We have never had bad luck at any Courtyard Marriott before, but we had lots of problems with our most recent stay in Cary, NC. The lobby was being remodeled which was well-advertised on the hotel website, so that was not a problem at all. When we checked in and went to unlock our room door, it wouldn't budge. We could hear the mechanism unlocking, but the door wouldn't move. After 9 attempts to open the door, I was going to get help from the desk when my husband tried to unlock it. He was able to put his weight on the door to get it open, and we had the same problem each time we left the room.

The room was in pretty good shape, but there was some nasty black grainy stuff in our toilet that almost looked like someone had emptied an ashtray in it, but it's a non-smoking hotel. There were some small stains on the wallpaper, but the bed area seemed quite clean.

The room was stuffy since the temperature outside was very mild, so we turned on the A/C. We tried every menu and every setting option available, but it would not go below 65 degrees. This sounds pretty cool, but when the temperature outside is so mild, the A/C won't kick on if it's set at 65 degrees, and the room was stuffy & stagnant. We would have opened a window to at least get a little air flow, but the only window was a sliding glass door, and being on the first floor, we weren't about to leave a sliding glass door open at night. Since we were only staying for 1 night, we just dealt with it.

Aside from being hot while we tried to sleep, the walls were SO THIN that we could hear everything going on around us. When the doors to the neighboring rooms opened & closed, we heard it. We heard the elevator ding, we heard the locking door to the side entrance of the hotel lock & unlock each time someone entered or exited the building, and we heard the TV show and conversations that were taking place next door (which were not excessively loud...it was just that the walls were too thin).

Neither of us were very well-rested the next morning, and I was going to tell the front-desk staff who checked us out about our concerns. But when we went to check-out, the lady was very polite but did not ask at all if we enjoyed our stay, if we were satisfied with the room...nothing. So, I figured that they weren't interested in our stay or about any feedback for the room.

When we went to our car, there were lots of glass beer bottles littering the grassy area around the rooms, the parking lot and the wooded area surrounding the parking lot. That was a first for me out of all of the hotel stays I've ever had. If there was a lot of drinking going on in the parking lots of other hotels I've stayed at before, it was always cleaned up before morning.

This hotel doesn't offer wi-fi or free breakfast. With all of the other amenities offered by other hotels in the Cary/Apex area, and given all of the issues we had, we can't recommend this hotel. We still love Marriott, just not this particular location.

Will be very nice when the lobby is complete. The staff was very nice and made the lobby construction a non issue.

This Courtyard Marriott is not on a par with some of the others that we have stayed at. Plus -- the every confortable bed. Minus -- there is a breakfast bar that is high priced--no free breakfast here. With all the other comparable hotels in the area that offer a complimentary breakfast, we would not stay there again.

We stayed four nights for a college scouting trip - flying in via RDU. Having just stayed at a hideous Courtyard, I was apprehensive. But we had a wonderful stay.

Everything about our stay was great. First, the front desk stay were professional, knowledgeable, and friendly. We asked about mass and got a recommendation for a very nice Catholic church just a stone's through away.

Second, the hotel is next to a shopping mall. We liked the Thai-sushi restaurant very much and the saloon-burger joint was pleasant too. There are a number of closed stores in the mall, but what is still there is nicer than what you get within walking distances of many Courtyards, The area is beautiful, feels safe, and quite pleasant.

Third, the cost was low. Our first room was included in a Travelocity package. We decided to add a second room, which we got for $52 online - King no smoking.

Fourth, the food was good. We had just been tormented at the Charlotte Arrowood Courtyard the previous weekend. By contrast, this Courtyard was like the Berlin Airlift: There was copious food, the service area scored 102 on N Carolina's cleanliness scale (one of my favorite features of this state as a tourist) -- most places hover at 92-95. The tables were clean and well-served. A pleasure. Five stars vs. the no-stars experience at Courtyard in Charolotte Arrowood.

Fifth, our rooms and the common areas of the hotel were clean. All was fine. Got the job done. This courtyard had one computer out for printing off boarding passes and the like -- which was nice. (I wish they had two out.)

My only tourist tip on a trip to this beautiful state is the now odd presence of widespread smoking. I have severe allergies to smoking and got an older rental car that I endured for five days. I shouldn't have. If you are sensitive to smoking -- demand a no smoking car -- or return a rolling ashtray if you get one. This was not at all a negative at the hotel -- but a tip on your rental car. This is a special problem in 2009 as the Great Recession has the rental car companies holding on to the cars much longer -- meaning more second hand smoke in NC.