Griffin Gate Marriott Resort & Spa

Worst Marriott ever. The room has a smell. Not sure what it is. No one in the lobby when we came into the property. No one. We waited for several minutes before we were greeted. No extra blanket in the closet. Too much else to list. Terrible. Too tired to venture out to find another hotel, besides the fact everything downtown was sold out for an event. Had an amazing time in Louisville last night at 21 c for the same rate. Are you kidding me? Never again for me for this chain. Do not waste your money. A Hampton inn would have at least been clean.

Do not get intoxicated by the website photos, rolling hills and beauty of the area, or the drive up a hill to the lobby entrance or the marble-​laden lobby. Service misses: reserved two-​bed room months ahead, and when I call day of stay they tell me no way, I will only have a king room. Not sure how they pick which customer to screw that way. On arrival at front desk they were cramming us into the king room and I made one more mention of my unhappiness. They gave us a two bed room but having that long drive pissed off about the bed situation tarnished the experience. Banquet food horrible. Breakfast CAUTION: they don’t give you menus to usher you to wait 20 minutes standing in a buffet line. Embassy suites-​esque but not at all relaxing way to start your day. They said 5.99 for kids then tried to charge 17.99 adult rate. Feel for the servers because it felt like a cluster-​F fully attibutable to managers. Guest rooms are very small compared to modern standards and dated. Beds seemed to be memory foam, a highlight. Investment they may claim must be spent on the nice lobby and public areas. I am so disgusted I am officially aiming for Hilton properties going forward on all business and family trips.

Stayed at the Griffin Gate Marriott in Lexington
KY for four days.
Staff was excellent and location too.
The hotel room was really disappointing for a highly ranked resort. The tempur– pedic
Mattress was the only luxury. My room had a 20X20 foot square balcony with a few old pieces of outdoor furniture and then nothing —
And it needed a good sweeping. The room was small, low ceiling– and awkward to move around. Bathroom awful and small– but had great hot water. Toiletries minimal.
Worst thing – on demand movie was $ 20
With taxes– shown in SD! Windows of hotel seemed dirty or need to be replaced.
Extra charge to use concierge room– this is awful– diluted or off brand Starbucks coffee served in morning, low grade cheese cubes
And box/​batch soup for happy hour.
I felt I would have had a better room at a
Spring hill Suites for a lot less money.
Once again– Lexington is lovely and staff was great– but this resort is dated and over priced.

My girlfriend and I were visiting Lexington this weekend for a girls weekend away from kids and husbands AND more importantly to celebrate her 40^th birthday. I made reservations for us to have massages, manicures, and pedicures. The massages were amazing! The mani’s and pedi’s did not live up the expectation, particularly for the price ($!). We got signature and custom massages ($ 130 and $ 135, respectively), and we each got short and sweet manicures ($ 50 each), and bourbon bubbler pedicures ($ 75 each). The manicure on my friend (the birthday girl) was sloppy — nail polish on her cuticles, and some nail left that should have been buffed off, and the tips of her nails weren’t painted completely and the polish bubbled. Her pedicure was good. My manicure was good. Although being a 25 minute manicure, neither of our manicures entailed hand massages or lotion. My pedicure on the other hand, not so good. I wore flipflops out of the spa and my toes were exposed for at minimum four hours, I took a nap and my toes stuck to the sheets! The polish was gummy and bubbled. I wore closed toe shoes to dinner at 8:30pm and the polish got smushed — there’s no reason the polish should have done that after several hours except that it was either put on too thick, or the polish is old — I’m going with old. Less than 24 hours later and I wanted to take the polish off!
I had high expectations that our experience would have been amazing and I’m afraid we walked away disappointed and that we paid WAY TOO MUCH for what we got. I hope the bridal party that showed up after us got better results, better service, and overall better experience than we did.
I will do my homework better next time.

Don’t eat in the in-​house restaurant. Go somewhere else.
I ordered a filet steak cooked medium in the in-​house restaurant. I received a dry, well-​done steak. There was no pink anywhere in the steak it was completely cooked through and through. My expectations for an awesome meal (my steak was priced over $ 35) were crushed as I cut into the steak.
The wait-​person did not stay after delivering the steak to the table to make sure it was cooked correctly. (That is a fundamental training mistake.) When the wait-​person did come back to the table, after I showed him the inside of the steak and how it was well-​done not medium, there was an offer to have the steak re-​done. I didn’t have the time to do that. I expected it to be done correctly the first time.
There was no concession made on my bill for their mistake. The only concession offered was the wait-​person brought me some butter to put on the steak to make it less dry. It was a nice gesture, but the gesture did not make up for the key component of the meal being damaged so completely.
I gave them one more chance at check-​out to better manage the problem when the typical «How was your stay» question was asked. The response to my explaining the disappointing meal experience was they hoped the next time I ordered a steak in their restaurant that it was cooked better. (Clearly, this is another training problem, don’t ask a «satisfaction» question if you don’t train people how to handle negative responses.)
There will not be a next time. Even though the side dishes were great, I would not eat here again nor can I recommend anyone else to go to the restaurant here either.

