Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Columbia Downtown — Hotel in Columbia

I have been a Platinum IHG member for several years and during this time I have only staying in IHG properties. A perk of the status I have achieved has been upgrades I received when booking rooms. Upon a recent stay I had called the hotel several days before arrival and was provided and upgrade and the staff member told me the type of room I would be in. Upon my arrival the room i was guaranteed was not the room I was provided. I spoke with a staff member who fully admitted a mistake had been made but she had no way to correct it. I was told the room was sold to someone else, I was told the upgrade was never made by the original staff member, there were several excuses not sure what was the truth. For the first time I decided to hold the hotel accountable for their mistake and decided not to stay and after a long discussion with a staff member I was told not to worry they did not feel refunding my points was an issue and they would speak with the manager personally and follow up with me. When I never heard from anyone I called the manager who said he listened to the phone conversation when I called for the upgrade and he made excuses and said he wasn't doing anything to make it right. Needless to say I never heard from the staff member that committed to following up either. So in short, the hotel made me pay for their mistake and when I reached out to IHG rewards they backed the hotel as it sounded like the general manager misrepresented the true situation to them. As a result IHG has lost a client they has been extremely loyal over 30,000 points, no one even made an effort to even try to own their mistake or attempt to make it right. It is a bad feeling when you have a trusted business and personal partner that loses your trust. So my recommendation to travelers in business or for fun to Columbia do not stay at this property, chose one that your hard earned money or points as in my case are honored and you can trust the word of the people with who you do business and partner. I am sure the hotel will try to spin this in some other direction but this is what happened and this is the truth. Also, if Platinum member want to know what your loyalty is worth, it is 30,000 points!

To the owner,

I think you missed the point, one of your employees did upgrade me to a Jacuzzi suite and i believe if you listen to the phone conversation, which the general manager said he did you will hear that this was the case. Also, according to the front desk person at check in the Jacuzzi suite was available when we checked in but the front desk person I spoke with did not code it properly in your system so it was provided to the next member that came in. I think it is great on you coaching your staff, but I am not sure how you coach a general manager from being dishonest, according to IHG he claimed that the conversation that occurred between myself and your front desk person via phone and the upgrade never happened not to mention the level of professionalism when I spoke with him was lacking. So you know the experience with your property, which I have also shared this with IHG cost IHG my business in the future and I have no doubt the business of others as well. There was not even an effort on the part of the general manager try to make the mistake on your end correct, very...

Reserved via Priceline. Was assigned a king single. Asked for a double, and was given a king with a pullout for a $20 surcharge.

The pullout had no sheets and had obviously not been cleaned as promotional materials and band stickers were in the pullout.

I called the dopey clerks, one a spacey girl with a bad red dye job and the other a cracked out blonde dude who responded to my initial request with a "denied! Ha! Just kidding!" This hilarious response came an instant before I was informed my request was reasonably denied, but the awkward rudeness was not commented upon. I asked the clerks how I could get sheets, thinking it was possible they were stashed somewhere in the room that I couldn't find. The guy barked "that's fine" and quickly hung up.

I assumed that this indicated he realized the mistake in charging a surcharge for a pull out and not supplying sheets and that they would be delivered.

I spent an episode of a TV show patiently waiting cautiously on a grimey bed exhausted from the road. When the episode ended, I decided to confront the front desk.

For about the fifth time of the evening, they goofily greeted me. I could see a pile of sheets sitting on the desk as they stood around obviously chatting. The guy made some lame claim that he instructed me to "come on and get them" in the conversation he terminated within its first 15 seconds.

The lack of sense demonstrated by these two is overwhelming and is indicative of a general sense of corner cutting grimey-ness.

This hotel might have its charms but if you are looking to relax after a day on the road, this hotel is not a guarantee, by a long shot.

Further, this hotel is advertised as being downtown, and although it is technically in the downtown grid, it is not close to walking distance to downtown attractions.

If you can get a deal for your business it might be okay. Otherwise, your money could probably be better spent at a hotel that doesn't take your comfort...

Pros: Convenient downtown location, short drive to get to many places around Columbia. Fairly modern hotel (looked renovated) Staff were overall friendly and professional.

Cons: Our room (#403) had a noticeable sewer smell from the bathroom. Not sure if that was from the plumbing system or the venting system. We did see by the bathroom’s vent register, there is a stick/plate of air-scent product being placed there. So this made us believe this might be a known issue but they haven’t or didn’t fix it. The breakfast was pretty disappointing. We stayed for two nights. On our first breakfast, there was barely any hot food left. There weren't even a lot of guests there, which made us believe the employee handling breakfast was not prepared or not well trained. The second day was slightly better in terms of food availability, but they served the exact same hot items (most hotels would rotate some items). Two days in a row, we don’t see any fruits being provided. Hate to say this, but this was one of the most disappointing breakfasts we have at a Marriott hotel. The water tank with the toilet was not secured. It would wobble and it shouldn’t do that (water would leak). That needs to be tightened. Also the water tank cover seemed to come from a different water tank, as it didn’t really fit and it’s dangerous as it might fall easily if someone knocked on it by accident. Some caulking in the shower needs to be replaced as it started to crack and turn yellow (mildew). Maybe it’s due to it being an old hotel building, the soundproof is pretty bad. Noise from the hallway got into our room easily. The US national flag was flying half-mast on days that there was no order from the government. Staff should pay more attention to adjusting it.

Overall, I would prefer to not stay here again if I have other choices. Especially there are plenty of other Marriott hotel in the city to...