Residence Inn By Marriott Boulder

This is an unusual hotel for Europeans, as it is really a collection of apartments surrounding a hotel hub. The facilities are good, parking outside all apartments and the apartments are of a good standard for most business travellers.

My room had a small kitchen with cooker and fridge, coffee and tea maker, toaster and dishwasher. There was a breakfast table separating the kitchen from the living accommodation, which doubled up as my laptop's home for my stay. It has both LAN and wireless access in each room and I chose LAn for speed. There doesn't appear to be any limits on downloads or time spent online.

The main living accommodation comprised a sofa and easy chair with colour cable TV and a real fire which I did use on smoke-permitted days (as advertised in reception), using a smoke free log which cost just $3 from Safeway.

The far end of the living accommodation was a very large bed with down pillows. Next to that a dressing room with sink and a massive well lit mirror, and next to that a small bathroom.

The suites were heated by air conditioning, and if kept at a constant 70 degrees F (21 C) tended to keep me awake (or awaken me) as it was a bit noisy as it switched on and off. After a few nights of broken sleep I turned the thermostat down to 64 degs (16 C) and it only came on two or three times during the night. SO much better than thirty times!

The hotel has a nice breakfast room with a complimentary breakfast for all. I found the real coffee lovely but the decaff was often cold. There was usually eggs and bacon, porridge oats, waffles, cereal, fruits and yoghurt, toast and croissants daily. A very good way to start the day.

The staff were very friendly and accommodating and knowledgeable about the area. There were often cookies in reception, as well as candy and a small shop selling snacks, microwave meals and drinks.

Unique Quality: In the evenings between 5pm and 7pm there is a little-publicised 'happy hour', with free beer and wine as well as themed snacks. I enjoyed the nachos, hot dogs and burritos that were served during my stay. This was really useful as it saved eating out. I also kept some food at my apartment, such as Baked Beans, milk, sugar, tea and coffee, bread and butter etc and this saved me the expense of eating out also.

The hotel also has a small games court, a hot tub year round, and a laundry.

The hotel has a deal with a downtown restaurant so you can bring in your favourite meal and charge it to your room.

A free copy of the Boulder Daily Camera newspaper also helped to ease me into Boulder living.

The hotel is actually located in a small upmarket business estate, so taxi or car travel into town is a must. However there is a brewery/restaurant/bar almost opposite in another business estate.

Directions: Just off the main diagonal highway going from IBM in the north to downtown Boulder in the south.