I stayed at the Norfolk Marriott Waterside for one week with my 2 teenage daughters. We were in a room with a King size bed and a rollaway. My first comment is that the rooms are a little on the small side. You have a choice between rooms with a King bed and rooms with 2 double beds -- no queen beds. For a little more space and a lot more light, try asking for one of the corner rooms with 2 full windows. The hotel was very busy with conventions and large groups. As a result, the staff appeared to be stretched very thin -- and could take it out on the guests. On more than a couple of occasions during our stay, requests and questions were met with annoyance and frustration. For instance, when I was awaiting delivery of a delayed bag from the airport, it was very hard to figure out whether or not it had been delivered or who would even be responsible for accepting the delivery. When we were unable to access movies on our TV I was told -- three times, with increasing rudeness and exasperation -- that I must not be following instructions. (As it turned out, there was a problem with the service.) On the other hand, the housekeeping staff was always very pleasant. And the rooms were kept very clean. The location of the hotel is terrific. Near the riverfront park and mall and minor league ballpark -- and with many good restaurants, sandwich shops, coffee shops, and markets within an easy walk. The restaurant in the lobby of the hotel is also very good and reasonably priced. Virginia Beach is only a 15-20 minute drive away on a major highway which was never crowded (even on a sunny 4th of July). And there are parks and wildlife refuges dotting the nearby Atlantic and Chesapeake Bay shorelines. I initially had not been happy about our group staying in Norfolk -- as opposed to Virginia Beach -- but I ended up liking the location and did not, as feared, feel trapped in an urban environment. There was lots of convenient parking in lots adjacent to the hotel. Do not bother to use the hotel's valet service. It's not even difficult to find on-street parking around town when out and about. The hotel will provide a mini-fridge free of charge, but they do charge $10/day for wireless access.

The room was clean and well maintained, and the common spaces are very nice, but there were some negatives. Check-in and parking were confusing (there is virtually nowhere to park while checking in and parking is in the garage across the street, not the garage backing to the hotel.) We have young kids, so on Sunday morning we went down to the pool around 9:15. The janitor told us to give him 30 minutes to clean up the pool, but did ZERO while we hung out outside for 15 minutes. The pool and deck had not been touched since the night before and the place was a mess. Rude guests trashed the place, but it should have been worked on by 9:15. It would have been very nice if clean, the large deck has good views from the 6th floor. At checkout the front desk clerk was very nice and wanted to make up for the pool problem when she read the comments card we handed in. Unsolicited, she offered breakfast (we had already eaten) and looked for a way to compensate us for our problem but we bought on Priceline so she couldn't. Waterside was directly across the street, but has fallen on hard times-lots of vacancies-and it was mostly dead. The upside was that we ate on the waterfront without a wait and had a nice meal.

Stayed two nights for a conference.Close to the water and an entertainment complex with lots of dining and bars.Great night life. Room was nicely done and comfortable .Staff was very friendly and accomodating.Food in hotel was good.Overall pleased with my stay.

I recently stayed at this hotel. It is located downtown and convenient to other downtown attractions and shopping. I only had a partial water view and this was the biggest drawback. The view of the city at night was very nice. I didn't eat at the restaurant, but noticed there were at least two in the hotel. One was adjacent to the front door with hotel easy access. There'a a mall about 3 blocks away and the waterfront is 2 blocks away. This hotel does not actually sit on the water, but if you get a room on one of the upper floors you will be should be able to get at least a partial view. The staff was friendly. I was impressed that the lady at the front desk remembered my name on the second day when I returned to get some change. Overall I would recommend the hotel. You can park in one of two garages if you want to park your own car. One of the garages is across the street from the hotel, but directly connected by an enclosed walkway on the 3rd floor.