Residence Inn by Marriott Gaithersburg Washingtonian Center

For a So called Marriott property this was awful, beginning with our check-in. Desk clerk did not know what she was doing or had no idea what customer service is. Had used my Marriott points for our stay but she refused to check us in without our certificate even tho the email I received from Marriott stated it would be sent to hotel. After 40 minutes and making me use my cell to call Marriott Rewards and putting her on MY cell phone she still was reluctant but said ok will check you in until my managers comes in. In my Marriott profile we asked to be near an elevator.......really? We could not have been further from the elevator. We have been in and out of our car for 8 hours, this did not make our day. NEVER HEARD BACK FROM ANYONE DURING OUR STAY, not sorry about the mix up or hope your room is ok or anything. The property was out dated and not as clean as we expected. The breakfast bar had out of date yogurt which tells me their standards and customer service training are way below where they should be. What is so amazing I called Marriott when we retuned home and only received a email stating we would hear from the property soon. WOW! WILL NEVER USE THIS HOTEL AGAIN.....will stay down the street at a real Marriott where we have stayed many times.

I’ve stayed in Residence Inns all over the country and this place was a complete let down. I reserved online and used a couple of reward certificates for a 2 night stay. I checked in via the mobile app and received notification that my room key was ready. When I arrived at the hotel, not only was my key not ready, but the desk clerk kept asking me to give her the certificates for my stay or a credit card to pay for the room or she couldn’t check me in. After about 10 minutes, she finally called her manager and received instructions on how to check me in. I’m a Marriott Rewards member and my membership was never recognized during the check in process and I got a half-hearted apology about the “misunderstanding” about my reservation. The facility itself appeared clean, but outdated and the lighting was very dim and dark both in the hallways and the room. On the morning I checked out, I heard what I thought was a car alarm. As I was packing, before taking my shower, I realized that it was actually a fire alarm from on of the rooms. I quickly dressed and finished packing and left the room without showering as the alarm had been going off for at least 10 minutes and I had to assume it was real. When I got to the front desk, I informed the same desk clerk who had checked me in 2 days earlier about the alarm and the room number from which it was coming. She laughed and said they knew about it and “assumed” it was due to a low battery and that someone would get to it eventually. What kind of hotel management does not ensure smoke detector batteries are changed on a routine schedule to ensure they are never low? Also, how can you assume the reason for the alarm is a low battery without checking it out? Of course the manager was not available for me to speak to about this issue. I absolutely cannot recommend this property and will not be returning. If I need to stay in the area again, there are 2 other Marriott properties on either side of this one that I will check out next time.

I'm usually pretty easy on my reviews. Check my other reviews, lots of them and very little poor ratings. I didn't like this stay because of the customer service. The room was okay and reasonably priced for the area. I liked the location. We were staying in the hotel for a tournament weekend, which naturally everyone wants to go the lobby in order to hang out together. They turned off the light in the lobby and made us sit in the lobby in the dark, and told us we would have to "book the room" in order to turn the lights and TV on. The reason given was they had to get ready for breakfast. Totally ridiculous. Made a whole team with lots of young girls sit in the dark for no reason at all. It wasn't a private room, it was the lobby area. Never had that kind of problem before. Clerk was rude. I think the room was okay, however my experience in the "lobby" really left a sour taste in my mouth.

What I liked … The suite with full kitchen and a living room was great and the AC worked exceptionally well. They also made available US Today and the Washington Post for free in the lobby. Their breakfast was decent, and for dinner they offered something different each night. What I did not like … The TV reception was so bad in the room I could not watch it. The bathroom sink clogged up once you ran the faucet for 30 seconds or more. The gym was very small and did not have any weight machines only two treadmills and one elliptical plus free weights. There was no receipt available at check-out due to a printer problem. The clerk promised to email it which he did not so I had to call again to make it happen. Smokers are right at the doors as you enter or exit the building which is awful. Also I did hear road noise from I-270. This was my first time here because the Marriott full service hotel was booked. Lucky for me it was three nights and out.

We stayed 4 nights while visiting Washington. Can't go wrong with a Residence Inn. The Metro at Shady Grove is a couple miles away..and the ride into Washington is 35 minutes on the metro. Well worth it as driving into the city is a nightmare. The usual breakfast and a very helpful staff. Lots of food choices just down the street, about a 10 minute walk.

I was supposed to stay at this hotel for three weeks. I started feeling itchy during nights but I could not imagine that a hotel by marriott can have bed bugs until I discovered one night by turning on lights. I could find 3-4 live bed bugs on my bed.I complained about this immediately at the hotel reception and after much discussion, they offered me another room to stay at night. Next day morning, they promised to get this fixed when I left for office. After I returned from office, I saw that though room was arranged, they did not do anything specific but they assured me that there are no more bed bugs. But the situation was worst at night as when I went to sleep, I saw a lot of bed bugs. I reached out to reception immediately but they were of little help. For them it was not a big deal and my body was itching very badly. The only solution they offered was to change the room and that too when it becomes available as at that moment all the rooms were occupied. More than bed bugs, I was disappointed by the attitude of the staffs who were not willing to cooperate. I had captured the live bed bugs and shown it to hotel staffs. I have attached the images as well. I had to check out and shift immediately to another hotel.

We have stayed in this hotel long term before, the service was great , the amenities were perfect for a long stay guest. But that was in 1999. Few years later, this would definitely be our last choice for a long stay hotel. The cleaning service is very poor, I am not sure if they actually change your bed sheets every week. I asked many of the staff to make sure the sofa bed sheets are changed and they left them out anyway. the cleaning ladies were very rude. however, I have to say that the front office staff were very polite very helpful all the time. I will not be staying there again.

