Courtyard by Marriott Odessa

Marriott chains these days have fallen a bit in my view. The staff usually does their best, but Marriott doesn't really maintain them as much as they should. This hotel was in very good condition, and I noticed few if any deficiencies. I think the shower leaking and a little bit of messed up tile grout in the bathroom was all I notice. Also, for a change of pace at a Marriott, the room did NOT smell bad! As for staff, usually, they are excellent. This one was better even than that. Very friendly, very professional, very cheerful. Beyond excellent. However, I went down for breakfast in the morning, and though the food was decent, the waitress definitely made me feel like I was inconveniencing her by just having her bring the food to the table. My "Good morning" and "Thank you" was returned with an abrupt dropoff of the food, an about face, and a mumbled "Welcome". There was literally no one else to serve there so I'm certain she was not busy. Attitude, attitude, attitude! I certainly was not made to feel welcome. This hotel was very close to 5 stars for me. I cannot stress how Marriott need to step up their game in making the rooms not stink. Odessa Courtyard, you nailed it! Front desk personnel, you nailed it! Waitstaff at breakfast, needs improvement!

We arrived at this hotel after our nieces college graduation around 10pm. By 12am my daughters woke us up saying they had been bitten by ants. Since we stayed overnight they could not change our room. The front desk did give us breakfast and she did mention we would get points for our Marriott bonvoy account (we never received). Because of this experience I always look completely around.

I'm part of a traveling race series, so we have a different weekend schedule than the average guest, I'll grant. There are a few things that I'd like to see addressed... Rooms: Our room was clean, all good. But, no mini fridge, no microwave, and the air conditioner was barely able to keep the room below 80 :-/ Staff: Awesome! Lobby: No coffee except Starbucks (when they're open). No water dispenser / water fountain. Coffee: Because we start early (we leave around 6:15 AM Fri-Sun) we never saw the Starbucks staff... even on Friday when they are supposed to open at 6. I understand not offering free coffee right next to your Starbucks, but what about when they aren't open? Well, I ended up going to the hotel next door to get one. There are no nearby gas stations or convenience stores, so that makes this an even bigger problem, especially without a vehicle. My suggestion is to have coffee dispensers out for your guests throughout the evening and wee hours, then pull them when Starbucks opens. I have never once been to a hotel that doesn't do this... Weird Water: There's no doubt that this would be the single cheapest item on my list to address. We were working all weekend in the heat of the day, and we recharge with water and electrolytes constantly, including at night, to deal with the heat. The only place I can get a drink of water without paying $3 a bottle, or a drink of really anything without spending money, is to drink from the faucet in the lobby restroom... Think about that... 107° high temps and no water available. Shameful. As I was checking out I was informed that they would have given me a complimentary bottle, but there's no signage to indicate this so I never asked. I'd suggest a water dispenser like nearly every hotel I've visited uses... The clear plastic or glass type that just has ice and water sometimes, but can also be dressed up with fruit slices, etc. It's cheap, easy to maintain, and I know a large group of recent guests who would appreciate it! Mini Fridge: And even if I wanted to keep some water of my own chilled in my room, I'd need to buy / bring a cooler... Thankfully there are ice machines, but no mini fridge in the room is a huge miss IMO. Most of us on staff try to save money where we can on these trips, such as buying sandwich supplies or microwave dinners and keeping them in the fridge. Yes, we could bring a cooler, but most of us fly in to these races and couldn't bring one... And even if we did, you don't really want 20+ coolers being brought through your lobby twice a day, do you? And that brings us to the microwave... There isn't even one in the lobby. Silly. As other reviews have mentioned, the staff was excellent, but they are limited in taking care of their guests by silly corporate policies IMO. Fix it, please 🥺