TownePlace Suites by Marriott Atlanta Buckhead — Hotel in Atlanta

My reserved, confirmed and credit card guaranteed reservation was bumped by someone who had no reservations. I made reservations for family members well in advance online and to be absolutely sure guaranteed the reservations with a credit card. Upon arrival my family members were told the 2 bedroom suite I reserved was not available and were given a junior suite (one room with two beds). I spoke to Jerisa who informed me that they were overbooked and another guest extended their stay and therefore our reservation was bumped. When questioned how someone without a reservation could bump a guaranteed reservation no plausible answer could be given. I was told I could speak to the supervisor the next morning. I requested a call back from Dana (supervisor) the next morning. Off course I did not receive that follow up call and when I finally called was told that no such request was left for her. I again questioned how I could be bumped by someone that had no reservation and again was not given a plausible explanation. I asked to speak to the general manager several times but was told she was not available.

My family members were told a two bedroom suite would be available the second night but that meant they had to pack up and move rooms; adding more stress and inconvenience. After moving out of the first room they were assured that the second room would be available soon; that a priority cleaning was scheduled. They were told to go on with their plans and would receive a call as soon as the suite was ready. That phone call never came. Only after my family members called the hotel late afternoon did they find out that the suite was ready.

The hotel offered a miniscule price reduction; not nearly enough for ruining what was supposed to be a relaxing getaway. This trip was a nightmare for my family members due to this hotel. I have traveled the world for both business and pleasure and been a Marriott customer for many, many years (among other chains) and I can honestly say that I have never ever experienced anything like this. When I ask the supervisor how I could trust Marriott with my future travel needs she was not able to assure me that this was an unfortunate coincidence. Her non assurance has lead me to conclude that Marriott is not able to uphold their end of our contractual agreement and therefor I will eliminate Marriott from my future...

Pros: Hotel rate was reasonable for the area and time of year.

Parking at this hotel was free in the parking garage. (There's a minimal parking "lot", with the same 2004 busted up car parked all the time, and the garage is shared with a Holiday Inn on the same patch of land - so park in the parking garage.)

Rooms were clean, reasonably comfortable, and reasonably quiet.

A/C in my room was hard core, to say the least, which is probably useful most of the time in ATL given the temps/humidity.

Housekeeping staff were all very nice, and room was not stingy w/ the towels, which was nice to have.

Location of property is super close to various freeways, etc. to get around ATL.

Cons: Hotel shares the same plot of land with another, different hotel chain in a round-a-bout situation, and the exit is right-turn only, so plan accordingly where you'll need to U-turn, and be prepared to get run over if you drive in any way ATL drivers don't like, esp. if they want to pull into the QT across the street. (Seriously...don't try walking in the area.)

For some reason being able to park BETWEEN the very clear lines in the parking garage isn't something people staying at this hotel normally do, to the point where you can't walk out of the garage w/o climbing over someone's car, or get into your car so you can leave.

Room needed some quality repairs to it: someone yanked the body wash/shampoo dispensers right off the shower wall, the electrical sockets in the bathroom and other parts of the room were so loose that plugs just FELL OUT of them. Cords on things like the desk lamp were pretty frayed and kept shorting out. Lighting in the room is between very indirect (lamps) or eye-blinding (overhead LED ceiling fixture).

Front desk staff seem kinda annoyed that you're there, and have a fun trick of keeping the doors to the hotel locked, regardless of the time of day, so they can hide in the hotel office staring at their phone and not get in trouble (you need a room key to get in, or they'd have to buzz you in if you were trying...

I attended a dance event in Atlanta this year and decided to book this hotel due to being located close to the dance venue. I returned at night around 2:00 a.m.and I could not get in the hotel for about 45 minutes. I was tired and ready to get some rest and when I tried to get in the hotel the front door could not be accessed with the room card. I called and called the front desk with the hope that the front desk clerk would hear the phone. Nothing. I called the police and the policeman couldn't help either. Finally, after about 45 minutes of agony a little old lady showed up. She was a guest at the hotel in a room located close to the entrance. She heard my calling the front desk and came over. She opened the door for me from inside. Then, the front desk clerk showed up claiming he hadn't heard the calls. I was very upset and went up to the room. Next day I asked to speak with the manager. She wasn't around due to being a weekend. I was given her card and called her on Monday. The manager was polite and respectful. She offered to give me Marriott points for my stay. That was nice. However, she promised that she'd give me a free night stay at the hotel if I returned to Atlanta to compensate for the bad experience I had. Well, her promises never materialized. A few months later I contacted her to let her know I was looking at coming back to Atlanta and was hoping that she'd keep her promise. I called twice and left her detailed messages reminding her of the incident when I got locked out of the hotel and her offer to compensate for the bad experience. She never called me back. I would have preferred that she didn't make all these promises. That was very unprofessional of...