Residence Inn Norfolk Downtown

The hotel itself was clean and in a good location. I arrived on a Tuesday for a 4 night stay. Upon arriving to my room it was very chilly, but I assumed that the AC had been left on. I adjusted the thermostat to 88 degrees and it stayed cold. i contacted the desk who said someone fixed it and hours later it was still cold. Needed extra blankets that night, next night again, I get back from work, nothing was fixed, room was freezing, had to bring me a space heater to my suite and I slept in full sock, pants and hoodie to stay warm. Finally day 3 they had me empty my room and when I came back that night they gave me a new room. Maintenance is a major issue with this hotel, I had other things break during my stay but having no heat and it being in the 30's outside with a room that wouldn't go over 60 was miserable.

The hotel room needed updates but it was very clean. Water pressure was great for showers and lots of outlets for business travelers. Front desk staff was nice. Parking was convenient and it is right next to the light rail for carless travel. in a quaint part of town. Breakfast was adequate and had some variety. My only complaint was room cleaning or lack thereof. I was only there for a week but saw many rooms leaving trash bags out in the hall. I had requested cleaning twice for the room but it never happened. I would have been fine with that if I was told ahead of time of the cleaning schedule and if they left bags in the room in the trash cans (being from Vegas, that's what they do in our hotel rooms) So I could change the trash as needed. Other than that the room was spacious and comfortable for longer tays

First off, if I could give this hotel zero stars, I would. The day this incident occurred was on September 24th, 2025, and I still have not heard back from a manager regarding this incident. With that being said, let me get into the reason I am writing this review.
As a Marriott Titanium Elite member, I've stayed at countless Marriott properties and have always valued the consistency, professionalism, and comfort I usually experience. Unfortunately, this stay was far below any Marriott standards and honestly one of the most unsettling experiences I've ever had at any hotel.
First, I checked in around 5:30-6:00 pm. There were no issues with check-in. I got up to my room and noted that it was dated. I can live with that. About an hour later, I was changing into pajamas when my room door began to open. Luckily, it was saved by the interior lock I had engaged. I walked over to the door, and the other guest was just as distraught as me. He stated that he was given the same room and even showed me his room key sleeve that, sure enough, said the same room number. When I called down to the front desk, he stated he was tired and mistakenly wrote the wrong room number down. However, he also keyed the wrong room number to open the lock to my room! This is an inexcusable security breach that left me feeling unsafe for the rest of the night.
At approximately 9:00 pm, I had finally settled into bed, when all of a sudden, a housekeeper begins to start vacuuming. It was very loud and disruptive. I walked out to the hallway and asked the housekeeper to stop vacuuming while I am trying to sleep. The housekeeper said, "let me finish." This was very upsetting as I had to work at 4:00 am the next morning. I attempted to call the front desk to notify them of this incident, but they did not answer.
Since I was already disturbed, I decided to have a quick sip of water and throw away my water bottle. When I opened the cabinet beneath the sink, I screamed in terror. I had discovered multiple cockroaches beneath the sink in the cupboard. I turned the light on to the kitchen and noticed even more, climbing on the walls in the kitchen. To my horror, I packed my bags as quickly as possible and headed downstairs to notify the front desk. The person behind the counter was dismissive and did not apologize. I asked that my stay be comped and a manager contact me in the morning. He assured me that both would be taken care of. However, my card was charged for the night and a manager never reached out to me. I still call everyday with no return phone call.
As a loyal Titanium Elite guest, I hold Marriott properties to a higher standard because they usually deliver. Unfortunately, this location failed on every front - safety, cleanliness, communication, and service. I truly hope management will take this feedback seriously and implement immediate corrective action to improve the establishment.

Front desk was very friendly and informative about places to visit for dinner. Room was very clean.

Great!

The upholstered furniture was soiled, the mattress pad was raggedy and didn’t fit the bed, some of the hard furniture had damage. The room smelled like old ramen noodles. The staff at the front desk were helpful. The garage across the street (the only parking for the hotel) was dirty and inconvenient.

Good stay. Parking availability could be better especially for handicap persons.

We are Marriott members so we were looking for a place to stay in Norfolk when we visit our son at ODU. This was our first time staying here and it will be our hotel for future visits to the area.

