Embassy Suites by Hilton Jonesboro Red Wolf Convention Center — Hotel in Jonesboro

TLDR: Cooks refused to serve me, 1 tried to fight me, GM called it a "misunderstanding". Worst hospitality/customer service I've ever received.

June 14th 2020, me and my brother in-law were in line for breakfast for 30 minutes before being rudely told that we needed masks or we wouldn’t be served. I said we didn’t know we needed masks to order. A combative cook, who’s name I didn’t get, but is a ~6’0, heavier set light-skinned black guy, doubled down on the rudeness and said “well there are signs everywhere and you ain’t getting served unless you have a mask on”. I said it was an honest mistake as me and my brother in-law were conversing when we got in the line and didn’t notice.

Instead of being hospitable and offering good customer service by allowing us to get masks and letting us retain our spots in line, the employee continued on stating he wasn’t going to serve us food. Fortunately, a couple of good Samaritans gave us both a mask to use. This did not appease the cook who continued to shout out he was not going to serve us while we attempted to don our masks.

As I was putting my mask on I noticed the cook was no longer wearing his mask properly, but rather had the mask loosely draped over an ear. The cook next to him, who refused to serve me as well, also wore his mask improperly below his nose. I called them out for shouting at us about not having a mask on, yet they were wearing theirs improperly while cooking customer’s food.

This further enraged the black cook and he sought out his manager, Brent Spitzer, to remove me from the line. Not one time did I scream at the employees or use profanity. Brent wanted to speak privately away from the line but I declined as I was calm and just wanted some food. We quickly talked about what transpired, and I admitted again we were wrong for not noticing the signs. Brent returned to the cook line and asked his two employees to take my order. Both explicitly refused, despite being instructed to do so by their immediate supervisor.

I finally gave up and said I’d be filing a complaint about the matter. The black cook left his station on the line, took off his mask and apron saying he wanted to come out to fight me. Brent was able to keep him in the back to avoid an assault on a customer. I went to the front desk seeking the general manager’s information, to find he was present and in the lobby.

The GM, Kraig Pomrenke, and I spoke about what happened. I explained how it was an honest mistake due to us talking and patrons around us weren’t wearing masks in the dining area. I received a lot of politically correct rhetoric instead of a genuine apology and disapproval of such behavior by the staff. Kraig asked what would make me happy, to which I said an apology by the cooks and breakfast. My brother-in-law said he lost his appetite, and frankly, so did I. Kraig was dismissive and even stated this was just a big misunderstanding due to new rules. Regardless of the posted rule, shouting at customers, refusing service, and attempting to fight a customer is NOT a misunderstanding. We talked some more but I felt like our complaints were not going anywhere. I asked for our 1 night stay to be comped and Kraig gladly obliged.

This whole ordeal could have easily been avoided. COVID-19 rules vary state to state and hotel policy regarding the use of masks should have been stated during check-in. There was a COVID-19 waiver that had to be signed and a restrictions page, but no mention of using masks in those two documents.

We missed up by not complying with the posted signs, sure, but there was no reason to be rude and threaten to not give us food. As previously mentioned, I never shouted or cursed at anyone, but still had an employee threaten to fight me. Other guests who witnessed the whole event checked up on us and said we didn’t deserve that. One family even stuck around until we finished talking to the GM to make sure we were okay. Hotels are in the “hospitality industry”. That is most certainly not what we received hours before checkout at Embassy Suites in...

I stayed 3 nights here for the AR State VFW& Auxiliary Convention. This was the overall nicest hotel we have stayed in in the 7 years I have been coming. Some of the major positives: we never had a long wait for an elevator; the conference rooms and the hall ways we're spacious, it was quiet and somewhat scenic. But there were little frustrating problems with most of the services. Nothing that they didn't respond to but... They offer day-before electronic checking. We used it. Arrived at 2:00 pm. The room was not ready. At 2:30 they offered a regular 2 Queen room ( we reserved a suite) on a different floor. We refused 15 min later they offered again, another regular room on a different floor. We needed the suite. We did not get our room in time to attend the first meeting on the agenda at 4 pm. That night I stayed in while my suite mates visited. I am older, a little unsteady, and nervous about the shower when no one is around. I was right to be. The TUB floor had no mat ot uneven surface and it was slippery. It did have a high-quality safety bar. I ended up bathing instead of showering. I was very startled when after a period of maybe 15 min or less ALL the lights in the room turned off. Because of my paranoia, I had brought my cell phone with me and very carefully placed it on the tub hoping it would not slide in. I was able to retrieve it and use my cell phone light to extract myself from this situation. I did a serious check of the rooms and found it had many newer features I would not have recognized or used. After I finished drinking 2 cups of chamomile tea, I calmed down enough to call the desk. I reported my lighting problem to a very sympathetic clerk who sent Maintenance right up. After trying several work around he could not find a way to get any one of the 3 bathroom lights to stay on. So he brought me a small lamp to use as a nightlight, safety feature to find the bathroom in the middle of night when you wake up in a strange room. On the positive side they had a free breakfast with many good choices and we were surprised to find a pre dinner appetizer bar, chips, veggies l, fruit with appropriate dipps, a small dessert and one night there was pasta salad, free. We did eat in the cafeteria and had one catered dinner. All the food was good. Minor incidents we lived trough. Very pleasant staff but seemed to be under staffed, long waits. They did call in extra but there was that long wait before they arrived. This convention had been on the books for months. There was no business center. You could prepare items on your own device, email to the desk and they would print it for you but... The strongest reason we have to not return is location. A lot of people who normally attend from the western and southern part of the state did not attend. But if you have a reason to be in the Jonesboro area, I will recommend...

I recently stayed at the Embassy Suites by Hilton on the A-State campus in Jonesboro, AR, for four nights with a group of six guests. While there were several positive aspects of our visit, I wanted to share some concerns regarding our experience that I believe warrant your attention.

Upon arrival, we discovered that the pull-out sofa in our suite did not have any bedding, and there were not enough towels for our party. We had to go down to the front desk to request both, which were provided promptly. We appreciated the complimentary in-room snacks, which were a thoughtful and welcome touch.

Each morning, we took advantage of the complimentary breakfast, typically arriving within the final 30 minutes of service. The custom egg station was consistently excellent—special thanks to Zayne, who kindly prepared an omelet for me just before closing time. His service stood out and was greatly appreciated.

However, the remainder of the breakfast experience was inconsistent. Several food items were unavailable toward the end of breakfast—not because they were out of stock, but because they had been intentionally put away early. One morning, I was only able to get four grapes. On another, I had to request a grapefruit that had already been removed and stored behind the counter. On our final day, I asked for a banana nut muffin that I could see behind the prep area, but a staff member named Sarah declined, stating that they were being reserved for the next day. Despite explaining that I preferred a muffin over the donuts that were out, the request was still denied. This interaction left me quite disappointed, as these items were clearly available.

Housekeeping service during our stay also fell short. While we did receive fresh towels, the beds were never made throughout our four-night stay, the bathroom was not cleaned and the conditioner dispenser in the shower remained empty the entire time.

While the front desk team and the overall accommodations were pleasant, I felt it was important to bring these concerns to your attention. With some attention to consistency in guest service and attention to detail, the overall guest experience could be...