My husband is recently disabled due to illness. He travels with his own wheelchair and definitely needs an "accessible" room with proper grab bars and space. We booked two 2-bedroom suites months in advance for the Army-Navy Game weekend. I confirmed that one of the suites would be wheelchair accessible about one month in advance. I reconfirmed directly with the hotel several days before the trip.
We arrived at the hotel at about 8:30pm on the Thursday of the game weekend, a day ahead of the big rush. We were told at check-in that the one 2-bedroom accessible suite was not available, the previous guests decided to stay longer! We accepted a one bedroom suite with a roll-in shower, we were told our friends could have another suite and the rate for both rooms would be the same as the single 2-bedroom suite.
The bathroom in the accessible suite was a disaster. The bathroom design was poor and it took half a dozen towels to mop up the flood on the floor after taking a shower. The next morning I knew I should use towels to make a "dam" to hold in the water. I left my slippers in the center of the room and they were still completely soaked. The clear plastic shower apparatus was completely moldy inside the hose and had a serious leak which caused water to spew sideways.
I complained about the shower at the front desk and we were offered a 2-bedroom suite for the remainder of the stay. I looked at the available room and it had one grab bar in the shower and no grab bar next to the toilet. It was definitely NOT an accessible room, but my husband agreed to try to manage without the assistive hardware. Since we truly wanted to stay with our friends who were arriving later in the day, I agreed to change rooms and the hotel did bring a portable shower chair which barely fit the bathtub. Repacking everything was such a hassle, and it took me three trips to move our luggage, but we made the move.
The remainder of the stay was uneventful. The rooms were clean, extra towels were provided upon request, the buffet breakfasts were OK, the staff did a good job with the crush of people using the breakfast room before the game on Saturday.
During checkout I complained again at the front desk about the problems we had. The manager credited $50 for the first night (1-bedroom instead of 2-bedroom suite) and credited $233 for the last night (one night at the 2-bedroom rate). Our total bill for the 3-night stay was still over $500, but I felt the manager had provided good customer service by reducing the costs.
It was raining on the morning of our checkout and it was very difficult to hail a taxi. The doormen and valets were totally MIA, traffic was TRIPLE parked in front of the hotel, and if it hadn't been for two others in our party helping out, we would've stood outside in the rain for a very long time. Extra staff should've been scheduled for such a busy check-out morning, especially with the bad weather. Also, there is no curb cut at the entrance of the hotel. This is illegal under the ADA and should be remedied by Marriott. Getting my husband to the taxi involved backing him off the high curb into the street - very dangerous.
The Residence Inn Philadelphia City Center is well-located and most of the staff were helpful. But if an accessible room is required, do check and double-check to be sure the correct accommodations will be provided.
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