Residence Inn by Marriott Near Universal Orlando — Hotel in Orlando

The guy at the front desk was welcoming. They were out of the room that we purchased, so they upgraded us. I had room service turned off, because I had a bag stolen from the Fairfield within sight of this hotel the previous week.|At first, I was very impressed. The room was nice and spacious! There was a kitchen with island dining in the complimentary upgraded 2 queen room. |The rooms were clean and smelled as if they were freshly painted.|The hotel was very busy with other families while we were there.|The shower was spacious and had shelving for my own shampoo, conditioner, body wash, razor etc. (Eucalyptus has been recently irritating my skin)|The lobby and breakfast area decor is so beautiful, that we took pictures with it. ||The downsides...Unfortunately, it seems every Marriott we've stayed in so far has the AC turn off during the first night we stay. There are no liners in the trash bins, not even in the bathrooms... This is very frustrating for women guests...|The toilet seat was too skinny.... while sitting on it I double checked that the seat was down even though we had no men to push it up.... |The pool closes at sunset... That's really early in the winter! Isn't the standard time for a pool closure at 10pm in the U.S.? |The television in our room had another guests name on it. I inquired about it at the front desk, and they said it was a glitch, but that I could reset it myself manually... I didn't take the time to figure it out and felt disappointment not seeing my name on the screen.|The memorably worst part of our stay was on the last day. The other issues were so minor that I most likely would have given it 4 or 5 stars anyways, but on the day of checkout a housekeeper knocked on our door at 11am on the dot. She said that checkout was at 11am to my mother who answered the door as my daughter and I loaded the luggage trolley we had brought to our room. Although this hotel was bustling with other guests who did NOT have a Do not Disturb sign on their door, who were NOT double checking their rooms to make sure nothing was left behind, who did NOT stay there to report a missing bag at a Marriott partner with the concern of the theft running through their mind, according to my mother, the housekeeper stood outside of our room the entire time we loaded the trolley and left...|My mother is a senior citizen who was very friendly toward the breakfast staff each morning, even noticing when one returned after a day off and was very upset by the housekeeping personel. She felt very intimidated and unwelcomed and couldn't believe the housekeeper stood outside of our room like that.... It slowed down us leaving as my mom voiced her concern to me too. I have to agree, the housekeeper was standing outside of our room as we rolled the luggage trolley out, enough that I began questioning why she was there, and without any cleaning supplies...? I took notice of multiple rooms with pictures taped to them for cheerleaders visiting for a competition as we rolled the trolley down the hallway to the elevator. Although there were other guest rooms, NONE of them had the Do not disturb sign on them... couldn't housekeeping be knocking on their doors, offering fresh towels, toilet paper, cleanings or something, instead of impatiently standing outside of our room?... I thought about going back for the tip I had left on the kitchen island for her, but it was past checkout at that point... It added stress to our stay at the Residence Inn that we really didn't need after filing a police report at the Fairfield a few days before. ||The breakfasts were nicer than the Fairfield's Inn and Suites in comparison because the staff was extremely friendly, There was no tip box to feel obligated to come up with cash at the buffet, and the seating area was large enough to find a seat indoors and outdoors while we stayed there! A couple of the waffle makers were malfunctioning, and the lines to make...

ARRIVAL: We stayed here last weekend, Friday, April 19-Tuesday, April 23, 2019. We had no issues checking in. The first front desk attendant we checked in with did not seem thrilled to be there, but he gave us our key, shuttle info, and we had no issues.

CLEANLINESS: Everything in this hotel is clean. The cleaning staff is amazing and friendly. They are constantly cleaning the facilities, bathrooms, etc. We had a kitchenette and they even said they would do out dirty dishes, although I put them in the dishwasher anyway.

BREAKFAST: Breakfast staff was friendly and chipper every morning. The crowds hit after 8am so try to get up earlier than the kids heading to the park do. Breakfast is typical continental breakfast food, but the options are very extensive. Boiled and scrambled eggs, turkey and regular sausage, Greek and regular yogurt, waffles, cereal, CUT fruit (yum), assorted pastries and breads/bagels(differ upon the day), oatmeal with many toppings, coffee, tea, and juices. You will get full on the breakfast, and will hopefully be able to put off lunch for a while at the park.

