Residence Inn by Marriott Portland Scarborough — Hotel in Scarborough

I take my girlfriend to her travel job in the Biddeford area, we travel from MDI every week so we frequent a few hotels. We’ve been in and out of this hotel for the past month (Nov 2024). Our first night was pleasant, staff in general is friendly, the male manager especially. However we spent 3-4 nights per week here, the first stay the entire 4 days we requested housekeeping and was given all sorts of excuse by front desk. Fine, we came down got all we need and sort the room ourselves even took the trash out ourselves. But the next trip it’s the same thing, it’s like we have to beg for housekeeping which never came. And same with the next time in fact we were asked “do you need housekeeping already?” Yes it was our 3rd night out of a few.

The next thing here it’s a hit or miss with a clean comfortable room. Maybe my expectations are too high but I think if you’re providing hospitality it should be clean I don’t care if it’s $60 or $400/night. We got a room one night there was dust on every surface, dog hair and dirt all over the top of the couch, my gf broke out with allergies, I had to hunt for Claritin @12am. We paid for the Queen suite and the night audit downgraded us and put us in a handicap room. When asked why are you downgrading us, how about a discount or another room? He told us we already getting the best rate from 3rd party and no more rooms available. My gf had to call him from the room express her dissatisfaction for him to show us other rooms. He showed us 9 rooms he claimed he didn have and they got worst, one had used bar of dove soap and used razor on it (which he quickly discarded), another smelled so bad. Then after coming here so often, I had an incident I wasn’t feeling well so my gf drove herself to work not knowing I left my wallet in the truck. Came to the usual morning front desk Shannon, told her we were planning to extend but I don’t have my wallet or even my vehicle if I had to check out or to extend. In the middle of me explaining she’s pretty much loud enough telling me everything needs to be out the room by 12. I tried to explain to her I can pay later, we have more than enough money. I just can’t access it till my gf gets back to the hotel at 7p. She said she can give me till 1pm to figure it out. My gf had a card that was locked I finally got her to unlock the card and I paid the night. A white older lady met me at elevator and said “she was a bit insensitive” infact I was embarrassed. The only reason I even came back is because it’s the better value in the area, without running through your savings.

I’ve sat by the lobby and witness them treat customers of a different skin color differently; just how they deal with their complaints and dissatisfaction and they give them options even floor or room preference. A checkout even slipped them, that individual was in that room till around 4pm when they noticed; all they said is “we’re gonna have to charge you for another night, ok see you when you get down here”, but they were ready to...

This place was perfectly fine as a place to lay our heads and serve as a home base for a day trip into Portland. However, it definitely wasn't to the quality standards I used to expect from a Residence Inn back in the day. (We stayed at a Townplace Suites in Bangor earlier in the week, and before this trip I had actually been expecting the TPS to be a step down from the RI, but it was exactly the opposite.) ||The service was great, and the staff was very friendly and accommodating, so this is nothing against them, but the property had clear signs of wear and tear in the common areas (e.g., cracked tile, peeling trim, totally shredded booth seat material in the breakfast area...), and it didn't seem like the cleanup crew was working all the time. My husband and I started making a game out of one piece of thread we spotted on the floor by the elevator, to see if it would ever disappear by the time we left 2 days later - which it did not. But I will say that in our room it was just cosmetic; we did not have any uncleanliness issues. ||We had our dog with us, and we had no issues there; there was plenty of space to walk her outside when she needed to go, and it seems that dog owners were good about cleaning up after their pets.||The breakfast was decent - I was a big fan of the eggs with a sprinkle of the shredded cheddar they provided for some reason. There's also a waffle maker and the other usual suspects - toast, yogurt/fruit, etc.||One interesting occurrence was with the evening cocktail reception, which we were told lasted from 5-7pm that night when we checked in around 4:30. We decided to swing down and check it out around 5:45, and as we arrived we heard them tell someone that they were out of red wine. We thought that was bizarre, especially since there weren't that many people there - but the fact that there was no more in the back was a head-scratcher. (Did they just have one bottle??) On that note, there is a great grocery store across the street, so if you would like to have your own cocktail party you can pick up anything you'd like (including wine, beer, spirits). ||I would suggest they consider installing soft-close toilet lids, which isn't a costly investment but definitely makes a difference for minimizing disturbance of fellow guests above and below.||All in all, if you're looking for a decent home base that doesn't come with the price tag of being right in downtown Portland but is still close, consider this property - especially if you need a pet-friendly hotel. If you're looking for fancy schmancy and cosmetic issues bother you, you may want to...

We visited Scarborough for a family wedding. There were 16 of us. Initially we looked for a large home to rent but nothing fit our needs. We found this Residence Inn and reserved four of their 2-bedroom suites, which worked perfect for the 5 families that were in our party. We all had our own space as well as a small living room and kitchen to use. In addition, the staff encouraged us to use the breakfast/gathering space in the afternoons and evenings for group meals or just card playing and socializing together. The property, between the large 2-bdrm suites and the large gathering space worked out better than any home rental we considered.

In addition, the staff there really took care of us. I really want to single out Dennis, who was superb to work with the entire stay. He guided us to restaurants that were where the locals go, not just the touristy chain restaurants. He also guided us to shopping where we found just what we were looking for. Even showed us a card trick! But the rest of the staff was also great to work with and bent over backwards to assist us with our requests.

Each of five mornings, we had a different breakfast selection, which was great. After that many days, the same breakfast selections begin to get old and this was a wonderful surprise. Everyone in our group enjoyed the breakfasts, which is saying something for a group of 16.

There is a market across the street, a walmart just 3 blocks away, as well as plenty of other stores in the area.

Only negative point is that the property backs up to I-95 and the rooms on the back side can get noisy, especially if you have a hard time getting to sleep. Ask for a front side room and the noise isn't as bad.

Anyone staying with a larger group, especially a family, I would highly recommend this Residence Inn over a home rental. Pool, hot tub, workout room, basketball court, two gas grills, indoor and outdoor seating, plenty of parking, and plenty of space and bathrooms, daily maid service, and a great staff to assist you; you'd never get all that in a home rental. A softball team with many parents also stayed the same weekend and it worked great for them as well. Really can't say enough nice about...