After visiting Helton Creek Falls in the morning, we drove down to Atlanta where we were staying for ten nights.
We’d booked the Residence Inn Atlanta Norcross Peachtree Corners (one of Marriott’s brands) as it was a great deal when using points (more on that later).
The Residence Inn brand is an extended stay-style property with some great amenities. It was our first stay at a Residence Inn, so we were looking forward to trying it out.
We left even more impressed than we’d anticipated. Not only did we enjoy this brand’s style, but the service at this particular property was top-notch.
Here’s our full review of the Residence Inn Atlanta Norcross Peachtree Corners.
Check-In
We arrived at about 4:45 pm and Shae went inside the gate house to check in. We’d booked the stay in her name as she has Marriott Rewards Platinum status (matched from her SPG Platinum status.)
Although it’s a pet-friendly property, dogs aren’t allowed inside the gate house (presumably because the dining area is right next to the lobby), so I waited with Truffles in the car.
Michael checked her in and was incredibly friendly. He was the one who checked us out when I dropped off our keys at the end of our stay and he was just as friendly with me then. This would come to be a theme of all our interactions with staff there.
Michael gave Shae two keys for room 103 and we drove round to the closest entrance. Residence Inn properties are laid out like condos, with this particular property having rooms in two separate buildings.
Bedroom
Room 103 wasn’t the most convenient of locations for unloading all our stuff as it was on the far side of the building from the closest entrance. However, it was right next to an exit door at the back of the building which proved to be a lifesaver during our stay (more about that later too.)
As we entered our 403 sq ft 1 queen bedroom suite, the living area was straight ahead. This contained a dining table with two chairs, a long work desk with office chair, a corner sleeper sofa, coffee table and a wall-mounted Smart TV.
We appreciated it being a Smart TV as it meant we could log in to Netflix without needing to hook up one of our laptops to play through the TV.
To the side of the corner sofa was a shelf with a couple of power outlets. There was storage space beneath this which was helpful for keeping things out of the way.
To the left of the entrance was the kitchen. Although we have our own portable kitchen, I greatly appreciated having these amenities – particularly the dishwasher. In addition to the dishwasher, there was a fridge freezer, double burners, microwave, coffee pot and sink with a garbage disposal.
The kitchen cupboards and drawers contained plates, dishes, glasses, silverware, pots and pans, etc. – everything you’d need for an extended stay.
To the left of the kitchen was a small closet with coat hangers.
Off to the left of the living room was the bedroom. This contained a queen bed with bedside tables on each side. Both tables had lamps with two power outlets. The blackout curtains and comfortable bed meant we were set up for a decent night’s sleep each night.
Due to how comfortable it was, Truffles immediately tried claiming the bed as her own.
Opposite the bed was a dresser with another Smart TV on top.
To the left of the bed was a closet with mirrored doors and contained a luggage rack, as well as an iron and ironing board. The shelf also held bedding in case you need to make use of the sleeper sofa in the living room.
Bathroom
Opposite the bedroom closet was the sink and vanity.
The toiletries were Paul Mitchell-branded and consisted of a couple of bars of soap, shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion.
The soaps weren’t the most comfortable of soap bars to handle as they had sharp, rectangular corners. However, they were incredibly long-lasting and so I don’t think we had to open other bars while we were there.
The bathroom was to the right of the vanity and contained the toilet and bathtub with a shower that had good water pressure.
Shortly after we arrived, we noticed there was a leak coming from the toilet. After calling in the issue to the front desk, a couple of maintenance workers arrived with an hour or two and promptly fixed it. The maintenance workers were extremely professional and friendly too (are you noticing a theme?!)
We loved our 1 queen bedroom. Although the bedroom and bathroom weren’t enormous, they were a decent enough size and were extremely comfortable.
We also loved the design. Shae appreciated the decor (e.g. the accent walls in the bedroom and living room), while I appreciated the more practical side of things.
One example is all the lamps in the bedroom and living room – I know that sounds weird, but hear me out. Many hotels have different types of lamps in their rooms with different kinds of light switches located in different places. It can therefore be annoying having to remember whether it has a regular on/off switch, one of the switches you push back and forth, one of the rotating switches, a switch on the floor you press with your foot, etc.
Every lamp in our room at the Residence Inn had exactly the same on/off switch. It may seem like a small thing (and it is), but to me it showed a focus on design and making things easier for guests.
Breakfast
A hot breakfast is included as part of your room rate when staying at a Residence Inn. At the Atlanta Norcross Peachtree Corners location, the options were similar most days, although they did change up the hot options and fresh fruit most days.
(n.b. I took these photos right at the end of breakfast which is why some of the food is low.)
When entering from the back of the building (the entrance closest to our room), there was a kitchen island with four different types of breakfast cereals, milk and a basket of bananas.
Further along the island were condiments, foam plates and dishes and plasticware.
You’ll find most of the breakfast items opposite the kitchen island. First up, there were a couple of bowls of fresh fruit, hard boiled eggs and several different types of yogurt.
Most days there were two types of scrambled eggs – regular and egg whites. I gave the egg whites a try one morning and didn’t care for them, but it’s nice that they offer this as an option for people.
If you enjoy breakfast burritos, there were flour tortillas, salsa, grated cheese and spinach, as well as a couple of different types of sliced cheese.
There were various breads and bagels, as well as some mini cinnamon rolls on a few days. Next to those were the toasters, jams and jellies. There were even little packets of Nutella.
The other hot options differed every day. The day I took these photos there was turkey sausage and bacon on offer. Other days there were pork sausage patties, andouille sausage and chicken sausage (which was delicious.)
To the right of the meats was a self-serve juice machine.
