Candlewood Suites Columbia-Ft. Jackson by IHG — Hotel in Columbia

Positives: front desk staff member tried to be nice. (I was so tired, I can’t remember her name.) The kids loved the popcorn and kitchenette, although we didn’t use it. My daughter enjoyed the reclining chair with the tray. Mix of soft and firm pillows. Sides of beds are comfy…just don’t fall in the black hole in the center! Showers and bathrooms were pristine…spotless. Very impressed. Fridge was also pristine and spotless.||Negatives…poor experience.||1. 10:15 pm: Waited 10-15 minutes before someone even came to the desk. When she did come to the desk, she said she had to step away because was waiting for someone to come and lock the pool, as something happened that the pool couldn’t be closed, and it was a hazard to guests. So, because it took so long to get to the desk, she offered us extra points and told us to grab a drink and a snack. (Very kind and tried to remedy.) So, we headed to the room - exhausted after a long day of traveling and then waiting to check in - around 10:35.||2. Went up to room 417. Thermostat was set at 68, cool, and fan on (vs auto). AC fan wasn’t even blowing and thermostat read 79 degrees. I called the front desk. No answer. Went down. No one was there. “With a customer, will return soon” sign wasn’t even displayed. I headed to the pool area, since I was told there were issues with closing the pool. I open the door and find four people (two of which were clearly employees) hanging out, chilling and chatting. Meanwhile, the front desk is unattended.||I explained the situation with the temperature and she said the power was out earlier and all rooms should have been checked. She gave us a new room and said she would call in 15-20 mins to check in to make sure the room was okay.||So we were switched to room 225. Walking right out of the elevator, it smelled like cigarette smoke (& heaven knows what other type of smoke). To sign your life away on a strict “no smoking” policy, this sure doesn’t seem to be enforced. The room smelled so bad. I waited 15-20 mins. No phone call. Called the front desk. A gentleman answered and I explained that we were in room 225. The room smelled like smoke, and it was worse when you step out of the elevator to the hallway. Told him I wasn’t smoking and do not want to be charged for this room snelling like smoke. ($200 charge.)||Guests were loud all night. Partying. Arguing. Stomping around 3 am.|Beds are not comfortable ….centers of the beds are sunk in big time. Bedside lamp didn’t work. No alarm clock and couldn’t charge phone beside for the next day, since the outlet in the lamp didn’t work. Traffic outside is extremely loud (worth keeping the fan running all night, as long as you don’t freeze or overheat). Hairballs (not from me) were in the bed, along with specks of some off white debris that I had to wipe out of the sheets. Covered that part and did away with the sheets themselves. ||Very disappointed in this experience. (I can’t sleep - it is after 3 am as I type this.) Will not be staying here again. The experience does not reflect even half of the...

When checking in, the front desk clerk was talking with the customer ahead of me. Once that person walked away she continued doing something at the computer not acknowledging that I was there. She eventually said ‘you checking in’ I said yes and gave my name. She said, ‘you just booked this room’. I’m not sure the reason for that comment, but I eventually got my card and was told what floor I was on. Upon entering my room there was a very unpleasant smell. I could not figure out what it was or where it was coming from. I looked around in the bathroom and in the fridge but couldn’t find the source. I sprayed the room down to see if that’ll help the smell. I few minutes later I received a text saying welcome IHG rewards customer let us know if you need anything. I replied that the room was okay but had a funny smell when I entered but I sprayed it down. The reply message said to let them know if I needed anything else. About an hour into my stay I left for the store and once back, upon entering the room it smelled bad again. I called downstairs to inform front desk. The guy said he’s assisting another customer, but he’ll get back with me. About 10 minutes or so later I got a knock on the door and the guy from the front desk was there and he entered and said he smelled the bad smell also. He looked around and couldn’t locate it but said it may be the air filter. He had brought his own personal spray with him when he came and said there was no other rooms and no one to check/change the filter if that’s where the smell was coming from but he could spray his spray if I’d like. I allowed him to and he sprayed the filter with it. It helped the smell, I thanked him and he left. When it was time to shower I noticed there was mold in the shower where the tub begin. My 3 kids noticed as well when they showered. I felt uncomfortable staying in the room, however, I had booked online right before coming and it was late night and the only one left. I had decided to stay after coming into town because a family member had passed away earlier that day. I usually stay at other IHG properties and don’t have these issues, but none were available on the side of town I was on. I don’t plan to stay at this property again.

They also do not have breakfast. They do have snacks and drinks for purchase and other food items, but not a complimentary breakfast, which is helpful when traveling with...

My wife and I stayed here 3 nights to attend our grandson's Basic Training graduation and family day. From the very start the front desk staff (Karen) was exceptionally friendly and helpful. She made sure that we knew how to get to the base, called to make sure that our room was acceptable, and even hand delivered our "frequent stayer" rewards form to us. Our daughter arrived the following day and Karen again provided exceptional check in service plus made sure to congratulate her on her son's (our grandson's) graduation.

The room itself was comfortable and clean, though we did find a couple of cigarette burns in the linens. The fridge was full sized so it accommodated our sodas, bottled water, and coffee creamer quite easily. The coffee pot is small, but it did make enough for 2 cups. I also liked the fact that they provide "to go" coffee cups with lids.

The only thing lacking, and this really wasn't an issue for us, is that there wasn't any type of breakfast. While some may find this inconvenient, I personally did not. There are plenty of places to eat within walking distance, and the fridge and pantry will hold plenty if you want to stock up. There is a Wal-Mart about 1/4 mile away, which is where we picked up our sodas, water, and coffee, so we could just have easily bought milk and cereal, toaster waffles, oatmeal, etc. had we wished.

From the hotel it was about a 7 minute drive to Ft. Jackson, so I would say that the location was very good for the reasons that we visited Columbia. Once we were able to take our soldier off base, we still found that all of the places that we wanted to go were no more than 20 minutes away, including restaurants in the downtown area and the airport. There was no ambient noise (railroads, freeways, etc.) so room was quiet at night.

Overall, I found this to be a good hotel and would...