Comfort Suites Altoona North — Hotel in Antis Township

Confirmation Number: 46285248 Brief review of the facts: I lodged at the Altoona Comfort Suites Friday, May 31, 2024. On Saturday, June 1, 2024 my wife and our 17 year old son joined me. We reserved an additional room for our son, and so the three of us lodged in 2 rooms, #309 and #311, at the Altoona Comfort Suites Saturday, June 1, 2024. At approximately 8:15 pm Saturday evening a power outage occurred, disabling the lights and air conditioning. My wife, our son, and I decided to walk the stairway down to the lobby. No emergency lights in the stairwell! Pitch-black on the 2nd and 3rd floor stairs. We stepped very carefully and found the railing, following it to the lobby. The 1st floor lobby egress door was lit with a very small light, but this did not light the area beyond the immediate 1st floor door opening. What if the building required evacuation during a power outage, and guests lodged on the upper floors were forced to navigate the steps in the total blackness, especially guests with mobility issues, or someone with small children or an infant in arms? I highly recommend that Altoona Comfort Suites immediately install emergency lighting on the 2nd and 3rd landings in both stairwells, and that the emergency lights be tested monthly. When we entered the lobby, I expected the Manager on Duty to be studying the building’s Continuity of Operations (COOP) binder, open to the tab ‘Power Outage’. She was not. Frankly, I doubt if the Altoona Comfort Suites has developed a COOP. I highly recommend that the Altoona Comfort Suites develop a COOP, memorialize in writing the instructions in a binder readily available to all personnel, and that the binder be updated at a minimum quarterly or ad hoc as necessary. I also recommend that all personnel be thoroughly trained in emergency guest safety and property security. Clearly from the events my family and I experienced last Saturday evening, guest security and safety are the lowest priority. I asked the Manager on Duty if she had contacted the power company regarding the outage. She stated she did not know who to contact or how to contact them. My wife guided the Manager on Duty step by step on the Manager on Duty’s cellphone how to search and locate the power company providing electrical service. The Manager on Duty expressed with great concern that her manager was not answering her phone, and that the Manager on Duty was growing exceeding anxious, and I could see she was experiencing ‘management paralysis’. I asked her if she had a strong flashlight with which she could walk both stairwells and check for any problems, and that I was quite willing to assist her. I asked her if she had rapped on the hall door of the elevator on each floor, determining if a guest was trapped in the elevator car. At that point the Manager on Duty ran outside and stood in the parking lot, lit a cigarette, and refused to re-enter the building. My wife, our son, and I carefully climbed the pitch-black stairwell to the 3rd floor and our rooms. The rooms had warmed to the point of discomfort. My son informed me the next morning that his room had become so uncomfortably hot that he returned to the lobby and tried to sleep there, but as no one was in the lobby he was concerned that an intruder might enter the premises with an unfriendly purpose. None of us slept Saturday night. Sunday morning I attempted to check out. The desk clerk asked me as to my stay, and I said “The power was out last night, and the Manager on Duty…” The desk clerk immediately interrupted me, shouting at me, “Oh, she was NOT the Manager!” and as I detailed the difficulties we experienced during the night, the desk clerk laughed at me! I laid the room cards on the counter and left, never to return. (My daughter and grandchildren live in Altoona, next visit we will lodge at a different hotel.) The Altoona Comfort Suites does not control power outages. The Altoona Comfort Suites does, however, bear a legal, moral, and ethical responsibility for their guest’s safety. The Altoona Comfort Suites failed miserably in their duties to their guests....

