Staybridge Suites Bismarck by IHG — Hotel in Bismarck

The 2-room suite was booked months in advance for our summer family vacation. This was only a one-night stay, but we wanted to make sure it was a comfortable and safe place to rest after a lengthy drive and doing another lengthy drive the next day. The family (5 people) ranged in age from 2 to 63. The selection of the Staybridge Suites was made based on website searches. It appeared to be close to the interstate, a clean and nice facility and secure. It met all these goals and more.

The rooms were perfect for our family to stretch out and not feel cramped. We were able to find shopping for some groceries just blocks away. We were able to order food delivered saving us time to rest and relax. They did have a nice laundry room facility if we had needed it.

The staff was exceptional. The receptionist Ceara was friendly and professional. She answered all of our initial questions and then several more during the next few hours. She provided assistance on ordering food, finding the grocery store and even a park for our two grandchildren to play in nearby. Later that night when we discovered an issue with the kitchen she quickly responded and was able to solve the problem within a short time frame.

Some of our family were about 10 minutes late to the breakfast and it was being closed down. Yet the staff member (sorry we didn’t get her name) went above and beyond to get them some food and drinks to carry them forward (saving us time and a stop on our drive).

The checkout was smooth and again the receptionist, this time Kim, was friendly and professional. About an hour after leaving we realized we had left our grandson’s breathing machine in one of the bathrooms. We called back and spoke with Kim who immediately had someone check the room and they did confirm it was there. Kim and her manager Jeanette then facilitated getting the machine shipped overnight to the small town in Montana we were staying at for the next 6 days. Due to their assistance we had the machine by the following afternoon and were able to enjoy our vacation.

The measure of success is not always what is done right, but also how adversity is handled. The Staybridge Suite staff did outstanding...

First room:

-Kitchen floor dirty and sticky, previous guest half used bag of ice left in freezer, ice bin filled with some sort of blue goo, freezer dirty with same goo, all cleaned by me.

-Bathtub filled with hair, looked like someone bathed a dog or washed a sack of wigs.

Staffed moved me to different room, but I had already unpacked, cleaned the kitchen issues, and was trying to shower and go to bed when I found the nasty tub, requiring me to repack, move, and unpack again after having spent all day on the road.

Replacement room:

-clean, missing washcloths

Common areas:

-Same debris in same places on carpets for entire stay, elevator dirty, carpets stained/frayed/fading, a beer can being used as a tobacco spit cup unnoticed and untouched on 3rd floor window sill near storage area for entire stay.

I get the distinct impression that the housekeeping staff is unconcerned with performing their assigned job duties, and that the management team might well have given up trying to get the housekeeping staff to do their job well.

While the desk manager did move me and offer points, she seemed to be reluctant to adjust my rate as "it is paid for by your company". Well, yes, it is. However, I am entrusted by my company to be a good steward of the resources they provide to me, so it should matter little to none whose wallet pays for the room. That sort of attitude and reasoning are an indication of why everything seems to be done at this property with a lackadaisical approach to quality.

I spend 275-300 days a year traveling for work, and spend 95% of those in IHG hotels. I will sleep in my rental car before staying at any property owned or operated by this...

I have stayed at this Staybridge Inn and Suites many times before. I know there has been many changes and adjustments that had to be made since COVID. With reduced staff concerns, I would like to share this experience to be training material for them. When I arrived at the hotel, I was greeted with a friendly staff member I've seen a few times in the past. That morning I told the new person at the desk my room heater was not working and they wrote my room number down. The next evening when I got to the room I went to the front office and explained to the person at the desk that my room heater was still not working. They stated they would let maintenance know in the morning. The next night again when I arrived to the room it was still cold in the room, but I knew someone was in the room because the breaker panel door was left open. So I called to the office and asked if they found anything wrong with the heater or had any message. I informed this new person I was still without heat. They said they would leave a message for the maintenance person who left for the day. The next night again I came back to the room and found the heater not working. I went to the front desk and asked if they heard anything why I didn't have any heat. She said she hadn't heard anything and would leave a message for maintenance. The difference with this person was that she was the first person to ask if I wanted a different room or extra blankets after staying there 3 nights and leaving messages that I didn't have any heat in my room. So please use this experience to train staff about the importance of customer service and to have follow up when there's issues or problems that need...