Staybridge Suites Columbus Polaris by IHG — Hotel in Columbus

A stay at a different Staybridge Suites the prior weekend had me going into this visit feeking positive, but I ended up disappointed.

THE GOOD:

majority of the staff was friendly and helpful minus one, who I'll get to in a bit.

I was given a room that fit my preferences

Room itself was clean and bed was comfortable

Breakfast was pretty good, although I feel like it wasn't as tasty and had fewer items, compared to the other location I visited

Great proximity to restaurants and shopping

THE BAD:

Cookware was not in good condition - Spatula was a 2 pc and would not hold together. Pans were aluminum with burned cook surfaces

microwave needs a vent - not a fan. Old burnt cookware smokes and the windows can't be opened so the room gets smoky and the fan does nothing but blow it around.

THE UGLY: The courtyard was commandeered by a group who partied from early evening until 5 am - yup - 5 IN THE MORNING. I'm talking boom box, drunk yelling and overall obnoxiousness. When I called the front desk and asked if she could ask them to, at the very least, turn down the music so that we could sleep, I was told that she could not see anybody out there and that the music I was hearing must be the ambiance music from the hotel. Get outta here! If from the 4th floor I can hear the lobby music, that's a real problem. I assured her that people were there as I was looking at them under the cabana structure, to which she responded "oh I guess I can't see them from the desk" and after wavering about whether or not they were actually causing a disruption she finally said, "Ill go talk to them." I watched for 25 minutes and never saw her come out. It was pretty clear she was uncomfortable saying something. There was no change in noise level, and I did my best to ignore it and sleep, but suffice it to say I barely got any. I watched them carry their boom box out at 5 am. On my way downstairs a guest was talking about the party in the elevator and said she saw them come in with 3 cases of beer so she knew they would be there for a while. After providing some feedback to the front desk, I was told that there were multiple complaints (shocker) and that the night attendant said she talked to them (I don't believe that). Also, I was told that the group is made up of residents and that staff often has to tell them to quiet down either outside or in the lobby area. Sooo..you know it's an ongoing problem and you gaslight your guests by trying to say that the people they see and the noise they hear isn't real. Yikes! Later, I wanted to take my breakfast outside to eat but the partiers left the place in such disarray that it was just gross. See...

I have liked Staybridge hotels in the past. With a larger family, these suites accommodate my family and are usually clean and comfortable. This property has a nice layout and outdoor area. This stay was okay. The room was clean to the eye, but the pull out couch had stains, crumbs, and dirt under the cushions. Thankfully, we did not need to use it during the stay. I liked the setup with the kitchen and the hotel overall was comfortable. That said, we learned something new this visit that will keep us from staying here and possibly all IHG properties in the future. When down in the common area for breakfast, all the televisions had FOX news on. We asked if there could be another, less biased news channel to show on any of the other televisions and were told no that it was corporate policy that only FOX news, the Weather Channel, or Sports were allowed to be played in the common area. We asked another employee at the front desk and received the same answer. We were disappointed to learn that the hotel chain is censoring viewership to their own preferred news network rather than offering less and/or differing biased options. Even if they switched daily or hourly to other news sources such as NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS news hour, or other perspectives, this would be more balanced and respectful to guests who prefer other news sources. It seemed they did not care to accommodate any other news viewpoint and this decreased our experience. The weather channel and sports we felt were reasonable, but to only be permitted to show one news source from one perspective is not something we want to pay to support. I called the hotel before writing this review and asked to speak to a manager. I was transferred to an assistant manager who said he was unaware of this policy and would research it more and get back to me. I have not received a return call. I wanted accurate information which is why I reached out for verification as to if this is an IHG policy or a policy specific to the Staybridge of Polaris. And if it is not a policy, why did two employees say it was? I want to stay in hotels and support businesses that respect those who discerningly get news and information from various sources, that offer other choices, that do not censor news to show only one perspective, and that have prompt, consistent, and knowledgeable answers to my questions. I have learned that going forward this is a question that I will ask hotels before booking. Thank you for hearing...

My family and I stayed this hotel for one night to break up a long, 12 hour drive. There were many positive things about this hotel. My daughter greatly enjoyed the pool, though it was quite warm for my liking. The fitness room looked nice as well, but I did not use it. The atmosphere of the lobby was pleasant as well. The rooms are spacious and well stocked with supplies for a short or extended stay. I was happy to find dish soap, a scrubbing brush, and a kitchen towel to wash a few dishes. The room had other basic kitchen supplies and working appliances as well. The shower was nice and big. The beds were comfortable and soft. Additionally, this hotel is located near all kinds of different restaurants and shopping experiences. I wish we would’ve had more time (and space in the car, lol) to do a little shopping while we were there.

We did have a bit of an issue and had to change rooms twice during our short stay. The front desk staff was very helpful and kind. I was really satisfied with how the issue was resolved. My only issue with this hotel was the overall cleanliness. I will say, I am nit-picky and have personal high standards. Many other people would probably feel that this hotel was pretty average as far as cleanliness goes. So take that for what it is worth.One of the rooms we switched to (and quickly switched out of) had food crumbs outside the door before even entering the room. The room had a smell to it (hard to describe it, but it just smelled dirty) and there were noticeable smudges on the table right when you walked in. The first room that we were in was much cleaner but had questionable markings on the mattress suggestive of bugs (this is a risk with any hotel. I am by no means trying to single this place out. Anyone staying in a hotel should be diligent and check mattresses for their own safety and peace of mind. No hotel is immune from bed bugs, no matter how clean). I really appreciated how understanding the front desk staff was and how the situation was resolved. I realize that this may not have been the case had the hotel been full.

Overall, it was an average hotel experience. I know that this is a hard industry to work in sometimes, and it’s so difficult to keep up with everything that needs to be done at a hotel with minimal staff. The mild issues I ran into are ones I expect anymore, and I do my best to...