Residence Inn by Marriott Pittsburgh North Shore — Hotel in Pittsburgh

DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL. WE WERE OVER CHARGED AND THE HOTEL REFUSES TO RESPOND TO OUR REQUEST TO CORRECT THEIR ERROR

This is the first review I have ever taken the time to write, but I feel compelled to urge anyone considering this hotel to stay elsewhere. We were in town for a last minute trip in mid June to attend the US Open and this was one of the only hotels with availability. We should have seen the red flags.

First, the conditions in the room were subpar. We went into it knowing this was far from 5 star, but we did not expect the furniture to literally be falling apart. We were only staying for a couple days so we decided it was something we cold live with and never complained.

Things got much worse when we returned late in the afternoon with our two young children and found that our key card did not work. We figured something must have happened with the programming, so we asked the front desk for a new key. The new key still did not work so we were told we needed to wait for maintenance to recharge the lock because the battery had died. After waiting in the hallway for an hour, the maintenance person finally arrived and charged the lock and told us we were all set.

We would have been fine with this, but after leaving the room the next day the exact same thing happened and we were locked out of the room again. Needless to say this was frustrating, so we asked for a new room despite the obvious inconvenience of needing to pack everything up and move for the last portion of our stay.

The night after we moved rooms my wife realized that we forgot our children’s diapers in the previous room so she contacted the front desk to ask if someone could let us in to retrieve the diapers. After an hour of waiting for a call back I finally went to the front desk at 11pm only to be told that they were just about to call me and tell me they couldn’t get into the room. It was real fun to go out in the rain and get diapers in the middle of the night.

Last, but certainly not least, upon checkout at 4am we were told by the front desk representative that she couldn’t figure out how to check us out, but she would sort it out with her manager and email us a receipt later that morning. Needing to catch a flight and having two sleepy kids, we said no problem we’ll look for the receipt.

Well, we never received the receipt and when we returned home and checked our credit card statement we found that we had two additional charges on our credit card direct from Residence Inn despite the fact that we booked through Costco and paid them directly. WE QUICKY REALIZED THE HOTEL HAD CHARGED US FOR THE ROOM WE WERE FORCED TO RELOCATE TO BECAUSE OF THE MALFUNCTIONS WITH THE LOCKS.

Despite all the inconveniences we had already experienced (some of which I haven’t even mentioned) we figured it would surely just take a quick phone call to the hotel to point out the mistake and get a refund. Well, that certainly has not been the case because we were told we would need to contact the Manager, Justin Mecklin, who had one hour of availability for us to contact him which happened to be between 5am and 6am our time. Nevertheless, my wife was able to briefly speak to Mr Mecklin who assured us he would look into the matter and get it resolved that day. Now, one week later, Mr Mecklin has gone missing despite us taking the time to resend him the documentation he requested by email.

I have many other things I could write about our horrible experience at this hotel, but instead of listing them all I will use that time to copy and paste this review to every site I can think of so that others do not make the same mistake we did when we chose to stay at the Residence Inn Marriott Pittsburgh North Shore.

We have also been in contact with Costco who is opening an investigation into this matter and has told us they will be back to us soon.

IN SUMMARY I URGE ANYONE CONSIDERING A STAY AT THIS HOTEL TO STAY...