Staff- Can’t say enough about the staff. We were greeted early when we arrived and everyone at the front desk was so friendly to include the manager checking on us as we came back in after dinner. She was at the front desk and asked us how everything was going. I’d like to highlight Dee Dee. She works at the breakfast area at the hotel and her positive spirit is contagious. She checks on every guest that walks in.

Rooms- Nice size, clean, with comfortable beds.

Parking- $18 a day. Garage is right next to the hotel so it’s super convenient.

We will be back!

Very friendly staff, easy check in and check out process. Parking was easy.

I have stayed at Marriott properties worldwide as a Titanium Elite Bonvoy member, and unfortunately, my recent extended stay at the Residence Inn Downtown Norfolk was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had at any Marriott.
Two separate incidents show a clear pattern of unsafe conditions and poor leadership under the General Manager, Anthony Bennett:
Security Breach (September 7, 2025):
An unauthorized person had access to my room even after I called the front desk and asked for all keys to be canceled. The associate assured me it was handled, yet someone was still able to enter. When I raised this issue, the GM was rude, dismissive, and blamed me, saying “your keys are your responsibility.” Later, he even called my personal cell phone and challenged me about who accessed my room and how, making me uncomfortable as if I had done something wrong. This was extremely unprofessional and made me feel unsafe in the hotel.
Serious Safety Hazard (August 23, 2025):
I cut my foot on an exposed tack strip inside my room. This posed a real risk of infection and would have been especially dangerous for children. The Assistant GM offered no meaningful support—no medical guidance, no room change, no concern for my well-being. Only the Housekeeping Manager showed genuine care and professionalism.
These incidents left me feeling unsafe, unvalued, and distressed. Instead of taking responsibility, management deflected blame and failed to uphold Marriott’s own standards of safety and guest care.
As someone loyal to the brand, this experience was unacceptable. I strongly caution anyone considering this property: until leadership and safety protocols are addressed, this hotel cannot be trusted to provide the basic security and care that guests deserve.

Z

I didn't like the mishandling of my daughter in law reservation. She was not notified of problems with her reservation until day of arrival which resulted in our family being separated and staying at different locations. I found that to be very unprofessional.

Everything was amazing to front desk (KAY) to the room great location would highly recommend

Clean and good breakfast

We stayed in room 709, it was very clean, but several items were missing or damaged. Pull-out sofa was broken, which made it impossible to sleep on, TV remote was missing and TV in living room didn’t work even after asking to have it fixed, situation wasn’t resolved. There was no luggage stand to put the suitcase on, sink was clogged and carpet was damaged. The pool looked dirty and the hot tub condition was so poor that we didn’t risk using it. The bright star of the stay was our breakfast assistant DeeDee who was just amazing. Other than that, the hotel has a lot to catch up on.

We had to come to Norfolk to visit my Dad who is in the process of passing. During my search for a place to stay, this was the closest. Our family consist of 2 adults and 1 small, well trained ShihTzu. I planned to stay for 2 days and paid for two days, but was not happy with this hotel so we left early on the second day. The room was lacking amenities' that we needed for my husbands health issues, No microwave being one, and I saw what i thought was a manager in the hall after the first night and ask about it. Was told we would have one delivered, however when I returned to the hotel that day, there was no microwave. The bed was not comfortable, the furniture was not comfortable. We left at like 5-6:00 on the second day. My husband and pet stayed in the hotel while I went to the hospital to be with my father. When i told the front clerk we were check out, he never even ask if there were any problems! But the hotel has charged me the full $691.70 for this sorry stay. Upon checking into this hotel, I told the lady I was usually a Hilton member, but did not find one close enough. She said "hopefully we can do better and your stay will be good" or something to that effect. The stay was not better, it was horrible!! And just for the record, our dog is well trained and left nothing behind in the room and does his bathroom breaks outside. Our trip home was 4 hours one way and after a stay in the hospital for 1&1/2 days, it was a ruff trip home!!

The AC was broken on my first night, and the customer service was terrible, completely unattended. Every time we ask for a simple task it was a problem and attitude.

The staff was awesome! Wonderful breakfast spread

The beds were terrible -- too soft, saggy, and just worn out. We had to move rooms after 1 night because there was no hot water on the 2nd floor.

The breakfast buffet was OK, but some hot food items were cold. You should add a microwave oven so guests can reheat cold food.