Residence Inn by Marriott Whitby

Amazing staff and spacious apartment/ studio

Great breakfast, friendly staff.

Weak shower pressure.

The hotel was clean and pleasant. All the staff were friendly and helpful. The pool, hot tub and work out room were good.

The breakfast had good options, but the coffee was not great.

The location is excellent, right off the 401 and conveniently close to shops and restaurants. The hotel offers free on-site parking, a complimentary breakfast with a good selection of options, and a small market area where you can purchase snacks and other essentials. There is also a fitness centre and an indoor pool. My room was spacious, clean, and well maintained. It included a refrigerator, stovetop, microwave, and dishwasher. The large TV offered cable channels and access to streaming services.

My check-in experience was extremely disappointing. Before arriving, I had prepaid my stay through Booking.com using PayPal because I knew I would not have sufficient available credit on my credit card. However, when I arrived around 11:00 p.m., the front desk agent insisted that the hotel had not received payment and repeatedly questioned my payment method, despite me showing proof of payment and explaining several times that I had paid through PayPal. Rather than contacting a manager or Booking.com to investigate, she instructed me to step away from the front desk and resolve the issue myself. After nearly 30 minutes of calls between myself, Booking.com, and the hotel, it was finally confirmed that my reservation had indeed been paid. I was then asked to provide a credit card for the security deposit. I explained that I had limited available credit, which was the reason I had prepaid the stay in the first place. When my card was declined, the staff member appeared visibly annoyed and made me feel embarrassed rather than supported. Eventually, she agreed to process a smaller deposit amount that fit within my available credit limit. My issue is not with the hotel's policies. Hotels are entitled to establish whatever policies they deem appropriate. My concern is with the way the situation was handled. A little empathy, professionalism, and problem-solving would have gone a long way. Instead, I was left feeling unwelcome, frustrated, and humiliated. I seriously considered leaving and finding another hotel, but I had already prepaid for my stay and was too exhausted to start over elsewhere. Unfortunately, this was a very poor first impression and not the level of customer service I would expect from a hospitality business.