Courtyard By Marriott San Angelo

We were worried about where to stay for a few nights before my fiancé's graduation after the base gave us a no-availability letter. Richard at the front desk found us a last-minute room at the military rate, and we were very grateful. The hotel was beautiful and comfortable. If, god forbid, we have to come back to san angelo, we'll stay here again.

I started out giving this five stars. It's a nice new hotel, well built and cared for, with efficient check-in, a well-lit lot, a decent part of town, and not much traffic or street noise. My complaint was the low toilets, which seem common in newer Marriot hotels. They're about half the height they should be, with no good reason, and are hard for older people with bad knees. This morning I found out coffee now costs $5, though it used to be complimentary. There's no free breakfast or daily housekeeping, and they wanted to charge for parking. I already paid $230 for an average room in the middle of nowhere with surface parking, so adding a parking fee feels like grabbing more money. This is the second Marriot in a few days that's done that. I've been a Marriot member a long time, but if they keep cutting service while charging premium rates, I'll switch brands. I also stayed at a Hilton in Amerillo a day after San Angelo. It cost $30 less than the Marriot across the parking lot and had a better Google rating, free breakfast and all-day coffee, free parking and water bottles at check-in, real glasses and coffee cups, a full-size toilet, and a larger, better-equipped room with a full kitchen. The bathroom was about 50% bigger, and housekeeping came daily without being asked. Hilton keeps adding customer-focused touches while Marriot has moved from premium-chain service to Motel 8 standards. One more thing: when we asked for a good steak place, they recommended Longhorn Steakhouse. Don't go. The food sucks, you might as well lick a salt block. Try Western Sky Steakhouse instead, the food there is great.

The room was very clean, and the furniture seemed pretty new. The fridge sits in one of those fancy-shaped cabinets trying to look modern and posh, I guess. There wasn't anything wrong with the usual bar, either. The location isn't terrible, just not great. Maybe that's fine for San Angelo. It's about a seven-minute drive to a city park playground for kids, which isn't bad.

The place was clean and pleasant, and the front desk staff were friendly. It cost a bit much and didn't include breakfast, but I'd stay again if I needed somewhere in San Angelo.