Angie B.
Yelp
I chose the hotel carefully because I was driving from Philadelphia to Texas to see my mom who was not doing well and I needed a place to stay half way through my journey. I chose to drive instead of fly because of safety during Covid, so I knew I wanted a place that would offer all of the safety and convenience during these tricky times. I selected a Marriott because they have a decent reputation. They checked my boxes...coffee maker, refrigerator in the room, a restaurant downstairs from which I could order food so that we wouldn't be dining anywhere (I was traveling with my 15-year-old daughter) and I was determined, that once I checked in for the night that I wouldn't have to leave my room until it was time to check out the next day. I was wrong.
We chose self-park, which still cost $35, but the garage was not at all convenient and we ended up lugging our bags a good distance away to get to the hotel. We put our order in for food immediately because the restaurant was about to close. This was the best part about our stay...not the food necessarily...but the server at the bar that promptly took our order with a smile, made sure we had every sauce and packet available for our Nashville hot chicken sandwiches and called our room when our food was ready and said, "Your dinner is ready!". He was delightful. The food was just ok. The Nashville hot chicken sandwich was a bit dry and the fries were cold.
The real disappointment came when I needed feminine supplies for my daughter. I called hospitality and requested them but it took details to explain what I needed and after the request was finally understood I was placed on hold for quite a while. After a wait, I was told, "We do have them, but we are out of them right now." This felt completely unacceptable to me and I can only consider that this is a management issue. I know it's Covid, I know things are harder these days, but if you can stock up on lotions, toothbrushes and extra shower caps, feminine products should be at the top of the list. He suggested a Walgreen's (remember, I had been driving for 14 hours and had just parked my car in a garage that was more than an inconvenient distance away). I asked him if he was sure that the Walgreen's was open and after double checking he told me they were closed. I am not an "insister" but I actually insisted that he fix the problem. I chose the hotel so that I would have my basic needs met. He finally agreed to "find someone" to get what I needed. After about 30 minutes he came to my door with "hotel grade" feminine products, so it appears that the dilemma could have been solved without my insisted prompting.
I was happy to have a coffee maker in the room (it was one of my checked boxes) but when I attempted to make coffee in the morning, (at 5:30 am...I had a 10 hour drive ahead of me) a piece was missing from the machine and it was inoperable. Again, I called the front desk and the woman told me that there is no one to replace the coffee maker and I could come down to the front desk to retrieve my coffee. I adorned my face mask and shuffled down to the front desk where they were SELLING Starbucks on a make-shift table in the lobby. She "gave" me two cups instead of charging me for it. The WiFi is ten bucks. The parking is 35. The coffee maker was broken but they sell cups of coffee in the lobby and necessary amenities were nonexistent. I am so glad I didn't pre-book this hotel for the way back because when I initially made my reservation I almost did. I ended up staying at a Hampton Inn. My coffee maker worked, they served to-go breakfast in the lobby and I enjoyed free parking.
I know these are tricky times and places are understaffed and Covid has stolen our souls. But if you are an establishment, in the HOSPITALITY industry, who is still charging your regular rates and have remained open with no disclaimer that you will not be serviced in a typical manner, then I believe it is important to continue to at the very LEAST meet the basic requirements. I chose this hotel BECAUSE of Covid...to be safe in my room and have the things provided for me that I was paying for. Never. Again.