We really enjoyed our stay at the Visalia Marriott on our way down to visit Sequoia National Park. I've stayed at several Bonvoy properties but have tended to avoid the Marriott chain because of a disappointing previous experience (in Monterey, California). This trip somewhat renewed my faith in Marriott with great service and value for the room. We stayed in a double Queen bed room overlooking the swimming pool. Some other reviews mentioned problems with noise from the pool, but I didn't personally experience any. The room was spacious, well-kept and clean. The one negative was that the bedding seemed to be stained and in poor condition. Service from the staff was excellent, particularly at breakfast in the dining area. The location was great for a one night stop, and is only a short walk from the Visalia downtown area.
I always enjoy staying at The Darling. Right in the center of town, Ivan securely park my car and walk to dozens of shops and restaurants. The rooms are are deluxe and I always get a great night’s sleep.
The room was not clean but after a day of driving, dinner then sleep was all that we wanted. Around midnight the fire alarm goes off. Chaos. It clears, the one staff person in the hall says it’s an accident. Minutes later, the alarm goes off again. It’s one guest causing the alarm. No explanation. I and many others are out in the halls trying to understand what is happening. I hear the night manager telling the guest “one more time and you’re out of the hotel” but no explanation for all the guests in the hall. Poor customer service, lack of communication in an emergency, just a bad experience overall for my family and others. I will not stay here again.
Recently stayed here for 3 nights to visit nearby Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park. During checking in and checking out, the front desk staffs didn't mention anything about the daily $15 parking fee. I even made sure upon check out that my account balance is $0 and the staff said yes. Got home and found out I got charged for parking. If this hotel was located in the city where parking is scarce, then I would have expected it. But in Visalia where the hotel is surrounded by vacant lands and anyone could park in the parking lot...(see attached photo) How does the hotel justify the charge? Called the hotel after my stay, and still haven't get a return call from the manager. On the second and third day, the elevator button on the ground floor was broken, so every one had to wait for the staff to go to the housekeeping area, wait for the elevator to come down and to open the elevator from the back side to let guests in. To my surprise, my room was cleaned on the first night, but there were still several hair on the floor in the bathroom. Then there was no maid service on the second night. Oh well, no big deal. Thumbs up to the lady who runs the breakfast area. She was friendly and welcoming. Daily breakfast offers warmed up packaged food such as breakfast burritos, Belgium waffle, sausage biscuits (don't recommend, too dry), bagel sandwiches, and crustless quiches that they switched around every day, so it's easy for you to take with you to eat in your room or later in the day. There were also muffins, oatmeal, and fruits. And of course, several juices, teas and coffee to choose from. The studio room we were in was a decent size. The kitchen has refrigerator, microwave oven, stove tops, dishwasher. Pretty much anything you may need to heat up a meal. Our room was on the 4th floor on the back side(I think) of the hotel. Starting around 5-6 am, you'll hear car noises traveling on the road next to the hotel that woke me up every morning. Overall a decent, newly renovated hotel. I would recommend it if you were OK with the ridiculous $15 daily mandatory parking fee. Otherwise, maybe choose Best Western right down the street.
I always stay at Best Western since I've always have great experience with the hotel and staff until my stay at Visalia location. The front desk staff named Kim was very rude and should not work with costumer service. I never had experience such rudeness from a BW staffs until my stay at Visalia location. I requested to get some bedding for the sofa bed and she seemed like she was being bothered and not willing to accommodate my request. Everything I asked her, I get a response back with such rudeness. I will never stay at this Visalia location just because of my experience with her.
The room was clean. There was no odor, even from the AC. The grounds provide a lot of grass for dogs. There is a visible effort by the management to make the most of what they have. That said, the rooms have obviously suffered the problems that druggies bring with them. There are patched depressions in the walls. Furniture is bolted to the wall (in fact, the only thing not bolted to the wall may have been a telephone cable and receiver). The TV sports security features that may be found in a corrections setting including a notice of a removal alarm that alerts the office. Most interestingly, the smoke detector is housed in a wire cage (possibly to prevent ********** from disabling it or to keep meth heads from disassembling it?). Also, while the parking is ample it was filled with a lot of new, low-entry vehicles used by those in unlicensed pharmaceutical sales taking advantage of easy-access, long term rental rates. The overhead fluorescent lighting is some of the most depressing and migraine-inducing I have ever seen. The green color on the wall is a color-blind attempt at 70s accent decor. A small part of the wooden floor was missing. The sound isolation is also not very good. The room did, however, provide materials for a DIY light diffuser (see photos), a necessity for those who may be prone to migraines. All in all, it was clean and blissfully average, but the smoke detector in the wire cage gave me some concern about the regular clientele that necessitated such a move.
Due to Covid-19, we did not travel for about 2 years. As of Apr, I had 4 free nights, three expire in Jun and one expires in Dec. I booked 2 nights at this hotel from Apr 17 to 19 with free nights. When arrived, we found that pool was not in service. My kids got really upset. One main reason I booked the hotel is indoor pool. They did not state that either on the web or app. In the night, I called Marriott to see whether they can switch the second night to residence inn. I called residence inn and confirmed pool working. The lady told me everything was set and I was going to get cancellation for Fairfield inn and confirmation letter for residence inn. I got confirmation letter in minutes but no cancellation. I called again and was told me since I was in the hotel so I had to talk to front desk to cancel. I went downstairs and chatted with front desk. The lady told me she would let manager know and everything was supposed to set by 8am next day. Next day I still did not get cancellation letter so came by front desk during breakfast. They promised again manager would handle it. Around 9am, we tried to checkout but Marriott system did not allow since it still showed as 2 days reservation. Front desk promised that they would handle it by 12pm and posted points to my accounts. It would take 2 to 3 business days. And two days later, finally my second night of Fairfield inn got cancelled but no points or free night was not posted. While stayed in residence inn, I booked second night with free night that expired in Dec. After one week, I contacted Marriott again. This time, a gentleman told me that there was no much hotel could do. He posted free night expire in Jun. I asked for free night expire in Dec or points since we do not have Jun trip plan. If Marriott did not mess up, for sure I will use Jun free night instead of Dec free night. He told me that's it and he thought the lady did everything right. Really got exhausted. For a simple problem, it took hours, calls and chats to fix. And finally got messed up and customer has to accept it. looks nice and professional but no one can help. Everyone promised but no promise really happened.
TT SThe worst road noise I have ever experienced in a hotel! I was on the 2nd floor, east side of the hotel. Noise doesn’t usually bother me when I’m sleeping, but this was like you were outside listening to the freeway. They need to put in quality windows or some type of sound-deadening blinds (I heard all of this even though the window was closed and both sets of blinds were pulled down). The staff was friendly. The room was refreshed after the first night (I was there for two nights) and the staff did a great job. The front desk staff got me earplugs before my second night and they made a big difference in how loud the road noise was, but I had to take them out during the night because I don’t do well sleeping with earplugs. It was a terrible experience because of the freeway noise issue during the night.
Stayed 2 nights and had a bad experience. Room was not clean. Bathroom sink was leaking. Bathroom door was jammed middle of the night. They did not change the room even when we had issue with the room we stayed in. Don't tempt with the breakfast option because all they have is bread toast. Overall it's not worthy at all for the amount that I paid.