After traveling for nearly 3 weeks for work it was time to take a family break. The warm reception I received by the front desk staff was refreshing after a nearly 10 hour drive. I need to name two MVP's at the front desk, Cheryl and Tara made it happen for me despite my last minute request to be on the same floor as my children (the hotel was nearly at capacity). When we did get our room in this smoke free property it was clear that the persons who had recently stayed didn't adhere to this policy. I was really annoyed to say the least. Why do people do that? I don't think the $250.00 fine is worth it. The response once again from both Cheryl and Tara was professional and customer driven. I don't believe their response was because of my Platinum status but genuine care for guest.
My family and I had a great time, and the breakfast menu had variety in the two days we stayed. The dog friendly property didn't faze us either,no barking was heard.The rooms need to be updated, with the most recent look. The beds were great and my family was happy.I must admit the airplane were somewhat annoying in the early morning, but it is the Residence Norfolk Airport.

I am conflicted on this rating. Some things I would rate 4 or 5, others a 3. See below for details. I would have given this a 4 if it weren't for the noise factor & the issues we experienced with the elevator during our stay.

We overall had a good stay at this hotel while we were there for 4 weeks. The rooms were a good size, and we had a separate bedroom and almost full kitchen-- which was a necessity for us since our stay was so long. The kitchen area was very nice. The furnishings were average but a bit dated. If you have a pet, this is a great pet friendly hotel without a weight limit. We have a Golden Retriever, and some hotels won't accept pets over 40 lbs. The staff also gave our dog a treat when they saw him.

The hotel had dinner 2-3 nights a week downstairs, which was pretty good each night. Breakfast offered a great variety and was very good.

The down side of the hotel is the location. It is right on the airport landing strip area so airplanes were taking off and landing early morning and late into the night. We kept the fan going all the time and didn't notice the noise as much after that. There is also a train track on the other side of the parking lot. We only heard the train twice while we stayed there though.

The pool closed down for 1 1/2 weeks of renovations to resurface it. We didn't know this in advance or would have booked elswhere. So they should have a nice pool area open now. Also for about 1 1/2 weeks one of the two elevators kept going out and was out most of the entire 1 1/2 weeks. They finally got it fixed and we had no more problems the rest of our stay. One thing we did notice is that we did not hear noise in the hall much at all during our stay and never while we were in the bedroom. Noise level inside was great!

Overall, I would consider staying here again because the staff was really great. The dining staff and front desk staff were always very friendly and accommodating. Just know going in that there may be concerns about the noise. The hotel was nice overall but not the most updated Mariott we've stayed in. Perfect for pets though! (Just please clean up after them though)...

Printer did not work, staff tried to accomodate by having us use their printer and computer and printer which was so so slow. Then, their printer kept jamming as the paper door would open. I had forms in my email that required printing and this was frustrating as I do not travel with a printer. Others were complaining as thy could not print their boarding passes.

Other than the paul mitchell new bath products, the rest of the inn needs renovation. As a platinum member staying in room 208, the initial impression of the entrance to the hallways was a smell of "old." The room had a greasy walls smell from someone having stayed in it before and really using the stove top to actually cook, yuck. The mattresses were too soft and saggy. The blue bedskirt was dirty. The room was next to the road with road noise. The furnishings and design was standard residence inn. Atleast the flat panel panasonic 2 tv's in the room worked. I had poor cell phone signal in the room, so ended up using skype from the free wifi to make calls. There is a nice free breakfast and dinner social hour included options to buy beer/wine for $2 with free food such as pulled pork sandwiches. The staff were nice. The location was not near anything but the airport, there is a walmart and target nearby.