Grand Rapids, Michigan / GRR airport -- SpringHill Suites by Marriott

Status perks

I did not receive any extra perks as a Gold member. In fact, the agent did not even mention my status or thank me for being a loyal member at check-in. 

Room

The room was a basic SpringHill Suites room with a sitting area and comfortable bed. It was a bit smaller than some SpringHill Suites I have stayed in. There was a couch, chair, and table with desk chair in the sitting area. There was a small fridge, microwave, and sink in the corner. A partial wall provided minimal separation between the sitting area and bedroom. A large flat screen TV on the dresser was visible from the living area and the bed. There was plenty of room in the bathroom and vanity area, although the toilet was positioned very close to the shower.

Food & Beverage

Breakfast is included with the room rate. This hotel also has a small lobby bar, which is an unusual extra for a SpringHill Suites. We did not visit the bar, although we had breakfast in the morning. There were breads, pastries, cereals, fresh fruit (apples, oranges, bananas), yogurt, scrambled egg squares, sausage patties, milk, and juices. All of the items were fresh and hot.

Pool

This hotel has an indoor pool and hot tub. There were several comfortable lounge chairs and a few small tables around the pool. The hot tub was hot, and the area was clean.

Fitness center

There were two or three cardio machines in the fitness center. The door was propped open with the trash can when we arrived, and the next day as well. A sign on the door offered an apology for the fitness center being closed; however, it did not appear to be closed. I observed guests using the equipment every time we walked by.   

Shuttle

We signed up for the 8:30 AM shuttle the evening we checked in. Fortunately, we had opted for the early choice rather than 9:00 AM, because the 8:30 shuttle was over 10 minutes late, and then it made a stop on the way to the airport. I usually expect to arrive at the airport 10 - 15 minutes later than the shuttle time we schedule. We arrived at the airport at 8:53 AM. The driver did not acknowledge or apologize for the delay. When we called for pick-up from the airport after returning, the agent told us to take a cab and the hotel would pay for it. This was great--we arrived back at our vehicle in their lot in record time!

March 2012, Weekday, 1-night, King suite #326

I have stayed at this hotel a few times, and every room and experience has been pretty much the same except this guestroom, so I am providing some information about this room--I would avoid it!

Room 326 is located on the top floor next to the elevator. I could hear the elevator, although that noise was minimal. In fact, if that had been the only issue with the room, I would have considered the room acceptable, even though I usually prefer rooms farther down the hall.

This room had a strong smoke smell--after we got settled, and not constant. The elevators are located near the hotel entrance door from the back parking lot. The only thing I could figure this might have been from, is that guests were smoking outside the back door. Fortunately, the smell was only in the sitting area and not the sleeping area of the guestroom.

The second problem with this room is that the window looks out over the lower floor pool and fitness center roof. Not only did this obstruct the view, it also caused a lot of noise when it rained the evening of our stay. I like rain and storms; however, the way the rain ran down the drains around the roof was so loud it kept me up that evening.