Courtyard by Marriott Austin Parmer/Tech Ridge — Hotel in Austin

This review is for the night of 10 April @ 7:30PM. the members on staff were Donna, Adrian & Christian. I am a frequent business / government traveler who stays in Austin a few nights a week for work. Unfortunately, this week I forgot my bank card with my little sister & didn’t have a backup option outside of Apple Pay… which I’ve been able to use successfully at alol establishments. I asked the front desk if I would be able to check in using Apple Pay and they told me that the system isn’t wired for digital transactions. I told them I understood but since the banks were closed, would I be able to show them the card to type it in (have a copy on my phone) or Zelle someone on staff the money (I was desperate lol). My plan was to go to the bank in the morning to get a temporary card & show them the next day since they needed to see the physical card.

They told me that both options were out of their company policy & there was NOTHING they could do. I got so desperate that I attempted to ask a fellow guest for help… could I send the cash for one night via Zelle & they use their physical card to show the front desk? Ms. Donna approached me and told me that they don’t allow people to “do that here”. I suppose she meant ask guests for help bcs it could be considered a bother. I was so embarrassed. I started crying & apologized to the gentleman bcs I didn’t even realize how it could have been perceived. She also proceeded to tell me that all the other hotels in the area operated under the same policy. Her last words were “so you want to go ahead & cancel?” No remorse for a young woman in tears with nowhere to stay overnight. This could happen to anyone… but I digress.

I left with zero options and called aloft to let them know my dilemma and see if they would accommodate me. They were happy to type the card number & told me to come on by. That got me thinking that maybe one of the hotels that she said couldn’t accommodate actually could. I drove 2 min up the street to Fairfield Inn & let them know the pickle I was in. They told me that it would be easy for them to validate the card using their authenticator. They typed it in & I was checked in under 10 minutes with no prior reservation. The team went on to inform me that Courtyard has the same POS and capability to validate cards if you don’t have the physical copy. I’m assuming that the Courtyard team just didn’t want to help me. The upside is the offered to give me a 100% refund on the room so I guess that’s a plus?

I am SO grateful to the Fairfield Team for not leaving me stranded overnight in a city where I have no friends or additional support. I wish there were more service-oriented humans like them working in the hospitality industry. In the end I was happy that it didn’t work out… breakfast is included & the entire hotel @ Fairfield is very clean… bathroom is spotless. Just looked at a few other reviews for this Courtyard & saw others complaining about the management team, lack of breakfast & cleanliness of the rooms. I very likely dodged a bullet… normally wouldn’t pick them but it was a last minute reservation since I needed to be in town for a panel.

Oh & I’m a Bonvoy Silver member who’s been using the Marriott brand for travel for the last 15 years (I was Gold last year but got downgraded since I travel less these days) if that adds any other context.

I don’t need a resolution, just sharing with others… you’re better off staying in one of the other hotels in the area… clean, comes with breakfast & comes with an accommodating front desk staff who makes the world of difference in the customer experience. I’ll be writing a review for...

Absolutely terrible. 0 stars. This hotel is dirty. Believe the negative reviews. I should have. We arrived late night so basically got into room and settled into bed. Woke up the next morning to find small tiny bugs crawling on nightstand right by the head of the bed. The bugs were crawling and going into the cracks of the drawer. I immediately freaked out and googled bedbugs. Bedbugs can live on wood dressers not just beds. I called the front desk immediately. The "head of housekeeping" was sent up. This man brought a flash light saw one bug and started googling what bedbugs looked like. He said he wasn't sure if it was or not but that we were being moved rooms. I was furious. One if it is bed bugs I just spent the entire night sleeping in the bed. And 2 how do you send someone up who is just going to Google things like I can. What am I suppose to do take bedbugs back home with me? I called the front desk again and the girl I spoke with was very kind and apologized. She said she was waiting for her manager to get out of a meeting to complete a refund for the the night. And I would be hearing from the manager soon. Mind you this was night 1 out of 4. I got back to the hotel around 4pm and still had not been contacted by management. I called the front desk again and the guy I spoke with had no idea about the situation but said he would speak with the manager. I received a call from Donna the assistant guest manager. Donna said she was not aware of the situation. Donna was very quick to dismiss my concerns and said that they ran an "eco report" and it wasn't bedbugs it was "sweet water ants" because there was something sticky on night stand. Again mind you we had gotten in that night quickly went to bed so not sure what was sticky on night stand if room had been properly cleaned prior to our stay. I asked Donna for a copy of the report to which she initially agreed but one was never recieved. When I asked how the refund for the night was going to be processed. Donna became rude and argumentative stating there would be no refund that it wasn't bed bugs and they moved us to a new room "thats policy." I informed Donna that irregardless my 2 year old and my self shouldn't have had to sleep with bugs crawling by our head and it was completely disgusting. Donna again dismissed my concerns and rudely said that a refund was not approved and best she could do was "put some points onto my account" I will never stay in this hotel again so I asked what the point were suppose to do and again Donna very rudely said "well they won't get you a free night if that's what your asking" I am just appalled at how I was treated and dismissed. When paying over $100 a night for a room I shouldn't have to sleep with disgusting bugs by mine and my child's head. There were also other things that were not fully cleaned in the new room, counter surfaces filled with dust, weird dirt makings on the ceiling and shower. But again I cannot get over the bugs. And I still am not convinced they were not bedbugs as no eco report was ever provided to me. The photos are not the best but I tried to photograph the bugs however they quickly burrowed into the cracks. Disgusting place with...

[Update 7-21-24 and adding a good, not advertised, feature for long stayers] Super great experience (like never elsewhere)! This review is based on my many months of stay in this place. To say that the overall credit, beside the specific departments & names, is first driven by the executive management, Adrienne and Donna, who really lead by example, going the extra mile of caring, friendliness and prompt help all the time in any detail, Brenon the new manager shows extra care, kindness, positive spirit and amazing vibe. Similarly the rest of the staff is going the extra mile to accomdate every request, starting with the exceptional front desk team of Christian, Zoey, Jared, Julian, Faith, Roger, everyone shows extra professionalism, amazing patience, friendliness, politeness, positivity, care and also being very prompt. Even the bistro team, Eddie who adds an outstanding positivity and charisma to the hotel, Michael and Nick (all 3 being extra skillful bartenders, btw Mike has a uniquely amazing Margarita recipe, while the food quality & taste made by Isabel and Faith is deliciously "addictive"), thus giving the vibe of a family. The housekeeping crew is going the extra mile (Elena with very personalized and caring service, similarly Aida, Gracie, Yusmila, etc), all doing an outstanding work I never saw before in any hotel in the US or internationally (and I traveled a lot), the room looks like "out of the factory" every day. Each room's spiff cleaning is thoroughly post-checked daily by housekeeping manager Julia , as well as Paulina, who do an excellent job. Regarding the rooms, that are sprayed with an unique "island breeze type" air freshner, have very new and modern furniture, including the beds, sheets, fresh sheet covers. Maintenance / eng team (Tony, chief engineer Reggie) also does a very prompt job right away if called. The hotel atmosphere is very warm and feels like a vacation (lobby with the bistro crowd, kids playing in the indoor pool until 11 pm on the weekend). The view from top floors is great. The parking and surroundings are very safe, two security cars are running around almost every few minutes all night long. [Update 7-21-24] At second floor there is an amazing laundry room for guests, with ultra-modern washers/dryers, WiFi credit card avail, various options (extra wash), all the laundry room being also super clean (open 24/7). I strongly...