to visit the local flavor. Will they bother your? Not likely. We went into the nearby food store for some things and felt like we were back in the city. Nice enough, but a little gritty. Wear your big girl panties and you'll be fine.

The breakfast was as expected. A reasonable selection of the usual fare. Coffee, tea, orange juice, bagels, eggs, pancakes, etc. You get the idea. And hot coffee was available 24 hours. We didn't bother with room service, but got the notion that the would have been efficient about it.

Anything bad to report? Not really bad. The family of elephants were down for the ample and nice free breakfast, an their out-of-control kids were trying to eat everything in site. But the girls who ran the breakfast bar were great about it and refilled anything that was gone. But you will get confused getting to the place off of I-95. It's just a dumb set of frontage roads and overpasses. Just be sure to Google Map it first.

So we'll stay here again if it suites our needs. We saved hundreds of dollars over the 'real' Marriott up the road, and the distance to Mystic and up to Newport was no issue at all. Was a clean, quiet, attractive place with everything you need and nothing more, in a little working-class New England city that won't bother you if you don't bother it.

Cheers!