Annapolis Waterfront Hotel, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Annapolis

First a Few Positives Comfortable bed Good towels (though one had a couple large pulls and a hole in it) Coffee in the room was pretty good

A Chance at a Partial Sea View We paid extra for a deluxe room with "partial sea views". Our room window looked out onto the Annapolis Yacht Club parking lot. While some of the rooms might have a nice view, Room 415 certainly was not worth paying more for. So it seems that the extra cost is for a CHANCE at a partial sea view.

A Big, Empty Room They advertise that the room is 410 sq ft. Our room certainly was larger than a typical hotel room. But even with a king bed, only about half the room actually was used. The rest was open floor space. Aside from the bed, there was a single comfortable chair plus an uncomfortable wooden chair at the small desk. There was ample space for a sofa and coffee table, but there wasn't so much as a second comfortable chair to sit in, let alone a loveseat or sofa. There was no benefit to having the extra space. Speaking of empty space, the room's advertised blackout curtains worked great, except for the 6" gap in the middle where the two curtains could not come together.

Poor Bathroom Our bathroom was quite a bit smaller than shown on their website. The toilet was right up against the shower wall. Above the toilet, the ceiling was stained, looking like there had been a leak in the past from the room above. There was minimal pressure from the showerhead. The shower door had a full-width "handle" where a towel could be hung, but it interfered with the wall which blocked it from being fully opened. The faucet was not properly secured to the sink, allowing it to move around expose a gap. This might be the first hotel where we didn't like the soap at all, either the rum scented squeeze bottle in the shower (smelled like cheap suntan lotion) or the chamomile honey soap on the counter. Thankfully there's a CVS just up on Main St if you didn't bring your own soap from home. And finally for the bathroom, the lighting on each side of the mirror was a bit low output for shaving and such.

Noise The hall door was useless at keeping out sound from the hallway. It didn't matter whether it was from other guests talking as they went past our door at night or the maids talking in the hall in the mornings. It was as if the door was wide open.

Caveat Emptor Bottled water was another feature that wasn't as described on the website. The website states that "free bottled water" is included, but the bottles in our room had $3 stickers on the lids; so I called the front desk. I was told that the free bottled water was "only during COVID" and that we would indeed be charged $3 if we used one of the bottles in the room. However they do have complimentary bottles of water at the front desk.

Credit Card Charges It's been more than a couple days since we checked out. We paid online when we reserved the room. However we noticed a charge of $6.36 from the hotel pending on our credit card. Sure enough, it's a charge for the bottled water in the room, which we didn't use. There's also a $150 pending charge for "incidentals" still on our card. When we called about these charges, we were told that they should be reversed eventually, and that we should watch for it. Obviously we're already watching it, and the burden of following up on the hotel's spurious charges shouldn't be offloaded to the customer.

Hotel parking is 50% more than paying for a full day at the municipal lot just up on Main St ($30 hotel vs $20 lot). We would have been better off staying at the Hampton Inn, with a nicer room, and driving the few minutes to the parking lot each day.

Summary Staying right by Ego Alley, Main Street, and other attractions was nice; but there are other alternatives. Noisy room, awful...

Brides Beware! Don't let the waterfront view of Annapolis cause you to jump into booking this venue for your wedding. For the price you can pay for this location you can get way better service. I will say that the planning leading up to the event was great, and the actual setup of the reception was beautiful. However, the rest of the evening had major hiccups:

1. Check-in is at 4:00. Out of the hundred guests that were staying at this hotel, only a few got their rooms by 4. Others got theirs at 5, 6, 7, some even 8- causing them to have to LEAVE the reception to bring their own bags up. Not to mention we had lots of babies/elderly people who wanted to rest in their rooms before the reception, and were unable to do this.

2. My wedding coordinator, Christina, was MIA the entire time. My bridal party waited a half hour in the front lobby until I finally led the group and the photographers out back myself so that we would be able to get pictures in before the sun set. I maybe saw her 3 times throughout the evening. Around 9:00 I had asked a worker where she was and was told she had "gone home". My reception ended at 10:00. I was utterly shocked.

3. Clean up: We were told several times that the staff would clean up the décor, centerpieces, etc. At the end of the night it was my husbands aunt and her friends who ended up going around and boxing everything.

4. We had TONS of leftover cake. We were told they could not refrigerate it over night. Hard to believe a hotel that size does not have a giant walk in fridge with a little shelf space for a cake.

5. Gift Bags- We had made 80 hotel bags for our guests staying in the hotel. The next day we realized that ZERO were handed out.

6. Meals-My 4 year old niece (supposed to get chicken tenders) got a steak. Guests got served the wrong meals and when they inquired they got rude responses. What is the point of the seating chart, color coding, and excel sheet of who ordered what if it is not put to use?

Overall, the hotel itself had a major disconnect between departments. The front desk, valet, event staff, and catering were all on different pages. The front desk staff dismissed any requests that we had. For the price guests pay for this hotel, it is embarrassing the lack of service and accommodations that they provide. You can find a nicer hotel down the street for a...

The front desk agent who checked us in was just awesome and super helpful. She gave us great recommendations and was accommodating to my minor requests. She might have been the best thing about the hotel during our stay. The only thing disappointing about the check in process was the fact that they informed us that the restaurant was closing early now and that there was NO room service (not even when the restaurant was open). This was disappointing because it was one of the reasons we cooked this hotel (with a hurricane looming) and would be something I would expect to be informed of in advance of booking. It was our default plan for bad weather. Had I known, I would have booked a different hotel.

The room was super cute and very clean. However, it was also very small. And, the usual water bottles and toiletries (as featured in many a picture) were absent. No mini bar either. They were very accommodating about providing some water and some extra towels when asked tough. The toiletries bugged me out though. During the current times, I'd prefer individual use toiletries instead of re-usable options. I am all for reducing plastic and keeping costs down and I know it's not likely dangerous. BUT, hygiene and personal protection are at the forefront of many people's minds these days. We were excited to stay here. In the end, it was a bit of a let down.

We were happy to see same agent again at check out - she just brightens your day and has a way of smiling with her eyes that makes you feel better about things. Actually, almost all of the hotel staff were super nice and friendly. The check out was smooth and painless and the valets actually ran in the heat to get the car. I appreciated the hussle but it was not necessary and unexpected. Overall, the staff are the standout here and the hotel/amenities way overhyped. The beds and the location are the best things about it. It's a pleasant stay but I was kinda disappointed. Next time, I'll opt for an option that delivers on the hyped amenities and at...