Candlewood Suites Lexington - Medical District by IHG — Hotel in Lexington

Unfortunately I had a terrible experience at Candlewood Suites. I stay in Lexington for about four weeks each year for work, and I stayed with them last week Monday-Friday. I've always stayed at the Hyatt Regency downtown, but when I visited earlier this year, I decided to go with Candlewood since it was a little further from downtown traffic and had a kitchenette in the room. That experience was fine (3-4 stars), but this one was not the same at all. I am giving them 1 star this time, because it was a place to sleep, but that is about all. If you're looking for anything more than that, I would look elsewhere (like the Hyatt Regency).

It started on Sunday evening when I told them I would like to arrive in town around 4am if they could accommodate a check-in at that time. I was told that they had 5 rooms available in the style I had requested, but it would be a $50 early check-in fee. I didn't quite understand that since the room was already prepared, and no extra expense was required on their end. However, I did not complain--business is business, no issue.

I was on the third floor this time instead of the first floor. To my dismay, there were several issues with my bathroom. First, the floor of the shower was slanted away from the drain instead of towards it, and there was no "lip" or barrier between that and the rest of the bathroom. EVERY time I showered, no matter how careful I was, the entire bathroom flooded (almost 1/2" of standing water all around the toilet and sink--the whole room). Second, the water pressure was abysmal. If I set the shower head to the jet setting, it couldn't even get water out. On the rainfall setting, it was still almost no water. Lastly, there was only one morning out of my 4 night stay that the water temperature got warmer than room temperature (which of course feels icy at 7am). It was very frustrating.

Throughout the week, I did not receive housekeeping services even once, despite being out of my room by 9am and not returning until after 10pm. On Wednesday, I checked with the front desk to see if they could stop by while I was at work. The staff was apologetic and assured me that they would refresh the sheets and towels. Wednesday night I returned and nothing had been replaced. Thursday came and went, same story. The only fresh towels I got during the whole week were a set that I had walked down and gotten myself on Thursday.

To top everything off (I probably wouldn't be leaving this review if it weren't for this, since I am not a very picky/particular person), I was charged $140 for checking out an hour and a half late. On that same phone call Sunday evening, I had mentioned that I would need to be at work until noon on Friday, and asked if they could extend the 11am check out time. They said it wouldn't be a problem, and that I had that privilege as an IHG rewards member. However, when I got back to the hotel to pickup my things on Friday at 12:30pm, my key cards had been disabled. I went to the front desk and they said they had called me 2-3 times and had to extend my stay for another night since I missed the 11am check out. Having been at work, I was unable to take calls. However, I did look back and saw that I had missed one call from them (one... not 2-3).

Overall a very frustrating experience. I would strongly recommend staying somewhere else if you visit Lexington. This was close to $140 per night ($12 per hour that I was in the room) for...

We've been an IHG Rewards Club member for almost 30 years. So, I was surprised when the reservations person advised, after the booking was placed, there would be an "additional $10 hold" placed on my credit card, by the property. When asked, I was informed: "This $10 hold would cover any damage to the room caused by the occupant." When I objected, the reservations person suggested I speak to management at the property. Three days later, upon check-in at the property, a very polite front desk clerk again advised us of the additional $10 hold placed in the event there is damage to the room.

Really? So, Candlewood Suites (and IHG) are willing to insult a long term customer's integrity for ten dollars. Who thought that one up?

Once again, I objected, informing the clerk we were staying overnight to facilitate an early, 6:00 AM, medical appointment. However, I found my explanation was an exercise in futility.

Apparently, a lot of handicapped senior citizens in town for medical attention stay at this facility. Plus, they throw wild parties, resulting in damage to their rooms. (Sarcasm.) But, since we received an early reservations room rate, to avoid losing our non-refundable payment, we reluctantly stayed.

While our room was nicely appointed, it wasn't without issues. The room was situated at the very opposite end of the building from the front desk. (By the way, on Sunday at 5:30 PM the parking lot was almost empty.) However, when the distance was brought to the front desk clerk's attention, she informed us there were only two other rooms available; neither of which were much closer to the elevator. Apparently, that's what we get for booking early at this Candlewood Suites. (Sarcasm.)

Once settled in the room, I attempted to use the recliner. However, I found the footrest release handle to be non-functioning. Not wanting to be charged for damaging their recliner, this was immediately reported to the front desk clerk. An offer was made to change out the non-functioning recliner. However, as my wife was already in bed, I declined the offer.

With an anticipated 5:40 AM check-out time, I turned in around 10:00 PM. But, two hours later, at the stroke of 12 midnight, the bedside alarm clock / radio began blaring reggae music. Unable to silence the loud music, I unplugged the device. Then, in response to this gross interruption of our sleep, I personally delivered the pre-set device to the overnight front desk clerk; along with my compliments. (Sarcasm.) His response was basically: "What do you want me to do about it?"

Hopefully, this isn't an example of customer's lodging experience at all Candlewood Suites properties. But, after this, I'm certain in the future, we may need to...

We've been an IHG Rewards Club member for almost 30 years. So, I was surprised when the reservations person advised, after the booking was placed, there would be an "additional $10 hold" placed on my credit card, by the property. When asked, I was informed: "This $10 hold would cover any damage to the room caused by the occupant." When I objected, the reservations person suggested I speak to management at the property. Three days later, upon check-in at the property, a very polite front desk clerk again advised us of the additional $10 hold placed in the event there is damage to the room. ||Really? So, Candlewood Suites (and IHG) are willing to insult a customer's integrity for ten dollars. Who thought that one up?||Once again, I objected, informing the clerk we were staying overnight to facilitate an early, 6:00 AM, medical appointment. However, I found explanation was an exercise in futility. Apparently, a lot of handicapped senior citizens in town for medical attention stay at this facility. Plus, they throw wild parties, resulting in damage to their rooms. (Sarcasm.) But, since we received a non-refundable early reservations room rate, we stayed.||While our room was nicely appointed, it wasn't without issues. The room was situated at the very opposite end of the building from the front desk. (By the way, on Sunday at 5:30 PM the parking lot was almost empty.) However, according to the front desk clerk, there were only two other available rooms; neither of which were much closer to the elevator. Apparently, that's what we get for booking early at Candlewood Suites. (Sarcasm.) ||Once settled in the room, I attempted to use the recliner. However, I found the footrest release handle to be non-functioning. Not wanting to be charged for damaging their recliner, this was immediately reported to the front desk clerk. An offer was made to change out the non-functioning recliner. However, as my wife was already in bed, I declined the offer.||With an anticipated 5:40 AM check-out time, we turned in around 10:00 PM. But, two hours later, at the stroke of 12 midnight, the bedside alarm clock / radio began blaring reggae music. Unable to silence the loud music, I unplugged the device. Then, at this gross interruption of our sleep, I personally delivered the pre-set device to the overnight front desk clerk with my compliments. (Sarcasm.) ||Hopefully, this isn't an example of the customer experience at all Candlewood Suites properties. But, after this, I'm certain in the future, we may need to...