by Julie Mcconnell

Created on: September 22, 2008   Last Updated: September 23, 2008

Exactly one day after our honeymoon, my husband and I reported to his new job site in Greensboro, NC. At that time, we were really not sure where we would end up next, but we knew one thing was definite, we would be living in hotels for the next year. We are now one-third of the way through that year and we just checked in for our sixth hotel stay of the program. Staying in so many hotels back-to-back has given me a unique opportunity to compare and contrast the service, efficiency and style of several different chains and I am very impressed with the quality hotel stay that Marriott has to offer.

I have had the pleasure of staying both in a Courtyard by Marriott (for my honeymoon) and a Residence Inn by Marriott. In fact, I am sitting in my cozy Marriott bed as I write this review. During each of my Marriott stays I have been impressed with the efficiency of their staff. Their front desk employees are well-trained and courteous which makes check-in procedures go smoothly. Their maintenance and housekeeping staff are also very good at what they do and strive to make your stay as comfortable as possible. During our most recent stay in a Marriott, we discovered that our dishwasher was not working properly. We called the front desk to report the problem and within five minutes someone was in the room to look at the dishwasher. As it turns out, our room had just been remodeled and the water connection had not been fixed correctly. Maintenance had the problem fixed within an hour. While this situation could have caused our stay to get off to a rocky start, the quick response of hotel maintenance left us impressed and thankful to have chosen a Marriott hotel for our extended stay.

Not only is their service at a high quality, but their product is too. Earlier this year, Marriott launched a company-wide remodel of their rooms, aimed at making their rooms more stylish and comfortable. Their bed linens are crisp and clean, with a nice, white duvet taking the place of the traditional hotel comforter. Their rooms are styled with bold, contemporary colors through artwork and accessories. The level of style in Marriott rooms is a breath of fresh air compared to the plain and outdated rooms of their competitors.

If you get the chance to stay at one of their extended stay hotels, you will be treated with daily complimentary breakfast as well as complimentary dinner Monday through Thursday! This is a wonderful bonus for the busy business traveler who doesn't have time to fix dinner and is tired of take-out. Marriott also offers daily housekeeping while most of their competitors only offer this service weekly for their extended stay guests.

Overall, my husband and I have been very pleased with Marriott chain hotels and will continue to do business with them during our next nine months on the road.

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