Residence Inn by Marriott Omaha Downtown/Old Market Area — Hotel in Omaha

I'll preface this review by stating that I worked at the Marriott Grande Dunes for five years and have a loyalty to Marriott brands for a few reasons; customer service, quality, and employees willing to help/empathize/react as necessary when a situation arises (L.E.A.R.N. - Listen, Empathize, Apologize, React, and Notify)

I stay at the Residence Inn Omaha Downtown/Old Market Area every time I come to Omaha, this is my 2nd stay, but I have another 6-8 trips to Omaha already planned for 2016. I like the space of the rooms, the proximity to my office/restaurants/airport, and the meeting space available. The staff has always been cordial and they normally are very helpful, but my most recent trip left a bad taste in my mouth.

My first trip to Omaha, I landed at the airport and called the hotel to have the shuttle sent to pick me up, I waited about 15 minutes and then I was on my way to the hotel. My most recent trip (1/12 - 1/15) to Omaha did not go as smoothly.

I landed at 5:30 pm and called the hotel at 5:40 to ask to have the shuttle to come pick me up. The young lady who answered the phone said, "the shuttle was actually already on the way to the airport to pick up another guest, and should be there in a few minutes", I asked her if she could radio the shuttle driver to let him know to wait for me, I gave her my name, and my phone number to pass along; I was assured that he would be waiting for me. So I continue to walk through the airport, downstairs, and outside. I wait 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 45 minutes and I finally call the hotel back and ask if the shuttle had left, or forgotten to pick me up. They said they would send another one. I finally get picked up a little after 7 pm, the shuttle driver was cordial and courteous. I get to check-in, and the young lady at the desk said she was sorry about the mistake, and on to checking me in. I finally get to meet a group of people for dinner (late).

My biggest complaint through all of this, is the last of empathy by the front desk agent. I know mistakes happen, but I was waiting outside for the shuttle for 45 minutes (in single digit temperatures) to make sure I did not miss it. I wasn't expecting her to give me a free room, but a little empathy, bottle of water, anything would of gone a long way. From my time working with the Marriott, I have bent over backwards for guests who have had...

The Residence Inn by the Marriott, Omaha Downtown was my 2nd stay at a Residence Inn. My stay was from September 23rd -26th, 2021. I stayed at the Residence Inn by the Marriott on Charles Ave, New Orleans in early August, 2021 and my stay was fantastic. Anyway, I got picked up from the airport by the Residence Inn's shuttle which was great because it saved me an Uber fare. The young lady who picked me up was very knowledgable about the City of Omaha and gave me some insights on where to go during my stay. The staff who checked me in was welcoming and told me about the hotel's daily complimentary breakfast, parking, and others. I did not have a car so I was not interested in the fee for parking. Anyway, it was $15 for valet and $10 if you self-park. My room was smaller than the room I had in New Orleans but it was very clean with a full kitchen, 2 flat-panel TVs, Wi-Fi accessibility, and a beautiful view of the courtyard which depicts the Spirit of Nebraska Wilderness and it glows beautifully at night which I found relaxing and breathtaking. Just walk across the street and you will find the Pioneer Courage Park.

As recommended by the young lady who picked me up from the airport in the hotel's shuttle. I visited the Omaha National Zoo and Aquarium, cost $25.95. The hotel shuttle drop you off and picks you up as well, just call when you're ready. This is an added plus to the Residence Inn by Marriott, Omaha. FYI, foods from the Zoo's restaurant can only be ordered online. Scan QR code to obtain menu, place order, and pay online. You get a text when your order is ready.

In regards to the complimentary breakfast, I did go down for breakfast one morning. There are varieties of breakfast items including coffee, tea, apple and orange juice. I enjoyed my time at the zoo and my stay at the hotel.

P.S. There was one minor issue, my AMEX was charged for valet parking for my 3-days stay. It took several phone calls before Bryan, one of the managers removed the charges. I have not gotten the credit on my card yet but I received an email from Residence Inn citing the removal of the $45....

I did not enjoy this stay and would NEVER pay the amount of money I did for this stay. When first viewing the suite, we decided to book based on the terrace. The terrace surrounded the entire suite and was a perfect fit as we were having lots of people in the suite for our wedding weekend. This was explained to the lady who gave us the tour and she said it would be great as they use the suite for many dinner parties and other larger group type of events. There was construction going on when we toured, but she confirmed that it would be completed by the time we arrive. Upon arriving, we found the terrace to be smaller in size and no longer wrapped the suite. In addition to the terrace, there were several other factors that made our experience unsatisfactory.

First, the smell in the elevator was very unpleasant and smelled moldy. This smell was also in our room and lasted the entire weekend. Second, there were multiple bugs found in the bathroom and through out the room. Third, the elevator was broken all day on Saturday so each guest and vendor coming up to the room had to take the stairs. Fourth, I'm not sure what the noise was (I think it was the normal guest elevator) but there was a clinking noise in the bedroom through out the entire night that was a disturbance while trying to sleep. Lastly, we had gift boxes that were made and dropped off to the hotel to be handed out to our guest. These were NOT handed out to all of our guests which was a bad experience for our guests since some received and some did not. There were only 12 boxes, I could understand if there were more and the staff couldn't handle all of them but I'm sure the front desk was able to enjoy all of them amenities in this box along with a couple others that were not delivered.

I have stayed at many Marriotts in the past and the place does not meet my expectations. I will not be staying at Marriotts...