Residence Inn by Marriott Sedona — Hotel in Sedona

I am updating my review after returning for a recent second stay, that did not go very well. My stay here back in November with my husband was overall good, but when we returned this year with more family members, it was not great.

Customer Service: I see several reviews here stating that they found the front desk staff to be off-putting, unfriendly, and unhelpful. I have to agree. They checked us in, and avoided us during our entire stay. Not a single person ever asked us how we were doing, bothered to send us a smile, or ask if we needed anything. In fact, with the very little time we had during our full activity packed trip, when I would pass by the front desk with the intent of talking to someone about the issues we had (see more about that below), they would look away and act busy. I have never experienced that in another Marriott property, being a Marriott member for many years. Disappointing for a room that cost almost $500 a night, plus $18 per day in parking.

The Room: The hotel was practically empty when we arrived (probably due to the weather when we arrived) but they somehow still managed to put us in an ADA room that we did not request/did not need, next to an exit door that would be opened and closed at all hours of the night. One of our party members was over six feet tall, so how everything was placed at a lower level was awkward and uncomfortable. As well as right next to the corn hole where kids were playing at 6AM, screaming.

We had 3 adults in our party, and originally hoped to book a double queen room. That was unavailable when we booked (not sure if they even offer those rooms), so we had the choice between the studio king or suite king. We decided to pay extra for the suite king so one adult could have some privacy and take the sofa bed in the living room, while the king room had a door.

After a long day of hiking and sight seeing, that night we opened the sofa bed to discover the mattress was so thin you could see the springs. I wish I had taken a picture. I was so shocked, as we had booked in the past rooms with sofa beds at other hotels, and never saw a mattress this thin. If an adult slept on that mattress, they would have woken up with the worst back pain I am sure. The floor would have been a better option, no exaggeration. So one member of our party was forced to sleep on top of the sofa. Because of how unfriendly and avoidant the front desk was, we felt uncomfortable even trying to approach them to ask to switch us to another room. Earlier that day I had heard a heated exchange about the $18 parking fee another hotel guest had with the front desk, and I was not interested in arguing with them about the room. There was no double room available online, so how much more could they have actually done for us not sure.

I did have the assistant manager Amanda earlier this week reach out to me to apologize which was great, but no offer to comp us anything for the sofa bed we were unable to use and the other issues during our stay. I called the Corporate 1800 number after exchanging two emails where again, nothing was offered just a sorry and our engineering team took a look and we will make sure this doesn't happen in the future. That is great, but we paid almost $500 a night for a sofa bed we were unable to use and a room that was in a loud part of the hotel, where we couldn't even rest. The front desk with someone named Laura CC'd emailed today after Marriott opened a case about this, with an apology but again -- no offer on how to make this right. I directly asked for some sort of refund and was told the manager would get back to me with an answer on that. Have not heard back from the manager.

We will see if they are able to resolve this in a fair manner for guests who have stayed at the property in the past and...

I would expect more from a Marriott. We requested early check in which I know is based upon availability. We got there early and they told us it wasn’t available and to come back. We go kill an hour and a half and come back at regular check in time and our room still isn’t ready. We had dinner reservations and needed to get ready so this was really frustrating. It was also my birthday and I booked this room a month if not more in advance, so why is the room we reserved not available? They stuck us in a room that was not the same one we booked and when we got in there the AC was super loud and rumbling. I’m sensitive to noises like that and knew there was no way I could sleep there or enjoy myself with that loud noise in the back, especially not for 400+ a night. We called front desk and they said they would send someone but who knew when that would be and again we had to get ready for dinner so we just went to the front and got a new room. Again not the room we reserved and it was on the bottom floor. I did not want to be on the bottom floor because I didn’t want people above us, but again they say this is all they have. So what are we suppose to do? We reluctantly take the next room they give us. When we got there we noticed the shower was kind of dirty, with random hair that was not ours.We paid extra for the “balcony” and it was the tiniest balcony we have ever seen. My boyfriend is 6’4 and could barely relax on it because it was so tiny. And it was so close to the room next to you, if you both were on the patio trying to relax I’m not sure how that would work because you are right up on the room next to you, within arms reach. So don’t bother paying extra for the balcony because it was really a joke, and oddly enough all of their rooms with a balcony are on the back of the hotel facing away from the nice view. We saw courtyard had theirs facing the nice view..the walls here at this hotel are paper thin. You can hear your neighbors just conversing, so imagine all the other things you can hear. 2 nights at 4am we had Bigfoot upstairs stomping around and I almost called the front desk but instead put my AirPods in. Exactly why I didn’t want to be on the bottom floor. When I mentioned this at checkout the guy was totally unsympathetic and said that everyone wants to be upstairs. Okay but I booked this hotel a month or more in advance, what is the point of a reservation if it does nothing to Guarantee what you actually want? For the whole fiasco they only gave us free parking which honestly the whole pay to park is a joke and should’ve been free anyway. It’s not the the parking lot is gated or anything, and our room was super far from the parking lot. Overall I would definitely not recommend this hotel. I felt like we could’ve stayed somewhere just as nice for cheaper/same price with a better view and...

IF YOU ARE BOOKING THIS HOTEL BECAUSE OF YOUR DOG/PET, PLEASE READ BELOW

We stayed here from Aug 28-31 in one of the suites. While this hotel has some positives, our experience was marred by a couple of significant issues.

First, if you’re booking here specifically because it’s dog-friendly, please be aware of the hotel’s confusing and rigid pet policy. On Aug 30, around 1:00pm, we approached the front desk to request canceling our scheduled housekeeping. Our dog's tracheal collapse was triggered by the heat and humidity, and we didn’t want any disturbances (we saw a vet on an emergency-basis and was told to keep her in a cool room). The response we received from a rude, dark-haired, female employee with glasses was frustrating. She was condescending and insistent on reminding us of the hotel’s policy, which prohibits leaving pets unattended in the room. This was in stark contrast to the more accommodating attitude of the woman who checked us in on Aug 28 around 12:25 pm, who mentioned that leaving our dog alone would be acceptable as long as we returned before 7pm (because of increased foot traffic in the hotel), or even later if our dinner plans ran late. The lack of clear, visible information about the pet policy on the booking site only added to our frustration. It seems this hotel is more concerned with enforcing policies than accommodating guests with pets in distress. They do not care if your pet lives or dies.

Secondly, the $25 plus tax per night parking fee is excessive, especially considering the ample free parking provided by the city available just a short distance away in downtown.

On a positive note, the hotel was clean, and the breakfast service was exceptional. The breakfast attendant was kind and attentive, deserving a 5-star review of his own. Perhaps he should consider working at the front desk to improve the overall guest experience.

In summary, this hotel may be a good option if you don’t plan to leave your dog unattended, but be prepared for potential frustrations regarding their pet policy and...