Residence Inn by Marriott Greenville

For what this cost, the room conditions were unacceptable. The first room’s toilet was filthy, so they moved me. In the second room, the pillow smelled and was dirty under its case, and there was visible mold in the shower. I bought cleaning supplies and scrubbed it myself. The Bonvoy app was down, so I had to book at the front desk for $40 more. The manager said she would refund my stay, but I’ll have to see if that happens.

The rooms have plenty of space and a nice layout, and the location is great. The one small drawback was cleanliness: you can see stains on the carpets and couches, probably from pets. There wasn’t an odor, so maybe those areas just need stain treatment. Every staff member I dealt with was kind and ready to help, even over the holidays. I can’t remember her name, but the front desk woman on Thanksgiving, a task force manager from Charlotte, was especially upbeat and sweet despite being away from her family. I’d definitely recommend staying here.

The night desk host was really kind and helpful, and the woman keeping the breakfast buffet stocked was lovely and made sure there was plenty of everything. Our room was roomy and comfortable. The hotel seemed fairly new, with a clean, well-appointed feel, though the shower could use a deeper cleaning.

I’ve never had an experience like this. We came for the women’s SEC tournament, and the trust a guest needs in a clean room was broken twice. I spent five years with a Marriott franchise, including on the opening executive team of a dual-property Marriott/Residence Inn, so I know how far this falls from what the brand promises. Marriott teaches the LEARN model, Listen, empathize, apologize, respond, notify. None of that happened in practice. The GM later apologized by email, waived the early checkout charge and the first night in the dirty room, but the management company needs to step in, and Marriott should send an auditor. Recent reviews give more context. If there aren’t enough housekeeping staff to turn rooms properly, take rooms out of service instead of selling them and hoping guests won’t complain. People pay for clean rooms. Don’t stay here. We checked in around 11:30 p.m. EST. At the desk we were told our room would be deep cleaned the next day, which struck me as strange. Room 616 was plainly dirty: only the linens seemed changed. Food was in the microwave, the counters and barstools hadn’t been wiped, the shower was nasty, the toilet looked unscrubbed for weeks, there was dust on the end tables, and a used washcloth was on the floor. We reported it the next morning. The front desk agent apologized. We left for our team’s game around 9:30 a.m. and came back at 3:30 p.m. Another agent said the GM had given us Bonvoy points and that the room had been deep cleaned. It hadn’t been touched except for the trash being removed. I returned to the desk, where the same agent and a new employee apologized and took notes. I said I’d be back from the second session of games by 9:30 p.m. The agent apologized repeatedly, promised it would be fixed, and even joked about whether I drank wine. When we returned, he acted as if he didn’t remember and said, “they said they did it, so I assume they did. Call me if they didn’t.” The room was still untouched, and housekeeping had gone for the night. When I said I didn’t want to stay there, he suggested checking out. I explained that with the SEC tournament in town, finding another room wouldn’t be possible. He said there were no other rooms, then started highlighting papers and repeating questions he’d already asked. He acknowledged that the room hadn’t been cleaned, then offered to move us to a double queen even though we’d booked a King. That room was clean, so I accepted it. I can only say the trust was fractured when the room wasn’t clean, then broken again when the promised cleaning never happened and nobody checked that the issue was resolved. A Marriott name on the door should mean the service matches what the brand stands for.