SHUTTLE: The only issue with the shuttle is that it is very infrequent and hits multiple hotels at once (Double Tree, Fairfield, Holiday Inn). It only picks up at 7:25am, 8:05am, and 8:45am. You must book beforehand and the desk is only open from 7am-5pm. So if you check in at night like we did, the shuttle to Universal for the next day is likely full. You may be able to call and book before you arrive.

The shuttle only picks back up from the park at 5:30pm, then at 9:30pm, 10:45pm, and midnight. We barely fit on the 9:30pm shuttle and many others were left waiting for the 10:45pm. Bus drivers are nice, and passengers tip them a couple dollars.

We walked to and from the park 2 days and took the shuttle one day. Walking takes 20 minutes, and crosses a major highway with construction. There is a sidewalk, so it's totally doable with teenagers, but may by dangerous or difficult with little ones.

ROOM: The rooms are great. We had a king studio with a kitchenette. The TV can rotate to face the couch or the bed and has HBO and a Universal kid's channel. The only issue was that our shower's sliding glass door leaked out water while showering, leaving a puddle on the outside. I'm not sure if it needs a seal at the bottom or what. We just used the bathmat to wipe up the water, and the cleaning staff just gave us a new bath mat each day. My favorite part was that there was an additional vanity and mirror outside the bathroom with a plug, so 2 people could get ready at the same time.

POOL and GYM: The gym is larger than I was expecting and has free weights, cardio equipment and benches. The outdoor pool is kind of small, but, when I visited, was never crowded as most people are at the theme parks.Show less Date of stay: April 2019 Room tip: The studio with a kitchenette allowed us cook dinner and have food available after we came home from the parks late. Trip type:...

The overwhelming impression that this hotel left me with was "We don't care". We won't be staying here again, though it does have some features that may appeal to some individuals.

Room Cons: Smelly drawers. By smelly, I mean, nauseating. I could not put clothes in them and just standing near them was gag-inducing.

Shampoo and soap in shower were bone dry. Nothing like jumping in the shower and finding out there is no soap.

Asked for soap and shampoo refills and maid service spilled soap and shampoo all over our kitchen counter - LEFT IT THERE - and then put our requested coffee pods in the soap. They never removed the empty bottles from our bathroom or replaced them. I love cleaning up other peoples messes on vacation.

The soap and shampoo aren't what is listed on the bottle. There was no eucalyptus or lavender. I'm honestly not even sure if they poured the right products in the right container. I was very reluctant to use them after that.

There is no safe in your room. Nobody tells you that. They have a safe at the front desk if you need to leave valuables behind.

REALLY loud AC unit. It may wake you up cycling on and off throughout the night

Plugs on the side of the bed don't work. When maintenance arrived to fix it he said "just don't use the plugs - they're old". So my phone had to be plugged in on the other side of the room.

Room Pros: Comfortable bed and nice pillows Decently stocked mini kitchenette

Hotel Cons:

Smell of weed everywhere when you step through the front door, enter an elevator, or walk past some rooms. It was potent.

Mystery shuttle. I was hoping we could save $32 on parking, but we were never told if a shuttle exists. I'm sure it does, but you may need to ask. There's no information about it when you check in or in your room.

Pool had some black spots along the walls and felt a bit slimy. Not quite sure how clean it was.

Hotel Pros:

Front desk was attentive when I brought up the fact that housekeeping left spilled soap all over my counter and that our electrical wasn't working. They gave me a few Marriott points.

Parking is free

Breakfast is included and was decent

Sort of within walking distance to the park. Three brave souls walked back to our hotel in July. I wouldn't recommend that 30 minute walk in the heat of summer, but it may not be so bad when it isn't brutally hot outside.

Would I stay here again? Absolutely not. It cost the same as staying on Universal property at someplace like Endless Summer. It won't be a repeat visit for me. Free parking and free breakfast can't even lure me back. I couldn't wait to get home to actual...