Hotels in Carlsbad, NM are surprisingly expensive. We wanted to stay in the area so that we could visit Carlsbad Caverns National Park and were surprised at the room rates which were presumably higher due to spring break (we visited towards the end of March 2021).
Thankfully we had a bunch of Marriott free night certificates from both Shae and I having several of their credit cards, with many of their expiry dates having been extended due to COVID. We therefore redeemed a bunch of those so that we wouldn’t have to pay anything out of pocket as we could use them at the TownePlace Suites Carlsbad.
It ended up being a good use of the certificates; not just because of how expensive rooms were, but because it’s probably the nicest TownePlace Suites we’ve stayed at on our 50 state road trip so far thanks to how new it is and how good the staff were.
Here’s a review of our week-long stay at the TownePlace Suites Carlsbad, NM.
Check-In
We were impressed when we arrived at the hotel as it looked lovely from the outside compared to other TownePlace Suites properties. It’s fairly new as it opened back in 2015.
The check-in process was nice and smooth and the front desk agent was very friendly. She advised that the parking fee would be waived due to how long we were staying, although I’m not sure if me having Titanium status with Marriott had an impact on that too. She also advised that because our dog Truffles was so small, they’d halve the pet fee from $100 to $50 which was appreciated.
Within a few minutes we had our keys to room 312 which was a studio king suite. Although my status with Marriott means we’re eligible for room upgrades, the hotel was fully booked during our stay and so they didn’t have any one bedroom suites available.
King Studio Suite
When entering our suite the kitchen was on the left, the living area ahead to the left and the bedroom area and bathroom round the corner to the right.
Bedroom
The room had a comfortable king bed with a triple set of drawers on both sides. The bedside lamps had power outlets to make it easier to charge your devices next to the bed overnight.
Living Room
The living area had a two seater sleeper sofa with an ottoman, lap table and side table.
To the left of that was a desk with lots of storage. There was a second desk on rollers beneath the built-in desk of the unit.
Between the bedroom and living room areas there was a TV on top of a small dresser. The TV was a little goofy because the screen got fairly dark about 30 seconds after pressing any buttons which was a little annoying. We asked about it at the front desk and the manager was supposed to come up at some point, but he never came and we weren’t bothered enough to follow up.
On the TV’s base there were several small packets of hand sanitizing wipes.
Back by the room’s entrance there was a closet containing an iron, ironing board and bedding for the sleeper sofa.
Kitchen
As with all TownePlace Suites properties, the one in Carlsbad has a full kitchen in every suite. That includes a full-sized fridge-freezer, dishwasher, microwave and double stove top.
The cupboards and drawers had cookware, plates, dishes, silverware, cooking utensils, etc.
Bathroom
The bathroom had a bathtub with shower; the shower had great water pressure.
One of the features I particularly like about the TownePlace Suites brand is that they offer a lot of smart storage options. The TownePlace Suites Carlsbad was no exception; in addition to the large desk/storage unit in the living room and the closet back by the suite’s entrance, the bathroom had a surprisingly large second closet in the bathroom.
All this storage space helped ensure our suite didn’t feel as cramped as it could have. Seeing as we live in hotels and Airbnbs, we bring a lot more stuff into our rooms than your average person and we had plenty of space to store everything.
Breakfast
Hotel breakfasts have been different over the past year due to COVID. Some hotels have had better breakfast offerings than other hotels and the TownePlace Suites Carlsbad had a much better selection than many other hotels we’ve stayed at.
While the options weren’t quite as comprehensive as some places we’ve stayed, there was still a good selection including breakfast sandwiches.
Breakfast was available from 6:30am to 9:30am on weekdays and 7am to 10am at the weekend. We always ate breakfast in our room due to the pandemic, but during normal times it seemed like there’d be plenty of seating in the breakfast area.
Amenities
The hotel has guest laundry facilities with plenty of washing machines and dryers. Both types cost $1.50 per load which is a reasonable cost.
There was a very large swimming pool area with outdoor seating, a fire pit and lots of grills next to it, so this would be a great place to hang out in the summer.
The hotel’s fitness room was also a good size with several pieces of equipment and weights.
The breakfast area had a business center with a couple of computers and a printer. The internet on these computers was fairly slow, but it did the trick when I needed to print off a couple of things.
Back by the front desk there’s a pantry area where you can buy snacks, drinks, microwaveable meals and toiletries.
On top of the outdoor seating in the enclosed swimming pool area, there was additional seating out the front of the hotel.
