Sonesta ES Suites Atlanta Alpharetta Avalon — Hotel in Alpharetta

The visit started out OK. We needed a large room/suite with 3 beds near family, so this two room, two bath room seemed to meet our needs. Friendly desk staff, though frequently absent and sometimes clueless as to corporate policies, usually giving conflicting/wrong info when asked questions. As this is an ES property, there is only housekeeping weekly, so you need to take out your own trash and get new towels from front desk as needed. A pet friendly hotel; lots of people with dogs, mostly sweet dogs but some owners allowed them to roam freely in the halls. This property was another brand previously and I’d hoped they would have done more refreshing/remodeling to the rooms so this would be up to the standard of other Sonesta properties I’d stayed at. Our room did not look at nice as the pictures on the website. Worn furniture. Peeling paint in bathrooms. Needs maintenance and paint throughout. Lots of stains on walls, lampshades, carpet and on the artwork (how does that even happen?). One toilet makes dripping noises all night and both are of style that easily clogged (front desk has a plunger handy as it happens often). The desk says they ran out of the coffee for the in room coffee maker (12 cup, and they only had the single cup filter bags to start with for the first night only) so I went to the store for filters and ground coffee to make my own. Spiral Fluorescent Lightbulb in lamp in bedroom did not work/was loose and eventually fell out and broke, causing cuts when attempting to clean it up. Sheets look clean but don’t smell clean. Only one hanger in closet. Lots of door slamming, stomping at all hours, TV noise and plumbing noises from other rooms can be heard. There is a parking charge $5 per day that is only noted if you go down several clicks on their website which seems odd as there is plenty of parking in this suburban location to which you must drive, so every one would have a car. Another note, this hotel seems to have several homeless that get a room for a few days and then there are loud altercations getting people to leave. Some concerning interactions with other guests here like they were either high or suffering from mental illnesses. So don’t go out after dark alone. Pot smell in the hallway every morning. The most unnerving thing was a cockroach on the wall of the bedroom about 1am. This stay really jaded me on Sonesta, so I won’t be choosing this...

The manager was nasty, talked down to me, refused to get someone to help me with my bags for checkout. I am up in age and had my pet with me. I kept insisting since I spoke to Bob minutes before and he said he helps out around the hotel. Bob had shown a congenial demeanor prior to Gwen's conversation about me to him. I waited over 40 minutes and called twice for someone to come with a cart and help me get to my car. Gwen was very disagreeable and kept saying, "I told you we don't have concierge service!" Again, I asked her to ASK Bob to come to my aid. She grumbled something. Bob (acting very unprofessionally) finally came without a cart. Then he said you can just take some of your things at a time and come back to get the rest. Well Gwen had locked my door so my key would not work, so that I would be locked out when I went to my car. Then Bob suggested I leave the door open while I went to my car. My pet and my valuables were in the room, and Bob said, "Ohh no one will bother your stuff just go on to your car." So, I had to beg Bob to go get a cart and help me make one trip and get my things out of that hotel. He finally brought the cart but didn't want to lift anything to place on the cart. He told me what I could carry. He saw me struggling to collect the bags and such. I asked him again to help and Bob put the items on the cart and went out to my car. I left.

The charge was more than the reservation quote and they gave my room to someone else earlier.

The hotel offered no hand soap or sanitizer, or things like shower cap, lotion, just little things most places have. The room was very clean, the breakfast cook was kind and congenial, and the grounds seemed okay. Except for a lot of broken glass around the hotel. There was no cart or man to help me get my things to my room the night I checked in. It was late and I was tired. The desk night shift person got a laundry cart and kindly helped me...

Stayed here for 4 nights, initially 2.

Overall, it's a nice place to stay, but the rooms seem inconsistent. I made a reservation online and checked in to a great queen suite with no issues. After 2 nights, I extended my stay, but my room had been booked by someone else, so I had to change rooms. No big deal, I went to my new room.

The King Suite I got was of... ehh... quality. My bedroom door didn't lock, the toilet seat didn't stay up, and the shower drain would plug itself automatically if I didn't hold it up with my hand. Nobody wants to be ankle deep in nasty dirty shower water. While none of these are massive glaring issues, they had not been present in the queen suite from before. The rooms also do not have actual solid curtains, only one-way transparent ones that, while they do block visibility, let a significant amount of light through, especially from street lights on the second floor rooms. As someone who has trouble falling asleep and needs blackout curtains in my bedroom, I couldn't sleep very well or for longer than a few hours without waking up. I often would sleep in 3 - to 4-hour intervals, which, as someone who usually sleeps like a brick, messed with my circadian rythym.

You do get a kitchen with cook tops and cooking equipment, which is nice, but no oven, which is to be expected for what you pay. No complaints about the kitchen hardware. It worked as intended.

They have free fitness and laundry rooms, which are very convenient. You do need your own detergent, though.

The location is close to plenty of things to do, and the roads aren't too congested apart from 5PM traffic.

Other than the room consistency issue, I have no complaints. The staff were very friendly and helpful, especially Keonna and Gwen at the front desk. The breakfast was very good, and overall, I had a pleasant experience. The only reason I rate 3 stars is due to the inconsistent room quality and the curtains. I would have given...