Residence Inn by Marriott Indianapolis Keystone

I regularly choose Residence Inn when I travel because I like having a kitchen, living space for visitors, and a desk to work at. This stay, while visiting family over the holidays, was awful. I’m also concerned that there was paper covering the fire alarm over the bed in room 501. My sister’s partner is a fire marshal and told me renting a room with a covered alarm is illegal. I plan to report it to local authorities because I believe my safety was put at risk. The room wasn’t properly cleaned for most of my stay. When I checked in on December 23rd, it was dusty, dishes were in the dishwasher, and there were dead flies. I wiped down the counters and toilet myself with Clorox wipes I’d bought. I expected the alarm issue to be dealt with during cleaning, but the room wasn’t cleaned the next day. The front desk later explained that rooms were cleaned every other day from check-in, so it was due on December 25th. That day a maid arrived while I was changing. I asked her to return in two hours and left at 9:30am. When I came back at 11:45pm, the room still hadn’t been cleaned. I went to the desk, complained, and insisted it be cleaned Friday the 26th. On Friday, I found the maid and another worker chatting at my breakfast bar instead of cleaning. They moved when I appeared, and the maid only began after asking if I wanted the room cleaned. Two hours later, she’d made the bed and left towels, but hadn’t cleaned the counters; the flies were still there, and dishes remained in the sink and dishwasher. I had to leave and raised the issue with the person on duty later. She seemed unbothered and didn’t understand what I expected, so I asked what the standard of clean was. Her response felt patronizing. I asked for the manager, but was told one was never on site. I found the manager’s card and others on the counter. I later spoke with someone else and gave them a list of what needed cleaning. The room wasn’t actually cleaned until the day before I left. The shared areas were dirty too: the hall carpet had food crumbs and trash, and the elevator floors and walls were grimy. I saw the same trash and stains in the same spots every day, with no sign the carpet had been vacuumed or the elevators cleaned. There were other problems from the start. Cynthia had helped me arrange both rooms at the member rate on Marriott’s website, but at check-in on December 23rd no one asked which card I wanted for incidentals, and they charged the wrong one. The woman checking us in wasn’t friendly, and we weren’t told the room cleaning or breakfast schedules.

The second room we were given smelled strongly of smoke, which was especially frustrating because this is a non-smoking hotel and, in Indiana, smoking isn’t allowed within 25 feet of the door. We’d booked two rooms with king size beds for our family of four, stopping on the way home from Gatlinburg, Tennessee. When I called about the smell, they said they were fully booked and couldn’t do anything. I understand that’s a difficult spot, but that room shouldn’t have been rented out in that condition. We stayed anyway and were very disappointed. I usually only leave a bad review when there’s a valid reason, and this was one.

The rooms are great, but the staff are why I’m writing this. They’ve been professional and suggested restaurant options that suited us better. It’s the best service I’ve had.

I was there for one night, and the hotel looked new and was very clean. There are plenty of restaurants nearby. My room had comfortable beds, a large TV, and strong shower pressure. The complimentary breakfast was good too.