I Hate To Say Their Suites Aren’t That Sweet At The TownePlace Suites In Joplin
Written: May 22 '07
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very Clean, Great Service, Continental Breakfast, Internet Service
Cons: Smallest Suite I Have Ever Seen, Room Is Cramped
The Bottom Line: A great hotel for cleanliness and service, but not for their "suites".
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| susieq112's Full Review: TownePlace Suites Joplin/Joplin, MO |
During our Girls Weekend Out our place of residence was at The TownePlace Suites by Marriott in Joplin, Missouri. Our reservations had been made ahead of time by one of the members in our group.
We made our exit into Joplin, Missouri and managed to go to the wrong Marriott on the opposite side of the exit, once we realized our mistake we went under the highway over pass to find our destination less than a block away, the TownePlace Suites. The member of our group had booked us a suite which supposedly had separate living areas; kitchen, living, and sleeping. We had a group of 7, 5 adults and two teenagers. We all wanted to stay in the same room just because it was our Girls Weekend. After a quick and polite check-in, we headed up to the room.
Opening the door led to nothing but a very big shock. Our “suite” was nothing more than a regular room with a loveseat/hide-a-bed and kitchen crammed into it. It obviously is not what I considered a suite at all. Entering into the room you find yourself in the kitchen. Measuring no more than 5 feet across, including counter space, it included a refrigerator (probably around 10 cubic feet) with a freezer, a stove, a dishwasher and small sink. A coffee pot and small bin with coffee, stirrers and such were located on the one foot of counter space available. To the left of the entrance way was a small door that was a closet.
Entering further into the room, you came into the living and sleeping area of the room. There were two nicely made beds, with plenty pillows and blankets. Both being queen sized they took up the majority of the room with just enough walking space on each side of them. On the opposing wall was the loveseat which had a twin size hide-a-way bed that folded out of it. Tucked in the back corner of the room was a TV and TV stand with a DVD/VHS player. The bathroom was located on the other side of the wall from the kitchen, about two feet away from one of the beds. The bathroom was separated into two parts, a sink area and a tiny bathroom with a toilet and full sized tub with a shower. The only real extra space in the room was located at the foot of the beds where there was about 3 feet of space running along the length of the room. A large two-tiered desk was located next to the loveseat and offered an internet connection.
The room was stocked with towels, washcloths, two bars of soap and one bottle of shampoo. There were five pillows on each bed and extra linens located in the closet for the hide-a-way bed. The room also contained a radio/alarm clock and phone.
Our entrance into the hotel room was a bit of shock, like I said. And our teenagers were less than pleased with their living accommodations, in fact they threw a fit and insisted on an additional room. Our girls weekend out was suppose to 1. Be fun and 2. Be inexpensive. After doing the math we decided renting an additional room was not an option. Our ‘suite’ was $105 per night (on a Friday & Saturday) night, so we were dividing a $210 bill five ways, none of us were interested in shelling out the extra bucks just to make the teens happy.
So how do you fit seven people into a 5 person max room, especially when it is small? Well, we managed it, but it wasn’t the most pleasant thing to do. Getting ready for bed four adults got the beds, two in each. One brought along a blow up twin size mattress, which there was just barely enough room on the floor for. We then pulled the mattress out of the hide-a-way and put it on the floor, shoved the loveseat back together and placed the cushions back in place. The two teens got the hide-a-way mattress and the cushioned love seat. The one on the mattress looked comfortable in the morning, but the one on the loveseat surely must have had a sore neck or leg or something, it just wasn’t long enough, even for them. But they had caused enough problems by the time there tantrum had ended so I guess they figured they should keep their mouths shut.
Other amenities included in the hotel included a business center, continental breakfast, pool, laundry facilities and a small fitness center. The business center was a small nook off of the breakfast dining area which included a computer with internet service and a printer. Internet service was very quick and the area was clean and neat. The only problem I had in the business center was the height of the desk, it was a bit tall, even with the adjustable chair all the way up, I was looking up at the computer.
The continental breakfast was small and only offered a few select choices. Bagels, Toast, Muffins, and Danishes were displayed on a two tier tray. Packets of microwaveable oatmeal were available in original flavor. Coffee was available along with milk (2% and Skim) and yogurt) in a refrigerator. A small bowl of fruit was as located in the breakfast area. There was plenty of seating are in the dinning area for breakfast and an area to sit and relax also. The area featured about 8 to tables with two chairs each, and at the front corner was a fireplace (electric) with a large flat panel TV over it. This area featured a few seats to sit and relax in.
The pool was small with a shallow and deep end which reached a total of 6 feet. The area is set off to the side of the check-in desk and was well maintained and clean. The fitness centered was located next to the pool with two large windows looking into the pool area. The fitness center had two tread mills and an exercise bike. Towels are provided in both area for your convenience.
Overall I was fairly impressed with this hotel. The room was Very clean, something that I myself am very particular about. Had we been an appropriately sized group the room would have had enough room for 5, but probably the most comfortable with 2 or 3 people. The room is however is too small for what they have tried to pack into one room. In the front entrance you can’t open the refrigerator and entrance door at the same time, and the closet door causes similar problems if open. You have this same problem near the bathroom sink area where another set of doors are located on the wall adjacent to the bathroom doors. The view at TownePlace is nothing spectacular there are no points on beautiful interest nearby. The room featured two large windows which let in plenty of light. The beds were comfortable and also very clean. Aside from the room being ultra clean, the service at the hotel was also wonderful. During a late night trip downstairs to grab some soda, the night manager gave me soda and a later trip by the teenagers yielded quite a few free snacks, and I didn’t mention the freebies to them either.
Check-Out was simple, we did turn in all of our keys, but that wasn’t even necessary. Check-out time was Noon, but we asked for a late check-out at around 2:00PM and the staff had no problem with our late check-out at all. The hotel is Smoke Free, but a small patio off of the dinning area is a designated smoking area, that was pointed out at the beginning of our stay.
The only downfall of this hotel is the ‘billing’ that they have ‘suites’, which no matter how many or how few people were in our group I would not have considered our room to be a suite. Among the billing of ‘suites’ this particular area of Joplin has a bountiful amount of hotels, many new, at lower prices than this one. Had I made the decision we probably would have stayed at the Drury Inn, but I alas I didn’t make the reservations.
Recommended:
Yes
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susieq112
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Procrastination ~ At this rate, I'll never finish my mini-doumentary...
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