There is a new Residence Inn located at 2939 Westpark in Houston. Next door
to this property is a Courtyard by Marriott. My wife and I have stayed in
the Courtyard and enjoyed our stay. We stayed in the Residence Inn since the
Courtyard was booked solid. We had stayed in a Residence Inn in Los Angeles
in February as part of our layover from Texas to make a connection to
Australia. and had a very good experience.

Our experience at the Residence Inn was not so good. When we checked in we
were told that the water would be turned off the next morning for 3 hours
beginning at 5:00 A.M. I had appointments the next day (Friday, May 12)
that I had to reschedule because of the water situation. When we checked in
the desk clerk was not aware of the water issue until my wife pointed out a
notice by the manager of the situation. That was disconcerting that the
desk clerk new nothing of a notice regarding the water that sat on the
counter in front of her. We were told to prepare to bail water from the bath
tub to be able to use the toilets. We were given buckets for that purpose.
Very reassuring! When I called Marriott to complain about the situation
they told me that the management was required to notify guests (by telephone
or e-mail) that there would be an inconvenience as soon as they are aware
of the situation. The letter from the manager did not have a date on it
which was suspicious to me. Marriott was kind enough to make amends by
giving us compensation for the situation in the form of Marriott Reward
points and a dining certificate.

The next morning we found that the water had not been turned up at the time
given by management. I asked the desk clerk at 6:30 what was going on and
she did not know that the water was still on (how was the food being handled without water being availabel?). I found that to be curious
since they were preparing breakfast in the kitchen. Once again the front
desk did not know what is going on. I asked if they new what the water
situation was and when to expect when it might be turned on and the front
desk clerk was clueless. Same for the Courtyard desk clerk at the Courtyard
next door. This was upsetting that as guest we did not know what to do.
Would the water be turned off in the middle of a shower. At this time I
called Marriott again and did not feel good after I spoke with a service
person. It was almost "so what do you want me to do? At approximately 9:00
A.M. there was a notice placed under the door that said the water would be
off between 9 and 5 but management could not give us a more approximate
time.

In addition to the poor management, the place was not as clean as other
Marriott's that I have stayed in (we are Marriott Reward members and have a
Marriott Visa to acquire additional points). I did not get the comfortable
feeling that I was staying in a Marriott property that I have experienced in
the past. I blame this on the management company more than Marriott, even
though Marriott is ultimately responsible who they contract with for the
management of their properties. I will not stay here again and will not
recommend the Residence Inn on Westpark to our family and friends(we live 3
hours from Houston and visit Houston 4 to 6 times a year for doctors
appointments, shopping and visiting friends). I never felt comfortable with
this location as a result of the poor management and the lack of cleanliness
of the food service area and the property in general. I felt that I was in
an unbranded hotel

At no time did I see the manager, Danny Villareal on the propterty. The only person that we spoke to was "Olga" the assistant manager. If I was the general manager of a property the size of this Residence in I would have been on the front line to asssure the guests I was doing everything I could to accomodate them.