Marriott Grand Residence Club, Lake Tahoe — Hotel in South Lake Tahoe

We stayed in 2 bedroom unit for a weekend and were thoroughly disappointed. The property is dated and tired. Our room was large so no complaints there. The property had basically no amenities. Concierge desk was closed the entire time. Probably “due to covid” but unsure. Proximity to the heavenly gondola cannot be beat. It is literally an arms reach away. Definitely very convenient!

Unfortunately our check out experience was so awful I would will never return to the property and strongly urge anyone considering this property to stay elsewhere. We called the front desk to inquire about the check out time and the possibility of getting late check out. What ensued was hands down the worst customer service experience I have ever had. I’m a Marriott platinum member and I stay at marriotts all over the world on a monthly basis. I also stay at non Marriott hotels. I generally have great experiences at marriott properties which is why I’m very loyal to the brand. My experience with the front desk employee Donna was unbelievable. We nicely asked about late check out and she was so condescending and hostile (she didn’t even great us when she picked up the phone, she just said “hello? What?”—we thought we misdialed and got a random room by mistake.)

Donna said we can’t have late check out because guests are already waiting in the lobby for our room (this was around 9am) and we need to vacate immediately for these guests. Not sure who these guests were but Donna did an excellent job of making us feel like worthless second class guests. After we hung up with Donna, housekeeping knocked on our door twice, an engineer came up twice to “fix the phone” which he determined was fully functional and not in need of repair, and Donna called our room about 4 times and proceeded to hang up when we would answer. It was blatantly obvious Donna had orchestrated this ambush on us in an effort to hurry us out of the room. Completely unprofessional and frankly abusive conduct from Donna. The engineer who was sent actually apologized for repeatedly distributing us and said he knows it’s ridiculous and “it’s political”. He was really nice. Didn’t get his name unfortunately.

Hours after we had left the hotel I received several calls and voicemails from other employees who wanted to know when we’d be out of the room. I told them we left hours ago and the gentleman (Tyler I think) basically apologized for calling and said he was asked to call (obviously by Donna). Donna went to great lengths to simply harass us. It was outrageous. I can’t imagine what it’s like for the employees who have to work with Donna and are subjected to her abuse and hostility daily. She is sinking the ship and she’s a terrible representation of not only this property but of Marriott in general.

There is absolutely no customer service at this establishment. If you’re looking for an enjoyable, relaxing and hospitable stay this is NOT the place. AVOID AVOID AVOID Marriott Grand Residence...

Three Stars — Longtime Guests Disappointed This Year

We’ve stayed at the Marriott Grand Residence in South Lake Tahoe for many years as part of an annual family reunion, and we've always valued the location, service and space for our growing group. Unfortunately, this year’s visit left us with more frustration than fond memories.

Midway through our stay ($2,000 reservation for three nights for our family and not including rooms for some 30-other family members), we received a call to our room from the valet claiming our rental car wouldn’t start and that we needed to contact the rental company to figure out a solution. That derailed our afternoon and involved our pulling in multiple family members to problem-solve — only for my husband to finally go down to valet, get to the car (which had been forced in to neutral and pushed to a parking spot), put his foot on the brake, and start the car with NO issue.

The valet manager’s response was rude, unprofessional and full of conflicting stories (including their having tried to charge the battery, remove the battery and also having involved a bystander mechanic who diagnosed electrical failure as a means of helping valet to troubleshoot before contacting us). He went on to justify his efforts by saying they've "seen this happen with many Jeep Wagoneers" previously.

We were left unsettled — enough so that we decided to move the vehicle offsite entirely, worried it might be tampered with to match the valet's story. We parked it at the Target across the street, a store we’d visited multiple times during our stay, and unfortunately received a $200 parking ticket after a photo was taken of the vehicle around the time we parked it. So what began as a simple valet mishap ended up costing us both time and money.

While the front desk comped our valet fees ($35/day and ONLY because we requested it) and acknowledged the manager's less-than-professional conduct, the follow-up call later from Gabrielle (who upon further investigation) downplayed everything with an explanation which inferred none of any of that had happened or been reported. So apparently we made that up so we could kill half a day of activities?

Paired with other disappointments — several maxi pads littering the drive-up area on arrival (which we picked up and tossed not wanting other guests to receive the same welcome), long wait times in the rain with cars left in the thoroughfare without cover, and lackluster valet service — it’s clear the hotel’s standards have slipped.

We’ve been loyal guests for years, and it’s discouraging to feel dismissed after such an avoidable and stressful situation. We’d appreciate a gesture of goodwill and hope Marriott takes this feedback seriously — because we’d like to continue our tradition here, but not under...

You’re in the mountains. Snow and winds arrive reliably, unlike caviar and refinement. The Tahoe Marriott Grand Residence Club adapts your stay accordingly.

For one, you will be well equipped to face a power outage. Your room will be accessed over synthetic carpets of such static charge, that a single discharge of your finger will likely light the entire room and perhaps even toast your bread.

As part of your package, you will receive daily visual reminders of what it’s like to get trapped under an avalanche. This will come in the form of low polystyrene ceilings that also double up as a time machine. When an average height woman is able to touch the ceiling without rising on her toes, we’re heading back to caves. And there are some in these mountains.

The stay also includes your own personal resilience coach. Meet twice a day with your bath spout - a creature that will stubbornly refuse to direct all the water to the shower head above, no matter how hard and far you pull the switch. It’s good practice for those long mountain hikes.

In the same style of stubbornness, the bathroom air vent never stops, the windows and doors constantly leak cold air and the bedroom fireplace is limited to a 15-minute run time.

Clearly, the architect’s idea of temperature control was inspired by an adventurous night spent suspended on a ski lift in the middle of a snow storm.

You’re also one block away from Nevada and her crowd of 2 & a half star barbarians. That’s not a reference to incomes and hotel stars. It’s a reference to creatures who were born whole but somehow adopted such conceptual emptiness that even staring at a slot machine feels like a break. Perhaps they’re compensating for their lack of courage on the black diamond slopes.

This demographic confluence of casino zombies and people makes the Gondola area (and the two Marriotts) a commercial mixture of various quality levels from lovely ice creams to pizzas whose box tastes superior. Yet for me, the cafes always elude the warming smiles and songs of a cosmopolitan après ski scene. The energy is like in the elegant Bariloches and Zermatts: some of the world’s coolest mountains.

Regardless of the store or restaurant, the locals always seem to be genuine, helpful and candidly unilluminated. They carry themselves straight like their sweet pines and are almost as prickly.

The Marriott Vacations has no in-house restaurants, but it does have something far more unique: its wellness area. The main pools are heated to 85 ‘F and 100 ’F year round (open until 8pm), there is a decent gym open 24 hours and best of all, the sauna and the steam room are also open 24 hours. It felt so good after skiing and hiking! I’ve used the sauna several times outside normal hours and for that reason, I was very glad to stay...