Yes, the location of this Residence is convenient, but it doesn’t make up for the headaches that come with staying here. Our party consisted of two longtime Bonvoy members and this was genuinely one of the worst customer service experiences either of us had in the hundreds of Marriotts we’ve stayed at. What does it tell you that an email directly to the manager about the experience remains unanswered a week later? ||To start, our one-bedroom suite was pretty beat; based on hearing feedback from other guests, it sounds like our room may have been one of the less problematic ones at the property. We at least had air conditioning, which a few guests that came to the front desk did not seem to have, though the thermostat was oddly set at 44F when we entered the room. While the room was relatively clean, it was in desperate need of a renovation; bald spots on the carpet, random colored lines on the TV screen, non-working outlets, loose / stained bathroom tiles, and the bedroom door hanging off its hinges with missing screws were evident. The carpeting in the stairwell was also falling apart and presented several tripping hazards. ||The most frustrating aspect of our experience was customer service (or lack thereof) from a front desk agent named Ticara (sp). When we first arrived around 12:45, Ticara told us the room would be ready “by 2:45” but likely sooner, since we mentioned we would be waiting in the lobby with our luggage. About 30 mins later, Ticara walked over to our table and told us a room should be ready and she’d check on it and let us know. Roughly 15 mins passed without an update, so I walked up to the front desk as a follow up. Ticara was very annoyed and stated she had already told us the room would be ready by 2:45; it was like she had no recall she was the one that came up to us and said she thought the room could be ready. Come 2:45, we were told 3:15; when we asked why the change, she became very firm that “nothing is guaranteed until 4:00.” Mind you, it was Ticara’s personal statement that the room would be ready “by 2:45.” After this, she passed us several times in the lobby and would not make eye contact with us. When I returned to the front desk at 3:15, now 2.5 hours past our arrival, the room still wasn’t ready. Another staff member ended up helping and Ticara wouldn’t acknowledge me until every other staff member was tied up with other guests. Once we finally got a room at the help of another staff member, Ticara’s tone started to escalate and she very firmly told me when I arrived at 1:30 (not accurate - 12:45) that she said it would maybe be ready by 2:45 but she told me it wasn’t a guarantee until 4:00. Not only was this not accurate, but the interaction she was referencing was the one where she said “by 2:45” multiple times. When I replied and mentioned what was initially conveyed to me, she very quickly shot back with “I never said that!” in a snappy, mocking tone. I was traveling with my mom who has some health issues, which was conveyed to the front desk a few times during these interactions, and when I went up to the room to get our luggage settled Ticara walked by my mom in the lobby and quickly said to her “you’re good now.” After my mom addressed her about the issue, Ticara finally admitted that she did in fact say “by 2:45.” Worth noting we were not the only guests who experienced this frustrating issue; we heard Ticara tell other parties the same thing, and we spoke with another party in the lobby while we were waiting who was fed all the same lines we were. ||If you’re looking to stay at this property for any reason besides its location, I would recommend reconsidering your choice of hotel. The beat room and nasty customer service are not enough to make up for...

Wouldn't return here the next time we go to a baseball game. The location of the baseball park is the only reason to go to this hotel. Even then, if we visited PNC Park again, we'd stay somewhere else. Rooms: The doors in our 2-bedroom room wouldn't shut. We had to shove them all closed. Every single door had to be shoved closed. It's like they were not hung properly. The blankets for the sofa bed felt like sandpaper and I should have just purchased a blanket from local store somewhere. The couch had stains everywhere. Once cushion was covered in white paint. The one bedroom room had a locked utility closet and the noise was constant in there 24/7. Cost/Rates: The baseball stadium had a popular opponent; which is why we visited. The hotel took full advantage and increased their rates up to $80 (pre-tax)/night . But their rooms and service did not make it worth paying $225 more for our trip compared to if we chose a different summer weekend. Extra charge: Then, 5 days after we checked out we see the posted charge on our CC and it's $54 more than our receipt. They charged us 2 days extra for parking. When I called for a receipt they never sent it, so I finally had to call corporate location. I still didn't get a receipt, but she at least could tell me the charge and is working to get that refunded. Pool: The pool is small; which is expected in a city. However, if their are 2 families in there already then you feel like you are on top of everyone to try and join. The towels were not refreshed from Friday at 6pm until Saturday at 12pm. No fresh towels were available on Saturday morning until we saw someone put in just 4 fresh towels on the rack, and finally empty the bin. Luckily we brought our own towels down, so that is recommended. Food: Breakfast is included. That is always a nice perk for hotels. However, if you are staying during the weekday expect the cook to be in charge of everything! The cooking, and replenishing all the other items likes plates, cereal, syrup, etc. She was in charge of it all and therefore there wasn't anything available to grab without just standing around waiting. The weekend was better since they had a 2nd person at the breakfast area. The hot food was the same every day...scrambled eggs and sausage (your choice of turkey or pork). The only positive was my kids really love making their own waffles!! They did it every day, but had to split one syrup packet due to lack of staffing. At any rate they still loved the waffles. We are a 3-star hotel family. I never stayed at a 3-star hotel, where while I was in the room, I would say "this is the grossest room ever". And it makes it even worse that they charged us a lot more than their usual summer rates to have this terrible experience. Gave them 2 stars because I liked that they had large rooms available (not every hotel has them), but price and cleanliness were lacking so much that I'd rather be in a smaller room somewhere else. The location cannot be beat and again...the kids love...