Fairfield Inn Santa Clarita Valencia — Hotel in Santa Clarita

We were here for 8 nights, over Memorial Day weekend. We are a family of 5 ages 11-40. We enjoyed our stay and would say it lived up to our Marriott expectations.

Pros -Sleeps up to 5. It was the ONLY hotel I could find in the area that allowed this which was excellent since there was no way we could afford 2 rooms a night.

-Complimentary breakfast is good and has many options. Depending on day: eggs, sausage, bacon, turkey sausage, oatmeal with various additions you can can choose from, muffins, coffee cake, toast, fresh fruit, yoghurt, juice, coffee, and small bottles of water and granola bars you could grab and take with you. I'm positive I forgot a few things.

-Friendly and helpful staff. Our flight in was delayed and we got in about 3am, exhausted. Went to front desk for a few extra blankets for kids, realized fold out had no sheets so went back for that and front desk added some extra towels which was great because we would have been short one otherwise since there are 4 per room.

-Clean rooms with up to date decor Decor isn't a big deal for us, but is for some people. Rooms were always clean by noon if we weren't in them. They always gave us extra showering stuff so we had PLENTY of shampoo, conditioner, soap, etc. and we're never short on towels. (Some places clean the room and take all but 4 towels.)

-Convenient location Easy to get in and out (but we never really hit it at heavy traffic times.) 5-10 minutes from the Newhall train station too, which we used to get to various places in LA downtown.

-Outdoor pool had plenty of places to sit A few tables with umbrellas, some loungers, and some chairs. I never saw it crowded, even through Memorial Day. Pool was clean and went from 3' to 4.5'. There's also a hot tub that seats maybe 4-6.

Cons -Fold out isn't terribly comfy. My 60 lb 11 year old said he could feel every spring so we padded it a bit with an extra blanket when we could.

-AC seemed temperamental. 71 would get a bit too warm, but 70 got really cold. However, there WERE 5 of us in there, so that can make for uneven temperatures depending on showering, open curtains, day time, night time, etc.

-Parking can be a little snug for minivans or larger vehicles. I always felt we were tight on the sides, even when everyone parked perfectly in spots. We always parked on the side of the building, and it sometimes took a bit of forward and backing up to get into, or out of,...

Except for the inconsiderate unlawful smokers at the building entry, my stay was good. There were a few things that could have made it better, but overall comparative to other chains this hotel was satisfactory.

The "cleaning staff" was accommodating but also somewhat noisy throughout a large portion of the day. If you are traveling on business it might be best to leave if you need to conduct skype meetings.

The bathroom does not have a fan: Section 1203.4.2.1 of California's building code requires all bathrooms with a bathtub, shower, spa or similar fixtures to be ventilated by an exhaust fan. The fan must be Energy Star-compliant and vented to the outside. There are no shelves to house any additional toiletries or supplies in the bathroom - simply put- just the toilet and bathtub are enclosed by a door and the sink with limited space is just outside the door. Not ideal for 2 or more travelers that need to have a place to hang and place both toiletries and clothes.

There is a gym, but it is extremely limited as well: It is firstly in another hotel next door the (Residence Inn), and has a separate weight room, 1 Life Fitness elliptical and 2 treadmills which is located just inside and adjacent to a "smoking designated area" which is somewhat illogical for the fitness regimen of the nonsmoker who is using the gym.

It's extremely important to note that while you have excellent front desk hotel staff representatives like Brenda, at the Residence Inn "next door"--- the Operations Manager himself is somewhat clueless as to what he actually has in the inventory of room layouts. Seems like nowadays the concept of "business ethics and professionalism" for client retention is a thing of the past. Being in property management myself, I see that as a grievous error. The simplest thing a "manager" can do is be humble and say- "I don't know" and then go and find out for the next client! Apathetic and inconvenienced attitudes will eventually affect the overall stability of the repeat traveler.

Travel...

While driving from Northern California to Arizona, and very late at night, I realized I wasn't going to make it to my original destination of the Fairfield Inn in San Bernardino - I needed to get off the road and get some sleep. I was fairly sure there was a hotel closer to me and somewhere near Magic Mountain, but I couldn't remember the name of the town. Since I was driving I couldn't look up an dial the Marriott 800 reservation line, so I used bluetooth to call the only number saved in my phone for Marriott, the Marriott Hotel in San Ramon, CA. The desk clerk there transferred me to the main reservation number and a reservationist helped me find the name of the town closest to Magic Mountain, (Santa Clarita/Valencia) and secure the new hotel room. She then cancelled the San Bernardino room...all this was done with one phone call by a very kind, professional and calm central reservationist speaking to a very tired motorist with frayed nerves and the need to get off the road and get some sleep! When I arrived in Santa Clarita near midnight, the front desk clerk was friendly and efficient and had me in my room in less than 15 minutes! The hotel and my room were clean, well-kept, and welcoming. The staff was very friendly, attentive, and efficient. THANK YOU...