Homewood Suites by Hilton Charlottesville, VA — Hotel in Charlottesville

So first, a disclaimer: I've stayed at several Homewood Suites before so I am basing my review mostly on the experiences I've had at 5 other locations.

Pros: The staff were very personable and nice, especially the woman who checked me in. They really do everything to make you feel not only at home but like a real person and we appreciated that a lot. But they seemed a little understaffed the day we checked in, which was a Friday evening on Valentine's weekend. The place was full so they really should have had more than one person doing check ins.

Cons: Sure, I'm being a bit picky but when you come to expect something from a hotel chain it should deliver. It's why we pay extra versus going somewhere else. It's why I got a HHonors card and why I chose an Amex connected with Hilton.

We noticed a horrible odor in the room when we arrived. We thought one of the staff had used the bathroom just before we came in or something, but the staff who came to investigate seemed to think that it was a pipe or sewage problem. They moved us to another room right away.

The new room had a broken bottom drawer on one of the dressers. Didn't want to bother moving again so we just dealt with it and let them know about it when we left.

The biggest problem we had at first is that we prefer to cook our own meals when we go on vacation. It's healthier and economical. I had prepared some meals ahead to be baked when we arrived so we could relax and not be stressed after a 8 hour drive followed by a lot of activities the next day.

I called ahead before I booked and was told by a bubbly woman on the phone that yes, they had full kitchens in the suites and she rattled off the usual sink, dishwasher, full sized fridge, oven, stove, etc. Well apparently she'd never looked in one of those rooms because the rooms do NOT have an oven. None of the rooms have ovens. And I had prepped food that had to be baked. It had been kept on ice and we stuck it all in the freezer and dragged it back home with us a few days later. We wound up spending probably $100 more than intended and got some belly aches from eating out when we'd planned to eat in. This more than anything really ticked us off. I did my due diligence and when you're TOLD full kitchen and when it SAYS full kitchen then that means an oven!

Aside from that, the breakfast offered is pretty sad. It looks good, and some of it tastes all right, but I question what they put in it all. For example, when another patron asked to see a list of the ingredients for the oatmeal almond waffles the food worker offered to get the package for her but first he said 'but if you're worried about allergies don't be because it doesn't have oatmeal or almonds in it'. What do they put in it if it doesn't have oatmeal or almonds in oatmeal almond waffles? Seems really dodgy and I guess that's a general complaint to Hilton.

We can add no ketchup, too. The grits were nasty Quaker grits that make a Southern woman want to cry. We only stayed in Yankee hotels before this so I expected it there.

I guess I have to end this one by saying that compared to the other Homewood Suites I've stayed in, or even Marriott suites for that matter, the rooms were tiny, bathrooms laughably tiny, and the beds were hard like a rock. The bed felt nicely firm at first, but after you lay on it for too long you wake up aching. Still, I guess it's better than too soft, right?

I feel that for a hotel that probably gets substantial business from Monticello and the nearby university that they should put some time into massively upgrading it. The suites in other HS chain are much larger, especially the bathrooms. There are ALWAYS ovens. I've never ever ever had that problem before. And as for the breakfast, okay, I understand that it's complementary but you're also still charging us for it somewhere in the standard rate. It's not actually complementary. So if you're going to serve it I'd suggest updating it a little considering how many people have allergies (real or imagined) and how many people really care about what is...

I have had a very bad experience during Hotel stay, the staff at the front was nice but never once took any of my info when I arrived. I just gave my name and they gave me keys no questions, which I thought was nice but during checkout I had to give all my info because it wasn't done when I arrived.Upon getting in the room it appeared to be clean, a cleaning lady was just leaving the room and said it's all ready for us. I booked the Studio Suite, 1 King Bed. Its a nice sized room with a mini kitchen and is very convenient.

I walked in and was immediately hit with cleaning solution fumes, normal I guess as I figured since she just cleaned it. But for those with nose issues this would have been a problem. While resting on the bed I noticed the cleaning smell was also sprayed or applied to the bedding, and it was super strong. Me and my girlfriend were a bit tired from our drive and shopping we did so we decided to hit bed a little early our first night's stay, I stayed on top of the covers on one side and she crawled under the covers on her side, as I attempted to get in under the covers she flipped them back and that's when we discovered two very big and obvious dark stains, like blood that didn't wash out. Me and my Girlfriend were disgusted, she called up to the front desk to explain the issue, she didn't like the response which was "ok we'll just send another" no I'm sorry or my apologies. So we get a knock at the door and my Girlfriend answers, the lady at the front with Attitude just handed her the new sheets and walked away.

