Residence Inn by Marriott Denver Golden/Red Rocks

I grew up thinking highly of Residence Inn. My family once stayed at one for more than three months, and I’ve stayed at many while traveling. This was easily the worst Marriott Residence Inn I’ve experienced, and I won’t return or recommend it. The room itself was in rough shape. A kitchen cupboard came loose when I opened it, and the appliances need a serious quality check. The lobby men’s bathroom also had a urinal that apparently hadn’t worked for ages and wouldn’t flush. Service didn’t help. Housekeeping was supposed to come every other day, but they only changed the towels and didn’t make the bed. The AC quit when the thermostat batteries ran out. I asked for maintenance that night and again the next morning, and was told it would be fixed during the day. By evening it still wasn’t working. I tried to be patient, but after two days I asked to move rooms and was told there were no similar rooms available. Customers should be treated fairly, even if that means offering an upgrade. Keeping an existing guest matters. I don’t want to stay here again. Breakfast was very limited. The hot choices were eggs, sausage, and sometimes bacon, with no breakfast potatoes. There were English muffins and bagels each day but no white or wheat bread. People have vegetarian and vegan preferences for personal or religious reasons, and there wasn’t much for them. Oat milk was the one saving grace.

I ordered food and had to eat it with my hands because there were no forks. When I asked at the front desk, they said they couldn’t do anything about it. That kind of defeatist response really put me off, and I can’t recommend the place. You could try the Courtyard across the street, where I’ve never had a problem. For a central, upscale hotel, not having forks is hard to understand. Forks have been around forever, and even USB ports are standard in rooms now.

The breakfast was a letdown for anyone vegetarian or with food restrictions. Chobani and coffee were about the only options. I remember Residence Inn serving good whole oatmeal, but here it was rolled oats with 14 grams of sugar. Most of the other items were sausage, boiled eggs, and waffles. The bananas were bruised and black inside, so we threw them away. The kitchen staff should check the food before putting it out. We booked through a corporate vendor using Expedia, and because it wasn’t through Marriott’s website, we were given an old room. It felt like a place to sleep and leave. There were black marks on the ceiling opposite the AC duct, and I’m not sure what they were. The TV in the living room was very old, and the hotel needs major renovations. The elevator and exit door were noisy, the bathroom floor had lots of hair, and there was no soap in the dispenser during my shower. When I called the front desk at 8 pm, the woman told me to come down for soap bars. She offered a room change too, but I wasn’t comfortable moving after settling in. I later spoke to a manager who wasn’t in her office; the front desk took my number and said she’d call. I got a voicemail offering a room change. There were two unwelcome visitors in the room, a yellow ladybug and a spider. The tub faucet kept leaking, the bathroom door wouldn’t close properly and had peeling paint, and the kitchen utensils were messy and dirty.

Our first stay around Thanksgiving was okay and the room was comfortable, though after about three days the general manager unexpectedly asked me to show ID. I found that rude and demeaning. We’re Marriott Bonvoy members and returned about a month later for our son’s graduation, staying for just two nights. At 11 pm we were given a small room that should have been out of service. There was foul, stagnant water in the dishwasher and the kitchen faucet smelled the same. My husband was tired, so I reported it to the receptionist, who said we could switch in the morning. I also felt the air quality was bad, with an odor like bacteria and mildew. We went to the graduation and didn’t worry too much about changing rooms until we got back that afternoon. Then the front desk person was unfriendly and said only one first-floor room was available. I was concerned because I’d seen bad reviews of some first-floor rooms, and this one had lots of water damage under the sink and a musty, sickening smell. Both rooms should have been out of service. That is absolutely unacceptable and falls far below hospitality standards. We’re a mature couple and Silver Elite members, but when I raised the problems with sales manager Maggie Adams, she denied them, didn’t try to understand, and shouted at me in front of five people, including a front desk employee. We had to find somewhere else for the third night. Sean helped get a refund approved for the two nights, though I had to insist because the hotel hadn’t provided decent, safe accommodations or moved us to the hotel next door. This was a complete fiasco, with a blatant lack of decency and professionalism and erratic behavior. It’s hard to understand treating returning guests this way.