I lodged at the Altoona Comfort Suites Friday, May 31, 2004. On Saturday, June 1, 2024 my wife and our 17 year old son joined me. We reserved an additional room for Ben, and so the three of us lodged in 2 rooms, #309 and #311, at the Altoona Comfort Suites Saturday, June 1, 2024.| At approximately 8:15 pm Saturday evening a power outage occurred, disabling the lights and air conditioning. My wife, our son, and I decided to walk the stairway down to the lobby. No emergency lights in the stairwell! Pitch-black on the 2nd and 3rd floor stairs. We stepped very carefully and found the railing, following it to the lobby. The 1st floor lobby egress door was lit with a very small light, but this did not light the area beyond the immediate 1st floor door opening.| What if the building required evacuation during a power outage, and guests lodged on the upper floors were forced to navigate the steps in the total blackness, especially guests with mobility issues, or someone with small children or an infant in arms?| I highly recommend that Altoona Comfort Suites immediately install emergency lighting on the 2nd and 3rd landings in both stairwells, and that the emergency lights be tested monthly.| When we entered the lobby, I expected the Manager on Duty to be studying the building’s Continuity of Operations (COOP) binder, open to the tab ‘Power Outage’. She was not. Frankly, I doubt if the Altoona Comfort Suites has developed a COOP. I highly recommend that the Altoona Comfort Suites develop a COOP, memorialize in writing the instructions in a binder readily available to all personnel, and that the binder be updated at a minimum quarterly or ad hoc as necessary. I also recommend that all personnel be thoroughly trained in emergency guest safety and property security. Clearly from the events my family and I experienced last Saturday evening, guest security and safety are the lowest priority. | I asked the Manager on Duty if she had contacted the power company regarding the outage. She stated she did not know who to contact or how to contact them. My wife guided the Manager on Duty step by step on the Manager on Duty’s cellphone how to search and locate the power company providing electrical service. | The Manager on Duty expressed with great concern that her manager was not answering her phone, and that the Manager on Duty was growing exceeding anxious, and I could see she was experiencing ‘management paralysis’. I asked her if she had a strong flashlight with which she could walk both stairwells and check for any problems, and that I was quite willing to assist her. I asked her if she had rapped on the hall door of the elevator on each floor, determining if a guest was trapped in the elevator car. | At that point the Manager on Duty ran outside and stood in the parking lot, lit a cigarette, and refused to re-enter the building. | My wife, our son, and I carefully climbed the pitch-black stairwell to the 3rd floor and our rooms. |The rooms had warmed to the point of discomfort. My son informed me the next morning that his room had become so uncomfortably hot that he returned to the lobby and tried to sleep there, but as no one was in the lobby he was concerned that an intruder might enter the premises with an unfriendly purpose. None of us slept Saturday night.| Sunday morning I attempted to check out. The desk clerk asked me as to my stay, and I said “The power was out last night, and the Manager on Duty…” The desk clerk immediately interrupted me, shouting at me, “Oh, she was NOT the Manager!” and as I detailed the difficulties we experienced during the night, the desk clerk laughed at me! I laid the room cards on the counter and left, never to return. (My daughter and grandchildren live in Altoona, next visit we will lodge at a different hotel.)| The Altoona Comfort Suites does not control power outages. The Altoona Comfort Suites does, however, bear a legal, moral, and ethical responsibility for their guest’s safety. The Altoona Comfort Suites failed miserably in their duties to their guests....

Stay here for one night with my son first the pros The room was comfortable the bed was comfortable The rooms were quiet hardly heard any noise all night which made sleeping great customer service at the desk was awesome very friendly very helpful especially the girl working the front desk on the 14th of July at 3:00 p.m. and the lady working the evening shift on the same day very helpful very awesome great with kids location was wonderful just a few minutes to Rutter's martins easy location the cons and the reason for the two star rating condition of the hotel upkeep of the hotel cleanliness from the photos you can see what I'm talking about our room obviously was vacuumed right around the middle of the floor nothing was cleaned up on the edges of the carpeting or in the corners The one picture by the lamp you can't really see it but there's actually a toenail laying in the corner tub definitely needs a complete overhaul bathroom floor everything needs completely bleached and cleaned A few stains here and there on furniture that could be easily replaced or swapped out especially like the lampshade people were not supposed to be smoking around the hotel except for the smoking areas but while in the swimming pool you could smell the smoke coming from the parking lot people smoking outside the door and not just cigarettes so it was very awkward cuz it just pulled right into the swimming area and was very strong The swimming pool area completely needs shut down drained out and a complete scrub down The pool deck area was growing green on the floor it was completely filthy around the edges was very dirty everything needs stripped down painted and updated The pool itself the water was very clear it was a comfortable temperature but the pool itself needs scrubbed I didn't get a picture of the stairs but the stairs are extremely dirty wasn't at all is clean as the photos online other than a cleanliness and a need for update the furniture is very worn our refrigerator didn't get very cold other than that customer service as far as that goes with great the people were great locations great I think it could be great if they just clean things up and updated a bit and before the hotel text me back and says hey you know you could have called down let us know it was unacceptable no I shouldn't have to call down to the front desk and tell you hey I need to move rooms because my room wasn't cleaned when you check into a hotel you expect your room to be cleaned as far as the other things go switching rooms was not going to change anything The pool was still going to be filthy the furniture still going to be very outdated and broken so switching rooms was not going to change that but credit needs to go to the two girls like I said that work there on the 14th of July because they were awesome especially with my son who is...