Sonesta ES Suites Charlottesville University — Hotel in Charlottesville

So let me first start off by saying my husband and I stayed here about 4 years ago and it was perfect! Staff was great and rooms were wonderful. This time around not so much. Checked in on Friday to find out the water was out and wasn't coming back on till 5pm or later (did come on about 510pm). When it came back on we ran it for over 40min and it was still brown. We called the front desk (again after calling about mold in the shower and door handles that wouldn't latch) and asked what to do about the water. They said they were going to switch us rooms to a cleaner one with clear water (note: we have a toddler and were mostly unpacked already). They did help us move or things though, which was very nice. After that, we were swapped around in 3 different rooms and ended up in just utter disgust at the end of it. The showers were nasty filled with mold arond the caulking edge and around the handle edges, the bathroom floor grout was brown and the corners were filled with swept up hair, the light fixtures looked like they hadn't been dusted in over a year, the wall vent had black dirt/dust all over it, the kitchen floor had, what I HOPE was, dried milk and other sticky spots on it, the phones had caked on dust and dirt... I could continue but I think you get the gist. The ONLY reason we stayed was because of the supervisor Brianna. She did everything within her control to try and make it right for us and was a sweetheart every step of the way. The front desk staff as well as the breakfast/kitchen staff was amazing and super friendly (breakfast was great too!). To me, this is CLEARLY a management issue with housekeeping and maintenance! I used to travel a ton for work and always stayed at Marriott properties (I'm lifetime Platinum) because they were always dependable. I don't expect a lavish and luxurious place, but I do expect A CLEAN place. I sincerely hope this gets taken care of because I feel sorry for the staff that will continually have to deal with very unhappy customers like myself. I will be reaching out to the GM and assistant GM soon about...

I was here for a conference. Stayed here for 5 days. Rooms: Rooms are older. There is a strong smell of cleaning products. Parking can get tight. If you stay on the first floor, you can clearly hear your upstairs neighbors walking around. Despite a card in the room saying that I'd get the room cleaned after 3 days of stay or so, nobody ever came to clean it. Location: A+. Convenient to everything - UVA, shopping, highway. Walking distance to all of my needs during my stay. Service: The front desk manager who checked me in on the first day was abrasive. She demanded that I swipe my credit card for over $1,000, even though my conference covered my lodging, and told me that "everyone else swiped". I had to call my conference staff myself, put her on the phone, to assure the manager that the conference was paying for my lodging. The onus should not be on the customer to clear this up. The manager herself could have picked up the phone once I told her that my lodging was paid for. She did not apologize for risking me incurring over $1,000 in unnecessary charges that would have been a pain to fix if I had swiped my card. Other staff members were nicer, but appeared to be overworked. Breakfast: OK, but can get monotonous because there is only a rotation of 2 hot breakfasts every day (e.g. powdered eggs, sausages, biscuits on day 1; powdered eggs, sausage patties, potatoes on day 2). Annoying: There was carpet and upholstery cleaning done on my second to last day there. There was a smelly stain on the sofa from a prior guest - I never used the sofa and was too busy to deal with it. The cleaners did not clean the sofa so the stain clearly remained there. I would not...

My mom and I are both born and raised right here in Charlottesville, but after our home unexpectedly flooded, we found ourselves needing somewhere to stay on short notice. We ended up at Sonesta ES Suites, and I honestly can’t imagine a better place we could’ve landed.

From the moment we checked in, the staff made us feel not just welcomed—but truly cared for. Every single person we interacted with, from the front desk to housekeeping to maintenance, was warm, helpful, and genuinely kind. I don’t think I met one employee here that I didn’t absolutely love—and that’s incredibly rare.

The property itself is beautiful and really well taken care of. The pool, basketball court, and pickleball area added so much life to our stay. It didn’t feel like just another hotel—it felt like home. Whether we were enjoying a swim, getting some fresh air, or just relaxing in our suite, everything about this place gave us a sense of peace during a very stressful time.

The housekeeping staff keeps everything spotless and were always so respectful and efficient. The maintenance team responded quickly to any little need, and always with a smile. And the front desk team—they are on a whole other level. Accommodating, friendly, and always going the extra mile to make sure we were okay.

This is a beyond well-run hotel, and I can’t thank them enough for making our temporary home feel so safe, welcoming, and enjoyable. If you’re staying in Charlottesville for any reason—vacation, business, or something unexpected like we did—I can’t recommend Sonesta Suites enough.

Thank you to everyone on the team. You made a tough situation feel a whole...