Candlewood Suites Columbus-Northeast by IHG — Hotel in Columbus

Interesting stay at this property.

Before I checked in I received a call from the hotel. One of the ladies from the hotel called to ask if it was OK if they moved me from my reserved King suite to a Queen as they'd had a run on King room requests. She said that they'd "still give me 1000 points for the stay" but reduce the price to a Queen rate.

I thought it kind of odd to be kicking a Platinum Elite out of their reserved room (normally, IHG provides free upgrades for PE, not the other way around LOL) but ultimately I said okay, as I was just staying for one night this trip and it really didn't matter to me what bed size I was getting.

Upon arrival, the staff at the front desk saw in my notes to award 1000 points for the stay but there was some minor confusion on how to check me in and add the 1000 points for the new room rate. One of the 3 ladies at the desk seemed much more experienced than the others and stepped in to guide the process. All seemed to go well at that point.

What they didn't tell me over the phone or during check-in though is that they had moved me from my reserved one-bedroom suite to a studio type room. I have a bad insomnia issue and things like stray light coming in under the main door presents a problem for me - thus my booking of the suite to get the separate bedroom layout. And the main door to my studio room did have a significant gap under the door that leaked quite a bit of light. A towel in front of the door helps a good bit with this albeit not completely - I just hate wasting the use and laundering of a fresh towel for simply putting it on the floor without having actually used it otherwise...

The room itself, as well as the rest of the property appeared to be basically brand new. Everything was spotless; and I mean spotless! It's rare to get such a clean room (even more guilt about the towel on my part.) Perhaps the property IS brand new and thus the lack of knowledge at the front desk during check-in that required the assistance of someone more tenured. Either way, the room was amazingly clean and fresh.

On the flip side tough, later in the week I checked my points balance to find that they had indeed added 1000 points to my balance but it was in the form of two extra 500-point welcome bonuses. While this does equate to the promised 1000 points, that type of points doesn't qualify towards elite points and thus the entire stay is basically negated relative to any status ranking or advancement. It's kind of like credit card points on a frequent flyer program - not very effective or all that useful. I have no real upset around it; I'm sure it's an honest mistake but that's one less stay's worth of points towards Spire Elite that I'll get this year when it really does matter from a status perspective due to how late in the year it is now.

Overall though, outside of these couple of hiccups (again, new property still learning?), this seems like a great property in which to stay and I'll likely select it again when I'm next in the area.

I also recommend it to anyone who is looking to stay in the Columbus area. I doubt you'll find a property any cleaner, or willing to call you up to check with you about moving you. Many places would just do so and then deal with it/you when you arrive - at least they called and checked with me. Even if they didn't disclose the room type switch, the fact that they made the effort goes a long...

We had two rooms four days our room had dirty scuffed up walls and toilet that leaked bed was clean and comfortable! They took care of the leaky toilet next day and the staff very nice! The second room they gave us when trying to relax was right above the washing machine room doors rattle in our room and floors shook for over two hours house keeper said that will happen every morning and go on for hours I’d ask for another room! Also sink drain in kitchen dripped put cloth in sink they did fix that! Plus when checking into that room there was nuts on the floor and some change ! You wonder was it cleaned or vacuumed?? Next room the rusty tub drain and tiny dark spots in tub thought old then there was has hair on the shelf in bathroom like it wasn’t cleaned and the kettle on stove had food crusted in bottom not cleaned from people before! Hotel fire alarms went off at 1 am they did not know why woke up next morning ants all over that bathroom housekeeper said oh we had exterminator out must not of gotten rid of them and the tiny dark flecks in tub was dead ants ! She started spraying bug spray and Moved to third room it had hair on bathroom floor and some hair hanging from lamp shade by bed! We talked to a very mice supervisor who said our management is disappointed and will get ahold of you to make this right! We paid for two rooms four nights! I did not hear from management I texted him he said glad you got ahold of me I tried the number you have us but it did not go thru? He apologized said some stuff we could work in some we have no control||Over he offered to pay for one night stay if we come back his way ! I said our son graduated from basic training at benning and we won’t be back if he could compensate us for that one room experience with something on our bill! He stopped corresponding to me after that! Since we were not coming back! I reached out to him a couple times to work something out! Would not get ahold of me! I got ahold of cooperate office they were disappointed with the lack of his response they reached out to him to get ahold of me to make right he did not! They said that one is independently owned and operated so all they can do is work with the manger which he would not respond to them either! Cooperate apologized offered me some reward points to stay at one of their other hotels and give them a try again! I think it is such poor customer service to not make a wrong right and then to be there to support our son in the military such a shame! I work in a customer based profession we always want to do what we can to make our customer happy and feel they were appreciated cared for! Validate their experience! How you handle conflict says...

I needed a place to break up my journey and my main concern was to be in a safe location with clean accommodations. While I can not recommend this hotel, I believe it is fair to state both sides of an opinion in case someone else finds the things I did not like to not be an issue for them. I have stayed in Candlewoods before and this one is at the lower end of the spectrum. That doesn't mean it is all bad, just that it doesn't compare to what I expected. My biggest complaint was the pests in the room. After trying to sleep amidst biting bugs for four hours, I gave up and packed, and went on my way. I don't believe it was bedbugs (as I have seen those in a European hotel) but it definitely needs addressing and made for a miserable night. I saw there was coffee provided in the room so I decided just to drink coffee, wait for sunrise, then be on my way. After making the coffee, I realized there was not a single drinking vessel of any type in the room (glass, plastic, nothing). So I pack and head to check out. When I asked for a printed receipt, I was met with a blank stare and told it would be emailed to me. Wanting to be sure it was emailed, I asked the clerk to make sure my email address was correct. To this date, about two weeks later, I have received three emails asking me to write a review but no receipt. I really expect a little better with my gold status but it is what it is. Physically, the hotel is mid to low-level. It appears clean (I still wipe everything down just in case), had clean sheets, peeling paint in some areas, and two towel sets were provided. The kitchen area is a good size with a full-size refrigerator. Minimal utensils, pans, or dining settings (no glasses, cups, one bowl, two forks). Very large workspace with two chairs (area doubles as a dining table). Horrible air conditioning. It never allowed me to change the temp (thus the room temp made the bug bites that much worse) and clicked off and on continuously. The hotel is in a semi-commercial area with many dining options within a mile (and some within walking distance). There is a sidewalk along the frontage for safe walking. Parking was plentiful and I felt it was safe (there were cameras for monitoring mounted on the hotel). No problems with the elevator, key card, check-in, etc. I did not...