Residence Inn by Marriott Houston Downtown/Convention Center — Hotel in Houston

When we came to the hotel to park, we had to wait in a line of cars 2 blocks back for 45 minutes before the valet service could park the car. From what I could see, they are a separate company contracted by Marriott. When we checked out the following day, we then waited in line for an hour wrapped around the building for an hour with my family. The scene was chaotic as nobody seemed to be in charge. When people in line would get upset and go complain to a valet, the valet would then skip everyone in line to help the angry customer and go retrieve their car ahead of others who were waiting in line longer. This made others extremely angry which caused even worse problems. Some cars that were being retrieved were parked sometimes 3 cars deep, blocking others. Then when someone would get their keys only to find they were stuck behind and in between multiple parked cars, they too became upset. There was yelling and constant confusion. When the line hadn’t moved more than 10 feet after 45 minutes, I finally wondered what to do so I left my family in line to try and find someone to see what was going on. Eventually I found a valet in a closet area going through keys in a large key locker. I asked him what the process was and who was in charge. He said the best thing would be for me to help find my own keys. He then asked for my ticket. I said I gave it to someone at the counter when I came outside. He then asked me to try to find my own keys in that locker. Eventually our keys were found and I guess he trusted the keys were mine because I said they were? Again, no organization. It then it took another 15 minutes for our car to show up. I told the valet that they needed to communicate to everyone in line what the process is, stick to it, and keep customers updated. Maybe even bring out water bottles as everyone was just standing in the sun and obviously hot. He said thank you and went right back to frantically running around. They were understaffed, didn’t communicate well, and frantically running about. In all my years of being a happy Marriott customer, I have never seen anything like it. I am still a loyal customer and feel that this was an isolated incident, but that location was an absolute disaster. I am in the customer service industry and thought someone should know so it can be addressed ASAP as what we encountered was nothing close to a Marriott experience. Please feel free to contact me as I took a few pictures of both incidents and...

Sad to think that the person who should be giving one of the first best impressions to guest, actually gave the worse to my family. This stay was during Father’s Day weekend, I had made the reservation for my father as a Father’s Day gift for a weekend in Houston to watch the Astros. I knew I had to send the CC authorization form-so I dad(everything was charged to the wrong card!!); I even called the hotel directly after I got my email confirmation, to make sure they received it. Front desk lady- Zamira confirmed she did. Check in day comes and all I hear from my sister who was with my father is how rushed and unprofessional they were checked in “like no care in the world”. I’m guessing since it was at the end of her shift-she could care less. Front desk lady requested a CC for incidental charges, my sister who was with my father gave her hers. That same day after the game the room keys weren’t working so they went over to the front desk-same lady from the day before. Chit chatting she went on for 10 min before even acknowledging my father or sister. But she was to busy with the group infront if them planning their night out together; maybe she assumed her speaking Spanish didn’t inform the entire lobby they were going out. Pool area was an entire disaster towels and trash everywhere. We have stayed at other Marriot hotel and they usually have assigned employees to the pool area- obviously not a priority at this location. Check out day comes along and it’s a total caos. They leave and I get the receipt in my email, I look at it closely and come to find out they charged the entire stay,tax and valet on my sisters card. I call the customer service line and report the incident, it has been 2 full days and I have yet to get an email or call with a “we are working on resolving this issue”, from the hotel. There are many more Marriott properties to stay at downtown Houston, maybe consider them before making a reservation at...

I have stayed at this hotel for a convention for the past three years. In the past, the stays have been excellent. This year, it was quite a disappointment. Previously they had provided a shuttle service to and from the convention center that ran until 10:00 pm. This allowed me to stay for evening events without worry about safely returning to my hotel. I felt protected and valued. This year, upon check in, I was informed that they had discontinued the shuttle service. I was informed that there was a "free" shuttle provided by local business that ran between the hotel and convention center. Unfortunately, it only ran until 6:30 pm. If my events ran past that, I was on my own to make my way back to the hotel. Due to construction in the area, finding a taxi was not always easy. In my opinion, discontinuing the shuttle was a poor decision by management for a convention that primarily caters to women. I felt quite uneasy on the city streets after dark.

I do love the size of the rooms. We had a 2 bedroom suite - something that is quite unusual in many downtown hotels. It had a large living room/kitchen area. The rooms are very soundproofed and the feeling is serene and private.

I did have an issue with housekeeping this year. In prior years, I had a housekeeper that took excellent care of us - going out of her way to see if there was anything she could do for us to make our stay nicer. In fact, before we checked out, we took a group picture with her because she was so integral to the success of our stay. This year - not so much. None of the housekeepers that came to our room could speak English. I had to play charades with her to request extra towels and washcloths. My room was not cleaned 3 out of 7 days - even after calling the front desk and requesting service.

This stay did not reach my expectations of Marriott standards. I am very disappointed and currently evaluating if I will return to this...