Courtyard by Marriott Raleigh/Cary

The location was convenient, the beds were comfortable, and check-in was fast. But housekeeping woke us at 10:30 am, then again at 11:30 am, to make sure we were up for checkout. We’d had a long night out and wanted to sleep a little longer. It was really irritating to keep getting knocks, and it felt pushy, especially when the housekeeper was waiting outside our door at 11:55 as we left to check out.

I wouldn’t recommend staying here. We came for a wedding, and the room smelled strongly of cigarettes. A bottle of water in the room cost $5, the fridge didn’t work for the whole trip, and the pillows were atrocious, flat and lumpy. Our return flight was affected by a snowstorm, so we booked another night. My brother paid and said we needed to go downstairs for a new key. The Asian woman at the front desk had an attitude and acted as if the payment had gone through, even though we had plenty of proof it had. She gave us new keys, but they didn’t work, so we had to go back down for replacements. We finally went to bed around 4:30 am after fighting with the airline to get new flights. At 6:30 am, the same woman called our room and woke us to say we had to leave by 12 pm. She’d deactivated our key cards. She said the payment still hadn’t gone through, but then said we needed to pay the $26 difference between $130 and $156. That made no sense. My family and I spent over an hour arguing with the front desk to sort it out. The Asian woman clocked out at 7:00 and left the morning desk worker with the mess. That employee wasn’t supposed to handle any of it, but did. The other desk staff said the woman shouldn’t have threatened to kick us out by noon or deactivated the cards. We got no sleep because she woke us two hours later to try to kick us out, then left her coworkers to deal with what they called her unprofessional behavior.

I spent $350 for a room that wasn’t up to par, with dim lighting and a mini-fridge baseboard made of particle board that was dry-rotted, broken, and looked like termites had eaten it. There was also a $5 tag on the bottled water in the room. I’m definitely not recommending this place or coming back. For that price, there wasn’t even a continental breakfast, not a muffin, or an indoor pool. The only amenity was a fitness center. You’ve got to be kidding. Less attractive hotels with lower star ratings at least have free breakfast, and I know their financial scale doesn’t match this establishment.

The bed was firm and comfortable, and the rooms were clean. The microwave is on the first floor. Every employee was pleasant to talk to and helpful.