Went to the spa here. It was very good. The workers were all helpful and eager.
My sisters and I went for a spa day. We went to the pool, the hot tub, and then sat out on the patio for the spa.
All of our massages were relaxing. Overall, it was a great experience. I would definitely come again.

For a Marriott it seriously wasn’t up to par. The staff was rude most of the time, no wifi unless you’re in the lobby or want to pay $ 7 a day for in your room. Room service takes forever, and the maids don’t even make your bed correctly. Yikes. I mean it’s clean (thank goodness) & the actual mattresses are comfy but the amenities such as the pools are old and the rooms are outdated– so is it worth the price? I would say no. Not compared to most of the Marriott places I’ve stayed. Sad.

Best nights sleep ever in a hotel. This hotel went all out on making sure we rested well. The mattress was a Tempurpedic cloud and not some uncomfortable cheap bed. Thank you for a great nights rest. Hotel was clean and conveniently located to the Lexington area.

The stay was so bad here, Marriott returned our points used to book the room. As a Marriott Premier Platinum Elite member the conditions at this hotel were deplorable. What resort requires a guest to rent a microwave for $ 20? The rate for the room was $ 189! You don’t get a microwave for $ 189?
We secured the room for my son who was staying over one night with his wife and 6 month old son. No microwave meant no way to conveniently feed the baby. Everytime they needed something warmed up they had to walk down to the lobby. After doing this all day, evening and 6am feeding, they were told at 9am that they would no longer accomodate them any longer and were extremely rude.
The toilet flushing mechanism keep running resulting in the bathroom flooding with water. My son finally turned off the water. Therefore they spent hours without a working toilet.
Sheets were rough and didn’t stay on bed as they only used a flat sheet instead of a fitting one. The room was not very clean.
In summation, this is NOT a ‘resort’.
Marriott needs to review this place to determine if it still fits their brand as we have stayed in Marriott hotels throughout the USA, England and Scotland… nothing is ever in this condition.

Terrible reception experience at spa. The girls were rude and inexperienced. Spa is a nice facility but the lockers need a lot of improvement. When I found one that had a robe and slippers it was with a broken hanger and two right feet for the slippers. They need to get it together!!!

The staff here are sweet as pie. We chose the Griffin Gate, because we’re Elite members and it’s a pet friendly hotel. Dog owners who enjoy traveling with their pet couldn’t ask for nicer accommodations. We had a ground floor room with a private dug-​in patio, so there is a high enough wall that your pet can’t run out onto the lawn and the nearby road. However, you will pay an extra $ 100 to bring them. I really enjoyed the equestrian theme in the hotel, since Lexington is the Horse Capital of the World. The resort was humming this Easter weekend marking the first day of the spring season at Keeneland, the prettiest track in America.

Absolutely the WORST mattress of any hotel I’ve ever stayed in over 30 years of traveling. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy! Some kind if Sealey foam and it’s like sleeping on lumpy rocks! Shame on you Marriott! Disgraceful!

This place might need some updating, but by golly the service at every level is outstanding. I felt like a foreign dignitary.
The executive lounge staff was fantastic and the food in there helped offset the cost of the room.
The spa was really nice, the pool was clean and cold.
I wouldn’t stay in any other hotel in Lexington. Recommend.

An update:
Marriott called me later that day in reference to my review, not my calls. (I know because they specifically asked me about my «Tankini») I did finally speak to Justin, and then to the loss prevention and claims departments. We were told that there was no way to prove anything one way or another, but that they could offer us $ 100 gift card to use at any Marriott for any services/​food/​rooms. We accepted this mainly because I was tired of arguing about it.
I give them one additional star because they did eventually try to resolve this for us. Not the resolution I was looking for, but it is better than the nothing I was expecting to get at this point. So… meh. Whatever.

