Candlewood Suites Columbus North - Polaris by IHG — Attraction in Columbus

When I arrived Thursday evening, Paul was working the desk, and I have to say he might be the best, friendliest, most competent desk person I have ever had the chance to meet. I have stayed in Hotels 40-100 nights a year for 10+ years, so I meet a lot of Hotel staff. He was energetic, enthusiastic, and helpful. I got checked in quickly, and was given a great overview of the Hotel and the area. While we were there, he offered us discount coupons at local restaurants, and gave us honest opinions about which ones were good and which were just OK. If I were in the Hotel business, I would be trying to hire Paul away from this property.

Candlewood Suites are a discount, extended-stay type of Hotel, so I was not expecting the daily room cleaning or other similar service you get from a more expensive hotel. The room was adequately furnished, and the bath was clean, though 3 of 4 lights were not working, and the tub (caulking, surface) looked a bit dated. My chief complaint is that I asked for, and received a NON Smoking room. The first night in the room seemed OK, but I was surprised to find ash-trays and new books of Candlewood Suites Matches on the desk and in the Bathroom. Seemed odd for a Non-Smoking room. When I returned to the room at the end of the day Friday, it smelled like people had been smoking in my room during the day. Perhaps the deodorant wore off, because the smell got worse and worse each day. I stayed in the room 4 days, and when I got to my Hotel Monday evening, the inside of my suitcase and all my clothes smelled like I had been in a bar. I don't know what was on the floor below, but all the rooms on my floor said non-smoking, so I don't know where the smell was coming from. I know the difference between fresh and stale smoke, and each day my room was worse and worse. I was on the 4th floor, otherwise I would have suspect that my Window HeatPump/AC unit was located next to an employee outdoor smoking area. If I have reason to be back in the Columbus area, I will try one of the other Hotels...

So, I came up to Columbus for some YouTube related work, and I chose this hotel for location, price, and the fact that having a one bedroom suite is always nice, and while not perfect, it was pretty good. The room was small, but they made very good use of the space. Coming through the door was a closet, a kitchen, a shared table and desk, and a sofa, window, air conditioner, TV, and dresser. Everything was spotless, though the door and window were both in rough shape, and the air conditioner sounded like a jet taking off when it kicked on. The bathroom was also directly off of this room, and was clean, with plenty of storage, and a large sink. The shower was in rather mediocre shape though, and it looked like the curtain rod would fall down if you just looked at it the wrong way. Also, the tiling behind the toilet had separated from the wall. The bedroom was through a door, and had another closet, window, TV, and dresser, as well as two night stands and several outlets. This part of the room was in good shape, and the bed was awesome. Also, just so you know, the air conditioner is only in the living room, so don’t shut the door to the bedroom at night! (I found that out the hard way.) The hallways were spotless and the common areas, which consisted of a rental cabinet, lobby, fitness center, business center, shop, and pool all looked clean. There was just one elevator, which seemed adequate. Also, while you can buy some prepackaged items at the aforementioned store, there is no hot breakfast available period, not to buy or for free, and it was like this before COVID too. The outside of the hotel looked way newer than the rest and parking was fine. I also encountered 5 employees, all of which were awesome! Over all, this is a very good hotel, but there are newer ones in the area, that might be nicer, especially the Drury which I stayed at on my last trip. I’d still...

Do not stay here. Property is disgusting, run down, and just plain nasty. This place is less like a hotel and more like a homeless refuge and should just be turned into that. Upon arrival there were about 6 people smoking out front. They were barefoot and had torn clothes with stains all over them. On the other side of the parking lot, a family was evicted from a room and all their belongings were stacked up in the parking lot where they stayed for 5 hours before they left. ||Upon getting an assigned room, second floor room 215, we walked into broken flooring, the entire bottom of the tub was cracked and peeling and hadn’t been cleaned as there was pubic hair all over it. The walls looked like someone smeared dirt all over them. The refrigerator was dented and scraped all over. Door handles were missing on cabinets and room door was off kilter and looks to have been previously kicked in. ||The really bad… the bed had BLOOD on it. Not just little specks… I’m talking large stains. ||After asking to be refunded the front desk person offered to move us to room 319. While the room was partially better, it still was not worth the $328 a night. ||Rooms keys do not get you into the pool. You have to sign out keys at the front desk for the pool. Odd. ||Clientele… now I’m not one to degrade or look down upon someone, but let’s be real here. This hotel has people not just staying here, but actually living here. I had someone ask me for money in the elevator who was obviously homeless and living here. The grounds are just rundown, dirty, and overused. ||We left after one night promptly after no night of sleep and will never stay at an IHG property ever again. I was promised compensation from the front desk gentleman and have yet to see any credits to my card used on file. ||This is NOT a family establishment. It is a glorified homeless camp and nothing...