Residence Inn by Marriott Raleigh Cary

Overall good place to stay

Good points: hot breakfast - staff would take temp of hot and cold food for food safety; nice pool; good size rooms Not so good: our bed felt like it caved to the middle; decor dated; walls a little thin

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

We had to ask about it, but you get a free pass to a humungous gym across the parking lot with at least 3 pools and water slides for your stay.

Hotel is fine

While this isn’t the best hotel we’ve stayed at, it is good enough. We have a toddler and were on a budget, so wanted to stay at a hotel that had a kitchen, sofabed and laundry room. This hotel had all three. We were able to cook dinner about half the time (kitchen is small but fully functional and stocked with microwave, plates and bowls, pots, etc.). Added pluses were a decent free breakfast 7 days a week (hot items included) and hamburgers and tacos in the evening a couple of times during our 10-day stay there. Almost every one of the staff was incredibly friendly and responsive, and there were free newspapers (including the Wall St Journal) and Newsweek for the guests. My one complaint was the occasional noise issue - the floors were very thin, and the noise from the people walking upstairs was really loud. I think we had some particularly noisy folks upstairs and I actually woke up one night because of the noise. I would say I heard them just a handful of times. The noise from outside in the hall was very audible as well, but this happened during the mornings usually. We also had a really loud fan in the bathroom which annoyed our son so much that he chose to pee in the dark (the fan turned on along with the light). The area around the hotel was sort of deserted but there is shopping just a few minutes away by car.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

If you are traveling with family or with another person (or 2), consider booking the suite with a kitchen and cooking in. They also have a manager’s reception once a week, which basically includes free dinner and beverages. In terms of grocery shopping, I think the best prices were at Lowe’s or Harry Teeter...we made a mistake our first night by going to Whole Foods, which was the closest market. I would learn later that it is a sort of gourmet market and we ended up spending $80 on groceries.

Great

Great place to stay, clean,quiet,and friendly. Great fitness cntr nearby. Outstanding value