The Doorways — Attraction in Richmond

Revised on 4/1/25:

This is an okay place to stay while undergoing surgeries. There are two ways to deal with it. You can stay in your room and quietly recover or you can be somewhat social and have dinners with nice groups that come in to serve. There are often various churches, social worker and assistance for family and the patients.

This review I am hoping will be helpful to some but it is critical. Based on my personal observations—having stayed here multiple times—I find the front desk staff to be at times untrained, unprofessional, and judgmental.

A "home away from home"? Occasionally. It is shaky most times, some employees are kind and compassionate, but this is not always the case. I often face personal challenges because my disabilities are not visible—I don’t have obvious injuries so there are times that their judgment and untrained behavior leads them to assume wrong things. At times for me—it’s just a room. About 75% of the time the rooms, floors and baths are not that clean. They have a zipper bed pad that is obviously not clean by my photos I'm showing. There are no pillow covers just pillowcases, the floors can be dirty, and the bathrooms only partially clean. I often don't find this sanitary. I'm happy let's say 25% of the time when things are as they should be. Today was one of those days! 👌

Keep in mind, they control the heating and AC. I understand that, but the temperature never goes below 72°F and for sleeping it can make it uncomfortably warm. The windows don’t open, though I was able to get a fan. At times I hope to to use the bathtub, but often dirty and unsafe. I’ll just let my photos and videos speak for themselves.

As someone with extensive experience in business operations and customer service, I strongly urge the management to properly train ALL the front desk staff. During my discreet observations and inquiries, I found only a few employees who consistently treat people with kindness and respect:

John at the front desk – Always professional, respectful, and helpful. He does his job with dignity.

James, an evening maintenance worker – Genuinely kind, non-judgmental, and helpful.

Kat, I believe a front end manager, although I only see her periodically, she is one of the few who does behave consistently professional. She's incredible to work with!

Other than a few individuals, the majority of the staff aren't equally trained. Some are unprofessional and lack basic human decency. Their assumptions and judgments about patients—without knowing or respecting their disabilities—can be disrespectful. If you have no other option but to stay here, be prepared for inconsistentcies. I live too far away, and VCU places me here which I am grateful for. Extra grateful on the good stays. 😉

It can be challenging asking for assistance to have an opportunity like I have at The Doorways . Someday it can feel like it is not worth the frustration but I do need help, maybe like you or your loved one.

My truth- if you are a patient with cognitive impairments—such as a stroke, Parkinson’s, dementia, Alzheimer’s, a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or any other injury to your brain—please be extremely cautious. Just be aware for the sake of your health.

Remember your worth as a patient, and don’t let them treat you poorly. Many unwell people pass through The Doorways. The happy ones will share their experiences, but those disgusted by it often may remain silent. Since I always make it a point to share, I’m doing so now in hopes that it helps someone like me.

As a highly rated Google reviewer with over 1 million views (as reported by Google in a photo added to this review), I appreciate the recognition my reviews receive. If you found this review helpful, please give it a 👍 and feel free...

Please know ahead of time what you're getting into. This is simply a place to lay your head when a loved one is staying overnight at MCV. It's not a 5 star hotel or resort nor is it meant to be. It's just a relatively inexpensive, repurposed hotel that graciously caters to the families of overnight patients at MCV. The place is close to MCV and has nearby parking. The staff was very nice and courteous. The rooms are like any Red Roof Inn. It's cheap to stay here. I believe it's a community service type organization that runs the place.

With all that said, it would be rather nasty of me to complain. So I won't do that as my mom and I were very grateful to have a room so close to MCV after my dad's cancer surgery. So I'll post a couple of things as a heads up to be aware of. First, it's not a recently remodeled hotel. (So what??) Part of the lobby was used for storage and had boxes lying about. The elevator worked just fine but the above ground catwalks going to any room above ground had structural issues and had heavy duty scaffolding reinforcing them. They were indeed sound but kinda scary looking. The rooms were clean but a flashback to the 80's. Across the street at the parking deck there were many homeless people sleeping on the streets. It's not a great area but the hotel is secure. The doors were locked to the hotel and there didn't appear to be a way in to the interior rooms without going through the locked lobby. So, not the best area but it's secure. Remember, this is an organization that helps families with loved ones in the hospital secure a local, inexpensive, secure place to sleep. Don't expect the stars and the moon.

That last bit truly was nitpicking on my part and I feel rather ungrateful for writing it. I just want to let people know what to expect. In sum, I was very, very grateful that the place existed. So often a surprise hospital stay can really put the squeeze on the loved ones of the patient. I was extremely impressed with how nice and caring the staff was and given the modest price compared to modern day hotels, I was so happy a place like this existed. I wasn't at MCV for a vacation and just needed a place to sleep. It was that, an expensive hotel a ways away, or sleep in the waiting room. Many thanks to The Doorways and it's staff. My trip was already stressful enough with my dad having major surgery and being able to stay close in case of emergency and pay a reasonable price was a blessing. After a bit of research, I found this place to be the closest to MCV. Being near my father was a priority. Yes, my family could afford a Holiday Inn or whatever but with so many unknowns surrounding my dad's surgery we had no idea how long we'd be there. This place was super accommodating.

My family tipped/donated more than the price of the room and I would suggest everyone do the same if possible to support the Doorways. We wanted to support this place. You made our MCV visit much easier and less...

Updated review We stayed at Doorways again on April 23,2024. What a huge difference in our experience this time versus last time. Even though we were only there for the night we used the kitchen and I was impressed there is now a system to clean out old food from the refrigerators and freezers instead of leaving it to go bad. The cleanliness in the common areas definitely improved. The staff is still helpful and a real asset. I asked if there is new management and was told there is, and it’s noticeable and appreciated. I wish I had gotten the name of the shuttle driver. He made everyone feel comfortable and got us all to three different places quickly and kindly. Thank you so much for all your organization does for patients and our families.

I am glad Doorways exists for people who have no other options. We stayed for my stem cell harvest in June and planned on staying in July when I had my stem cell transplant. Unfortunately we decided I couldn’t take the risk staying at Doorways and instead chose a hotel with an in room kitchen. This was a big issue with Doorways. A shared kitchen means it’s only as clean as the last person to use it. When we arrived my husband and I spent a couple hours cleaning the 8th floor kitchen. We found huge amounts of expired and rotten food. I believe that people left their food with name labels so no one used it or trashed it. I was also dismayed to find rotten food throughout the walkins in the main kitchen. Not just expired but clearly rotten. I feel for people who are struggling financially away from home and I’m glad that different organizations come in and provide fresh meals a couple times a week. The staff were wonderful and they provide free laundry facilities which is nice. Parking is expensive in the near by lots but they do offer a shuttle to and from VCU. I wouldn’t have been able to use the shuttle after my stem cell transplant since the vans are usually full and no one wears masks anymore. My stem cell transplant makes me immune compromised and being that close to others is another risk I wasn’t willing to take. The rooms were average but hard to keep cool. The AC is locked at 73 degrees and in the Richmond heat and humidity could get a bit swampy. I brought a fan to help move the air, and it helped. It’s a no frills place to stay and meets the need. You can pick up linens to make the beds next to the laundry room and they provide clean towels and toilet paper. Our room had a small fridge and microwave which we used instead of the shared kitchen. Overall I think Doorwaus is a fabulous organization, but more for healthy people to stay and visit their sick family in the hospital than it is for actual patients. We paid above the recommended amount and will donate to tbe organization because it is a great resource for people with no...