I have been coming to Solvang with my family for many many years, it is no longer a vacation point for us, but a second home. This time around, we decided to stay at The Marlo. They are dog friendly & offer dog treats, water for the little buddies in the courtyard, and plenty of grass for them to play around in as well.
Its situated away from the busy crowded part of Solvang, almost towards residential neighborhoods of Alisal Rd, giving that perfect quiet restful experience. It's a short 5 min walk towards downtown Solvang. We booked the Nordic Courtyard for 3 of us. The Marlo has a big courtyard area in the front of the hotel with a fire pit, plenty of seating arrangements both for communal use and infront of each individual door. It is designed like individual studios, rather than a hotel where you have neighbors in all corners.
The entrance to the parking lot in the back is quite narrow but apparently opens back up again. However, I decided to make use of the plenty of street parking available right infront of the hotel. Keep in mind, the office hours work only until 6pm, after that there is a number you can call for assistance. I believe the girl working the front desk also doubles as a maid, because we walked up to the office on a Monday morning at 11am, and it was not open for readily assistance, and I had seen her coming out of the rooms with the cleaning cart, that's not how I would run a business, especially being that it's a weekday and normal morning hours. - Across from the office is a game room, with plenty of games (like Jenga, Connect Four, Dominoes, Tic Tac Toe), a shuffle board, coffee & water machine. But only open as long as the office is open as well, so nothing after 6pm.
We only had 2 interactions with the staff, and they were just whatever. The girl working the front desk checking people in on a Sunday afternoon was clearly not trained to be a receptionist at a hotel where you need to be screaming hospitality and marketing the boots out of the amenities. There was a couple checking in right before us, she explained all of the amenities they offer and answered any questions they had, when it came to us she explained nothing and just handed over the key. I understand you may not want to repeat yourself, but it's your job, and you can't assume I was listening or understood what you had just explained a minute ago. I was spoon feeding her the questions I had and was coming off strong and honest, it seems she was intimidated and kind of expecting us to figure it out on our own. If i have to ask for a simple request of how does the wifi work, maybe find another job or a WFH, where you don't have to talk to people & tourists constantly. Interaction 2) When we went into our room, we noticed the soap dispensers were running low, so my mom found a "maid" at another door and asked for a refill on them, she was nice and brought it over promptly, and apologized for the lack of attention. Not sure if that was the same girl as the receptionist or not.
Also from the first night, our TV was not working. It was stuck on the "guest check out" screen and I did some research and tried to restart the TV but it was not connecting to a server. And guess what? We had that problem after hours, when nobody is at the office, because they're acting like they run a retail store. When we finally did see someone the next day, they got it working for us, and its a ton of channels to choose from. You can also sign into your streaming apps. They do however need someone readily available to assist atleast until 10pm. - The cleanliness could be better, there's random cobwebs on things and small stains on the bedsheets, easy fixes if they care to improve on those.
We were in the first room, and were pleased to find we have no surrounding walls, no neighbors, no noise. We have an area with an umbrella, and cornhole boards to enjoy right under our window. My mom loves fresh air, and was pleased to know that we could open our windows to let the air in, unlike a traditional hotel where you're unable to open a window. Everything was new & modern, big fridge & freezer, and the biggest plus was the in-room microwave. The bed is firm just how I like it, and the pillows held up my head, not sinking in like your typical hotel pillows, very comfortable. The bathroom is modern, clean, and we absolutely appreciate that the dispensers for the soap and lotion are generous, and not a flimsy soap bar with a travel size lotion.
They are apparently under new management just a couple months ago, and are currently doing upgrades in and around the property. Despite a few misses currently, out of all of the 3 star hotels in Solvang that got a facelift and are marketing themselves as 4 star hotels, the Marlo is better than all of those. Atleast the pictures you see online are not catfishing and you get exactly what you pay for. I would definitely stay here again, if it means not staying in the "4 star" facelift hotels in downtown. read more