SpringHill Suites by Marriott Columbia Downtown/The Vista — Hotel in Columbia

With the many changes and amount of help that we needed, from the corporate Marriott staff as well as the local staff at the SpringHill Suites Columbia Downtown/The Vista, everyone has been amazing.

We initially booked a few nights so that I could spend time with my dad before he passed. We goofed on the reservation and booked the wrong dates. We were using points so we wanted to call and see if we could get it fixed and not lose any points. The gentleman on the phone was super helpful and made sure we got a refund of the points. The next day, we found out we needed to extend our stay and the local staff said "no problem".

After my father passed, we left for about 28 hours before checking back in for another 4 night stay. My husband had called ahead the night before to see if they had any funeral discounts like some Marriot hotels do. They said they'd relay the request to the manager and she'd call us back. The next day the manager called and was very nice. She gave her condolences and said that she would take care of us.

When we checked into our room the next day, there was a sweet card and vase of flowers waiting for us. It was such a kind and thoughtful gesture. It was so nice to come back to our room after a difficult day and have a beautiful reminder that people do care and its not always "just a job".

The people at the front desk were always so nice and patient with our 2 energetic boys that always wanted the lollipops. They waved off my apologies when the boys were too loud.

The indoor pool was perfect and our boys had a blast. It was the a nice temperature and there were always towels there, which isn't always the case at many hotels.

Was it the nicest hotel? No. Its a bit dated and in need of some repairs. Both stays we had issues getting our trash bins emptied and the towels changed but anytime we asked for new towels, the staff was happy to provide them.

The breakfast had hot options and was filling. There wete eggs, pork or turkey sausage, oatmeal with a variety of toppings, breads, bagels, muffins, waffles on weekends, a variety of cereals, granola, yogurt, fruit, white and chocolate milk, juices, water, teas and coffee.

Our initial stay was over the weekend and the cost (weather using points or paying for it) was great for a king size suite. The sofa turned into a trundle bed, which allowed both of our boys to have their own bed.

The general service and kindness we received from the staff here was better than service we've received previously at 5 star hotels. We will definitely be staying at this hotel any time we travel to Columbia...

It was apparent the moment I walked in, that there are management problems here. It took a solid five minutes before the girl at the front desk would even acknowledge my existence, let alone greet me. It wasn't until a manager walked over to her that I was asked if I needed any help. Yes, I needed to check in. I got checked in and situated, and just figured it was a one-off.

We stayed for two nights. The rooms were very clean and looked updated. The cleaning staff was very friendly and asked if we needed any extras. The rooms, fortunately, were the best part of our hotel experience.

After an evening out with the kids, I thought to go downstairs and check out the bar to being some drinks up to the room. The girl at the bar was having a difficult night, it seemed. She couldn't locate printer paper, which prevented her from closing out tabs. I waited for 15 minutes, while she searched around, tried to call and text her manager, and listened to her drop a few F bombs. I finally suggested that I could pay cash and she could use the front register to get me change, which served as a solution. Glad I could provide the critical thinking skills she so dearly needed.

The kids wanted to check out the pool. I should have known better. The oldest got a rash on his face shortly after getting out, which fortunately went away. Nuff said there.

The breakfast was the worst I've ever had at any Marriott, ever. I stayed clear away from the hot food, not trusting anything to be cooked properly. I opted for the muffins and croissants offered, but they were stale and rock hard. It's not an exaggeration when I say I could barely bite through the croissant. Seriously, how could someone put that out to serve to people. The tables were dirty and hadn't been clean. We saw the same mess on the tables on two different mornings. The same smears and crumbs. Gross.

This review is getting long, so. I'll stop there. Let's just say that customer service wasn't the strong point of our stay. The clean rooms at least were the redeeming factor here, and the only reason I'm even giving three stars, which might still be a stretch. I generally have great experiences with Marriott hotels, but this wasn't...

Beware. Beware. Beware. Beware. Beware.

Please don’t make the same mistake I did, it could cost you hundreds, even thousands of dollars.

I’m not sure these other reviewers stayed at the same hotel I did. My stay ended up costing me hundreds of dollars, leaving me injured, and harming my career.

My room had broken furniture, stains on the carpet, and boogers on the wall in the bathroom. Yeah, someone sat on the toilet and wiped mucous on the walls, and the hotel left it. The four pillows were all paper thin and the mattress lumpy. It was easily the worst hotel sleep I’d ever gotten, and I travel for a living.

For some reason they added a 3/4” lip of tile between the bathroom and bedroom on which I ended up stubbing my toe and breaking my toenail.

The indoor pool, a reason I chose this place, was closed without any prior notice, so I paid for amenities I wasn’t t allowed to access.

And the kicker is the fact they don’t document license plates for guests. Instead, they give out a crudely made paper placard (think computer paper) that goes on a vehicles mirror, and guests are told to display it.

Well, my pass fell and my vehicle was towed. The pass was still visible, but that didn’t stop them from towing my vehicle which was full of my business items. The towing company refused to allow me to pick up my vehicle for hours which caused me to miss a large portion of the convention that was the entire reason I was in town.

The tow cost me $250 and I lost thousands in sales.

Springhill suites doesn’t care. If they did, they’d have documented my license tag. If they cared, they would have had a manager on duty. That’s right, they didn’t staff a manager during the weekend. No manager during a hotel’s busiest time of the week.

And the kicker? When I told them about my experience, one of the AMs, Brandon, thanked me for the stay and said they would tell their leadership team. Tell them what? They’re doing a great job injuring customers, lying about amenities, and stealing their cars?

They offer no remediation and quite frankly don’t care when they screw people over.

Stay at your own risk- and believe me, the risk...