Had a 5 night stay at the Courtyard Marriott in Happy Valley/Phoenix this past week. It's about 1 mile at most from the interstate (I-17), so there was no traffic noise at all. The Courtyard is separated from the Residence Marriott by the swimming pool and basketball court. The pool is bigger than normal because both of the hotels use it. The beds and bedding are phenomenal in the Marriotts, in case you haven't stayed in one for awhile. The room was plenty big for the four of us (2 adults, 2 kids over 10), pool was great for the kids, and they had a basketball court/tennis court as well. We had wireless internet in our room, as well as HD flat screen with plenty of channels. The front desk staff was extremely friendly and helpful; above and beyond really. The drawback would be no continental/free breakfast, but there was a small restaurant on-site. I believe breakfast was $9.95. Clearly the fact that no breakfast or meal was included didn't make us not want to stay there....that was a choice we made. That said, there were plenty of places around the hotel, particularly a brand new Paradise Bakery & Cafe in Norterra just about 2 minutes from the Courtyard. This is an area that seems to be relatively new and is going to be growing. The Norterra at this point has very few shops open, but no doubt within 6 months, it will be completely full. We stayed at this Courtyard for $180.00 per night during spring break time, and I booked using AAA on the Marriott.com website. That's a little steep, as there was a Fairfield Marriott down south about 5 miles that had a nightly rate of $151.00 and included a free breakfast, but we stayed there last year and we wanted to try somewhere new. I think if the price was right next year, we'd opt to either stay here again or right next door at the Residence. I don't think you could go wrong with either of them.

What a beautiful and new property in the northern most part of Phoenix with just horrible staff and service. The air. con. units are horribly loud and make long whistling sounds after they are turned off. The staff says that the problem is in all the rooms. Then the worst part is their staff led by the Assistant GM. His service to handle problem is with providing execuses and a unsympathetic attitude. The staff is rude, display an uncaring attitude and it has reflected on the front desk staff. What a waste on a nice new property with an absolutely poor staff. Here is the kicker the GM was going to be away from the hotel for over 2 weeks, and the AGM didn't even know why. What a joke and waste of Marriott points or $$.