Hotel Review: Residence Inn, Independence OH

Independence Ohio is 7 miles south of Cleveland and it is just a 10 minute drive to be downtown. . The Residence Inn Independence is a quiet and well placed choice if you decide you would rather not be in the city

Don't use your GPS to find this hotel, it will drive you around in circles. The two ends of this street don't meet and our Tom Tom sent us to one end where we were greeted with a dead end. We called the hotel and they gave us easy verbal directions to get to the hotel. Do yourself a favor and print out the direction on the website, it really is easy to get to .

This is the type of Residence Inn with exterior entrances. We had ordered a two bedroom unit. When we arrived we straightened out a little issue with our rate and the woman at the des , Jewel, was excellent about getting everything correct. Our room was around back and on a corner. What that meant was that one of the bedrooms had a balcony.

The unit was up stairs which after our last stay with the running above our head was a good thing, The whole unit had recently been renovated and there was a very nice kitchen with granite counter tops. What was strange was that it had a breakfast bar with only two stools. In a two bedroom suite you would expect that they would allow for more seating, since we were three it was not practical. The kitchen did have nice appliances, stove, fridge, dishwasher and coffee maker.

Each of the bedrooms had their own bathroom. The toilets were strange here, like 2/3 size and anytime you went to sit on the john you felt like you were falling down. The hall where the sink is located was also a bit tight. One annoyance was that only one bathroom has a blow dryer and it wasn't mine. I had to call down to the desk and they told me it should be in one or the other bathroom.

There is a desk in the living room and Ethernet, the room was not wireless which was quite annoying since I could not work and sit on the couch I had to be at the desk. The internet was fast and free so that was a good thing. The living room had a sleeper sofa and a chair and a fireplace. It was a log burning fireplace and you had to purchase them for $3 from the front desk. The TV had the most limited selection of stations of any hotel we stayed at, it was disappointing.

Breakfast is provided and was quite good. The scrambled eggs were cooked perfectly and they always had fresh bananas and apples. They had lots of choices, breads, bagels, donuts, muffins, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal and make your own waffles. The dining room was however very small and could seem very crowded. There is a managers reception Mon-Wed in the evening but we were there on the weekend so I can't tell you anything about it.

There is a pool and a hot tub but they're outside and so were closed. There is also a tennis court and health club. There is also a guest laundry which comes in very handy.

Would I stay here again, yes if the price was right. The room was clean, the beds comfortable and the staff was very helpful and friendly. There are areas that could be improved but overall it is a nice place to stay. There are plenty of good restaurants within a very short drive of the hotel and the highway is less than a mile away.