Element Albuquerque Uptown

The hotel itself is great - no issues here. However, the front desk person my colleague and I dealt with at different times of day is terrible and should not be allowed to work at any hotel - let alone a Marriott brand. She refused to provide an upgrade - even tough she verbally confirmed there were upgrades available. So, I wasn't able to receive a Marriott benefit as required by Marriot policy (if an upgrade is available) She didn't provide any information about the hotel other then the room number. No information about breakfast, no information about resources, no information about option to receive a voucher for the marketplace - instead of the the points, and no information about the top floor "free drinks and snacks" during their "rest period". We had to discover this out on our own. She refused service to my colleague while she was waiting for a different customer to call their bank to resolve a credit card issue - looking at him as an annoyance. She refused to check us out until we actually leave the hotel. She refused to connect me to a manager when I tried to complain. Refused to call the manager and have him/her calls me back, and called me names when we wanted clarification on the policy - She just said "she doesn't want" to call the manager (knowing that we were going to complain). Checkout eventually and was told I'm no longer welcome at this hotel - by the front desk manager. (?!?!)

Spent one night Oct 17. Room and entire property was very clean. Room spacious and had all amenities, coffee maker, iron etc. The gentlemen at check in and check out were nice and courteous. Breakfast was very good, a little different but we enjoyed it. Good location to many good restaurants and service. If I'm passing through in the near future, I would most definitely give this hotel a good look. Also, got a very reasonable rate.

I am an Albuquerque local, and we picked the Element as Bonvoy members familiar with the brand wanting a staycation. We haven't loved the Marriot options in the city; most are pretty dated. This new Element has filled that space for us. This property has a lot of great things going for it and some more nit-picky things that could easily bump it to a full 5. Pros: ~ The staff was great. They said everything they needed to and were friendly and chatty. All grounds looked and felt clean throughout. Best Marriot staff we've encountered. ~Location: It is in Uptown and close to shopping, restaurants, and Trader Joe's. While there are a decent number of ABQ brand unsheltered people who walk up and down Louisiana, this property is set back off the road far enough that we didn't see any foot traffic. It gets an A for safety. ~The beds are comfy, the linens are good, and there is lots of light. The rooms are new, so everything feels fresh and modern. ~They honored early check-in and late check-out as a Bonvoy perk. ~Room well stocked with a microwave and a large personal refrigerator. It also had dishes and utensils. They supplied a sponge and dish soap. Cons: ~Water pressure isn't great. Not strong, just eh okay. ~ They stock a 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner in the rooms. This doesn't work for my family's hair and is a little cheap for the Element brand. The shampoo smelled nice but left our hair very greasy. I typically just shampoo with what's in the hotel and use my own-bought conditioner, but the 2-in-1 prevented that. ~Not impressed with breakfast. The one "hot" breakfast is a small tapas-sized entree like breakfast tacos or breakfast nachos (the item changes by the day) cooked in front of you. One plate is not enough for a meal, and we had 2 plates of it. The large potato chunks in our food were not fully cooked and had to be thrown away. The other food options were standard cereal, yogurt, and bread. The espresso machine was already labeled as broken. ~The motion sensor in rooms that run AC force-turns it off and makes it hot at night. This is not a property-specific complaint. Marriot does this in its new hotels. Our sleep was not great because Albuquerque is way too warm to shut the AC off when we sleep. We got up to trigger it "on" a few times at night. ~ Pool renders were misleading. The pool pictured when booking is not the pool at the property. They informed us they had photographers there that day to fix it. The pool does not have shade or umbrellas and faces the parking lot and business park. The cons are not big enough to stop me from booking this property again, but it should set your expectations regarding amenities. If you're looking to fill up on free breakfast to save $$ on your trip or have a higher-quality shower and unwind experience, that won't happen here, but that's okay. I recommend this property if you want to stay within the Marriot brand over any other property here!

My partner and I stayed here on our way to burning man. We booked a studio 1 king with pullout couch. It was nestle in a great area that was clean and felt safe. We had a truck full of our supplies for burning man and were reassured at check in that there are cameras everywhere on the perimeter as well as good lighting near the space we parked in. The hotel is relatively new, so it was very clean. We got in too late to experience the restaurant/bar on the rooftop but it was probably spectacular. The breakfast was nice, light and yummy. The staff was so friendly and seemed like they would go out of their way to help. There tons of shopping options within walking distance, along with restaurants. We will definitely stay here again as we make the trip from Texas to Nevada for burning man.