Cambria Hotel College Park — Hotel in College Park

I stayed at Cambria Hotel College Park for 7 nights while attending a conference. It was a recommended venue, and I booked well in advance—paying for an extra night so I could check in right after a 32-hour journey. Unfortunately, my experience was defined by disorganization, unresponsive communication, and poor customer service.

I left a note about my late arrival when booking and emailed the hotel multiple times to confirm, but received no replies. My card hadn’t been charged despite choosing a prepaid rate, and the reservation terms stated that rooms would only be held until the next morning. Concerned, I even had the conference organizers call the hotel on my behalf.

When I asked front desk staff about the hotel’s listed email address, they admitted they didn’t know who received messages sent there—one staff member even tried emailing it herself and got no reply. If no one responds to the hotel’s published contact email, what’s the point?

At check-in, I wasn’t greeted—just asked for ID and a credit card. For 30 minutes, the staff member kept saying my card was being “voided” and insisted I provide another card or pay in cash. I explained that my bank always sends text alerts for any transaction, and I hadn’t received one—clearly the issue was on their end. They insisted it was my bank’s fault and told me to call them. I said I couldn’t make international calls, but they offered the hotel phone—only to later admit they couldn’t actually call internationally. I repeatedly asked them to try a different card reader, and after refusing several times, they finally did—and it worked instantly. That should have been the first step, not the last.

No one informed me that housekeeping was by request only, so I returned to an untidy room. When I did request service every three days, the cleaning was inconsistent—one time it was done well, another time rushed with amenities left unreplaced.

Then, two days before check-out, I discovered an unexpected $50 charge on my card. No one told me about it, and I assumed my card had been compromised. I had to make an international call to investigate. Only then did I learn that the hotel had forgotten to charge for incidentals at check-in and decided to do so without notifying me. A business has no right to charge a guest’s card without their knowledge. This was unacceptable and caused unnecessary stress.

The staff couldn’t provide proper receipts or a final folio in the format I needed. Any time I asked questions, the response was either “I don’t know” or deflection. I never once saw a manager despite asking daily. I was told the manager “doesn’t share their schedule” and never followed up. The only staff member who tried to be helpful was Yury—she was professional, but clearly unsupported.

On some nights, staff watched loud TV in the lobby while ignoring guests. Other conference attendees shared similar experiences—unexpected charges, huge incidental holds, and even double billing. Worse, once errors occurred, staff didn’t know how to fix them and made no effort to follow up.

The only positives? The bed was comfortable and the air conditioning was strong. That’s it.

This hotel is overpriced and mismanaged. I won’t return—and after this experience, I won’t be staying at any Choice Hotel again. Do yourself a favor and...

I stayed at Cambria Hotel College Park for 7 nights during a conference. It was a recommended hotel for the event, and I booked well in advance—paying for an extra night so I could check in after a 32-hour trip. What followed was a frustrating experience marked by poor service, billing issues, and a complete lack of communication.

Before arriving, I tried confirming my late arrival several times via email—no response. I was worried my room might be canceled, and my card hadn’t been charged despite booking a prepaid rate. Even the conference organizers had to call the hotel directly for me. When I asked about the hotel’s official email a couple of days after check in, the front desk staff admitted they didn’t know who received emails from it—and they also got no response when they tried sending one. So much for a listed contact.

Check-in was a mess. I wasn’t greeted—just asked for ID and a card. My credit card kept getting “voided,” according to the front desk agent, and I was asked to use another card or pay cash. I told him my bank sends me alerts for every transaction, and I hadn’t received anything. They insisted the problem was with my bank and told me to make an international call. I couldn’t, and when they offered the hotel phone, they later discovered it couldn’t make international calls anyway. After a long back and forth, they finally tried a different card reader—and it worked instantly.

Housekeeping was also confusing. No one told me it was by request only, so I returned to an uncleaned room. When I requested service every 3 days, one cleaning was decent, the other was rushed, and supplies weren’t restocked.

Two days before checkout, I noticed a $50 charge on my card. No one told me about it, and I assumed my card had been compromised. I had to make an expensive international call to investigate. Only then did I learn they had forgotten to add an incidental charge and quietly added it later—without my consent or any communication. This is unacceptable.

No one could provide me a proper receipt, and I never received the bill in the format I had requested. Every question I asked was met with “I don’t know” or “someone else handles that.” Despite asking daily, I never saw or heard from the manager—staff told me the manager doesn’t share their schedule. Meanwhile, the front desk staff watched loud TV during night shifts. Totally unprofessional.

Several other guests at the conference reported similar issues—double charges, excessive holds, and billing mistakes with no follow-up. The staff aren’t trained or empowered to fix anything.

The only good things I can say: the bed was comfortable, and the AC worked well. That’s it.

This hotel is overpriced, undertrained, and poorly managed. I will not be returning—and I won’t be staying at any Choice...

My family and I booked a room via a corporate partner as our home is in the path of Hurricane Florence, so we were looking forward to getting away and having the opportunity to relax.

Our experience since checking in on Wednesday evening has been nothing but that. There has been so much confusion since we have arrived along with quite a few inconveniences that have made this everything but a comfortable visit.

Upon arrival, my mother and husband checked-in to the room and got a parking tag for our vehicle. We arrived in pouring rain and were most concerned about getting to safety, getting our bags out of the car and getting out of our wet travel clothes after driving for about 5 hours. My husband spoke with the front-desk associate multiple times to confirm amenities and options for extending our stay in the event that the storm lasted longer.

We showered, changed, and came down to the lobby to head to dinner. The same associate waved goodbye to us. Upon our return an hour later, the associate loudly yells at my husband and I as we walk into the hotel: "What room are you staying in ? What's your name?" in a lobby that had quite a few folks present. This was quite embarrassing.

I answer providing our name and the associate doesn't respond but looks down at his computer. My husband asks if there is a problem in concern, and doesn't receive an answer, but instead is told "I didn't check you in. I didn't click the box to check you in" We look at the associate confused and concerned since we were provided room keys, a parking tag, and our credit card was taken and money was held for incidentals, which must all be done via the check-in process. I'd hate to think that we were racially profiled by the associate as we were 3 of only a few Black people that I saw in the hotel. At the least this was a case of negligence and lack of tact in customer service.

The handle which controls the temperature for the shower was installed backwards, so the hot setting is actually cold and the cold setting is actually hot. This could be dangerous if a person is unaware of it as we were. This also shows negligence and incompetence. No apology was given--just an explanation as to what the issue was.

We are awakened at 8:00 am on Thursday (9/14) and Friday (9/15) by drilling and hammering outside of our window and above our heads. We call down to the front desk and receive no empathy what so ever and are just told "we'll check on it". No one apologized for the drilling or the inconvenience. We're now up again--earlier than we planned because of the unexpected hammering and drilling.

I can't help but be concerned about what else may go wrong during our stay--which adds to the stress and concern that we already have in response to...