First we assumed considering the situation, the sheets would be replaced by housekeeping or one of the staff.

Upset about the situation we just decided to replace the sheets ourselves, well the sheets we got were for a twin bed not a King bed. This time I called the front desk, I explained what had happened and I got nothing but attitude "oh you sure it didn't fit? Ok, we'll send another".

It took 20 mins for someone to come to our room with the Proper sheets, When we got a knock at the door I decided I'll get it this time. The young lady at the door said "this one should fit it's a king" and handed it to me with attitude then walked off. Again, no I'm sorry sir, anything I can do to make your stay better, or even an attempt to come into the room and replace the bedding herself. My girlfriend was getting upset, we asked ourselves why did it take 20mins to bring us sheets that were 1) balled up and not folded 2) not warm like they came out of the dryer, did they pull them off another bed?

I have never been treated like this before even at lesser quality hotels and didn't expect this at all. I felt like it was our fault the sheets were dirty and were annoying customers.

Me and my Girlfriend tried to book a room at the next best Hotel but there was a wedding in town that weekend so they were all booked up. I figured I'll file a complaint with Management and get this straightened out as the service was beyond unacceptable.

I filed a complaint at the front Desk right before check-out, no Manager there and the front desk Staff member was nice and wrote down everything about the incident and my name, number, email etc. This was a Sunday, 3 days passed and I haven't had a call, email or anything, so I called back and asked for a Manager on duty, no Manager was on duty but the front desk clerk said she can send me to the voicemail of the District Manager, so I thought even better! I left a very detailed 2 min voicemail about my experience and displeasure with homewood suites and how I was treated.

At this point it's been a disappointing experience, I'm far from a blogger but this kinda treatment is just beyond wrong and People need to know where their money is going. Spend it somewhere your appreciated and taken care of.

Well it's been 8 days and still nothing, so a detailed review is in order, I also have pictures to post. If I can post them here on Expedia I will, if not then I'll attach them to my Yelp and other reviews I'm about to write. Pictures are on my...

STAY AWAY from this Hotel chain.

I have stayed at another location & had a great experience. However, I cannot express enough the stark difference it was at this location. Rooms & overall facility needs to be remodeled/updated...rips in carpet & furniture. That's NOT the worst part. It's how it is managed.

They advertise Pets Allowed, but do not mention a Pet Fee or what the actual pet fee is. Upon departure, I received a $75 charge for a one night's stay.

I got a call that night stating that my dog was barking & there was a complaint. When instead it was the room adjoining mine. But I didn't make a big deal out of it nor complained that it was another dog. Dogs bark...that's ok with me especially since I chose to stay at a hotel that allowed pets. Looking back, they should NOT have called me about it at all.

I asked to speak to a Manager, whom I was told goes by the name Nathan to dispute the pet fee that I was not made aware of PRIOR to making my reservations. I called the hotel several times and each time they told me to call back, since he was not available. I left several emails and even tried to contact Corporate. The first time I called, the front desk lady was nice (actually the ONLY nice person that I had the pleasure of dealing with during this entire ordeal). She mentioned that she had other guests complaining about the same issue and assured me that her Manager Nathan would be able to handle it.

When I finally got a hold of "Nathan" after 2 wks of trying to call him every day... He was rude the second he answered the phone. I told him my name and that I have been trying to contact him. At which point, he said that he got my messages and didn't work the weekend. When I told him I had been leaving messages for over 2 wks, he simply didn't care and went on to say that he spoke to his manager and they decided not to refund my $75 Pet Fee and that he didn't care if I was not made aware of it. It was their policy and tough. When I asked to talk to his manager, he refused and pretended he couldn't hear me. He said "I can't hear you...call me back later...whoever you are, if you want to." And he hung up. First of all, he knew exactly who I was, since he acknowledged that he received my MANY messages (left by his front desk and emails), so he had MY contact number. A good manager would have called back, if he "couldnt' hear" me.

Unfortunately, after how all of this was poorly handled (UNDERSTATEMENT)...I would NOT recommend staying at ANY of this chain of hotels' locations.

There are MANY other FAR superior hotels that allow pets that have great customer service and I'm sure if I had to call Corporate that their Corporate team would have handled it a manner that would keep a loyal customer coming back and not one that results in me having to leave a poor review and warning others to stay away.

STAY AWAY from this...