Residence Inn Richmond Downtown

Needed a one night stay in Richmond to break up a drive from the Outerbanks back to DC. I checked in using the app maybe two hours before I arrived at 11:30pm. Finding the entrance to the hotel is unnecessarily challenging. GPS will take you to the address on E. Cary St, but there is no entrance there and no place to pull over. Unfortunately there is no signage directing you to the hotel entrance which is on S 13th St. Unfortunately, S 13th St is one way going into Cary St, so you have to take the second right and go around the block in order to get to the hotel entrance. So easy to correct this frustration with some signage directing guests. Has the manager of this hotel ever approached as if they didn’t where they were going so that they might see their hotel from their guests perspective? Isn’t this a basic standard of hospitality? Next, I tried to checkin. Despite the fact that I had checked in using the app, it took the front desk clerk more than 10 minutes to figure out his computer and get me a room key. There was absolutely no mention or appreciation of my bonvoy gold elite status. The room was warm. The thermostat was set to 68, but it had to be at least 74 in the room, and the bedroom was warmer than the living room. I turned the thermostat to its lowest setting of 65, but the room never got cool enough for a comfortable night’s sleep. For a fairly new property, this hotel is very poorly maintained. There are scratches and stains everywhere. It did not feel clean or well kept. The wifi is woefully inadequate. Even if you pay for premium service. I could barely stream music siriusxm. And it took so long for wifi to connect, it was hardly worth the effort. I decided to use cell data instead as it was much faster and more consistent. Then to top it off….someone - I expect was the hotel manager - urgently knocked on my door at 9am as I was getting dressed and ready to checkout. When I opened the door he said he was just checking on me and wanted to make sure I didn’t need anything, which he also seemed to think was funny. I guess this is a game they play here. It’s called, “provide lousy service to your guests and then annoy them needlessly.” Fun! Really? This experience would not only keep me from ever staying at this property again, but would have me seriously reconsider a stay at any Marriott Residence Inn. In a growingly competitive hospitality market - I wish them luck.

Well appointed hotel. Great location, extremely friendly staff! Catherine was super helpful at the front desk. The valet service was exceptional. Cliff was super helpful and quick with getting our car.

The hotel itself was fine, with a great location for visiting Richmond and friendly and efficient front desk staff. The main problem that I had was with the Valet car service -- if I hadn't read all the positive reviews about it I probably would have self-parked. Checking in was fine but when going out in the evening we had to wait a half hour to get our car and came close to missing a dinner reservation. They were clearly understaffed. Then my credit card was charged almost three times what it should have cost for an overnight stay and I'm now disputing the charge.

Very nice hotel and an especially great valet! I normally don’t comment on the valet service, but Cliff went above and beyond to ensure my car was delivered on time. Not only that, his smile, great personality, a quick wit was truly appreciated during my visit.

We really enjoyed our short stay in Richmond. However, the hotel staff told us that we could get breakfast until 10am, and that it was to be included in our stay, but when we came down at about 9:15 we were told it ended at 9 on weekdays. The person with whom we spoke was not very understanding about the fact that we had been told 10am the night before. We then had to buy our breakfast and they were out of the first 2 things we asked for, a breakfast sandwich and a burrito. The staff was nice there, but it took forever and cost quite a bit after having been told our breakfast was included.

Excellent