The family and I stayed there for one night and had a great experience there. The rooms were newly renovated in 2013 so everything was new and clean. It was quiet and the staff were very friendly. Everyone we passed greeted us with a smile.
The only reason I gave it four instead of five stars was b/​c of the Starbucks downstairs. While it served a full Starbucks menu, it couldn’t take our Starbucks cards. Not sure if it was just a system error on that day, or if it is the way the franchise was set up. Didn’t really affect the quality of our stay though.
Two asides:
1) It was very close to the Horse Park, which worked out great for us as we were there to see the Southern Lights, and
2) Husband got our room for $ 70 on Priceline a week before our stay, which was a great deal, IMHO

We have stayed here multiple times over the years for family get togethers and the service has consistently gotten worse as time goes on. This past stay was on the day after Christmas and apparently the Griffen Gate Marriot was all out of holiday cheer.
Anthony at the front desk was very rude upon our arrival and acted like we were somehow trespassing upon his personal property. Not only was he pompous, errogant, and rude but he also flat out lied to us when we asked if there were any more 7^th floor rooms available that we could upgrade to. Personally I would put this guy out in the parking lot picking up trash and not interacting with guests at the elite counter as his first impression is not a good one.
Molly at the front desk gave our guests a hard time when they asked about breakfast the next the morning. They stated that they did not get breakfast with the room and could pay for it ($ 15.00 a person) at the restaurant. When I confronted her about the breakfast she then gave us a coupon for the 2 free breakfasts we always get when staying here. If you are an elite member you only get 2 free breakfasts for each stay regardless of how many rooms you get. We got 3 rooms for 6 people and only got 2 breakfasts.
Also please be aware that as an elite member you also get access to the concierge room which has soda/​coffee and some other amenities but it seems to always be closed. It was closed for the entire Christmas weekend and Anthony was once again a real Scrooge when asked about the concierge room hours.
The rooms and amenities here are ok overall but all of the rooms on the 7^th floor are getting very dated. The lobby and other rooms have all had recent makeovers and they are pretty nice but for the price there are nicer amenities to be had in Lexington.
The cable tv system here seems to be moving in the opposite direction of technology and most if not all the channels are blurry. I have stayed at Motel 6 and had a better tv /​cable setup.
The beds are memory foam and slightly hard. Sheets and towels were clean and smelled great and the bathroom was spotless. The maids here are are all super nice and helpful. Maybe they should swap places with the front desk employees and things would run better.
Our whole family used to really like going to this place and we have some great family memories here but we will no longer be staying here nor recommending the Griffen Gate Marriot to friends and family because of the treatment we received during this last stay.

I was in eastern Kentucky for two depositions in three days. I was tired and the Griffin Gate Marriott was a perfect hotel to unwind, with room service, an exercise room, and Thursday Night Football. I stayed on the fifth floor in a large suite, which was clean, nicely decorated and comfortable. If I’m in eastern Kentucky again, I’ll stay here.

I have had a good experience here every time I’ve come. Not sure where he lower reviews are coming from, perhaps because of the reputation and the price making expectations sky high. Granted, I had a lower rate and my company was paying, but it is still far nicer than anything else in Lexington and had a lot to offer.
I also should note as a platinum elite member they allow concierge room access and that was a big plus. They have breakfast and dinner and an honor bar and snacks and drinks. The gentleman who works the evening shift there is possibly the best service industry employee I’ve ever encountered. Remembers names, goes out of his way to get extra food or drinks, makes great conversation. I can’t tell you how nice it was to be away from the family on a business trip and see him waiting with some bourbon bread pudding and a smile. The rest of the elite process was nice for the free internet because usually very pricey here. They have a special check-​in process but that didn’t really seem to make a big difference.
The rooms and property are definitely aging but the lobby and gym are both really nice. And they have tempurpedic beds with fluffy toppers in every room! The TVs are larger than average and parking is free. The restaurants are always pretty hopping but quite expensive. Food was good though and lots of bourbon options.

Great outdoor pool! The hotel itself was very nice and the bar in the lobby was quick. Outdoor bartenders seemed a little overwhelmed and were slow to make drinks. Didn’t know what they had or didn’t have in stock (bloody mary mix, soda water, etc.)…so it took them awhile.
Room fridge did not work (didn’t realize this until we put food/​drinks in it and they weren’t cold in the morning), and the toilet clogged.
Decent room service breakfast, but wasn’t worth the $ 20 – 30 we were charged.

I spent a lot of time here for work, no experience here for personal trips
Service: The service here is great, the staff is always willing to help out and accommodate requests. The member lounge is good and always has refreshments and light snacks.
Rooms: The rooms are pretty consistent. Beds are temperpedic which is great. Bathroom products are ok, they recently changed them and seem to be improving.
Cleanliness: All the rooms are clean, I havent had any issues here with them.
Overall, it has been great for business stays. It has a golf course and holds a lot of conferences, so it’s always busy. That makes getting upgraded rooms difficult sometimes.