While I've stayed at plenty of hotels all over the world, I'll admit I've never stayed at a Residence Inn. So my apologies for a few questions that may be stupid:

1) Is housekeeping usually offered daily?

2) The apartments come with a full kitchen incl. dishwasher. Does this mean guests are generally expected to clean the dishes? (I realize this probably is a stupid question, but I've been to properties where housekeeping would take care of that as well)

3) The hotel offers "free grocery shopping - just leave your shopping list with the front desk and we'll take care of it". What sort of service level can be expected? Do people really provide a long shopping list with 20-30 items (basically everything you'd need for the week) or is it more like a service where they're happy to pick up "a loaf of bread, some milk and a bar of chocolate"? I assume tipping the person doing the shopping would be customary?

Any other input on what "life" at a Residence Inn is like would be appreciated.

IME

1) Yes, unless you are on a long term stay or have an agreement stating otherwise. The definition of long term varies from one property to an other. IIRC, they wont change sheets unless you put the card on the bed or the towels unless they're in the bathtub.

2) ofc you can if you want, but I've always come back to clean dishes in the dishwasher at the end of the day if I happened to used any. On a recent trip to RI in YUL, there was a card saying they would only start the dishwasher if it was at least half full. I didn't use any dishes so I couldn't comment on that, and I've never seen that card anywhere else.

3) I've done fairly long lists before and they're good at getting what you asked for. In some cases, they have agreements with grocery stores and get good discounts on groceries. I've also gotten Marriott points for groceries as they put it on a Marriott bill ^. For transparency, they give you a copy of the grocery bill along with a copy of the grocery list.

4) Don't miss out on their weeknight receptions. Generally good dinner food and free booze. YMMV. They also let you bring breakfast to your room, and will pick up breakfast dishes during housekeeping.

I've stayed in lots of Residence Inns and like them generally very much, especially the newer ones. They are especially great if you have kids, as the pretty decent hot breakfasts are a nice to have with little ones. The one downside (esp. to many on this board) is that you only get 5x points, vs. 10x points at many of the other brands in the Marriott family. Not a deal breaker for me in my situation, but may impact others' decisions.

I actually like the RI's a lot. As mentioned above, the breakfast buffet normally has mutliple things for everyone you are traveling with. Some offer weekday social hours when you can have free beer and some food - don't get too excited but its better than nothing when paying on your own dime.

Housekeeping does come daily. I always do my own dishes since they give me a dishwasher, soap, sponge, etc - no real need to make them do those for me.

The 5x points isn't a dealbreaker but it has to come into your selection process if you value the points over other certain things.

Agree with the others. Totally love the RIs! When you bring your family (with 2 kids) out on trips, it definitely helps if you have the bedroom and living area separated. When I travel alone though, that's a different story. It all depends on price, location, needs, etc. Personally, I like the JWs.


alextktan

We love RI as well because there is a real fridge/freezer which means that you can keep your drinks and ice-cream cold! The full kitchen is great when our kids miss home cooked meal.

The daily housekeeping is great too - the housekeeping actually loaded and started your dishwasher and the dishes are clean when you get back.

The manager receptions are great in some RIs - you can go to the hotel's page and check on the manager's reception schedule. Some RI has really cut cost for that - last time we stayed at Fresno RI, the reception is a food truck (food for purchase) on a Monday and then on the night we stayed there it was marshmallows dipped in chocolate and watermelon - pretty lame IMO.

The 5pt/$1 ration is a big killer, plus normally RI are fairly expensive IMO - That's why it's a great place to burn points/certs.

"Full kitchen" does not usually mean that you will have a range with an oven, if that is important to you, but can be requested in advance. Normally the units have cook tops, but no oven.

From all the RIs I've been to, 1 BR Suites and better will have a full kitchen with the traditional oven/stoves while studios will have everything minus the oven, but will have 2 stoves inset in the counter. With status I've never had an issue with getting a 1 Br suite at the studio rate.

My two cents on RIs, compared to apart-hotels in Europe and elsewhere around the world.

1, they can be nice. Then again, quite a few are old dumps. I break RIs into two categories. One, the ones that have an exterior front door and are set up like small apartments. Two, the ones that have interior front doors and look similar to any other hotel from the outside

The first kind tend to be fairly old. I don't think they've built any like that in a while, since they tend to take up a lot more real estate and the fact that a lot of people do not like exterior doors. Colder in winter, more bugs, less security, etc. However, they do tend to be bigger, and some of the two-bedroom unis are two-level, which can be real nice if you're with a family. You have a loft/bedroom upstairs, with bath, and a bedroom and bath downstairs with the living room and kitchen.

The second kind is just a large hotel room with maybe a seperate bedroom. They tend to be newer.

Both types suffer from the same problems. If they haven't been renovated in a while, the fridges tend to be loud. I spent a week in one a couple of weeks ago, and actually flipped the circuit breaker for the fridge off when I was in the living room. I had a seperate bedroom, but if it had been an efficience - ensuite - I would have had it off anytime I was in the room at all.

Also, the heat/AC units are in a closet inside most rooms, and they can be loud. Louder than the usual units in hotels.

Gernerally speaking, if you're traveling with a horde, RIs are probably a good choice. However, it's not like a lot of apart-hotels around the world where the cleaning staff is more maid than cleaner.

I am a big fan of RI. In the middle of an 8 night stay at RI LAS Convention Center now.

I actually prefer the older ones that are like a little village of houses with 8 or so units per house. Most of them have a full kitchen with oven.

I like the extra space I get vs a hotel room and the real fridge with a real freezer.

I also find that in general the room rates are high but the category low. Coupled with the low 5 pts per $ given for revenue stays, I also find them a very good place to redeem points and certs. I also find the 1 BR is usually $10 to $20 higher than an efficiency but the same number of points.

I used the grocery shopping service for the first time this trip since I took the shuttle from the airport and have no car. I did not tip the maintenance guy who brought me the groceries, maybe I should have. The stuff they bought at Vons was pretty much what I wanted although I would not have bought organic carrots and celery.

I am also a big fan of Residence Inn's. Actually stayed in one in Foxboro, MA for eight months when relocating from Rochester, NY to MA.

We had a one bedroom.... and it was great for us. It was a bit of a pain at times since we had two cats... only so many places to put litter boxes!

Staff loved the cats, actually took care of them for us when we travelled.... and cost me a total of $75 each for the entire stay.

You do have to be careful... not all 1 bedrooms will have an oven if that is important to you. Also, depends on the age of the property.

You do not have to do your dishes... we often left in the sink and when we got back they were clean in the dishwasher. The housekeeper told us that if they were still in the dishwasher the next day she would take them out and put them away.

The shopping service is great... they will get as few or as many items you need. Nice thing for us was that they placed it on our folio... so we got points. We did not use the service that often but it was great when needed.

I highly recommend them... only problem is that you do not earn as many Marriott points for stays.

It must be your good fortune, but not my experience as a LT Plat.

My main complaint about RIs is 5pts/$ vs the 10pts/$.

Just finished up an 8 day stay at RI in Port St. Lucie. Usually don't stay in them much but we were relocating to FL and our house wasn't ready yet.

Me, the wife, dog and 2 cats. They gave us a one BR suite with a studio connected. Worked great and the food offerings were pretty good.

It was a newer hotel (about 5 years old) and in good shape.

There were a ton of kids and people with pets at this property.

Are there any potential problems with staying in a Residence Inn for only one night? Asking because in some Hilton Homewood Suites, they have the option of walking you even if they are not full, in order to "simplify bookings for our longer-stay guests."