Residence Inn by Marriott Long Island East End — Hotel in Town of Riverhead

My husband and I stayed at this property Nov. 8-10th while out visiting the North Fork area for a quick weekend getaway. I always loved Residence Inns because of their spacious suites. We had a one bedroom king suite, room 211. This property was very nice looking. We were very far from the elevator, as it's a very large hotel, so if you have trouble walking, make sure you ask for a room close to the elevator.||Check in went great, the lady at the desk was very friendly and efficient. Sorry, I don't remember her name. I would give check in an A||Cleanliness: Not filthy but not that great. Everything "looks" clean when you first walk in but it wasn't. There was a lot of dust on the air conditioning vents. The housekeepers need to take a dust rag to this, because breathing in that amount of dust isn't good, especially for people with allergies. I saw two black hairs on the bathroom floor and they weren't ours as my husband and I have light hair. We did leave a few cups and silverware in the sink on Saturday and the housekeeper did wash them for us. I always expected high cleanliness for a Marriott property, but this one wasn't up to speed. Work on the little details, and it would have been great. I would give the cleanliness a C.||Suite: Was quite large with plenty of storage and the layout was great. Lots of drawer space and a big closet. The suite was fully equipped with a kitchenette. I call it a kitchenette because it only had a stovetop but no oven, so if you wanted to make something in the oven you can't. I know they have the full range in the 2 bedroom suites, but not everyone needs a 2 bedroom. We didn't cook so it didn't matter to us. The kitchen was stocked with glasses, cups, plates, bowls, silverware, a couple of pots, can opener, and other kitchen gadgets. They also supply paper towels, dishwashing liquid, sponge, and a couple of dishwasher tablets. There was also two large TV's. The room really does look like the pictures on the website. I would give the room an A.||Bathroom: As far as looks goes the bathroom is very modern and nice looking but, as I mentioned above I found 2 black hairs on the floor! That really is unacceptable!! I thought we were going to get a walk in shower from what the pictures show of the one bedroom suite, but it was a shower/bathtub combo which I really don't like, as I find them very slippery and dangerous. My husband and I are in our mid 60s so we get nervous, especially since there was no rubber mat or those non-slip strips on the bottom of the tub. The shower pressure was really terrible as well, no pressure at all. It was very difficult to rinse the shampoo out of my hair. The soap situation was not good either. We got one small bar of soap for both the sink to wash your hands and shower with, as there was no body wash in the shower. I left the housekeeper a note on Saturday for another bar of soap for the shower. She did give us a new bar, however, she took the old bar that was by the sink. The bathroom needs 2 bars of soap, especially if you aren't going to supply body wash! Bathroom score: C-||Breakfast: All these hotels that don't have actual restaurants give these average/mediocre buffet breakfasts and this property is no different except I think it was a bit worse than the rest. First, there wasn't enough seating as there was a lot of guests that weekend. My husband and I, however, did get a seat both mornings. As far as the choices for breakfast was not very good, nor was the supply. There was no fruit at all. Usually there are whole fresh bananas, oranges, and/or apples, or fruit salad. None of that this time! The main course on both days was some sort of crustless quiche. (it didn't look like that at all). I didn't have it though. There was also pancakes, sausage both days. The food was not good, but the worst part is that they ran out. They did replace it, but it took at least 15 mins. So, my grade for the breakfast is a D. ||Pool/Gym: My husband used the pool and this is what he said. The pool was clean and was a comfy temperature. The hot tub was too cold and the jets of the whirlpool did not work well. The gym was nice and clean. Water is provided. The grade they get for this is a B.||We don't normally go to the North Fork of LI, but if I had to stay there again, I would give them a 2nd chance (everyone deserves a 2nd chance), and HOPE that they improve their services. If the did improve their services, than yes, I would stay a third time. If not, then definitely NOT!!||My total grade for this...

