Riverside Hotel, an Ascend Collection Hotel — Hotel in Chesterfield

We needed a reasonably priced hotel for my graduation from UMass Amherst. West Chesterfield is about a 40 minute drive from Amherst, straight up I-91 and about 5 minutes from Brattleboro, Vermont. We've stayed at Ascend Hotels before and always enjoyed them. |This was better than expected. Staff was welcoming and helpful about the area. The second-floor room was huge, comfortable, clean, and looked newly renovated (or well-maintained). Two arm chairs plus a rolling chair at the desk. King-sized sleep number bed with two nightstands.|Big bathroom with decent showerhead (takes a minute to warm up). I particularly appreciated the rubber mat for the tub.|The balcony was amazing. Again - big, with two comfortable chairs and a table, and a lovely view of the Connecticut River. I sat out there for hours, decompressing after a crazy few weeks. All of the rooms have river views (the corridor is on the non-river side) but not all have balconies.|The hotel is less than 5 minutes from Interstate 91, literally on the other side of the river in New Hampshire. It was about 30 minutes south on the highway and then maybe another 10 minutes on Rt. 116, which avoided Amherst itself and brought us right to campus.|Hotel doesn't have food available but does offer coffee from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. (not positive about times), and it is only a few minutes to some great restaurants in Brattleboro. Our room had a decent-sized fridge and coffee maker. Parking was plentiful and near the front entrance.|Housekeeping will only come in after you've checked out, but they leave plenty of towels (wrapped in plastic to stay clean) and you can ask at the front desk for more towels, soap, etc.|Was a good value, particularly compared to the prices hotels and motels around Amherst charge during...

Too bad. The views were great, the room was clean...

At check in I was told I wouldn't want a certain room because it would be too pricey for me...???!!!

At check in I was told to talk to the overnight crew at 11pm to have coffee ready early. Nope. I am asleep by 9pm. Finally convinced receptionist that they could leave a note for the overnight crew to have coffee ready for 6:30am instead of the usual 7a.m. In the morning I was then berated for asking if the coffee was ready at 6:30am, "Of course it is, what do you think?! We have it ready every day at 6am!" (Signs all say 7am) The next two mornings - at 6:30am -, I was literally chased out of the hotel by two different receptionists screaming after me, "Are you checking out?!Excuse me! Excuse me, lady, answer me please. Are you checking out? ARE YOU CHECKING OUT?!" I was a) not checking out as my reservation clearly stated, and b) checkout is at 11am, not 6:30am and c) because they only have coffee, anyone needing breakfast has to leave the hotel to do so and d) I don't raise my voice at 6:30am when I haven't even had coffee yet

I got water bottles for my room and left it on an out of the way side table while I ran out to the car and back - maybe 40 feet away, took less than 60 seconds. Came back, water was gone, I had to go back down the elevator to the basement to get more...

No NBA tv station to watch during the playoffs...only one charge port for phones in the room...and...

VERY clean and nicely appointed hotel. A little pricey for the area, but you likely won't find a hotel as clean or modern within 50 miles. Hardwood (laminate) floors and freshly painted/papered rooms. Did I mention clean? We had a nice balcony room overlooking the Conn. river. Very quiet. Staff was extremely pleasant and helpful making the reservation and again upon check in. Frank makes you feel like you are his favorite customer right from the start. Balcony rooms are the best, but you may encounter smokers that will prevent you from being able to keep the windows open. Unfortunate, but I guess they have to go somewhere to smoke. WiFi was painless to setup and quite fast. Hardwood floors do result in noise transfer as other reviews had mentioned. Frank gave us a top floor, so noise was minimal from adjoining rooms. Not sure how lower floors would be. I think the only complaint, if I could even justify it as one, is the coffee in the AM left a bit to be desired for my taste, and this was confirmed by several other guests who commented as we were walking back into the hotel after going out to get coffee, that we had "real coffee". Not sure why because it was Green Mtn. Roasters, but it was bland at best. A nit, I realize, and not unusual at most hotels. If that's the only complaint (and it was), the rest more than...