Raleigh Marriott City Center — Hotel in Raleigh

The hotel is nice. I’ve stayed here on more than one occasion and I’ve always left happy. During this particular stay, I endured some unpleasant experiences. Upon leaving the room for lunch one day, I guess the Renovation Team wanted to enter our room to hang some decor. They asked if it was okay to enter the room to hang the decor and I told them it would be find to do so. However, I DID NOT think for one second that they would leave our door propped open with the security latch. We were gone for 3 hours just to come back to our door being left open. This caused me quite some discomfort. After explaining this to front desk staff, the issue was rectified. At this point all is well. On the second night of our stay, we received communication at our door that housekeeping services would be completed by request only. We made the request twice and no one came to clean the room, empty the trash and most importantly give new towels. The initial request was made around noon. The response received was that someone would be to the room to clean in approximately 30 mins. I called again some time after 3pm and was told that someone would be to the room to clean no later than 6pm. At 6:53p I sent communication that the room hasn’t been touched and no one has come to clean the room. Communication was received at 7:01pm that my issue would be taken care of. After going to dinner and returning, our room was still left uncleaned by housekeeping. At this point I went to the front desk staff with my concern. Front desk staff called someone and requested that someone send towels to our room, however I don’t believe he cared. Someone from housekeeping came to the room to deliver the clean towels. I then explained to her that we needed our trash cans emptied because they were all filled to capacity. She took care of that as well. I am very big on customer service and following through with promises. This is the difference when it comes down to delivering customer service and deliver good customer service. I’m not sure why the ball was dropped with housekeeping, but this was highly unacceptable and uncomfortable. I would hate to not want to come here for future stays due to hotel staff not following through with promises and most importantly feeling like my belongings aren’t safe because someone from staff decides to leave my room door propped open. Management should address these issues to prevent this from happening...

Overall, I was pleased with the Marriott and would stay there again. However, I would like to express a few concerns and hopefully, my constructive criticism can help your team.

My compliments to the facility itself; the public areas of the hotel are striking in their design, they looked new and contemporary. I love the lobby and the Rye Bar area.

Our check in was seamless and the hotel clerk who checked us in realized we had missed the valet parking included in our package because of a festival outside of the hotel. He helped us arrange our valet parking and also gave us a map of downtown Raleigh since we are not frequent visitors to the downtown area.

Our room was nice. The bathroom was especially impressive because of how large the shower was. However, a major drawback to the room, and ultimately our trip, was that the toilet did not flush. When we arrived it appeared backed up and I flushed repeatedly and it seemed to get rid of the problem. We left to go out for dinner and drinks and when we got back, the toilet was clogged again and would not completely flush. We also liked the chocolate plate that was left in the room as part of the package. It was set up in an elegant manner.

After dinner, we came back and asked about breakfast the next day because we had forgotten at check in. The clerk struggled to locate the information, but was able to tell us in a few minutes that breakfast was served until 11am the next day. This was good news for us because it seems most hotels finish breakfast by 10. We planned to sleep in, so this was welcome information!
We then had a drink at the Rye Bar. Service was friendly and we enjoyed our time there.

When we got back to the room, I ordered our sparkling wine to enjoy as part of the package. I was put on hold twice and had to hang up after being on hold for close to 5 minutes. After I hung up, the sparkling wine arrived on a nice tray with pretty glasses. It seemed strange that the hotel clerk insisted on bringing the tray in himself. My husband tried to take it at the door.

The hotel was nice and quiet through the night and in the morning. Our bed was comfortable, but the fitted sheet was ripped and the top sheet was not properly made.
The toilet continued to back up.

We had breakfast the next day. The hostess was the rudest employee we had ever encountered. The breakfast chefs were awesome and...

Great customer service and accommodations.

This was my first visit to Downtown Raleigh requiring a stay overnight. I thought the valet service, indoor pool and spa, and overall photos posted by other contributors was helpful.

The pros: they let me check in early. I discovered their app makes things even easier. I was given free valet service. The car was well secured. Nothing stolen or a scratch. They gave me an upgrade to a king which is always awesome when I asked for it. I was also given access to their concierge room (in a converted guest room). I love the upgrades and feeling of being royalty by the staff. Bed was great and sheets were nice and soft. I also had a corner room with a nice little view. Indoor pool and spa is always a plus. They gym area looked really clean. I was there a night a concert was playing on the street (summertime on Thursdays). That was nice to look down and watch.

The minor cons: this is a newer hotel. I was sort of surprised by the carpet choice. The room felt more traditional than modern. Again, not necessarily a con, just interesting. I will note that it smelled a little like my grandma had the room before me - reminded me the old school smell I remember as a kid. My room card wasn't programmed well. I did have them recode it - it worked like a charm after that. I was hoping to use the spa. It was closed. I checked in on a day in on a day when it seemed lots checked out. Perhaps that is why the pool.was cloudy. It is an indoor pool. The smell of chlorine (perhaps getting shocked from all the people that used it) knocked me back in the pool area. My eyes were watering. Needless to say, I did not stay in that area long. I was on the corner of the building on the 10th floor. I will say that I'm glad the concert ended at 10. Caveat is that the room was really quiet other than that. It did not bother me in the least, but something you may need to consider if you are on that corner and need to turn in early. With all the guests going to the converted concierge room, you may want to request a different floor if they put you close to it. I always prefer a room as far from the elevators and foot traffic as possible.

Overall, it was a great experience. Everything was super convenient here. The room was exceptionally clean and the staff were always a plenty. I would definitely stay here...