MainStay Suites Dover — Hotel in Dover

I booked a room at the last minute when I went to Delaware to pick up my niece for the holidays. I am a manager at another Choice hotel in Pennsylvania and used my employee discount to make this reservation. The girl at the desk during check in was not very welcoming. She didn't even stand up or acknowledge us as we walked into the hotel. I stood there for about 30 seconds before I said hello to her and told her we had a reservation. She didn't even ask me my name. I had to tell her that myself. She did ask me if I had just made the reservation because all her reservations were already checked in. She also asked me if I actually worked at the hotel I used my employee discount from, she informed me they would call my hotel to verify I worked there. That kind of made me feel a little like she thought I was lying. We had made the reservation at least two hours prior to arrival. I do the same job she does at the hotel I work at, and I was very surprised that she did not welcome us to the hotel. It made me feel unwanted. Once I started talking to her she was very nice in her responses and did answer all our questions. The man in the morning was a little better, he was sitting in the breakfast area, I had to ask him if he was the front desk clerk. He said he was and started to get up to come to the desk but I told him there was no need because I didn't need a receipt. I think the employees just need some training in customer service. I guess managing a hotel for the last 15 years make me notice these things. Maybe they were just tired and didn't want to be bothered. You never know what someone is going through at the moment. Other then the staff, the hotel itself was nice. The bed was comfortable and the sheets were clean there were some cigarette ashes on the bathroom floor and I informed the girl at the desk, she didn't respond. We did book a smoking room by mistake. We had a nice one night stay. I would stay here again. I understand people have bad days and hopefully the next time they will have had...

Like the other reviews, I wish I could say my stay was great. I did not have a problem with the staff or customer service, they were decent and pleasant. My issue was with the cleanliness of the rooms. For example, the floors were gross and half way vacuumed. There was a large gap in between the night stand and wall, where dirt, hair and food crumbs accumulated. The carpet near the floor board and corners were gross. It looked like someone only vacuumed the middle of the room.

I bagged up my trash and took it out of the can. The trash can was covered in a sticky mess , with decayed food stuck to it. The smell inside was atrocious.

2 of my 4 bathroom towels had hair on them. Not just 1 strand either, there were clumps. That wasn't appealing to use after a shower.

The sink in the kitchenette didn't drain. It was more of an annoyance than a cleanliness issue.

But the WORST thing was, I noticed a handful of small bites and thought to check bed for anything. Low and behold I found several bed bugs on one of my pillows and one in the bed!!! I took the pillow to the front desk to show them. The response from the manager was, "those aren't bugs" pawing at the pillow as they tried to scury away. Typical answer. She then used clear tape to trap the bed bugs and held them up to the light. I was immediately offered another room , which I took and checked out the next morning.

I stayed 3 nights in my original room before realizing there were bed bugs, and 1 night in a new room. For the past couple of days I've been meticulously cleaning everything I took with me, and hopefully my house will not become infested with bed bugs.

All in all not fun and not a good...

This property earned one star because the rooms are large and one star because they had availability, but that's where it stops.

It's advertised as a "no fills hotel" and that's not an understatement - it's at the end of a vacant plaza with nothing to walk to. Which isn't the fault of the property because other businesses close, but when a breakfast with real food is advertised and you wake to find coffee (with nothing to put in it), warm yogurt, and some sort of pastry (that a coughing attendant filled up) that's thoroughly disappointing especially with kids.

The pool is closed - no mention of that was made till I specifically asked and then was met with, "Good luck finding one open."

The rooms are large, decorated nicely, and relatively clean. No sign of bed bugs or other creepy crawlies, though I found a couple ants in the bathroom. There is ample storage and a small kitchenette which is much appreciated with needing to now make breakfast here.

Our room has two queen beds and a sleeper sofa. One of the beds is so sunken in the middle that two people cannot sleep in it unless they want to be on top of each other all night. The one bed that isn't collapsing is surprisingly comfortable.

The smart tv wouldn't connect to the internet and when asked how to work it the aforementioned coughing attendant answered with, "Turn it on."

The same attendant is who checked us in. She, too, was no frills...or personality. She had no knowledge of the rewards program she signed me up for, no smiles, nothing.

If you're looking for a pleasant stay I'd pick somewhere else because you won't...