Great hotel within walking distance of shops, restaurants and lake. Kids can paddle boat and ride on carasual. Mom and dad an exercise on walking path. Hotel has breakfast and nightly reception. You will love it. Clean and new!

We are a family of four and recently returned home from a 14 day stay at The Residence Inn. My husband’s work headquarters is located in Gaithersburg and several times a year he makes a trip into work. For the past 5-6 years, he’s stayed at The Springhill Suites. But on his last trip he tried The Residence Inn as it was right next door to his work. He very much liked the set up that The Residence Inn has and thus the reason we stayed here for this trip. 
Let me just say that I loved the set up of the Residence Inn. And from here on out, we will always look to stay at a Residence Inn on our future vacations and travel needs. And my husband will continue to stay here when possible for all his future needs when traveling to work headquarters. 
 The Hotel Basics - Upon arriving, there are several different buildings to this hotel. But finding the main building for check in (and where breakfast is served) was not a problem as some have previously mentioned in their reviews on this site. The main building is very clear. There is a flag pole and the name of the hotel over the main entrance, with a couple of benches out front. The other buildings have a single door identifying which building it is over it. 

 One of the things I really liked about this hotel is that you have to swipe your room key in order to get into your building, the same for the laundry room. It’s just an added extra form of security. The Residence Inn offers a complimentary breakfast every morning. The hours vary from weekday to weekend. They offer a wide variety of breakfast items - cereal, breads for toasting, muffins, fresh fruit, variety of yogurts, a waffle station, as well as hot dishes such as scrambled eggs, sausage/veggie patty, bacon, and sometimes potatoes. Coffee, juice, and milk are also available. Everything was always fresh, hot, and well stocked. 

 Mondays - Wednesdays evenings, a light appetizer/snack is available. The nights we were there tacos, crackers and cheese and fruit, chili, chicken sandwiches, and a waffle sundae bar were available. This light snack helped tie over my kids as some evenings we were waiting for my husband to return from work before we headed out to dinner. The staff was ALWAYS friendly and helpful. We were greeted every time we came in to breakfast. On our second day of stay, the front desk was able to point me in the direction of a Minute Clinic as I woke up with pink eye and needed medical attention. A few days later, the same front desk girl asked how I was. I was impressed that she’d remembered me. 
 Single use boxes of Tide and fabric softener sheets are available for purchase at the front desk. Coin operated washers and dryers are available on the second floor. Laundry baskets were in the closets of our room. I did a few loads of laundry during our stay. The laundry room was clean, appliances in good shape and working order. 
 The hotel has a nice pool, but no spa. Comfortable lounge chairs and regular chairs around the pool. There is just one umbrella, which kinda stinks. The hotel staffs a lifeguard all day long. Something I’ve never seen at a hotel before. There were afternoons it was just my 12 year old in the pool. 

 A BBQ is available with outside patio tables to sit at. 

Nice shaded lounging area just outside the pool gates.
 The grounds are well kept and clean. Parking is free, and there’s plenty of it. 
 Our Room - 
 We had a room in the A building, on the second floor. Our windows looked out towards a parking structure. Some people may say that is a downfall, I for one enjoyed this view. There were green trees between our building and the parking structure and aside from people arriving to work as early as 6:30am and locking their car, this room was VERY QUIET and peaceful. I much preferred this to the rooms that overlook the parking lot with people coming and going, or overlooking the pool, overlooking the main street, etc. 

 I’ve seen previous complaints on Trip Advisor about hearing the freeway noise inside your room. When the windows were shut, you absolutely could not hear the freeway noise. I prefer to sleep with the window cracked, therefore you could hear the nearby freeway at it’s peak traffic times, which really wasn’t all that noisy. We had a two bedroom suite. Both bedrooms had a Queen size bed, as well as it’s own full bathroom. In the middle of the two bedrooms was a living room with a sleeper sofa and kitchenette. The kitchenette had a full size fridge/freezer, as well as the basic essentials for light cooking (saucepans, cooking utensils, strainer, measuring cup, two pyrex mixing bowls ) as well as dishes/glasses/silverware for four. A dishwasher, stove top/oven, and full size microwave is also part of the kitchen. There was also a table that sat four people. Having the full size fridge/freezer was great, as it allowed us the option to buy some groceries at Target that needed refrigeration, etc. The dishwasher was rather loud, so run it as you’re heading out. The bed was comfortable. It was probably the most comfortable hotel bed I’ve ever slept on. I had no problems sleeping and had no morning aches and pains of sleeping on a hard, uncomfortable bed. Side tables and a dresser in each room provided lots of storage room, as well as closets with full length mirrored doors in each room. The rooms were spacious and allowed us each to spread out and relax. 

 Darkening curtains on the windows made for great sleeping conditions. 

 The living room has a couch that also makes into a bed. One of my few complaints is how terribly uncomfortable this couch is to sit on. It’s horrible. I found myself sitting at the table to read and relax. THAT’S how bad the couch was. The other complaint was the TV. Poor channel choice, some channels had poor picture and connection. Free WiFi available in your room, but only allows 3 devices per room to be hooked up. Getting Around - The Washingtonian Center is just a few blocks away. It’s a very nice walk. A variety of places to eat (sit down and fast food like places), as well as a movie theater and a Target. 

 Shady Grove Metro station is the last station on the Washington Metro Red Line. The station is above 5 miles away. We caught the Metro here 4 times during our stay to get us into D.C for exploring, etc. Very convenient. 


Our time spent at The Residence Inn was a very pleasant experience. For 2 weeks, it literally was our home away from home. We look forward to hopefully accompanying my husband on future business trips where Residence Inn will always be our first choice of lodging!