Sleep Inn & Suites Athens South — Hotel in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

Your membership status means NOTHING at this Choice Privileges location! Very poor customer service! Platinum member and could not get a late checkout without getting charged extra fees even though we explained our extenuating emergency circumstances at our home located in a neighboring town. I had to ask three different members of the staff for permission of a late checkout. The manager refused to even speak to me. When I came back downstairs to get a business card and asked for the managers name, Tabitha, the front desk lady became very nervous to give out any information. Meanwhile, I made conversation with Tabitha asking if Michelle still worked there. I mentioned my parents stay at this hotel A LOT when they come to visit. I mentioned that Michelle was especially helpful to my terminally ill Uncle who came to visit me before he passed away from lung cancer. The manager, Michael, was helping another customer but looks up at me and said, “ No one named Michelle has worked here!” Michael finally came over to address my questions. Michael refused to give me his email so my husband could reach him because he was away on business and could not be reached by phone. Michael wanted me to address my concerns right then and there. He knew what my dissatisfaction was already because he refused to extend our checkout without charging us. Although I was trying to be very private and discreet as to not draw attention by the other guests waiting in line, Michael’s refusals to my request drew attention. I finally asked him why he was refusing to give out his email to a platinum member’s wife so he could reach him at his earliest convenience? Michael finally gave me his email. He was very rude and decided to go a step further and announce in front of the entire lobby full of guests that he would have to charge me $25/dog I had with me. I already knew that policy. He then shouted at me, “Excuse me! Did you hear me?” I turned back and said, “ Oh I know! You LOVE charging A LOT of extra fees even to your platinum members!” Although this business is dog friendly, the staircase caused both my dogs to be skid-dish due to a weird painted wood material. The stairs seemed hollow & thin. There is one small elevator that is in the corner of a cramped small lobby. The outside grounds have no grass to walk your dogs nor designated area for them to use the restroom. The small muddy and bare tree root medians are the only place for animals to use the restroom near the building. The only good part to our stay was Tabitha the front desk lady. Michael not only lost my husband and I’s business but also my parents. Choice Privileges you need to fire Michael!

Update: In response to the Manager Michael’s reply to my review...I think it is obvious when I walk through the door to checkin with two children, two dogs and luggage I have my hands more than FULL. It was obvious I had two dogs! Forgive me if I forgot to mark that on the form when checking in while I had leashes being wrapped around my arm, luggage balancing against the counter and two well behaved children trying to help their mom do the best she can during an unexpected emergency at our home! The sweet girl who checked us in had more compassion and understanding, in the brief minutes I spent with her, for my family’s emergency than you expressed the total of one hour I spent waiting on you to come and talk to me multiple times in the lobby but you were too busy to be bothered! There is no excuse for being a poor human being who has no compassion! You don’t yell at your customers period let alone in front of an entire lobby of...

If you are planning to bring pets, especially cats, I would highly recommend either calling the specific motel to ask about their specific pet policy, or search through the entire web page for pet policy information.

We booked a room through the Choice hotels website on a LAPTOP, not an app on our cellphone. The main page said "pet friendly". There was not an asterisk beside it to indicate that there might be a stipulation, so we didn't read through the entire website. We booked a room and brought our 2 cats with us. We got to the motel and found out that they did not allow cats. A very rude surprise, and very stressful!! The cats had to sleep in our vehicle, which was stressful to them, and us as well. Had we known they didn't allow cats, we would not have booked there.

When we looked at the original website again, we found that when we clicked on the motel we wanted, the main page said "pet friendly". There was no asterisk next to it to indicate that there might be a problem. When we clicked on "see availability", we scrolled down the page to the amenities section. There, it said "pet friendly", but had an asterisk next to it. At the bottom of that section, the asterisk indicated that there might be an additional cost for that service or amenity. Nothing about certain pets not being allowed. When we scrolled MUCH further down and found the motel information, THAT'S where we found the specific pet policy. We also noticed that if we clicked on the FAQ "Does the Sleep Inn in Athens, Ga allow pets?" tab, it said "Yes, the Sleep Inn & Suites Hotel in Athens, Ga allows pets." Again, nothing to indicate that they have a specific pet policy and that our cats might not be allowed.

Out of curiosity, I pulled up Choicehotels.com on my cellphone. Navigating that, it was much simpler to find out that information. Unfortunately for us, my husband prefers to do stuff on his laptop instead of a small phone.

So lesson learned . . . in the future, we will either read the ENTIRE webpage before booking, or we will call the motel to verify what their pet policy is. BUT, I think Choice Hotels needs to make changes in the webpages no matter the source (laptop, cellphone, APP, etc). And they need to be more detailed with the FAQ section. Maybe instead of saying "yes, they are pet friendly" to "yes we are pet friendly, but there may be restrictions. Check with the hotel you are booking a room at to find out what they are."

And one last bit of information . . . our house out in the woods, in GA, was in the projected path of Hurricane Helene. Unprecedented high winds were expected. So the reason we decided to stay in a motel was for our safety. And for our cats' safety! For them to have to sleep in the truck, not knowing how bad it was going to get, was very upsetting. And it defeated the whole purpose of bringing them with us! Thankfully, the storm shifted east. Although we had trees down throughout the area, and power outages, we didn't have dangerous wind. Our house was fine. We were out of power for about 8 hours, but we definitely...

My friend was having a performance at a theater in Athens. All the hotels closer to the city were booked up, so I read the reviews and chose this hotel. The price was okay at about 89 after taxes, but the room sucked. I drove down from Atlanta with my sister to our queen double suite. When I opened the door I noticed that the carpet was stained in a couple of areas with colors varying from red to brown to black, the the comforters were also dirty with both beds having a dark emerald green stain on both the comforters.There was also a chair and ottoman by the window that was dirty with stains. We were running a little behind on time, so I just put my boots on walked to the bathroom to get in the shower. When I turned the shower on the water was coming out in a direct stream. Since it had an adjustment, i just twisted it but this mad it worse, so it is like I took a bath under a warm water hose. I had to go to the show, so did not have time to complain and switch rooms. When my sister and I got back we were kept up all night with the sound of a door opening and closing. I guess this is the door that lead to the ice machine, or stairs. I don't know but it has my head still hurting 7 hours later. This hotel was horrible. I travel a lot and had to stay in worse hotels than this, but at least they were CLEAN! This place is disgusting. They even have a 80 health score when you go eat your continental breakfast. How does one manage to get a 80 when all you do is serve waffles and cereal. Do not waste your money hear. The reviews on here are not legit. Walk in the hallway out side of the lobby and you will see the dirt before you get to your room. I told the general manager when I was checking out and all he said was I should have told him earlier so he could have fixed it. I told him I had somewhere to be and did not have time to complain. It was left at that. My suggestion is how about you invest in plenty of cleaning supplies, and hire someone "qualified" to use it. Also be mindful of broken...