TownePlace Suites by Marriott Raleigh-University Area — Hotel in Raleigh

The location of this hotel is in an amazing location near NC State. There are several amenities near the hotel as well. The reason for the negative review is due to the attitudes of the staff and the cleanliness of the rooms. Upon checking into the hotel, the receptionist was very rude to me and condesending. After getting the room key, i went to the room, only to see an apology letter from a previous guest. I checked the bed and saw hairs all over the bed. This room clearly was not cleaned properly. I went downstairs and told the receptionist about this. He comped me a snack or drink from the available ones that he had but told me that he couldnt comp me for the wine that was in the cooler as it cost too much. He gave me a second key to another room. This room had dirty dishes so i went back downstairs and told him about this. After this he gave us a third room and i went into that one. Initially it looked clean. After going into the bathroom, i saw blonde hair on the counter and the shower had hair in it and also had soap scum stains. ||||The next day i tried using the marriott app to order new towels and other tolietries that were needed for my stay. After three hours, the manager called me and let me know that the system was down and that i would have to come downstairs to get my own towels. This was an inconvience and in the time he spent talking to me to bring it up he could have brought it up to the room hisself. We were on the second floor. After going downstairs we encountered a new employee who was not aware of what was going on. He helped us get the items that we wanted. All of the items except for foam pillows. He let us know that he would check the dryer for the pillows and if that didnt work he would go into unoccupied rooms to find the pillows for us. He promised he would bring them up to our room. After we went back upstairs we never heard from him again.||||The room had a terrible mildew smell that made me have a sore throat the whole time i was there. Room service is only once a week here. Upon checking out, the same front desk receptionist was there and not very friendly at all. I had seen this individial greeting and being very receptive and happy to other guests, so its unfortunate that he didn't do that with me. He greeted caucaisan guests, and had an attitude towards me. He was a person of color, as was I, so it was sad to see him act this way. He also was not wearing a mask, which i observed all other staff members doing.||||Trying to complain to the hotel has done nothing. All they are willing to do is give a few points towards another stay. The general managers have been condesending and rude. If you are unsatisfied with your stay you will have to jump through hoops in order for nothing to happen. ||||From an operational perspective, its clear that the management is poor, and it starts from the general management down. The rude and condesending nature through which i was spoken to was uncalled for. He rudely joked about me going to the better business bereau to solve this issue and going to corporate. Its not worth the stay, there are loud dogs that bark all the time in the hotel. The staff arent managed correctly and they do not care. I would never come back to this hotel and i would strongly advise against staying here unless you have to. Marriott hotels are known for quality, this is an In-town suites with a...

The location of this hotel is in an amazing location near NC State. There are several amenities near the hotel as well. The reason for the negative review is due to the attitudes of the staff and the cleanliness of the rooms. Upon checking into the hotel, the receptionist was very rude to me and condesending. After getting the room key, i went to the room, only to see an apology letter from a previous guest. I checked the bed and saw hairs all over the bed. This room clearly was not cleaned properly. I went downstairs and told the receptionist about this. He comped me a snack or drink from the available ones that he had but told me that he couldnt comp me for the wine that was in the cooler as it cost too much. He gave me a second key to another room. This room had dirty dishes so i went back downstairs and told him about this. After this he gave us a third room and i went into that one. Initially it looked clean. After going into the bathroom, i saw blonde hair on the counter and the shower had hair in it and also had soap scum stains. ||||The next day i tried using the marriott app to order new towels and other tolietries that were needed for my stay. After three hours, the manager called me and let me know that the system was down and that i would have to come downstairs to get my own towels. This was an inconvience and in the time he spent talking to me to bring it up he could have brought it up to the room hisself. We were on the second floor. After going downstairs we encountered a new employee who was not aware of what was going on. He helped us get the items that we wanted. All of the items except for foam pillows. He let us know that he would check the dryer for the pillows and if that didnt work he would go into unoccupied rooms to find the pillows for us. He promised he would bring them up to our room. After we went back upstairs we never heard from him again.||||The room had a terrible mildew smell that made me have a sore throat the whole time i was there. Room service is only once a week here. Upon checking out, the same front desk receptionist was there and not very friendly at all. I had seen this individial greeting and being very receptive and happy to other guests, so its unfortunate that he didn't do that with me. He greeted caucaisan guests, and had an attitude towards me. He was a person of color, as was I, so it was sad to see him act this way. He also was not wearing a mask, which i observed all other staff members doing.||||Trying to complain to the hotel has done nothing. All they are willing to do is give a few points towards another stay. The general managers have been condesending and rude. If you are unsatisfied with your stay you will have to jump through hoops in order for nothing to happen. ||||From an operational perspective, its clear that the management is poor, and it starts from the general management down. The rude and condesending nature through which i was spoken to was uncalled for. He rudely joked about me going to the better business bereau to solve this issue and going to corporate. Its not worth the stay, there are loud dogs that bark all the time in the hotel. The staff arent managed correctly and they do not care. I would never come back to this hotel and i would strongly advise against staying here unless you have to. Marriott hotels are known for quality, this is an In-town suites with a...

Some aspects of this hotel were fantastic: the rooms are recently renovated and comfortable, the location is fairly close to the city, and they offer services like free breakfast, which I really appreciate.

However, I had an extremely negative experience with hotel management that sounds similar to what others have described in other comments. I used a free night and points to book a 3-night stay. My partner and I were traveling to Raleigh due to a family member's sudden medical emergency, and when our flight got cancelled we drove 11hrs to get there. However, due a tornado warning on our route, we made a last-minute decision to stop to sleep in VA. So I arrived late--on Friday AM instead of Thurs PM.

When we arrived, I was told that because I did not call to let them know I would be late, my entire 3-day reservation had been cancelled and I could not get any of my points back (3 days worth!) even though I arrived within 24 hours of the original check-in time (with 2 nights to go). They said that if I wanted to stay there I would have to re-book separately and pay $627 for 2 nights. So--lose my free night, 46,000 points, and spend $627 on top of that. They told me there was nothing else they could do, that I should call Marriott customer service. However, when I called Marriott, they told me that only the hotel can refund me.

The hotel staff that I spoke to were cordial, but they told me that this was their hotel policy, that I should have called to tell them I would be late, and that there was nothing else they could do. They kept saying it was their policy. However, I could not find anything about a lateness policy in my confirmation emails, and no one from the hotel tried to reach me before cancelling my reservation (it is ironically their policy not to call). At one point, they offered to refund me 10,000 points and to let me speak to the GM, but the idea of paying the price of 5 nights to stay 2 nights was so crazy to me.

I called Marriott customer service one final time, and explained what had happened. They told me that the hotel was required to refund my points and free night in full. So, the policy that the managers told me was incorrect.

I understand that the hotel has a business they need to run, and that I should have called, but I would suggest that the hotel consider revising their policies around lateness and cancellation or make them clearer to guests.

For other folks who are staying here, make sure you call to confirm your stay in advance and call if you are going to be even slightly late in an effort to avoid this...