Marriott Riverside at the Convention Center — Attraction in Riverside

First time staying at Marriot Downtown Near the Convention Center.

As a frequent traveler and fan of Marriot properties, this one was Ok but a bit sub par in several areas compared to other Marriott properties I have stayed at.

Typically I am not a fan of downtown hotels, Paying $30 to $40 for parking, frequently annoying downtown traffic issues and higher levels of noise from traffic and downtown hustle and bustle are just a few of the reasons. Visiting the weekend before New Year’s this location was not as bad as other downtown Marriot’s and other downtown hotels I have had to stay out for convention shows and other purposes.

Positives:

1. Hotel is fairly modern looking.

2. Room…Bed was fairly comfortable (I hate hard mattresses). Good shower, spacious room. Large TV, good access to electrical plugs. Room had a Couch with a small portable table / TV Tray set up… good for working or dining. Relatively Quiet room for sleeping, good black out curtains

3. Reasonable access to the parking structure.

4. Staff was generally pleasant, even our restaurant server who seemed to be struggling with handling too many tables and large parties during Saturday morning breakfast crowd. The morning Starbucks /Bar Server was pleasant & they do offer bagels, grab and go breakfast sandwiches and few breakfast items if you want to skip the restaurant option. Valet staff also friendly.

5. Restaurant Experience… I Ordered the 3 Egg Omeletre Breakfast (includes 4 omelette ingredients, I did bacon, chorizo, cheese and onions). Meal was good portion and tasty and included hash browns and toast…was it with $18 not really… maybe $12 most other places. Other fam did the $25 buffet (includes custom made omelettes if interested), and 2 of our party ordered the waffle platter (they said waffle flavor was good but could have been more crispy).

Negatives: took a while for the grill items to come out, server was pleasant but very busy, took a while for toast to show up and to get extra waters during the meal time as server was very busy.

6. Fitness Center decent but could be better. More cardio pieces than most hotels (maybe 6-7 pieces) 5-50# Dumbbell Set, 2 benches, Leg Press, a workout mat, yoga ball, med balls. They had gym wipes available to wipe down product. Cardio pieces had interactive virtual run or ride programs and entertainment features.

Negatives:

1. $30 parking (in & out privledges included with room key swipe)
2. Restaraunt $25 buffet (overpriced I felt but food items seemed pretty well prepared and good quality overall… ran out of potatoes for a bit in the morning) Grill items overpriced but not untypical for hotel prices.
3. House keeping & Maintenance needs some improvement.

Hair in our shower😖

Fitness Center had several issues A) 2 out 3 cardio pieces I tried had issues, recumbent bike console not working, treadmill had annoying constant loud squeak when running on the treadmill deck (bad shock absorber?) B) 5# Dumbbell pairs was missing (stolen?) C) No Sit Up Bench or Ab Training Product in the room, just a floor mat. D) Dumbbell Training area seemed a little tight E) Rubber Floor Border Transition Strips around Dumbbell Area need to be glued back into place F) A huge pile of dirty towels were over flowing and quite visible when you (walk in)…seemed like housekeeping had skipped the fitness center cleaning for a few days in a row. G) Leg Press weight stack needed lubrication. Working but not as smooth as it should have been.

General Housekeeping Issues: Trash cans in common areas very full almost overflowing. Dirty meal dishes in hallways Some common areas needed general cleaning, vacuuming or mopping, etc. Not terrible...

This experience was less than desirable.|To begin with a general statement, the guestroom HVAC systems are extremely loud. The system turning on and off throughout the night was so loud it would wake us up. There was no possible way to get a good nights rest due to the loud startling rumble of the system. This was not isolated to just my room as other guests with my group complained about this as well.||The weekend manager, Guillermo was the most inhospitable person I have run across in a long time. When my kids brought in a sandwich to the lobby area to gulp down a quick lunch, we walked up to them and told them to leave and take their food outside to eat it. He should not address kids while I was just standing a few feet away. However, Guillermo approached me and also told me to leave and eat my lunch outside. When I asked him why I had to leave, he said that the hotel would be going through a renovation in the future and they wanted to break the habit of guests eating the lobby and messing up the furniture they hope to order in the future.||Later that night, I went to the hotel bar to order a beer. I had placed purse on the bar stool and was about to sit down. Guillermo took my beer order, but then paused and asked me where I was going to drink my beer. I told him that I was going to drink it right there in the bar. Once I responded, be handed me the beer. Was he going to refuse me service if I said I was going to take it to the lobby area? It sure did seem like it. ||This type of behavior continued throughout my stay. Not just with me, but with others that I was traveling with. We had other hotel guests join us for a beer in the bar once they returned from having pizza somewhere else for dinner. They brought in their box of leftovers (unopened pizza box). Once Guillermo saw the box, he asked us all to leave and go outside with the pizza box. Need I remind you that nobody was actually eating it, but it was simply leftovers that they had not taken up to their room. Nevertheless, the same hotel renovation story was offered as the reason. He added this time that we could eat snacks, but no other type of food in the lobby area. ||Following each interaction with any of us, Guillermo would proceed to the front desk, point and gossip about us to the front desk agents and make the entire interaction even more awkward. We were never made to feel welcome. ||Needless to say, I spent 7 days at a hotel that left me and other guests feel very unwelcome! After our interactions with Guillermo, we too the rest of our lunch and dinner business to other establishments. We also took all of our bar business elsewhere due to Guillermo's...

We were welcomed with very fast check in. One of the managers Jesse was amazing. Very nice always seen going out of his way to make sure people were getting service! One of the only great experiences we had here. The woman at the front desk, Karen however was very rude. Not sympathetic or helpful in any way. She wore a total attitude and smiled at you while saying “I’m sorry about that” in a cunning way. Very unprofessional. Another guest at the hotel mentioned how rude she was also. If you’re needing towels brought to you room.. expect them not to show up. The pool key card doesn’t work to open the pool gates.. no towels available at the pool and there was soda cans, food, and costume masks everywhere in the pool not to mention debris. Your key cards are needed to use the elevator which is a nice safety feature, however they fail to notify you this when you arrive so the elevator keeps you inside while you wait for someone else to get on it. Super inconvenient with 3 children. The elevator wait is roughly 15 minutes to go up or down. Very packed with people. The room we had did not have a working coffee pot, no microwave for my infants bottle and not even a sink. The small mini fridge wasn’t even cold. Trash and room service trays are left in the halls for days at a time. There was no trash clean up on our floor at all. It was quite gross. No complimentary breakfast for guests, that’s reserved for the 300 cheerleaders they have staying there. If you want coffee it has to be purchased from their Starbucks in the lobby which the line is miles long with slow service. Be careful when ordering room service. If you’re ordering items off the kids menu for your littles, you will be charged for adult meals with add ons and additional charges that are advertised as free with your child’s meal such as juice and bacon or sausage with their pancakes. I had to speak to 3 different people to get this reversed and fixed and was promised a receipt but never received one. At checkout I had to ask a fourth time for it to be fixed. I couldn’t wait to get my family out of this hotel and will not be staying there...