Residence Inn by Marriott Alexandria Old Town South at Carlyle — Hotel in Alexandria

My gf and I decided to attend a conference at a nearby hotel last minute. The conference hotel no longer provided a group rate so we decided to stay at Residence Inn on South Carlyle because it was about $50 a night less than the conference hotel. We stayed for three nights. When I travel I prefer to use public transportation as opposed to renting a vehicle or relying on Lyft/Uber. This Residence Inn was only about a .5 mile away from conference and Metro station. I could walk if need be. My gf probably couldn't walk that distance particularly since we would be going back and forth several times a day. I called the week prior to confirm shuttle service and the gentleman said that hotel shuttle is available except when they were fulfilling airline contracts. Also, checked to see that there was a business center as I had some work to do and a meeting that I would need to attend virtually. He confirmed there was a business center.

Upon arriving in DC and getting to conference hotel. We checked in at conference and called Residence Inn to pick us up and take us to their hotel. They asked for address, which I gave them and said they would send a driver. We waited 20 minutes and no shuttle so I called hotel again. They said driver had just left and was on route. Waited another 15 minutes and no shuttle. Called again the third time, they put me on hold and called driver as they had left already. Finally, got back to me and told me that driver was at other side of hotel (which is a totally different address). We had to walk around a very large building with luggage in tow. Driver apologized. Okay mistakes happen, even though I gave them exact address where we wanted to be picked up and we stood in front of street address displayed on building.

That night I went to do work in business center but both computers were termporarily unavailable (pic attached). I asked front desk if this could be resolved as I had meeting next day at 4pm. He said he would put in a request in the morning. We came down next day, I ask for ride for my gf to conference but no shuttle available at the moment as they had airline contract. We were told to call Lyft/Uber. Two hours later, I came back down and asked for shuttle for myself. A manager explained that staff were about to go into a meeting and a driver could not be spared. The manager also said computers would not be working by 4pm and that I could use her laptop. It made me feel like I was an inconvenience for asking for these services and instead I opted to go to conference hotel and use their business center. I ended up walking to conference in 93 degree heat.

Later that evening I called for a driver to pick us up from conference. No one available. We ended up walking back at 9pm. Next morning I call front desk for shuttle, none available. Had to call Lyft again. That evening I requested pickup from conference at 8pm to take us back to hotel. No driver available. Called for a Lyft again. When we returned to hotel I inquired about shuttle service next day for ride to metro. We were told that no driver would be available and to call a Lyft/Uber.

Had I known that their hotel shuttle services would be severely limited I would have not stayed there. The amount of time, effort and money wasted walking or calling for a Lyft/Uber was not worth the $150 we saved by staying at Residence Inn. I ended up walking back and forth to hotel and conference/metro station about six times. And normally that would not be an issue but it was hot those several days. Coupled with the inconvenience of a non-working business center even though I called the week prior to ensure that this service was available.

Lastly, coffee machine was unavailable. Yes ,there was one in the room but there was no carafe or filter (attached pic). We looked all over the place including the dishwasher, cupboards, refrigerator but couldn't find it. Yeah, I should have requested one but after dealing with lack of hotel shuttle and business center, I just gave up...

Let’s start with the bad: -Water temperature. I took a shower yesterday and I couldn’t even get the water warm. Just took a shower now and had it on the coldest setting, almost burnt my face off. My face was so red after my shower and my skin felt so dry. My baby woke me up at 5am and all I wanted was an enjoyable shower. -Pay to park, $32 per night. The Holiday Inn less than a mile from this hotel has free parking. That said, we stayed here for the 1 bedroom suite because of our 5 month old son and the convenience of having a separate bedroom. Now the good/ great: -Free breakfast is honestly pretty good, and I’m shocked to even say that. Definitely the best hotel breakfast I’ve had! Only annoying thing is guests toast their own bagel/ muffins etc. and consistently burn their breads, thus causing the entire room to smell less than pleasant. Weekdays, breakfast goes until 930am and I’d personally like it to go until 10am but that’s my personal opinion. -The suite has everything you can imagine when it comes to the kitchen. They really think about the long term stay guest. I mean there’s all the kitchen essentials you need, minus a toaster and oven in the one bedroom suite. The stovetop works amazingly and I’m obsessed with the ice maker in the freezer (weird, I know but it’s so convenient to not leave the room for ice). -The rooms are modern, clean, and well appointed. -Hotel staff are friendly. I wouldn’t say above and beyond but they understand quality customer service. I worked at a Marriott hotel in Boston and know what customer service in hospitality should look like. The staff here are definitely up to snuff. -Parking is underground and double gated, so I understand having to pay for the safety aspect. $32 a night is excessive though. -Our room was right next to the train tracks. Upon entering the room I wanted to cry/scream seeing that because I thought my 5 month old would wake at every train passing (we drove 10 hours to get here so my reaction is extreme). I was going to request another room but decided to give it the benefit of the doubt. I have to say, we didn’t hear a peep for the entire 5 days we stayed here. These windows must be quadruple thick or something. So happy about this!

Now for the “mid”: -Location is fine. I wouldn’t call this a city in any sense of the word compared to Boston but it’s convenient to the highways and family in the area. -A family member said there’s a homeless shelter nearby and not sure if that’s true or not. I personally don’t have a problem with this but I know some families might.

As you can see, the good clearly outweighs the bad. We travel down here once a year and I would stay here again, booking the suite or 2 bedroom...

Hello I am a frequent traveler and would like to provide a review of the Residence Inn Alexandria Old Town South at Carlyle. My wife and I along with our dog traveled to Old Town on our return from vacationing in Myrtle Beach, SC. We selected this hotel as I am a lifetime Marriott Platinum Elite member and this hotel was about halfway home for us and we had never stayed here before and it was pet friendly. I used my mobile app and did a precheck in where I learned that parking was a 30 dollar fee. When we arrived the staff was ok as the first person asked how they could help me then after I said I'd like to check in, promptly told me to go to the other desk where another employee checked me in. During this check in the associate told me that parking was on premise at $40.00 per night, which I said the checkin app said only 30. They said their prices had changed but I was relieved when they gave me the 30 rate. Next I asked where my dog could go for relief at which point the associate mentioned there was a dog park about a block away and another one deeper into the city not far away. So now we had to drive up to the closest park that did not have lights and would be a security concern if bringing my dog back in the dark in the later night. So I felt misled about dog friendly especially when the adjacent properties all have signs that say "Dogs keep off the grass". Parking was ok in the parking garage and the elevator was clean. The room was not at temp per my precheck-in, then I looked for ice for our use and no ice machines in the hotel and couldn't find an ice bucket, so I went to lobby with a bowl from my kitchen and they said I need to use my room refrigerator that is equipped with an ice maker, but they did fill my bowl with ice for me. This is not good if you are only staying 1 night, then maybe they should have turned on the ice maker for me ahead of time. :( Next we tried to find the cold water in the room at both the kitchen and bathroom. We got hot out of the cold and hot out of the hot. We stayed one night thankfully as the mattress was among the worst ever with a big dip, yes we could have complained and got transferred but you know how it is, it would have been too much hassle to move, so in the morning both my and my wife took 5 ibuprofen for our muscles to relax and allow us to walk normally. Don't get me started about the toilet (about 15 inches off the ground) with a toilet seat that moved and was not properly secured. We could not get out of there soon enough ....... I do not recommend this hotel. I gave 2 stars because they did help me and the building is clean. I will not return and the $150.. fee for my pet was...