TownePlace Suites by Marriott Charleston-West Ashley — Hotel in Charleston

I wanted to give this hotel a good review - but it missed so many boxes during our stay.

THE ROOM/SUITE - 4/10 We reserved a 2 bedroom suite, noting that the suite would sleep 6 people. Which by a hotel standard it does. (2 beds + pull out sofa). However, we picked this hotel because it offered a full kitchen, which we enjoy having when in a hotel for 5/6 days. The "equipment" in our suite was really subpar. We had this massive microwave sitting on the only counter space which is an appliance intended to be mounted under a range hood. (It had the elements/brackets on top of it) Yet, we had this tiny narrow stove/oven that could only accommodate one pot or pan at a time since one pan or pot would be significantly larger than the burner size. Not that this would really become much of a problem, as there was only 1 pan in our suite... The ever so versatile 8" skillet/frying pan. Really, our disappointment in the room stems from the poorly equipped kitchen. We had 5 butter knives, 3 forks, and 3 spoons. Remember, they sold this to us as a suite for 6 people. We inquired at the front desk several times for some better smallwares, but we're told they didn't have any. 🤷

The remainder of the room was Okay. Very standard Marriott 2/3-star accommodation. Beds were comfortable, pillows were terrible (but I find this across almost all hotels) and towels plush. We often had to ask for more towels but housekeeping was responsive and always provided when asked. On our first night we did not have bedding for the pull out sofa, or pillows so we had to make so with what housekeeping had available. (A few flat sheets but no pillows) We did receive the bedding after the second night, it was for our kids and they didn't know the difference anyway, so not a big deal. But again, they knew we reserved for 6 people.

STAFF- 9/10

Majority of the staff were friendly and welcoming.

AMENITIES - 7/10

We've stayed in several hotels offering free breakfast... I will say that this hotel did a great job of rotating the breakfast item selections without removing staples. Waffles were readily available, as were biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, toast, etc. But proteins were rotated and different options (omelets, frittatas, quiche) were also offered which was great when staying for 5/6 days.

Pool area is nice, though not a heated pool. Despite being in high 80s during our stay, was still too chilly to swim.

Fitness area was equipped with newer cardio machines, and free weights with a bench. Unfortunately, there was never any water available there nor towels which is inconvenient when using a hotel fitness facility.

LOCATION - 6/10 If you have a car, you can drive to most areas of Charleston in 15-20 minutes, which is relatively convenient. However, the area is very heavy with traffic and doesn't have sidewalks. So despite being close to other amenities and a mall, the walk ability of this location kind of sucks. I always prefer being able to walk around new areas and that would be the #1 drawback of me not returning to this hotel.

It was the best priced option for us in and around Charleston for a 2 bedroom suite among top hotel chains, but in hindsight I wish we had paid more to stay in a location that had the option to be able to walk safely outside.

I wouldn't not recommend this hotel to treavellers, but I'd encourage prospectice travelers to make sure it fits their parameters. (I.e. don't stay here with hopes of being able...

I'm only crediting two people who deserve the highest raise, bonus, promotion that can be given to both Richard and Brianna. I wasn't the only one dealing with issues this weekend and most people wouldn't be able to show the amount of customer service on a professional level as much as they did personally . Now outside of that, this hotel is terrible.

As a member of this hotel franchise, this was the worst Marriott experience I've ever had. There is nothing that meets the criteria of staying at a Marriott hotel. They were understaffed and ill-prepared for this weekend. I checked in 24hrs before my arrival, drove 5hrs to this place, checked in 3hrs after the window opened only to be told that my reservation was cancelled due to the place being overbooked. I was notified via email, not a phone call, an hour before my arrival, but 26hrs after I checked in. Thanks to Richard and Brianna, a room was found 2hrs later. However, the room did not have a working shower. This location does not have a 24hr rotating maintenance man. Only one guy who works a standard 9-5, who happened to be off during presidents weekend. Which Charleston is apparently known for some seaweed event, and there's no hotel availability within 50 miles of this hotel. Some of the lights in the room did not work. In fact, the lighting worked on some circuit fixture where I had to flip 2 switches just to make one area of the room lights to work. So my kids definitely had "fun" seeing if they can find all the switches in the room. The cleaning people didn't even clean the room. Didn't throw out the trash, vacuum the floor, nor even make up the beds. They literally replaced the towels, and didn't even count how many to replace. Why even come into the room? Funny thing is the room didn't have any towels to begin with or clean sheets on the bed. Had to request and walk down to front desk to get myself because Richard and Brianna were still getting complaints from other people staying at the hotel. At least the AC worked... So seeing that my reservation was cancelled from being overbooked and given a non-ready room, I spent the entire weekend boiling hot water for me and my family to bathe!

If you're a member of this franchise, don't stay here. This place is basically an upgrade from...

My partner and I are recently established Bonvoy members, as every Marriott hotel we’ve stayed at has been totally satisfactory. This hotel brutally killed the streak of positive experiences.

We walked into our room and did basic inspections as we usually do. My boyfriend was at the bedside when he noted a vibrator adult toy on the floor....I should say one that didn’t belong to us and showed signs of having been used. Other signs of poorly “cleaned” room included red hair in the bathroom sink as well as pink mold sullying the caulking of the shower. Just led us to wonder what all goes overlooked in the cleaning process for this hotel’s rooms.

We would have loved to tell a front desk employee about our troubles but found that they seemed to be MIA, never at the desk in spite of our attempt to wait for them to appear and maybe, you know, tend to guest issues. We were in town two nights so didn’t feel like wasting a trip on pursuing a wild goose hunt for clearly passive hotel staff who couldn’t care less about the consumer’s experience.

We contacted Bonvoy customer services via phone number offered on the app and talked to a kind woman who was mortified after hearing our experience. She explained that she transcribed our complaints and opened a case that was deferred to the actual hotel’s management. My boyfriend followed up with corporate customer service after 3 weeks of not hearing anything from the hotel— they said it had been noted we received a refund though we had not. It has now been a month, and while one night (of two total) was refunded, the hotel still has not reached out to apologize or restore any sense of professionalism. Can’t say it surprises me too much after reading a recent string of dissatisfied reviews.

Customer service for this hotel is in need of dire renovation, and the sanitation crew is in need of several refresher courses to include not leaving adult toys laying around “cleaned” rooms.

If you’re used to clean, professional, efficient Marriott stays, this hotel will leave you highly horrified, if not “traumatized” too. Better...