On a separate counter there were a couple of waffle makers which made up to four small waffles at a time. I made chocolate chip waffles on a couple of mornings which were fantastic. The first time I made them I ate all four which was a mistake – that was way to much waffle-y goodness. I learned my lesson the next time and only made two mini waffles.
Next to the waffles makers were seven different flavors of syrup.
On that same countertop was hot oatmeal, waffle and oatmeal toppings and a self-serve soda fountain.
Out in the lobby area was the coffee and tea station. This was probably the most disappointing part of our entire stay, although file that under the mild end of disappointing.
We’ve stayed at several hotels that offer coffee and tea 24/7, but the Residence Inn only seemed to supply it at breakfast.
They also had a poor selection of teas. On one or two occasions they had four or five flavors, but most days there was only one option and it was something gross-sounding like orange Earl Grey.
The Residence Inn Mix
Every Monday to Wednesday night, Residence Inns offer an evening social called the Residence Inn Mix. They lay on enough free food for it to count as dinner if you like, as well as free wine and beer (sweet!)
The night we arrived they served up chili dogs, potato chips and honeydew melon. The chili dogs were surprisingly tasty, as was the wine they served.
Despite its intentions, it wasn’t very social as most guests kept to themselves.
Amenities
As the Residence Inn Atlanta Norcross Peachtree Corners is generally aimed at people looking for an extended stay, it has some good amenities.
There’s a nice outdoor seating area with a fire pit, grill and swing.
The swing looks out over a pond (although it’s not all that impressive.) Keep an eye out in the summer as one of the maintenance workers mentioned that they’d seen a copperhead snake sunning itself by the pond in the past.
If you want to get some exercise, there’s a basketball and volleyball court…
…a swimming pool (which was covered as we visited in February)…
…and a fitness room. These four machines are all that’s in there; I never saw more than one person in the fitness room though, so you shouldn’t have much competition for the equipment.
Next to the fitness room is a business center with two computers and a printer.
Pet-Friendliness
The Residence Inn Atlanta Norcross Peachtree Corners is an extremely pet-friendly property. There is, unfortunately, a $100 pet fee though. That sucks if you’re only staying one night, but as we were staying ten nights it equated to $10 per night which wasn’t bad.
All the staff that came into contact with Truffles fawned over her; she loves attention and so she lapped it up.
There’s a designated grassy area for pets to do their business, but there are other grassy areas all around the property. This – and the fact that our room was on the first floor and right next to an exit – was a lifesaver.
A few days into our stay, Truffles got an extremely upset stomach and had to go out many times every day and throughout the night. She was therefore grateful to have a grassy area almost immediately outside our door (as were we!)
Unfortunately this meant that we weren’t able to explore Atlanta as much as we’d anticipated, so we’re planning on returning at some other point on our 50 state road trip. Still, our room was extremely comfortable, so it wasn’t a bad place to be holed up for a few days.
The hotel’s also only 15-20 minutes away from Chattapoochee(!) Dog Park. This was a spacious dog park with separate sections for large and small dogs. Once Truffles was starting to feel a little better, we took her there on a couple of occasions and she had a great time.
Service
I know I’ve mentioned it several times in this review so far, but the service at this hotel was impeccable. Everyone was friendly, helpful and seemed to enjoy their jobs.
In particular, one of the women who seemed to be in charge of both breakfast and the evening socials was incredibly friendly, with possibly the most genuine smile we’ve ever seen.
We must’ve interacted with at least ten staff members while we were there though and all of them were excellent at what they do.
Location
The hotel is outside of the I-285 perimeter surrounding Atlanta, so it’s not a great location if you’re planning on spending most of your time downtown as it takes 30-45 minutes to get there.
If you’re wanting to explore the greater Atlanta area though, it’s in a pretty good position as you should be able to avoid the worst of the traffic.
Cost
I mentioned earlier that we booked our stay using points. The Residence Inn Atlanta Norcross Peachtree Corners is a category 2 hotel which means it costs 10,000 points per night.
This in and of itself is great value, but it gets better. With Marriott Rewards, you get every fifth night free when paying with points (unfortunately not when paying cash.) As we stayed for ten nights, we got both the fifth and tenth night free. That meant our stay only cost 80,000 Marriott Rewards points rather than 100,000.
In addition to the points, we had to pay the $100 pet fee. The screenshot of the booking above stated that we’d have to pay $50 in government taxes and fees. That wasn’t the case though – our folio upon checkout only listed the $100 pet fee.
If paying cash, our room would’ve cost $133.82 per night including taxes. That meant we got a redemption rate of 1.67 cpp (cents per point) which is excellent for Marriott Rewards points.
We earned 200 points for our stay as a welcome amenity for having Platinum status. I’d thought we should’ve also received 750 points for the pet fee. That’s because we should’ve received 5 points per dollar for staying at a Residence Inn and a further 2.5 points per dollar for having Platinum status. After reaching out to Marriott though, they’ve advised that points are awarded on the room rate only, not pet fees.
Final Thoughts
We loved our stay at the Residence Inn Atlanta Norcross Peachtree Corners. Our 1 queen bedroom suite was extremely comfortable, the hotel had great amenities and the staff were all truly excellent.
If you’re looking for a hotel outside of downtown Atlanta, this is an excellent choice.
Truffles Approval Rating
Truffles gives the Residence Inn four paws out of four – pawfect! She loved the attention she received from all the staff, as well as the grassy areas that were nice and close to our room.
Our Rating
Room = 4.8 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.6 / 5
Food = 4.75 / 5
Location = 4.4 / 5
Service = 5.0 / 5
Overall Value = 4.75 / 5
Total = 4.72 / 5
Address
Residence Inn Atlanta Norcross Peachtree Corners, 5500 Triangle Dr NW, Norcross, GA 30092
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