Residence Inn by Marriott Durango Downtown — Hotel in Durango

The Durango, CO Residence is likely the worst managed/maintained property in the chain. Some context: I am a lifetime Platinum Member in Marriott Rewards and have spent nearly three years (out of the last 10) at a Marriott somewhere in the world. This is my first review of a hotel anywhere.

I made a reservation using points at this hotel, because there were no other properties in town that were pet friendly and had availability.

We arrived on 9/10/2016 (my birthday- Happy Birthday!) to find the room at 82 degrees and the AC not working. For over an hour the front desk staff (nice individuals) valiantly tried to fix the AC system with no success. Finally, the staff called one of their off-duty management reps. He showed up and had an attitude about being called on a Saturday night. After fiddling with the AC unit for a few minutes, he stated the obvious, it was broken. Further, there were no other rooms available for the night. He did offer to refund 500 points for the two-night stay (from a 60,000 point award! - That was exceedingly magnanimous of the manager.) We asked about calling in a tech to fix the AC, but was informed that they would not pay to have someone come in on an emergency call (it was a Saturday), so we could enjoy the sauna for the next two days or pack up and leave. When I told the manager that I was a Platinum member and was going to complain to Marriott, he found a smaller room with on a full size bed on the first floor. Since this new room did not have a King bed, my wife had the fun task of making up the old pull out couch while I slept on the full size bed.

I always stay on the highest floor to avoid the noise above. Since the AC was not working, we had to take a room on the 1st floor. As expected the Russian Ballet was practicing in the room above us until 1 AM, then proceeded to start again at 5 AM (have to love their dedication to the craft). Since sleep was not really an option, I visited the fitness center. Upon arriving I found the only elliptical to be some misfit brand, very tired, and in need of a video monitor. I guess those that want (or need) an elliptical are not graced with the option to watch the news while doing cardio. The gate on the elliptical was so unnatural, that it could not be used for fear of an injury (perhaps it is broken?).

I next visited the breakfast area in hopes of scoring a banana. Upon arriving, I found the specimens available to tired and in need of some fresher product! I do believe their state of over-ripeness would have made a fine banana nut bread.

Luckily, I found another hotel that had availability for the second night. Unfortunately, that meant that we had to pack and unpack one more time. Would the pain ever end? We arrived at the other hotel. What a contrast! It was clean, functional and the staff were customer focused! It had two large (10’ x 10’), modern, well lit, and fast elevators (see note below).

In summary, this hotel has a nice exterior. Someone is trying to keep up appearances; however, the remainder of the property is tired, very tired (just like the bananas). The rooms are very, very same for a Residence Inn. The one, lone 4’ x 4’ elevator is something only Europeans would love or understand. It is old, slow and everyone in the hotel (including housekeeping) use this one unit. I finally gave up and just hand-carried my luggage, dog kennels, etc. up and down the steps. Marriott either needs to raze this property or close it for a year a do a thorough remodel and cleaning.

On the thought that some might think this visit was not representative of the property, I will relate the following: We had stayed at this hotel approximately a year ago and found urine all over the toilet, toilet seat, and bathroom floor. At that time, we were given the same story that the hotel was full and there were no other rooms available.

Visitors to Durango beware. There are many better properties (I stay in Durango several times a month). Seek out other hotels or stay at...

We had a fabulous stay at the Residence Inn! I had 3 rooms reserved for 2 nights. One room was a "Quarter Century Club" complimentary room and the other two rooms were at a AAA rate. I have to say that we were very disappointed to not get the Friends and Family rate or Associate Rate - which tends to be the case at this hotel (not sure why). This is the only negative about staying at this hotel. No matter when we stay at this hotel - which is quite often - and no matter if the hotel is empty or sold out - the discounted rates for employees seems to NEVER be available. Again, not sure why? But...............EVERYTHING else about this property is AMAZING! Last week, during our stay, I cooked a 2 turkey Thanksgiving Dinner (and all the fixins') in the Residence Inn rooms at this property. Since 13 people would be attending this Thanksgiving dinner, I knew that wit would be difficult to fit in one of the rooms to eat, so I asked the front desk if I could possibly use the "breakfast room" for our dinner. The front desk people said "SURE!" Every employee at this property that I talked to about this, from the breakfast room attendant to the front desk workers, they were all extremely helpful and accommodating! Anything they could do to help me was what they did! I was able to rearrange the tables in the breakfast room, decorate them with table clothes and centerpieces, bring all the food down from the rooms to the buffet, as well as all the plates and silverware. The front desk people let me use the ice cooler area for my drinks and they provided me with all the glasses that they usually use for happy hour. Since we were having this dinner on a Saturday, it did not conflict with happy hour (yeah!). We had a wonderful time celebrating with our family and we were so appreciative for the help of everyone at this property. We even put a full plate of food together for the front desk person who was on duty during our dinner! We cleaned up after ourselves and put everything back in its original position so that the next morning the room would be ready for the complimentary breakfast buffet. We wanted to vacuum but the front desk person wouldn't hear of it. She told us that it was no problem and that she would do it! Again, I just have to say, everyone at this property made our experience with our family absolutely awesome! Thanks Residence Inn Durango - we will see you again very soon! And maybe, just maybe we could get an employee rate next time?...

While the Durango Residence Inn on the exterior looks a bit dated compared to the latest Marriott properties, you will find this hotel in top shape. More so however, the staff here really made our stay enjoyable. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. The breakfast staff made sure tables were clean and food was well stocked and fresh. The front desk staff was always warm and welcoming. We stayed in the 2 bedroom king suite. This was a spacious room allowing the wife and I to have one room and kids in another. This kept the living room area reasonable clean and enjoyable without suitcases and stuff everywhere. The full kitchen was equipped with enough plates, glasses, and silverware. Full size refrigerator was nice to have. The beds slept well and were in good shape. Overall the room was very clean and well maintained just like the rest of the hotel. Parking was adequate. More on the location: While there is pretty much no view to appreciate from this hotel (probably from any room), the hotel's location is good from a couple of points. The drive to downtown Durango is only about 35 minutes depending on the traffic light. Walking to downtown is possible - maybe 810 minutes. Going west, the highway takes you out to Mesa Verde (about 45 minutes away to the entrance). Four Corners is beyond that. Attractions: You have got to ride the train (Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad). This unique experience takes you to Silverton up the Animas River valley providing wonderful views of the mountains and river. Another day trip by car to Silverton to look around, perhaps ATV ride and gold mine tour. Silverton has a great mining museum next to the courthouse. Downtown Durango has many shops and restaurants to check out. The cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park (entrance fee plus tours) are very interesting with lots of hiking opportunities there. Four Corners is a fun tourist attraction where you can stand in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Colorado all at the same time (a $5 per person entrance fee to the Ute Nation). The drive out to Four Corners and sights of Chimney Rock and Ship Rock are worth the trip. You'll also find plenty of biking, hiking, rafting, and fishing opportunities. The Purgatory Ski Area (about 50 minutes north of Durango on the way to Silverton) also has summer activities for the kids and of course skiing in the winter. We stayed 8 days and would have enjoyed more...