We stayed at the Residence Inn - Chandler in March 2006. This was our 2nd trip to Chandler in 2 years. We thought we would stay at this hotel as we have had previous good luck at other Residence Inn's. Our stay was good. We did not hear one peep out of anyone in other rooms. Only the occassional door shutting that every hotel has. Our 2 bedroom suite was roomy enough for the three of us as our teenage son was on vacation with us. He is a huge baseball fan - more about that later. The hotel itself is located right across the street from the Chandler Fashion Mall. It is a very nice mall with excellent restaurants - The Cheesecake Factory being one of them! MMMMM. If you are planning a trip to this sector of Arizona, Chandler in my humble opinion, it is the place to stay. It is so clean and so new and has a ton of restaurants in every direction. I know I am going off the track already but that is how I am. I have been "off the track" for many years now. Back to the review of the hotel...

Since the hotel staff could not give me an accurate idea of how big their pool was over the phone prior to our visit I immediately headed there. Over the phone they told us it was not small. They stated it was an average hotel pool. Well that is vague. Hotels should list their pool size on their website, again in my opionion. While reading this you will see my opinion really matters! I immediately read the sign on the wall that read pool capacity at around 34 people. I believe that was for the entire pool and deck as I would find it hard to see 34 people actually in the water. I would have preferred a bigger pool as with this one if more than 2 adults actually want to swim there is not room. Add 2 or 3 kids to that equation and forget smimming. Smimming really matters to me. I like to do laps. I felt like a goldfish swimming in this pool unless I was in the pool alone.. If all you want to do in the pool is get wet, then fine, you will like this pool. You can get wet and the little sprikler in the pool is neat. If you go underwater next to the sprinkler it is awesome. I dont know how long you can hold your breath but I did it for 30 seconds or so and found it really neat. Of course I am amused by little things like that. I should also mention that this hotel pool gives you enough sunshine until approximately 4 or 4:30pm. provided you stay in the 5ft section. At this other hotel in Chandler (Homewood Suites) the sun was blocked from the pool by the building at 2:30pm!! But if you are in the hot-tub which is also rather small good luck in getting sun after 2:30pm or so. The way it is situated you only get good sun until approximately that time. Also on the grounds in front of the hotel is a basketball hoop and volleyball net. It is great for kids and it is not loud as they use matting for a surface for the basketball court. I beat my kid in "around the world"! That might not mean anything to you but it was too good for this 47 year old! Also in the outside area is a big gas grill for anyone to use. Make yourself some burgers and brats and enjoy!

Now on to the exercise room. In all my years of exercising in hotels I have only found 2 or 3 hotels that have had actual "exercise rooms". I belong to a health club in my neck of the woods. It has 10 treadmills, 5 elliptical machines, a few rowing machines, and several modern stationary bikes, not to mention the freeweights. The exercise room at the Residence Inn had 2 treadmills, a bike, and a stairmaster. They were all squeezed into a box of a room. While most of the time I was the only one there, it would be crammed with 3 people in there at one time. The treadmill did work fine. I dont know why they cant make bigger exercise rooms. It also was never stocked with towels although there was a towel rack. So - make a bigger pool so I can do laps and dont squeeze me into your exercise room and I might give this hotel all 5 stars.

The service was excellent at this hotel. The free breakfast was always excellent, the coffee hot, and always plenty of cream and sweet n low. The managers special Mon-Thurs was an extra and always filled us up. We like extra's! There is onsite laundry and my wife is the expert on laundry and I did not hear one complaint from her in reference to the washer or the dryer. The staff was always friendly and the housekeeping ladies did an excellent job.

If you like baseball and want to go to see the White Sox in Tucson be prepared to get yelled at by Ozzie. Good luck in getting his autograph. If you want a less abuse instead of Ozzie yelling at you go to Sedona and start out early like I did - 5am. Get a map and take the 2.5 hour drive north on I-17 to some really beautiful red rocks. Sedona is a lovely little town. Plan on spending a day or two there to see all of it. I rushed around there so I could get back to the pool so I could tan before the Tanners got the prime seats in the pool area. I would really recommend a trip to Sedona - go hiking, and take digi pictures of the hills and red rocks. It only costs $5.00 per day for a permit to every rock in Sedona.

Arizona is a blast. But remember if you want to do laps this pool at the Residence Inn might not be for you. If you merely want to get wet, get a tan and enjoy the wonders of Arizona and all it has to offer at a resonable price I would recommend this hotel.

I have got to mention this one restaurant before I close this writing. If you like Mexican food please do yourself a favor and go to Valle Luna - 1949 W. Ray Rd in Chandler. They have excellent food, enough pre-meal chips to feed the National Guard, and get there early so you can sit next to the windows that look out on this fabulous little pond which has a lighted fountain at night. We have gone to this restuarant 2 years in a row. Trust me it is worth the trip.

Very nice place. Even though you get a full kitchen, they still have a nice breakfast included everyday, drinks (coffee, juice, etc) all day long and a small dinner. Right across from great restaurants at the Chandler Fashion Center Mall (try PF Chang's) it's a great location. I would choose it again.