First, I have to mention the nightlight built into the bathroom mirror here. This feature is ingenious, and every hotel should install them. Despite staying at more than two hundred hotels all over the country and the world, I've seen this only twice elsewhere. And one of my pet peeves at hotels is no nightlight, because I'm either blinded by the bathroom light if I get up to use the facilities in the middle of the night, or I grope around in the dark in an unfamiliar room. Kudos to management for some intelligent, thoughtful planning in consideration of your guests. Check-in at dusk was fast and efficient, and we were assigned a room on the top floor, away from the elevators as requested, to facilitate a quiet stay. The view of the mountains from our room greatly enhanced our visit. Features I love about this hotel include: Wall-mounted toiletries dispensers - very eco friendly. Keurig coffee maker Extra spacious king room with a divan-style sofa in a cozy seating area Lots of counter space in the room and in the bathroom Tons of lighting, including lamps and wall sconces Fast wi-fi and plentiful electrical outlets for charging gadgets Necessary amenities - microwave, mini-refridge, iron/board, hair dryer, etc. Full size tub and phenomenal water pressure Ultra-comfy bed, as always in IHG brand hotels. Pillow choices, firm or soft Blackout blinds The outdoor pool/hot tub area is gorgeous, with an adjacent large patio where guests were congregating. I didn't notice if there was a gym on site. Complimentary breakfast is served from 6-9:30. Although we're organic eaters and mostly vegetarian, we checked to see if there was anything we consider edible. Fresh bananas and apples were offered. Hubby also found a veggie-eggwhite omelet (highly unusual), and I had a boiled egg. Otherwise, the menu was typical - breads, cereals, dairy, instant oatmeal, instant waffles, processed bakery items, pork, etc. But we don't expect better in this regard during our hotel stays. This overnight visit was near perfection. We did hear a smidge of hallway noise, but nothing woke us during the night. Oh, and one of the window panes in our room was defective with a permanent fog. Repair the window, maybe add a recycle bin, and add raw sugar to the in-room coffee service . . . there would be nothing left to improve. We'd definitely stay here again.
Actually, our rating is very close to a 5 because everything was great except for the very hard mattress, the thin bedding (it was a chilly night) and the cold bacon at breakfast. The property is very clean from the inside out, the 24/7 pool and jacuzzi area (although closed for cleaning while we were there) is nice; and as others have remarked previously, the rooms are spacious and are equipped with a small kitchenette. The Happy Hour was nice and didn't close until 9 pm (which was also a nice feature). In recognition of all the ”perks” here, we do plan to try another stay at Gateway Studio Suites when we find ourselves in Sierra Vista overnight. Hopefully, the bed linens will be thicker (especially if the night is chilly), that mattress a bit softer and hot (or at least warm) bacon at breakfast.