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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Albuquerque, New Mexico / ABQ airport hotel -- Staybridge Suites

Status Perks
I did not receive a room upgrade or any extras for being a Platinum member. I asked about a king bedroom at check-in and was told that room type was sold out. The agent did not offer another option, and I did not think to ask for anything more. I later learned that better rooms were still available--queen conference suites, two-bedrooms, and queen one-bedrooms. It would have been nice if we had been upgraded to one of those rooms, because we had noisy people running down our hall and in the guestroom next door. My experience has been that there is less noise in rooms with separate bedrooms.

Guestroom
The queen studio room included a new couch, flat screen TV, desk and chair, full size fridge, stove top, and dishwasher. The carpet and bedding also looked new. The ice maker left a lot to be desired. Four hours after we had checked in and turned it on (I don't understand why hotels don't turn these on for guests--especially when we checked in after check-in time), we had only six cubes! The employee working in the F & B area was extremely helpful about filling a container of ice for me to take back to the room. If you plan to take an early shower, I would allow at least 10 minutes for the water to warm up. I had to take a lukewarm shower, which feels quite cold when the air temperature is cool and you have long hair to wash. I left the shower on when I finished, and my husband said it finally got hot enough to turn the temperature down a little when he was half finished. This was well over 10 minutes after I had started the shower.

Food & Beverage
The evening reception included salad, fresh fruits, cheeses and crackers, and pop. Usually when I stay at Staybridge Suites, there is also a hot menu item; however, not there was not a hot item at this hotel the evening of our stay. The ice machine on the beverage dispenser did not work, and there was no wine or beer, which Staybridge Suites usually serves. Beer and wine are served according to local ordinances, so it's possible this is not allowed in this area. We left before breakfast, and this location did not offer to-go breakfast bags. When I asked about this, the front desk agent asked what we wanted and let us choose granola bars from the suite shop.

Pool
We did not use the pool facilities because the pool and hot tub were both cold and dirty. The pool was a basic rectangular pool.

Business Center
I was very happy with the Samsung laser printer in the business center. The printer and Internet connection were extremely fast.

Staff/service/misc.

Staff members demonstrated a helpful attitude; however, they were not forthcoming with information. I would suggest being prepared to be specific with your request(s). This location has an airport shuttle and is located less than one mile from the car rental lot. We returned our car after checking in, and walked back to the hotel. We did not hear any air traffic noise during our stay. The Homewood Suites is the closest in this group of hotels to the car rental lot.

Overall
I was disappointed as a Platinum member, and I was disappointed about other aspects of this stay--the evening reception, the ice machine issues, and the pool area cleanliness. Considering this hotel was just over a year old during our stay, I would be concerned about what it will be like in the future. The other new hotels in this same area are--HI Hotel & Suites, Hyatt Place, and Homewood Suites.

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