Pet Policy
The TownePlace Suites Carlsbad is a pet-friendly hotel. There’s a limit of two pets per room with a weight limit of 50 lbs (I’m not sure if that’s a combined weight or individual weight). They charge a $100 pet fee per room, although as mentioned earlier they halved it for us due to Truffles being so small (she’s 11 lbs).
There are several grassy areas around the hotel which is useful for your dog going about their business.
That’s not all though. At the back of the hotel is Plaza de San Jose which can be a nice place to walk your dog.
We attached a long string to Truffles’ harness and let her run around after her ball in the large grassy area there. She tried to camouflage herself by rolling around in the dry grass, but it didn’t quite work 😉
The TownePlace Suites Carlsbad is also only half a mile away from Carlsbad Dog Park which is next to the water. There’s a good-sized section for small dogs and an even bigger section for large dogs.
COVID-19
The hotel seemed to do a good job dealing with COVID-19. Our room had several hand sanitizing wipes while there were hand sanitizing dispensers around the hotel.
They offered a decent breakfast which was served in a COVID-friendly way due to having a good selection of pre-packaged options.
Staff members did a good job with wearing their masks, although Carlsbad in general did very poorly with that. There were a surprisingly large number of people wandering around Walmart with no face masks despite signs at the entrance stating that they were required.
Service
Service at the TownePlace Suites Carlsbad was excellent. All of the front desk staff members were extremely friendly and helpful and Truffles loved all of the attention she got from them.
We consistently get excellent service whenever we stay at Hyatt Place properties and the staff at the TownePlace Suites in Carlsbad were as good as them.
Wi-Fi
I didn’t make any notes for myself about the Wi-Fi at the hotel which must mean the connection and speed was good.
Check-In & Check-Out Times
You can check-in at 3pm while check-out is at 12pm.
Location
The TownePlace Suites Carlsbad is about 30 minutes from Carlsbad Caverns National Park. There are several grocery stores and restaurants within a 5-10 minute drive of the hotel and it’s about 10-15 minutes from Living Desert State Park.
Parking
Parking at the hotel is $10 per day which is, quite frankly, obscene. There’s absolutely no reason for them to charge for parking because the property isn’t anywhere near Carlsbad Caverns and so it’s not like people would park in their lot for the day. It’s not an airport hotel, Carlsbad isn’t a big city and I just can’t think of any good reason for them to charge for parking when pretty much every other hotel in Carlsbad offers free parking.
To be fair, they did waive the parking fee for our stay – supposedly due to how long we were staying – but it’s still ridiculous that they charge the $10 daily fee in the first place.
Cost
The nightly rate during our stay ranged from $163.64 per night with tax to $171.79 per night with tax, although when doing searches before actually making our reservations I was seeing prices closer to $225 per night.
That’s far more than our daily budget (we do our 5 year, 50 state road trip on a budget of $100 per day), so we used Marriott free night certificates for all seven nights of our stay. These were obtained when renewing our Marriott credit cards that have annual fees of $89-$125 so the certificates weren’t actually free, but it means paying those annual fees provided good value based on how much the paid nights would’ve cost.
Final Thoughts
Although I was a little scathing just now about the fact that the hotel charges for parking, Shae and I really enjoyed our stay at the TownePlace Suites Carlsbad. It’s a fairly new property which has good amenities, plenty of storage space in the suites and decent breakfast options in the morning. The staff members were all excellent and it was a good use of our Marriott certificates.
Truffles Approval Rating
Truffles gives this hotel four paws out of four – pawfect! She adored all the attention she got from the front desk staff and liked having the park behind the hotel and the dog park nearby.
Our Rating
Room = 4.6 / 5
Hotel Amenities = 4.7 / 5
Food = 4.5 / 5
Location = 4.3 / 5
Service = 4.8 / 5
Dealing With COVID-19 (A new – hopefully temporary – category for our hotel reviews) = 4.7 / 5
Overall Value = 4.0 / 5
Total = 4.51/5
Address
TownePlace Suites, 311 Pompa St, Carlsbad, NM 88220
I recently stayed there and found our room to be dirty when we checked in. A pair of socks from the previous stay was on the follow and soaps were missing along with burned out light bulbs in the kitchen. Terrible value not to mention the gouge for the parking charge. It is ironic that you have to sign an acknowledgment for a COVID policy when the cleanliness is not up to standard. Don’t waste you4 money with this place
The high prices has nothing to do with spring break. Carlsbad has some of the highest hotel prices in the U.S. due to the oilfield workers. Go an hour to Hobbs, or Roswell and prices are much lower.