TownePlace Suites by Marriott Erie

Erie Marathon visit

Prós: The room was clean and comfortable. We were there for the Erie Marathon and nearly every hotel was full. They opened up breakfast early for the runners and granted us a late checkout so we could shower after the race. The location is convenient to hop on the interstate and go up to Presque Isle.

Contras: The location of the hotel is within a shopping center complex. It's not a major problem, but it did require quite a few stops and turns to get back to the hotel.

Nice clean modern rooms, terrible customer service

Prós: Very clean, comfortable modern rooms, nice linens, though we did find the bed a little soft and squishy (my boyfriend has back issues and needs a firmer mattress). Easy, pleasant check-out.

Contras: My boyfriend and I had an insanely bad experience at the front desk trying to check in. We booked on Kayak and arrived after grabbing a late dinner, after midnight. The woman at the desk informed us that our room wasn't available because it hadn't been cleaned yet, and no staff was there to clean it so "she would have to do it." We asked if there were other rooms available in the hotel and she said yes, but because we had booked with Kayak (3rd party) she couldn't change the room in her system. She argued with us about how there was nothing she could do and expected us to walk away from a booking we had already paid for and find another place to stay at 1am. Not ONCE did she say anything remotely resembling "so sorry, it looks like that room's not available, let me see what I can do." After about 40 minutes on the phone with Marriott and multiple supervisors, she gave us another, upgraded room. It was almost comical it was so bad.

Away from home for the holidays

Prós: We loved the updated look of the kitchenette! We had to finish some of our holiday candy-making and the little kitchen fit the bill! My husband appreciated the 32" LCD TV. He rolled the filling for our buckeyes while sitting up in bed watching TV using a very lovely and useful breakfast tray that each room is provided. The closet space is very generous.

Contras: I'm used to my king sized natural latex mattress; so, I wasn't thrilled with our queen sized bed with a very firm mattress. But it was a quality mattress. I still slept ok. The sheets felt a bit rough; hubby didn't notice, of course. The fact that the bathroom can also be accessed through the closet which doesn't have a lock was a bit unnerving. No issue for us, but our extended family had a two bedroom suite with one bathroom, and they were uncomfortable with this setup. Their five year old loved it! The elevators are located in inconvenient places in the hotel. The included breakfast was ok, but we did like the waffle maker!