Hotel Courtyard di Laredo

I had an overnight stay on Friday, January 12, at this location on Santa Ursula Avenue in Laredo. Since I travel a lot and stay at many different Marriott brands all over the south central US, I felt it necessary to share my experience at this location. First off, I want to start with a couple things that are positives: the morning staff on Saturday, January 13, was extremely friendly and helpful. The kitchen staff was also very good, and my breakfast was excellent. The bed was also very comfortable in my room, and the room was very clean. Now, for some things that were not positive: When I first arrived for check-in just before 6PM on Friday, I stood at the front desk for several minutes before I was acknowledged. The young lady that was on staff walked through the back office hallway a couple of times passing the front desk, and never acknowledged me. I finally had to hail her. Upon check-in, she did not give me my free breakfast card (part of my reservation)… I had to get that from the morning staff the next day. When I asked her what side of the hotel my room was on (because I like to park near the exit door), she did not mention that that access door on the north side of this location does not work allow entry, even though there is a card scanner there. That was highly inconvenient when I tried to re-enter that north access door with luggage, then having to walk back to the front of the hotel. After traveling all day, I decided to use fitness center, but when I walked in, there was a dead roach on the floor next to the towel cabinet and the water cooler. Suffice to say that I did not work out. That dead roach was still there when I went into the fitness center 12 hours late The hot water in my room was very sporadic in the shower, and the sink in the bathroom is mislabeled; it has to be set for cold for the hot water to come out. The bath towels were threadbare at best; the gym towels looked luxurious by comparison. I have never seen such thin bath towels in any Marriott location. The electrical outlet (next to the side table by the couch) did not work when I plugged my iron in. It kept shorting out the lamp on that side table. Lastly, I requested and was granted late checkout for 2PM. However, when I got back to the room just before 1 PM, the cleaning staff had already been through my room: all the bedding was on the floor and the door was ajar. Fortunately, no one had touched the lunch I had in my fridge. I do admit to being a bit finicky when I travel, but I spend over 100 nights away from home every year (the majority in Marriott-branded locations), so my standards are extremely high. After this stay, it is my opinion that this location does not measure up to the Courtyard by Marriott standard that I have come to expect after more than a dozen years traveling throughout Texas; if this had been a multi-night stay, I would’ve cancelled the reservation after one night and gone somewhere else.