Staybridge Suites Federal Way - Seattle South, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Federal Way

The WORST Western.

I stayed here for an extended stay end of 2020 into 2021.

It started out wonderfully, and I would have given 5 stars.

I paid with the same credit card for most of the stay, and used my debit card a couple of times as well.

Out of the blue one day, the manager was working the desk and he wanted me to show him my credit card, said he had to re-swipe it.

When I gave it to him he said oh no, we do not take this card!

I asked why not, and why?

He told me some people keep the payments on that card, or turn the card off so the hotel will not get payment.

I went on to tell him that I had been staying there for over two months & they always got my money with no issue.

He said, "No! It has been like this since the beginning of time!"

(I then had to tell him that I didn't realize that credit cards have been around since the beginning of time. It probably did not help my case much considering my tone was a bit sarcastic. Probably rude to him, but in some circles, it would have sounded like comedy gold)

Long story almost over.

He them told me I had 1 hour to pack my things and get out. Because I couldn't pay.

He would not accept cash.

Not my debit card.

Even though I COULD pay, he is too stubborn.

I asked him for some grace, I was actually on my way to work & would not have time to pack up & tidy up.

He said it was not his problem.

In case you , the reader, are wondering if perhaps I was a problem guest, I can assure you I was not. Nor was my husband.

Speaking of my husband, he was tasked with trying to pack up everything in less than one hours time.

We asked if we could utilize the late check out as advertised on the website for rewards members. Even though we had gotten to the highest level, he still said no .

Even though my husband worked as fast as he could, the noon hour approached and the manager told him he needed to leave immediately or the police would be called because he was trespassing. Keep in mind that he couldn't leave the room without propping the door open because the key had been deactivated.

The best part of this story is when the police officer arrived, it was an acquaintance of my husband! He couldn't believe the hotel would treat us this way.

He told the manager my husband was working as fast as he could and he would not be a problem for the hotel.

I just remembered that when I checked in, the manager's family member was working the front desk. He also happened to be rude to the man in front of me, as well as rude to a customer who had called while I waited for a half hour just to be acknowledged. What I had gathered from the phone call, the customer was complaining about incorrect charges on his bill and the front desk kept telling him the manager was busy but that he probably would not be able to take the charges off.

I should have taken it as a sign.

Some of the employees at the time also seemed very over-worked, without choice. Sad and unfortunate.

I think the manager of this hotel needs to have training in hospitality, and sensitivity training.

If you stay here, also be warned they have a lot of facility issues.

The fire alarms went off at least three different times during my stay, and the elevators were also not working at times.

I felt very sorry for the older guests having to drag their luggage up all the stairs.

There was no assistance offered by hotel to help with anyone's luggage.

To be fair, they seemed understand, due to the pandemic.)

My husband offered to help an older gentleman and his wife lug their belongings up the stairs, but the gentleman wouldn't accept our help.

(The wife thanked me and told me quietly that her husband is stubborn like that. )

If I were you, I would try to find elsewhere to stay, or at least try to get a discount on hotwire. I'm not sure how this place stays in business.

Read the other reviews.

I just remembered when we checked in, the shower didn't have a shower curtain and we had to shower without one for that night and...

We've stayed at Best Westerns in the past and have had positive stays so our experience here was a surprise. There's a longer explanation below, but to sum up, we had some bad luck with our room. My disappointment comes from the hotel staff not knowing there was a problem in the first place and then their inability to fix the problem or at least get us a room with a functional AC. This is a fairly large hotel with conference facilities so not having a skilled maintenance person there or on call during a night when they are booked solid with rooms and a conference seems to be a major oversight.

Also, if you're planning to stay here I would stay away from rooms in the low 200s, especially when there is an event happening here. Ours was room 203 and it appears to be located directly above or very near the hotel loading area. It was very noisy from about 11p-12:30a when staff were breaking down from the night's event.

Here's the whole story:

We were placed in Room 203, a family room with bunk beds, which is ideal for siblings. I wish more hotels had rooms like this!

However, the room was at least 15 degrees warmer than the hallway when we arrived about 9pm. I tried to turn the AC on or up but first had to remove a mysteriously sticky substance from the AC remote. The remote's screen was not working properly so we tried to operate the AC from the unit controls. We could not get the unit to blow cold air.

I think the previous occupants had the same problem, because there were mosquitos in the room when we arrived, probably from open windows. My wife killed one in the bathroom and it left a smear of blood on the toilet seat - yuk.

I called the front desk to try to see if we were not operating the unit correctly. They sent up a security guard to fiddle with the remote. He meant well but couldn't get it to blow cold air either. He left saying he would try to get a new remote but did not return. After a few minutes I called the front desk again and asked it we could get moved or if the unit could be fixed. The hotel was booked up, they had no maintenance staff that night, and they had no spare remotes, so the staff person said there was nothing she could do. It was too late to move to a new hotel so we stayed. I tried to keep the room cool enough but turning the fan on the AC unit but it would automatically shut off after about 45 minutes. So I would wake up once in awhile, sweating, to turn it back on.

We were...

SECURITY CALLED ON ME FOR ASKING QUESTIONS!!!

I asked the employee on duty if I could extend my stay for that day. I informed him that my mother would be paying for the room (my mother was on speaker phone during the verbal exchange) He asked me if my mother would be coming in with her card. I told him that's not possible because she lived in GA. He then said he couldn't complete the transaction. I asked "Why?" He told me she needed to be present to sign for the room. I then asked, "how was I able to book the room" without signing for it?

The employee got visibly irate raised his voice and said "do not question my authority!"

In disbelief and distraught, I replied, "what authority, sir? I am asking a question."

He then said he would call security. I agreed. Security came and the employee again said, "SHE IS THREATENING MY AUTHORITY!"

I was in fear of my safety at this time, so I began to film what happened next. Security was very professional and apologetic for the young mans behavior.

The next morning I came down and wanted to speak with management. The young ladies were very accommodating and gave me a $30 discount for my worry but said there were no managers on duty. That's when I obtained a managers email and a customer service number.

When I spoke with customer service, the young lady (in summary) stated that it was an issue I would have to take up with that General Manager and hung up on me. There was no, "I'm sorry for your troubles" no, "have a nice day." Not even a, "thank you for choosing Best Western." Just, CLICK.

I have worked in customer service for 26 years INCLUDING Hotel Management. In that 26 years the ONLY time I have called security is when someone under the influence of narcotics pulled a knife on me!!!

To have security called due to me wanting clarifications of what procedures are is embarrassing, and dehumanizing.

It was Valentine's Day, my deceased father's birthday, and I was in the room decompressing from just getting back from Ga and dealing with the death of my recently departed uncle.

THE LAST THING I needed was having security called because I wanted to spend more money -_-;

P.s...still waiting to hear back from the manager

Sent from Yahoo...