Residence Inn By Marriott Santa Clarita Valencia

There seemed to be plenty of parking, and the hotel itself was fine. But my room clearly hadn’t been vacuumed: there was loads of grey hair on the carpet, in my socks, and in the bathroom, plus other dark hair in the bathroom and a candy wrapper under the kitchen peninsula. I always wonder when housekeeping skips vacuuming, since it’s the easiest part. Did they change the towels and bedding, or miss that too? The thin windows let in the gardener’s noise and traffic all night.

The queen suite has a lot included: a fridge, cook top, dishwasher, sink, separate bedroom, and sofa bed in the living room. Staff were kind, the pool was a nice size, and the Jacuzzi was standard. Breakfast was the usual spread, with one meat option such as bacon, sausage, or turkey bacon, plus a breakfast sandwich, rubbery packet scrambled eggs, oatmeal bar, coffee, waffle iron, yogurt, and cereal. The beds were very uncomfortable.

The staff are great and accommodating, and the hotel is in a nice spot with restaurants and shopping all around. My only complaint is the internet, which is horrible, especially on weekends. Don’t count on streaming a movie or show. In my experience over a couple weeks here, the buffering takes about as long as the movie itself.

I usually like Residence Inn, and this one has a great location with friendly, welcoming staff. But the suite has been a problem. There was hair on the shower wall when I checked in, so the bathroom wasn’t clean. The shampoo, conditioner, and bath gel containers were empty, and it took a whole day to get them filled so I could use them. On my second night a loud party somewhere nearby kept me from sleeping. Then today I came back to find some kind of fluid leaking from the ceiling in the bathroom and bedroom area and all over the floor. I’m considering checking out early and finding another hotel.