Showing its age. Sloooow Internet.
it's not Residence Inn's fault that its suite concept has been copied by numerous hotel chains but the rooms are still rather spacious and the kitchen (including full-size refrigerator) underscores the Residence part of the name.
But a stay of any length in any hotel comes with some reasonable expectations, primarily cleanliness and repair. Unfortunately, this property is in need of some upkeep (read: $$$) and attention to detail. Walls, doors and doorframes take a beating in hotels due to guests being careless, even violent, with their luggage but this shouldn't come as a surprise to the owners. Unfortunately, they are well behind the curve in cleaning and/or painting these stains and scuff marks:
Pic 1: http://goo.gl/qtZDi
Most areas/surfaces of the room were clean enough and there are flat-panel TVs in both the seating area and the bedroom. The bathroom, however, was a different story as rust (at least we hope it was rust) was quite evident on the floor of the tub:
Pic 2: http://goo.gl/TTEYu
Worse than rust is mildew and it was clearly present also:
Pic 3: http://goo.gl/P0bvR
In this day and age Internet service is no longer an amenity, it is viewed as a necessity like water or air conditioning. Even the most technophobic travelers often have an Internet-connected phone, tablet, etc. Why, then, do properties imagine they can spend very little on bandwidth and then divide that meager bandwidth among dozens of rooms/users?
A wired (Ethernet) connection could barely exceed 1 Mbps
Pic 4: http://goo.gl/7CVVC
Wireless speed? Unknown. The property offers WiFi service but it is so slow as to be practically unusable. In fact, a speed test couldn't even be generated due to the WiFi's lack of bandwidth:
Pic 5: http://goo.gl/SZhTG
Given that most users rely exclusively on wireless Internet (laptops, phones, tablets) this borders on a deal-breaker, especially for a business traveler who must rely on a property's Internet service in order to send/receive large files, attachments, etc.
Breakfast is the now-familiar continental self-service variety with average quality and the usual complement of guests who, despite their girth, are apparently starving to death, such is the zeal with which they elbow aside their fellow man.
This property, in a very convenient location, can probably be rehabilitated but, as before, it will require investment and initiative. The penny wise/pound foolish approach no longer works in hospitality, especially with sites like TripAdvisor. Unfortunately, those in the hospitality industry are often reluctant to face up to this reality.