Residence Inn by Marriott Columbia Northwest/Harbison — Hotel in Irmo

Disturbing Experience at Residence Inn – Poor Conditions, Rude Service, and Health Concerns

I want to share my recent experience at the Residence Inn, which was deeply disappointing and unacceptable — both in terms of the room’s condition and the way I was treated by hotel staff. Upon check-in, the first thing I attempted to do was take a shower — only to discover that the shower handle was broken. I reported the issue to the front desk, and maintenance came to repair it. Later that same evening, I tried to give my grandchildren a bath and realized there was no tub stopper. I had to use a rag to hold water in the tub, which was inconvenient and unsanitary. The next morning, I went downstairs for breakfast with my dog and three young grandchildren, but accidentally locked myself out of the room. While at the front desk, the Assistant General Manager was training a new employee and was extremely rude and unprofessional to me. She looked at my reservation and questioned me loudly, asking, “Are you here on military business?” I explained that I’m a veteran and have used the military rate for over 20 years. She responded loudly and dismissively, saying, “You’re not allowed to use that rate unless the government is paying for your stay,” and added, “This time, I’ll let it go, but next time you won’t be able to use the military discount.” Her tone made me feel publicly shamed and disrespected, like I was doing something wrong. I left quickly because I had to attend a celebration for my brother. But when I returned to the hotel later that evening, I discovered that my room had not been cleaned at all by housekeeping. Around 6:30–7:00 p.m., I took a bath — and that’s when I discovered extensive black mold throughout the room. There was mold under the soap dish, around the tub handles, in the kitchen and bathroom sinks, on the walls and floors, and even inside the toilet. It was absolutely shocking and extremely unhealthy, especially for my small grandchildren. I went downstairs to request towels, and while I waited, I overheard the front desk staff telling another guest that she would personally escort her to her room — a courtesy that I was never offered, despite everything I was going through. After I showed the young lady at the front desk the photos of the mold, she asked me to email the pictures to her. I then asked to be moved to another room due to the mold, but she told me she couldn’t move me because the internet and television service were down and her computer system.

This stay was not only unsanitary and unsafe but emotionally exhausting and degrading. As a veteran, a grandmother, and a long-time Marriott customer, I expected better — clean accommodations and respectful customer service. Instead, I left feeling dismissed, mistreated, and exposed to potential health hazards.

I sincerely hope Marriott corporate takes these concerns seriously and addresses the staff behavior and room conditions at this location to protect...

My family and I travel a lot. While Marriott properties haven’t been our primary brand in quite a while (for reasons similar to what we experienced this time) we do still frequent your brand from time to time. Years ago Marriott set the standard for customer service, cleanliness, and amenities regardless of the hotel category. (And we’ve stayed at all categories here and abroad) However this property is severely lacking. Our room was less than clean, NONE of my preferences were met. (Wrong pillows, despite asking for a change twice , incorrect number of towels and so on) The check in clerk was more interested in chatting with his friends than checking us in. We weren’t told about breakfast, or really even interacted with at all. Breakfast was terrible, cold eggs, stale bread, and we literally stuck to the floor. (And I do mean literally...my son’s slides stuck to the floor, leading him to walk out of his shoes) The pool was filthy so much so that I wouldn’t allow my kids in it. The most disappointing issue is still unresolved. My son (18) inadvertently left his work out clothes hanging on the bathroom door. We discovered this less than 2 hours from check out and called immediately. We were told housekeeping had left for the day (3pm) and we would have to call back tomorrow. While I find this unacceptable we agreed to call back the following day. And we did just that. We were told there were two bags collected by housekeeping and they would have to be sorted through. The front desk asked for a description of the clothing which we gave and we were assured we would receive a call back. When we had not received a call back we returned another call yesterday evening because we were passing back through your area as we had explained in the previous two phone calls and that would be the perfect time for us to pick up the clothes if they in fact were still there. We were advised once again that housekeeping had gone home for the day and no one would be able to address this until the following day. So, I assume we can forget ever receiving the clothing back and while it is his fault for leaving it, your process for handling this is completely unacceptable . I have left things in the past with both Marriott properties as well as other properties And this is the first time I have not received my belongings back. And certainly the first time anyone has seemed so uncaring and unwilling to go to the effort of trying to return to me...

We have spent a little more than a month at this hotel. Here is what we liked and disliked during our stay:

Likes:

Location - 2 parks in walking distance, 10-minute ride to the mall, downtown is not too far either and if you need to you can walk to the grocery store that is like 12 minutes from the hotel (Kroger)

Room setup- this was the only hotel that we could find where the bedroom was separated from the living area not only with 1, but 2 doors (our sleeping child definitely enjoyed that)! There is a small room with a sink between the bedroom and the living area.

Quiet - on most days

Friendly staff

Pool and an area for grilling outside

Dislikes:

The cards you use to enter the premises and your room would stop working every couple days (we did not keep them in our pockets together with our phones)

Laundry room - you pay $1.5 for each load so washing and drying is $3 each time. The maximum time you can set on the machine is 30 minutes which was not enough for us.

We saw a cockroach in our kitchen 4 times during our stay

When we arrived we had to ask to have our carpets wet cleaned cause our socks would turn black after just a couple minutes of walking on it. On the same day, we noticed the bathtub was clogged

We asked whether the housekeeping could come to our room as soon as they could each day, but on most days it was just random times and different explanations why some other room had to have priority. Not mad at the cleaning ladies, the two girls we usually saw on our floor had just full hands on most days. Maybe hiring more people would help.

Gym offers only very basic equipment

Breakfast- one really gets tired of the same stuff each time. On some days we would have to wait for 10 minutes to have at least scrambled eggs because other guests ate them all and it took some time to have the bowl replenished. Also it would be nice if breakfast was available till 10am on working days as well.

Bathroom- the coldest room in the suite. The air suction works so well you have no chance to get the air warm in that room. Getting out of the shower felt like a North Pole invaded the room.

No covered area to unload the car so if you arrive when it rains outside you will get soaked easily.

No...