The hotel sits right along side a busy freeway. Large, clean, typical nice Marriott. Little character.

My family travels quite a bit and we have stayed in many different types of hotels, motels and B&Bs. This Marriott has a 4 star rating in the AAA Travel Gude. Compared to many 4 star hotels in which we've stayed, I would have to 4 stars is extremely generous for this property.

RESERVATIONS: I initially contacted the hotel directly. The reservationist seemed a bit put-off from the beginning. When I asked for a room with 2 queen sized beds, I was told there weren't any available, which I found odd considering Rancho Cordova is mostly a business area and has very little weekend foot traffic. When I asked if they had any breakfast specials, I was informed there weren't any of "those deals" left either. I called back to the 1-800 worldwide Marriott reservation desk and was again told there were no queen beds. After I made my reservation, the clerk asked me if I would like to upgrade to the "breakfast special." for $15 more. I told her I thought there weren't any left and she said, "Oh there are plenty of specials available." so I upgraded. (And I'm glad I did.)

When we arrived at the hotel, the front desk clerk saw that we had 2 adults and a child and asked if we would like a room with 2 queen beds. I told her we would and explained what happened when we originally asked for 2 queen beds both times we called. She and another desk clerk looked confused and then started chuckling. They both said they couldn't understand WHY we would be told there were no queens available because they had plenty. They also didn't understand why we were told (at first) there were no breakfast specials available.


ROOMS: Our room was very spacious and well-appointed. The only two problems...one bed had dried food on the white down blanket and the shampoo in the bathroom had been opened and used. We told the front desk, who sent housekeeping up. Housekeeping replaced the wrong bed blanket, even though it was obvious it was the only bed that had been used at that point. There was also some trash on the floors from the previous occupants.

FACILITIES: Upkeep could be better. We noticed quite a bit of litter and trash lying around the 8th floor that still wasn't picked up by morning. Also, the walls are quite thin and we could hear conversations and people coming in and out of the elevator. The advertised "heated pool" was downright frigid and my daughter, who will swim in most any temperature, decided not to use the pool because it was too cold.

SERVICE: Other than the reservation problems, the service was impeccable. Front desk and restaurant staff were extremely nice and helpful. The hotel had a list of recommendations to local restaurants so we tried one of them. We were not disappointed.

FOOD: We had an early dinner and wanted a snack later that evening. We were told room service ended at 11:00 p.m. and it was listed as such in the book in our hotel room. When I called down at 10:00 p.m. for room service, we were told it ended at 10 and both on-site restaurants were closed.

The next morning, we had breakfast at the Cafe Del Sole. It was definitely worth the $15 upgrade. There was a plentiful breakfast buffet with fresh fruit, cereal, bacon, eggs, potatoes, toast, bagels, etc. They had a chef who prepared lavish omelets and fresh waffles. Breakfast also came with tea, coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Absolutely delicious.


OVERALL: With the exception of the reservations and small details, we had a very nice stay at this hotel and recommend it to anyone passing through the area.

Oh yes...all rooms that end in odd numbers face the parking lot and not the freeway, which is a DEFINITE plus!!

This hotel is right on the freeway - but they do everything to make you avoid feeling like that. The pool area has waterfalls and is very updated, clean and attractive. Our room was spacious and very clean and updated. It wasn't noisy at all. The restaurant staff was so nice - we had a big group and they accomodated us every time.

I was a little nervous about staying here because it is close to a major freeway and many busy streets, but it is like an oasis in the middle of the jungle. We found the hotel to be very quiet, the rooms were very nice for a Marriott and the lobby/pool area was really quite nice. We ordered room service in the morning and everything was exactly how we ordered. The beds were so comfy too! I would definitely stay again!