I was here for 3 nights while doing business in the area. The Residence Inn was a really nice change from the "typical" hotel atmosphere. I don't know if other Residence Inn properties are built like this one; I honestly haven't stayed in one in many years so I don't have another one to compare it to. This property seemed almost like it used to be a condominium community and then later it was turned into a Residence Inn. There are many buildings, each has a number of units (rooms). At first I found this strange, but when I was coming back to the hotel after work in the evenings, I found it a welcome change. It was kind of like coming back to a "home" instead of to a "hotel." The room I had was not even really a room, it was more of a house. It was on the second floor of a building and was probably at least 1,000 square feet. You entered and walked into the first floor of a two story room. There was a full kitchen with a little seating area on the right, and on the left was a couch and chair in front of a television and a fireplace. Further back on the main floor was a living area with a dining room table and an office desk, a full bathroom, and a murphy queen bed that came out of the wall. Upstairs was a loft area that had a queen size bed and another bathroom. The sofa in the living room made out into a bed, so technically this room could sleep 6 people. The room I paid for was just a standard room, but being Platinum, they told me at the front desk that they upgrade Platinums to "penthouse units" when they are available. The unit really was more like a house than a room. If you happen to be a family traveling and looking for a hotel in the area, this would be the perfect place to stay. The hotel had free breakfast and food in the evenings, but due to my work schedule I wasn't able to take advantage of any of these freebies. I believe all rooms come with a full kitchen and that makes it really nice being able to get food at a grocery store instead of having to eat out every night. The AC/Heat worked well and both TVs were new flat screens with good channels and quality. Now for the things I didn't like about this hotel. It's an older property, and while it's certainly not terrible, it really needs to be updated. The appliances in the kitchen all worked but they were a bit older. The stairway going up to the loft area was pretty steep and quite narrow. There was a light at the top of the stairs that wasn't controlled by any light switch I could find, and as a result, I could never get the loft area entirely dark when going to sleep. The bed in the upstairs loft area wasn't a king, it was a queen, but I was staying alone so it didn't bother me at all. The loft area upstairs simply wouldn't fit a king sized bed anyway. What I disliked the most was the upstairs (loft/master) bathroom. It had a vanity/sink counter top that was VERY low, a clear indicator of how long it's been since it was originally installed. For some people this isn't a big deal, but for me it is. And because of the fact that the hotel isn't really a hotel building but more like a condo complex, there are no elevators, so if you happen to have any difficulty getting you and your bags up a flight of stairs or two, then be sure you ask for a ground floor room. Would I stay here again? Yes, but until they renovate the bathrooms and kitchen, I have to rate it very good but not excellent.
- Tinton Falls Residence Inn
