Drury Plaza Hotel Columbus Downtown — Hotel in Columbus

For what we needed, the purpose was well served: the pool & anime on cable TV. For the cost, we might've gotten a better deal somewhere else; no, we could definitely have found a better deal. We did know this going in though. We chose it for location and familiarity.

We enjoyed the free food during their cocktail hour (5-7p - less sure of when it starts but definitely ends at 7). It wasn't fancy but it was filling & not bad at all. Soda dispenser suffers from a common ailment: mildew can be detected in the flavor of clear sodas or lemonades, just about anywhere you go that offers soda by the cup (fast food, movie theaters, everywhere syrup bags in boxes are hooked up to hoses and mixed with carbonated water at the dispenser). This is why I normally avoid this type of beverage altogether.

Not a big deal, we brought cans to our room where there is a small fridge in the cabinet under the TV. Unfortunately, the ice machine on our floor (6th) didn't work but the one on the floor above did. That was also no big deal.

Pool area was clean and has a lift chair for the handicapped. That's pretty cool. The jacuzzi had a ton of chlorine in it when the area opened today. It kinda burned my eyes at first. Towels are available poolside. No lifeguard, of course. Stay on top of things, where your kids are concerned of course, provided you have/bring them.

Late check-out is at noon; regular check-out is at 11... Meh. We went swimming til 1p without issue.

Bed was comfortable & fairly clean. We've used this chain & location specifically before & are likely to use it again. We stayed in a regular room, not a suite and it cost $180. Remember that it costs $15 to park but the garage is very secure & can only be accessed with a room key card. It's definitely secure. To access the rooms a key card is also needed. Adjacent to convention center & restaurants, downtown, etc... Indoor/outdoor...

Lower prices don’t always equate to “you get what you pay for”. We’ve never had a bad experience at a Drury location and this time was no different. We had a discount so I booked us a suite just for the extra space. Room was clean and well put together. Our toilet was running but someone came up within the hour and fixed it before we left for dinner. Of course you can’t beat their 5:30-7 kickback where you can get free drinks and snacks. Their snacks are things that can basically be dinner if you don’t want to eat out. The drinks are not full shots of liquor, so when they say 3 free drinks, they are maybe 1/2oz shots (but they are free so no complaints). I just asked for all three at once and grabbed a full size Diet Coke from the (free) fountain station (which is also open and avail alll day). There is also free breakfast in the mornings- biscuits, gravy, eggs, hash browns, waffles, pancakes, cereal, toast, etc. This location also had a Kitchen + Bar that’s open from 5p- midnight. We stopped by for a night cap around 11:30 after being at a show downtown. Even though it was almost closing time and they were cleaning up, our bartenders were so nice and the drinks were great. We ended up just taking our drinks upstairs so they could finish up but they didn’t try to hurry us or anything. All the staff we came across were so nice and welcoming. There was one server that worked the kickback that remembered us both nights and for breakfast even though she only saw us for two seconds at a time and was serving hundreds of ppl (there was an anime convention next door). There is parking attached to the building that was $19 a night I think. Location was great and we didn’t feel unsafe at any point in the area. Only gripe was the hot tub wasn’t very hot when we were in it. More like warm bath water. Wasn’t bad just I was looking forward to more heat after walking around German...

I stayed at this hotel during the pandemic, so I think it is paramount to address this extraordinary situation first. During my stay, the city of Columbus had a mask mandate in place for any indoor public areas. Someone at Drury was aware of this as my final reminder email had this information. However, it was quite disappointing that the hotel itself only offered reminders to comply with local requirements on their entryways with no specifics on what those requirements were. People helped themselves to the buffet without masks. People crowded elevators without masks. Housekeeping staff roamed the halls without masks. It would have been most appropriate to put signs reminding people of the face covering requirement on entry doors, by elevators, and at the start of the buffet! Second, in a pandemic, cleanliness is key. I wipe down my hotel rooms so I can attest to how clean they are. With the exception of under all the lamps, I found my hotel room was clean. I wasn't wiping up dirt or stray hairs, so presumably I also wasn't wiping up viruses or bacteria, so this was a plus. Putting the pandemic aside, I was surprised to see a larger selection on the Saturday night buffet compared to any other Saturday buffet I have had at other Drury locations. The two-room suite was so spacious. It was nice not to be on top of one another. Yes, there is a parking surcharge, but it was easy. You just check-in and use your key card to get into the garage. It has in an out privileges after that. Plenty of open spaces even with the convention center full downtown all weekend! I think this is an exceptional Drury hotel when you are not in a pandemic. However, I felt the lack of reminders to wear masks or even someone reinforcing it at the start of the buffet made it unsafe...