Residence Inn Columbia

There is NOTHING about this Residence Inn that should have 3 stars, much less anything above 1 star. This was the ABSOLUTE WORST experience of a Marriott we have ever had in all the years of being Marriott-Bon Voy members. This place is under renovation and there is NO notification when you make a reservation online that it is undergoing a renovation!! It looks and reminds you of a Motel 6 on skid row. We had been driving for over 10 hours and needed just comfort, a shower and sleep. We checked in at 11:30 p.m. at night. We took our key card and went to our room, turned around and walked out. We asked for a better room and were given another room. We walked into the 2nd room, turned around and walked out. The rooms were 1960s dated. The floor tiles in both bathrooms were cracked in several places, the beds looked like they had been sat/layed on, the kitchenette counters were old and cracked, the carpets in the suites and hallways were buckled and ripped, the base boards throughout the entire property had been ripped off, wallpaper was in strips hanging from the sides of the walls, the elevator was disgusting and both suites smelled musty and old. The furniture was dated 1970s rusty brown, and looking at both bedrooms in each suite we actually were concerned about bed bugs and it reminded us of an old Motel 6 (a/k/a the Bates Motel). We very promptly checked out of this Residence Inn within 30 minutes of checking in. We were asked the reason for our checking out and I said "this is a pig stye of a Marriott hotel - you should be ashamed". The employee that greeted us at check-in was in slippers, sweatpants and an old Marriott style long sleeve shirt where half of the collar was under the back of her shirt and the other half of her collar was over the top, as if she had just gotten out of bed and thrown a shirt on to check people in. She was dressed like a slob. Marriott.... this property should NOT be under your badge.

I checked in recently to find out that my room smelled, the remotes did not work and there were wet paper towels on the kitchen counter. Clearly not suitable for first impression. The room smelled, the remote controls did not work and there was wet paper towels balled up on the kitchen counter. I informed the front desk but just got a sorry from them. They did give me the name and information to their general manager Kareem Mostafa. I did email him to complain and ask for a refund. He replied with saying the room was fine, didn't smell and remotes worked which was not the case. I did call corporate, and they said they were siding with the GM. Will never stay at this Residence again. Very poorly managed. I would not pay them unless you look at the rooms first. Very unclean.

Perfect for families with little ones! The separate room allowed for our young daughter to go to sleep while we still had access to a TV, living room, and kitchen.

Swimming pool down

I was very happy with my stay. My suite was spacious, it was the size of a nice studio apartment. I loved the full size kitchen appliances. The location being right off the interstate was convenient for driving to destinations, but can be terrible for noise. I didn't have an issue because my room was facing the other direction, but my sister had to request a different room in the middle of her first night because the noise prevented her from sleeping.

This isn't the greatest joint in Columbia I have a feeling. Checkin was fine, the desk attendant was pleasant and eager to help with any requests. That's where it ended however. My tv remote didn't work and I brought it down for new batteries. They did not have any. When they did they dropped the remote off at the wrong room. Luckily one of my fellow business travelers was in the room and let me come get it. The fun then began later as the elevator would not open. Unluckily I was on the top floor and had to take the stairs each day, including the last morning when I checked out with all of my luggage. What's funny is I requested a room that didn't face the highway, if I had kept my original room I don't think I would've had the elevator problem as it only pertained to the folks on the top floor. Breakfast was bland, ate two meals in the morning elsewhere. Talking with one of the locals he indicated that this hotel was not located in a great area of town. Would not stay here on my own dime.