Residence Inn by Marriott St. Petersburg Tierra Verde

The location is the main thing this hotel has going for it, with Fort de Soto Park and St Pete Beach nearby, plus waterfront rooms with lovely sunset views. The cleaning staff, who seemed possibly understaffed, were polite, and the evening desk team, Tomas and Maya, were courteous too. The daytime front desk staff, a group of young women, came across as inexperienced and unprofessional. I found the hotel poorly managed. The relatively new manager, Chad Ingram, seemed unhappy in the job and showed little customer care or people skills, while Penny Brooks, the operations manager, was rude and condescending. The rooms weren't cleaned well, which made me question management's standards. My Bonvoy membership felt unwelcome, the stairway smelled nauseating, and parking came with a daily fee plus tax. For the price, I wouldn't stay here again. There are better value options nearby. The building opened around 2019 but already seems to be deteriorating, and the customer service has declined badly. Management needs more training in customer service, communication, conflict resolution, customer expectations, ethics, people skills, and the value of Bonvoy members. Customers are the foundation of a business, not its enemy.