City Express by Marriott Nuevo Laredo

I can't comment on an actual stay at City Express, but I can offer some suggestions. Housekeeping seemed rushed overall, and small details were sometimes missed. More overnight hospitality and laundry staff could help keep services going through the night and give guests a cleaner, more comfortable environment. Fairer scheduling would help too, with enough breaks, less overtime and tasks assigned with staff experience and strengths in mind. That could make things better for both guests and employees, and help with morale and retention. Investing in its staff is a good way for City Express to improve the service guests receive.

We paid more than $90 for a room that felt like a hostel room. It was old, dirty and smelled moldy. The receptionist was unfriendly and barely spoke to us. They had told us breakfast would be an American buffet, but it wasn't a buffet.

The building was uncomfortably hot throughout, and the hallways and elevators smelled like a sewer. There may have been a plumbing problem, since the lobby restroom sink was full of water too. The power went off a couple of times, and the generator was loud when it kicked in. At check-in, getting our key took a long time, and then we were told the bed we'd reserved days earlier wasn't available. When we got permission to check out at 4 pm, our key stopped working and we had to go back down to have it reactivated. I wouldn't return even at a discount. I'd rather pay more to stay somewhere nicer.

The room smelled awful, damp and nasty, and we were given just one tiny bottle of water on a very hot day and one towel for two people. There were lots of drunk men outside the parking lot at night, with beer bottles scattered everywhere. In the morning I found a scratch on my car's trunk, as if someone had set cans on it. I'll take a picture and upload it. I don't think I'll stay here again. A really bad experience for me.