Residence Inn by Marriott Atlanta Midtown/Peachtree at 17th — Hotel in Atlanta

My recent stay at this Marriott was probably one of the worst hotel experiences I've ever had. Experiences like this is why have switched to platforms like AirBnB. I'd like to point out that the valet guys were the best part of this stay. They were nice, professional and welcoming. When using the elevator to get from the garage to the front desk, the doors would not open and I was stuck inside for about 2 minutes. I later discovered the elevator doors would not open on floor 3 either. On day 2 of my stay someone came to fix this but they front desk attendant sent them away for some reason. I overheard many guests reporting the elevator issues and I used the stairs the rest of my trip. Upon check-in the desk attendant was very short and slightly rude, but I chalked it up to hear having a long day. Upon entering the room the mobile key did not work. Over the next days it still didn't work not once. The dishes in the room, specifically the forks were not clean—none of them. I have a video. I understand the building is old however instead of repairs it seemed to be full of band-aids. The toilet paper holder was completely broken off the wall. The internet option on the TV did not work. It said that hotel had not renewed its subscription. The bathroom sick had been caulked back several times over the years and the sink would not produce hot water (I don't think those 2 things were related) Hot water in the kitchen and shower were fine. In fact, the bathtub faucet dripped the entire time. So much so you could hear every drop. The toilet would not flush at one point in the evening. The night auditor said she was along and could not leave the desk and there was no one to fix it. When asking for a plunger she said I had to come down to get it, which was fine. When I got there she was in fact not alone at the desk and said she couldn't find a plunger anywhere and that she couldn't help. I asked her to look again. A few minutes later she finally found one. I took it and fixed the toilet myself. Upon pulling out the sofa bed I was met with a stained dirty mattress with almost no padding. When sitting on the bed it was springs. The sheets kept in the closet for the pull-out mattress were stained and full of holes. The blanket kept with those sheets was old, crunchy and had different color long hairs woven into it from use over time. I submitted this same complaint (plus some...too many characters for Google) for to Marriott customer service on 3/26/24. The rep I spoke to said there wasn't anything she could do because the hotel is a franchise but she would forward the complaint to management. However I could tell she wasn't taking notes so I asked if she got everything. She said "no" and asked me to repeat everything...which I did and at that point I could hear her typing. She said I would hear something back from the hotel by 3/29/24. I finally heard back on 3/30/24. I was offered 10k Marriott points. I was very clear I would never again stay at any hotel by Marriott so points would do me no good and I am looking for financial compensation in the form of US dollars. This stay is the worst $800+...

I stayed at this hotel for 8 consecutive days from 4/13/25-4/21/25 and I wanted to caution future guests.

Room: The room was simply okay, but with how high the nightly rate was, I expected a lot more, especially from Marriot as I stay with them almost weekly for work trips. The rooms are pretty dated here and have not been renovated in a long time. To make matters worse, there were multiple visible repairs to various parts of the room that were poorly done. The shower head leaked and sprayed everywhere due to a poor repair and the backsplash tile in the shower was cracked and shattered but was visibly thrown back together with some sort of adhesive that looked awful. The toilet did not flush correctly and had to be held down in order to operate it. There was an excessive amount of noise both internally, and externally while in my room due to construction that was happening both inside and outside of the hotel, and quality sleep was hard to come by due to this issue as the noise started most days at around 7-8am. This was pretty frustrating as I was using earplugs and playing white noise to block it out and it did not help.

Staff: The staff at this hotel were not pleasant to deal with, especially those at the front desk. With the exception of 1-2 individuals, everyone else was flat out rude and disinterested in assisting guests. House keeping appears to have been by request only, and upon requesting a room refresh at the front desk, the staff member acted extremely annoyed and dismissive, and they clearly never communicated my request to the maintenance staff as promised. When I arrived to my room, 8+ hours later expecting a fresh set of towels, sheets, and more toilet paper, I unfortunately found that nothing had been done. I was only provided with one single role of toilet paper for my room, for the entire week+ that I was there, and when I had to request more, along with towels, due to the lack of house keeping, a different staff member at the desk was rude and annoyed, once again.

Parking: Parking at this hotel is kind of a nightmare. You can either pay for street parking and continuously have to feed a meter every few hours, or choose from one of the two garages available, one that is $36/night (says $18, it is not) or $40 for valet parking.

Location: This hotel is located nicely in proximity to multiple major road ways and walking distance from a nice section of downtown. Breakfast at this hotel is awful and not worth paying for, skip it entirely and head across the street to the healthy cafe, its affordable and way better quality.

Overall, I would not stay here again and I would not recommend it to anyone else either, you can find other places near by that are less of a headache and more pleasant...

The Worst Hotel Experience I’ve Ever Had – Residence Inn Atlanta Midtown Peachtree on 17th Street

As indicated by my past reviews, I typically only take the time to write when a hotel experience is either exceptional or horrendous. Unfortunately, this review falls squarely in the latter category. I’m making an exception today because this was, hands down, the worst hotel stay I’ve ever had—especially shocking coming from a Residence Inn.

Where do I even begin?

From the moment I arrived, the service was atrocious. There’s a sign instructing guests to press a button for entry if they haven’t checked in yet—fine, understandable. What’s not acceptable is having to push that button ten times while watching the front desk rep blatantly ignore me. I could see them, and they simply refused to acknowledge my presence.

When I was finally let in and checking in, I had to remind the front desk staff to give me the complimentary water I’m entitled to as an Elite member. You’d think loyalty would be met with at least basic courtesy. Think again.

Now let’s talk about the room: dirty. Plain and simple. The walls and doors were scuffed, stained, and screaming for a fresh coat of paint—clearly neglected. For a property carrying the Residence Inn name, this room was far below standard.

Then there’s the blatant parking scam. Valet is $40 a night—no self-parking available through the hotel. If you want to self-park, you’re forced to use a lot across the building, where the sign (inexplicably) says “$18 up to 1440 minutes.” 1440 minutes is 24 hours, so I parked at 3 PM Saturday and checked out before 11 AM Sunday—far less than 24 hours. Guess what? Still charged full price, but for two days (totaling $36). Who even posts parking rates by minutes? Absurd.

When I called the front desk to speak to a manager, I was told there was no manager or supervisor available until the next day. Unacceptable. And when I brought up the parking issue, I was met with a shrug: “We’re not responsible for that lot.” Really? Here’s a tip for Residence Inn management—if you force customers to use a specific parking option due to your lack of alternatives, you own that experience. Like it or not, perception is reality. And the reality is, this hotel is happy to charge like a premium brand but deliver like a discount motel.

In summary: poor service, dirty room, price gouging, and a complete lack of accountability. I truly hope this review saves someone else the regret of staying here. I will never return to this location, and if this is any indication of how Residence Inn is run now, I may rethink my loyalty altogether.

One star is...