We've stayed here a few times in the last 10 years. Always a 1 bedroom suite. Excellent location. Most staff are terrific. When we booked this time, we inquired as to whether a remodel had been done recently, because the last time we were there a couple of years ago, it was looking ratty and in need of an update. We were told it was remodeled in 2010. The public spaces all look terrific. Clearly carpeting is new and so is wallpaper. BUT they never bought new furniture. We checked into our suite and were so disgusted by the filthy furniture that we demanded the head of housekeeping and the manager come to the room themselves (see picture attached). Greasy, black stains on ALL the furniture except the bed, food stains and crumbs on seating, all wood furniture was cracked and chipped. There were gross tains on the rug too. Look at that disgusting white drip on the couch! That was on the floor too! EWWWW! The manager blamed it on housekeeping, the head of housekeeping blamed it on management, they both blamed it on "the cheap owner".
We are gold-platinum level with Marriott, so we expect a high level of cleanliness (see review of Fairfield Inn Santa Cruz-Capitola), especially with such a high price point. We tried to move to a different hotel immediately, but nothing suitable was available in our price range. We went with staying there, we switched to another suite (and made sure it was inspected before we moved in) on a higher floor. Carpet was clean but furniture, while not as gross, was still dirty, so we had housekeeping bring extra sheets and we covered all the furniture. We also didn't let our daughter even open the sofabed, we just let her stay on top of the covered sofa instead. The bathrooms in both suites were just okay/clean, neither one looked like it had been truly scrubbed in a while. Curtains in both rooms were dingy/dusty/old and clearly have not been replaced since the place was built and clearly not washed since the reno.
I will say that at least there were no bugs anywhere of any kind. And the manager gave us 5,000 Marriott points for our trouble. As for the people reporting this hotel as "clean", well, if you are in a room that only has beds, that is the case, BUT if you have a sofa or armchair that is totally not true. And maybe I'm just more tuned in because we travel so much, but really, stains on the carpet? No excuses for that - get a d*mn carpet steam cleaner and get the stains out between guests!
And one warning - if you have a car, it will cost >$50 to valet park it or >$45 to self park, be sure to account for that in your budgeting. We used to be able to park in a lot down the street for $10 overnight, but now they got smart and have raised it to $45, so you're kinda screwed because of the downtown location. If you can ditch your rental when you get there, do so.
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