Residence Inn By Marriott Pasadena Arcadia

“Pricey, but pleasant”

This location reminded me of a place I enjoyed in Pensacola, Florida. These are essentially one bedroom studios cluster together like mini townhouses with three to four units in each cluster. Though costly, I did enjoy most features of this location, including the daily breakfast which was always… more

This location reminded me of a place I enjoyed in Pensacola, Florida. These are essentially one bedroom studios cluster together like mini townhouses with three to four units in each cluster. Though costly, I did enjoy most features of this location, including the daily breakfast which was always well stocked no matter what time of the available hours I arrived. The room was the largest I’ve stayed in while in California, with a open-floor design featuring a legitimate kitchen, two person dining table, very large restroom, and living room area with a couch facing the t.v. and a nice sized work desk. There was a larger sliding glass door allowing plenty of light into the room, in addition to a one and a half foot wide long vertical window by the work desk. Lighting was plentful. I enjoyed waking the semi-enclosed area around the suites durng the evening, The pool was nice sized and outside, and there was a work-out room in the main building open 24 hours, It featured treadmills. The laundry room had plenty of machines and was located in its own building next to the pool. Each machine cost $3.00 to $3.50. The front desk staff were all very helpful and friendly from beginning to end, and I appreciated being able to do a 2 PM checkout on my final day. I never felt unsafe at this location and didn’t see any sketchy people here. There was a security person riding on a golf cart who would monitor the parking areas.. Housekeeping was available every other day, and required after 7 days. I didn’t ask for house keeping because the room was very clean when I arrived and I was only staying a week. If I put my trash outside the door, housekeeping picked it up. There were only two negatives about this location, that I can recall. 1. There was considerable noise from outside the front door. I could hear the neighbors if they were standing outside their door talking, arguing in their room and when their door opened and closed. Occasionally I heard foot steps across the ceiling, but it was not very loud. 2. When I first arrived, the room smelled mostly clean, but after the third night, I started noticing the smell of urine near one side of the bed. This smell grew each night afterwards, and I eventually moved to the opposite side of the bed. I had my air purifier running and it helped filter the smell, but did nothing for that side of the bed. I smelled the blankets, bed, etc. and it wasn’t those items. It seemed to be coming from the carpet on the floor. This location does allow pets, and they did put me in their last room which was a room usually booked by those with a physical disability, so either a pet peed on the floor, or a previous guest didn’t make it into the restroom that was three feet away from the side of the bed. The restroom had no smell. The TV had normal movie channels, YouTube, Pluto TV, Netflix (account required) and Prime (Account required). I ended up watching lots of movies on Pluto for free. During my last day, after checking out, I waited in the main buildings lounge by the front desk, which prevented me from having to wait an hour in my car on a super hot day. One thing I thought was unusual was a bottle of water that was on the work desk that had a large price tag on it for $6. I asked the front desk about it, they told me they put it in the room incase guest wanted to buy it. I didn’t drink it and I hope they didn’t charge me for it. I carry a 24 case of bottle water with me. I did set-up one of the camera’s I carry to monitor the room while I am out. I am happy to say that no one entered my while I was at breakfast or out on an evening walk. Considering the included full breakfast, the suite essentially being a small studio apartment, being within a 10-minute walk from the Metro A-line train, and amenities, I feel the member price I paid was appropriate.

less