Springhill Suites by Marriott Bolingbrook, Illinois – Review of our stay there

This was our first stay at a Springhill Suites which is part of Marriott Hotels.  Our visit to the area came after we decided to go see my older sister Tammy who lives nearby the area of the hotel.  We primarily choose Marriott Properties, and have stayed at other brands including Courtyard by Marriott which is our preferred choice, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, and Residence Inn by Marriott.

Lobby area was clean, seating directly to the right when you enter, and in that same area is the seating for the Continental Breakfast they have every morning.  To the left was the business center, I did not directly go inside, the size of a small office, but you could see computers and printers ready for use.  The reception area was clean, and the person checking us in was friendly, and courteous.  We brought up the fact that we had 2 separate reservations for the same room, since we paid for one night on our own, and used points we accumulated for the other night.  While this is in no direct fault of any individual Marriott location, we found there should be an easier way to handle this for rewards customers, instead of having to have to check out one day, and then check back in the next.  Other than setting that up, check-in was friendly, and the front desk pointed out the hotel’s amenities, including the pool, the workout room, the continental breakfast, the snack bar, and the business office.

Getting to the elevator was just around the corner from the front desk, we noticed on our way up, a couple of long tables with registration information on it for a convention of some sorts that I guess was staying at the hotel.  So trans-versing from the front desk to the elevator was tighter than normal due to this fact, but became even worse, after we set up everything in the room, and was ready to head out to go see my older sister Tammy for dinner at her place, we came downstairs, and noticed that same tight area worse now with people blocking the hallway to the lobby to exit, after saying excuse us a couple of times we got through the people waiting in line.  Not sure if this could of been set up in a different spot, but with the flow of traffic of incoming and outgoing guests, it seemed like a bad spot to have it.

The Room:

The room was nice, it had a unique layout to it, unlike any that we had seen in any other Marriott property that we had stayed at before.  The biggest problem we had was that as soon as we entered the room, it was musky, a musky that seemed like it would never go away.  We opened the window after having some difficulty getting it open, and turned the air conditioner fan up on hi to see if it would clear, after a little before we went to go have dinner at my sisters place, it seemed like it went away some.  Only to come back to the room later with the same smell.  It was more than likely the air conditioning unit, but opening the window helped clear some of that smell once again, but we wish it wasn’t present to start with.

The kitchenette area of the room was very nice, it had a basic refrigerator,  a microwave, a coffee maker, and a sink.  Basic necessities could be met if need be, making some popcorn, heating up leftovers, washing utensils, it was nice, reminded me of a Residence Inn, but just smaller.  The bathroom was clean overall, the only concern I had was that the drain area in the tub was rusted, and the chrome was chipped away on most of it, the only concern I have there is that if you have little ones, and they come in contact with that rust and their skin, it could be problematic later.  The faucet for the shower seemed to not be attached to the wall all the way, it was functional so that was okay.  Most bathtubs that we have come across while traveling have some sort of built in traction in the bottom of the tub, I was slightly concerned when we found a rolled up bath mat, the kind with the suction cups that cling to the bottom of the tub.  While I am sure it was clean, just not an item that you expect when paying for a room, and it only covered part of the tub, so if you had to step back to rinse your hair, you are in contact with the part of the tub that is not covered with the mat, and unfortunately I almost did slip on soap while rinsing my hair.

Pros:

• Unique Room Layout
• Kitchenette Area
• Nice Sitting Area
• Large Screen TV with lots of Cable Channels
• Friendly Front Desk Staff
• Free Wi-fi

Cons:

• Rusted Bathtub Fixture/Tub Area
• Possible solution for Bathmat?
• Difficulty getting the window open
• Extremely Musky Room / Possible Air Unit Problem
• Area to and from Elevator Crowded and Congested

Overall opinion?  We would stay there again if in the area to visit family, but most likely would seek out the Marriott Courtyard brand only due to having more experience with that line of Hotels.  The room was comfortable for the stay, functional for cooking/eating needs, and more than likely well suited for long term stays, for shorter term, or non-business related, not so much a place we might stay at again.

My review and opinions are my own, I was not compensated or given any incentive for this review, this is purely the result of staying on our own terms, and for the purpose of visiting family, in this case my older sister Tammy.