Hotel perspective: TownePlace Suites, Vancouver, Washington

On a recent trip to the US, I got to stay - for the first time - at a TownePlace Suites Hotel from the Marriott family. It was interesting for me, never having stayed at this sub-brand of hotels before, though they seem to be quite common place all across North America. For that reason, this might prove to be an interesting read for folks headed there or planning trips to the US and contemplating staying at one of these kind of properties. 

Which is also why I've titled this post "perspective" rather than "review".

A bit about Vancouver (in the US) and TownePlace Suites

Vancouver in Washington State shares the same name with its more popular cousin over the border in British Columbia, Canada. Both the places are in fact named after a sea captain “George Vancouver”, who first discovered both the places.

And the TownePlace Suites sub-brand of Marriott hotels offers larger rooms on the whole, and are aimed at long stay guests, and hence come setup with a full kitchenette, proper work desk and a slew of other amenities.  

First impressions

We were a largish group of 8 people and it was almost 11 pm when we reached the hotel and checked in. The check-in desk was manned by a lone staff. It seemed we were pretty much the last ones to check in for the day and so he had all the room cards ready for us. Check in was swift on the whole.

The lobby area saw some interesting usage of it space. On one corner you had the check-in area and a few of the hotel offices tucked away. Adjacent to the check in desk was an interesting rack that was stacked up with a whole bunch of snacks, soft drinks & beers all available for sale. I thought this was a much better way of retailing the stuff as opposed to a vending machine tucked away in some corner of the hotel.

Rooms

The rooms were of two categories: the regular ones (where we stayed) and suites (which I didn’t get to see, which I presume are larger with an extra space attached).

The property was a new one and so was good having everything brand spanking new literally. The bed was a comfortable queen sized bed with the usual assortment of pillows and was very comfortable. 

Along with tips for a good night's sleep!

The TownePalce category of hotels are kitted out targeting more the long stay guests and so feature a kitchen section where one could essentially do a bit of cooking. The rooms had a microwave, a fridge and heaps of kitchen type storage for keeping away stuff. 

The room also offered a large desk and a comfy couch right next to it. 

The couch, as I later realized, seems to be TownePlace specific, as the very same variant features on the TownePlace website. 

The room that i was assigned had a nice view of the mountains in the distance further accentuating the fact that you now are in the Pacific Northwest. 

Bathrooms

The toilet and bathrooms were also good sized and I didn’t find them to be all cramped - which is very often the case with mid segment hotels in the US. 

Interestingly the bathroom had another door leading to a small storage section that was kitted out wit more cupboards, shelves and storage space. Again more suited to someone checking in for more than a few nights worth of a stay. 

Food and Beverage 

As I mentioned earlier, breakfast is the only meal that was provided at the hotel and there was a coffee section that offered free pours right through the day. Breakfast was a purely continental spread and unfortunately didn’t bring down my camera on any of the mornings and so you’ll have to excuse the lack of pictures for this section.

Conclusion

I had a very good stay on the whole. I'm not sure if this brand of hotels would entirely work in India in this very same format, since most folks in India are used to a greater degree of service. Courtyard (also from the Marriott family) in fact had to tweak their brand model a fair bit when launching in the sub-continent a decade ago. Ibis (from the Accor group) on the other hand have in fact managed to get folks used to their style of working, more or less.

However, it will be nice to have this sort of a set up brought to the Indian market, which will go a long way towards meeting the long-stay market, which is currently the domain of serviced apartments and guest houses.

- Vinay