Service quickly disintegrating This is my second stay here (I check out tomorrow),the first being in March of this year.I was much more impressed with the hotel at that time. My stay this time was with 2 long time friends who allowed me to make the arrangements.The reservation was made approximately 7 weeks in advance.We each were getting our own room but when I called a couple of days before our arrival to make sure our rooms would be together,I was assured, because all 3 were under 1 name and the request was in the notes, there would be no problem. Upon arrival,however,2 rooms were connected and the other could not have been farther away on the other side of the hall,making my friend feel left out. There was a get together in the bar when we came in.We put our things in our rooms, got to the bar during the event to find empty food warmers and no intention of refilling them,then I find out that there was no longer a bar menu as there had been in March! At this point I called about the room situation and the bar.The front desk person was sympathetic but the supervisor wasn't there at the moment.As soon as she was back she would speak with her about it all. She had my cell phone to contact me. No phone call, no change, no courtesy.I was simply ignored.I only found out that she had spoken to the supervisor because I later went downstairs.The answer was because they were fully booked.Well they weren't when I booked and I called to confirm the arrangements so I do not accept that as a reasonable excuse. The next morning I found hair in my bathroom sink that wasn't mine. The breakfast crew is sadly understaffed.The toaster only works on one side so toast takes forever and a line forms.This isn't Disney,get a few more working toasters. We went out for the day and when I returned to the room I found that none of the kitchen supplies had been not been replaced. It seems they want this to be a higher quality hotel, maybe to compete with local high quality, high service facilities. But at the rate this seems to be declining I think I would rather stay at the Hilton Garden Inn next door before returning here.

UPDATE Due to availability gave the hotel another try but will not again. Breakfast cleared before scheduled time, room not carefully cleaned at check in, won't give details but it's disgusting and inexcusable, plumbing installed backwards so you have to figure out how to get a hot shower, no tv remote in room. It just keeps getting worse and worse and such high prices for a hotel that does not offer any restaurant service or food service other than breakfast and with very tight spaces around the bedrooms. I've stayed in NYC hotels and the space was comparable. Literally can not have 2 people walk at the same time around the end of the bed in a 1 or 2...

The property itself is very nice and well maintained.

However, I have been trying to get my credit card refunded $1,088 for a charge that should have been reversed when I canceled a reservation on prepaid rate on the same day I booked the original reservation. I needed to change the room size from a 2BR to a 1 BR. I booked a second reservation for the same dates with the correct room size immediately before canceling the original 2BR reservation. Their booking policies clearly state that I could cancel with in 24 hours of booking at no charge.

I contacted the property when I saw the charge was not reversed and the person confirmed that he can see the charges for both reservations and that I should get a credit. He said he would send the information to accounting to review and that I would hear from them. Several weeks, with no credit or call, I contacted the property again and they told me i would not get a refund because it was a prepaid non- refundable fee.

I contacted Marriott customer service and they sent an email to the property to review. The property responded stating the charges ivwas disputing were for the 1BR that i stayed in and that i was not charged for the 2BR. That is incorrect and I responded with screenshots from my credit card showing the two charges and the disputed amount matches the receipt for the canceled reservation. I explained I was not disputing the charge for the smaller room. It has been 5 months since my stay and a month since my last request for my last response and they still haven't replied.

I am a Titanium Elite Marriott member and have been an elite member for 26 years, 10 of them as gold and 3 as platinum and 2 as Titanium. I'm very aware of the booking policies and am disheartened that the hotel is refusing to follow their own policies and refund my money.

Times are tight and the $1,088 is a lot of money for me personally. I incurred late fees on my credit card and interest charges because of the unbudgeted charge which my employer will not cover because it is not a valid charge.

UPDATE as of 11/24/22

I called the hotel again and was connected to the F&B Manager who explained they had some recent change in management and that he would connect with the hotel manager to review the charges. Within a day, Jonathan responded to me and issued a credit to my account for the full amount in dispute. I am so thankful they resolved this issue for me. Thank...