Marriott Irvine Spectrum — Hotel in Irvine

I come to this hotel between 2-4 times a year for local conferences. The most recent stay was my 6th. The first time I visited, we were upgraded to a corner suite with kitchen and that room was fantastic. The hotel itself is upscale with modern decor and two wonderful bars/ restaurants, including a rooftop bar with sweeping views of Irvine. Every subsequent stay was in a regular guest room- still well-appointed. My second to last stay we had to switch rooms twice due to a broken shower door and broken HVAC. However, front desk came across as condescending and made it seem as though it were somehow my fault, to the point where I felt like I needed to apologize.

I would give it 5 stars, but there are a few things nagging at me that sully the experience. Firstly, valet is mandatory, there is no self park option. It's $45 dollars a day for a college kid to turn off your automatic lights, drive your car 20-60 feet away, and park it for you. Factor in tips (I always tip, whether I agree with the policy or not) and it rings in quite expensive for a four night stay, totaling between approximately what a one night stay would cost during the week or weekend. I'm all for gainful employment, but they could use the resources far better, see next issue. That or discount multi night stays, or provide a self-park option, even if they charge a nominal fee.

The Heirloom staff is wonderful, though over my last few stays they appear to be woefully understaffed. The bartenders are truly awesome; they're friendly and attentive, but they're required to act as bartenders, runners and bussers, all in one. This last stay, the chef had to run plates out himself so guests could continue to be served at the bar and tables. Nobody complains, but it's clear they need some extra hands on the team. Unfortunately this bleeds over into pool service (or lack thereof), as Heirloom also services the pool and deck area. Previous stays saw servers coming down to the pool, but it seems to have tapered off. I overheard a lot of confusion and sometimes frustration from guests about that.

The saltwater, overflow-style pool at this hotel is fantastic! Or, well, it used to be. I went to the pool around 11 am one morning and almost all the towels were gone with the towel return overflowing. I got one of the last 4 towels and the remainder quickly disappeared. The towels were not attended to until nearly an hour and a half later when a verbally displeased guest went to find a manager.

The bathrooms on the lobby level seem to always have something wrong them, whether it be leaking or dead faucets, or being completely out of soap.

Last but not least, I suspect that during my first stay, a former server at Heirloom skimmed a credit card I rarely use to buy Dodger tickets and tried to charge up other entertainment experiences using Fever. I suspect it not only because I rarely use the card, but also because I overheard him talking to another server about the card and having never seen it before, then taking longer than usual in a then-empty restaurant to bring back the check. Not great.

All in all, I will be back. The rooms are comfortable, views are great, and the pool is overall fantastic. Just wish they'd modify the valet deal, and hire more staff. It would...

To whom it may concern,

Thank you so much for responding. Since I had to write several different requests, I am copying this email to multiple people concerning my problems with Marriot Spectrum at Irving California.

I do not know why the photos did not come out but you can speak to the manager who present on Thursday and Friday as he saw the photos himself and can further explain the issues.

Here are the issues that I had.

We checked into the Marriot on the 28th and were assigned a room on the second floor. A piece of furniture on the second floor landing was so dirty and dusty that someone had written in it “Clean Me” in the dust. The manager present can confirm all of this Many of the rooms on the second floor (at least 7 of them) had completely obstructed views. Apparently I could not be on a high floor as requested but I was assured that there was a view. We instead overlooked a large fence which surrounded an air-conditioning unit. I should have been told this up front and the price of the room should have been reduced accordingly.
Many of the towels in the room at had big holes in them as confirmed in the picture. The manager saw the towels himself and was horrified.
On Saturday march 3rd, I was having breakfast in the M club when roughly 14 business people came in from the nearby Courtyard (some may have been staying in the spectrum but not all). They started conducting a PowerPoint Presentation while enjoying a free breakfast. Normally this should be an event that must be catered in a conference room. The manager running the M club that weekend said it is perfectly acceptable for people to hold business meetings there. This is good for me to know for the future but it was uncomfortable for my family and I to hear a presentation about Birth Control in the middle of the M club. A different manager from the one who had helped me earlier was entirely unhelpful. The M club was sloppy all weekend. Plates and glasses were missing, food was mislabeled, etc.

After my Fiasco with the first room, I was then moved to a similar room on the 10th floor and given a $100 credit for one night. I do not think this is a satisfactory solution to my problem. I feel that I am due an additional credit. I do not want any points as I am unsure if I will return to Marriot property.
I do want to compliment the manager present on March 1st and 2nd. He was thoughtful,...

1 star because that is as low as Yelp will allow me to go.

We had a team meeting here using one of the conference rooms. I don't know where to begin, however you would think when spending in excess of 5k just for the space and time itself, you would get better treatment.

Everything was a lackluster experience down to the food provided. We had 25 individuals in attendance and they charged us $48 per "boxed lunches" for the team. These consisted of sloppy sandwiches with stale bread, un-ripe fruit, a small cup of foul potato salad and a bag of chips. The chips were the best thing. And $90 per gallon of bitter, burnt coffee...

They unreasonable wanted to charge for EVERYTHING..... even to make up for the poor lunch with with undercooked flatbread pizzas for $60. We also provided our own projector screen because there was a $100 fee just to project on theirs in the room.

The restrooms were dirty and unkept. The staff was not very helpful at all. They had snobby attitudes towards us.

We had also initially arranged to have a short cocktail hour at the conclusion of the meeting in the hotel bar to which when booking the hotel initially, they said they would be able to accommodate us........ Well things apparently changed. Although a larger facility they pulled a total bait and switch on us.... so incredibly disappointing. They at first said there was no way they could make that "happen" for a group our side, but then quickly decided they were willing to accommodate us for 45 min if we agreed to a $1,500 minimum. SERIOUSLY? The host and hostess at the bar were incredibly rude, rolling their eyes at our request and left it at a "take it or leave it" situation. We of course decided to take our business elsewhere.

Lastly, when picking up my car from the valet, (which had been freshly detailed) it was clear they had parked it with little concern as it was covered in leaves, multiple spots with bird droppings and to top it off, it smelled like a 13 year old boy had unleashed with a can of cheap axe body spray inside and my radio station was tuned to Spanish music channel with the volume maxed out. Was this supposed to be a joke?

Highly disappointed with this facility........ STAY AWAY!!! At the end of the day there has been well over 5k, the treatment would be better. I really hope they get things into shape here because it is such a shame they are a representation of the...