Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Scranton Montage Mountain — Hotel in Moosic

My friends and I stayed here overnight for a nearby Jason Aldean concert at the Pavilion at Montage Mountain (which was calamitous due to woeful mismanagement/overbooking by the venue), but if the concert experience was the Titanic, this hotel was the Carpathia.

The staff we encountered was beyond friendly (even after listening to reams of grumbling for disgruntled country fans), especially Dave at the front desk who I met in the tenth hour of his twelve hour shift and was still a model of manners and grace.

We must have had the nicest room in the place, as it overlooked the nearby PNC Stadium and looks out over the beautiful forests of northern Pennsylvania. It was very clean and had all of the amenities one would desire.

There is an aptly-named convenience store in the lobby with reasonably-priced snacks. I will say that $3.00 for a Diet Pepsi is slightly exorbitant, but I am loyal to my brand, and the spirit of Joan Crawford was smiling down.

There is a back patio that has a grill and a fire pit where my friends and I conversed and ate until around 2:00 AM, when we finally made our somnolent sojourn back to our rooms for our restful repose.

When the sun stretched its gaze over the verdant horizon, I partook in the complimentary breakfast, which was far more varied and delicious than anticipated; Waffles, scrambled eggs, sausage, bagels, cereal, oatmeal, lots of juices, and a full coffee station with three types of creamer and even half-and-half! The morning staff were friendly, and the other patrons were pleasant to talk to. Friendly fellow guests don't seem like something on which to evaluate a hotel, but when you treat your guests well and create a welcoming environment, people are bound to be far more neighborly.

The Jason Aldean catastrophe could be a fine metaphor for the uncertain times our country faces, but the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Scranton Montage Mountain proves that if we could manage to slow down and appreciate a friendly smile, a well-air conditioned room, a soft bed, and a good bite to eat, maybe we would realize how much we all want similar things and should be better neighbors to each other. To quote Tolkien's The Hobbit, "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." Thanks for the lovely...

Rating this two stars because I very specifically chose this Marriott over the others in the area for the indoor pool onsite. I called before I booked to verify it was open and operational.

Checking in was a breeze, staff was very kind and the hotel was very clean.

The room was very clean. The bathroom was very nice. The shower was great! It’s not often I can compliment on the shower in any hotel. The water pressure was fantastic, the water was hot and lasted a very long time. I do wish there was more than two bath towels.

The bed felt brand new. It was super firm yet plush where needed. Also, would have liked more than four queen pillows.

The tv, although I hardly watch tv, was nice. It had an option to watch Netflix but couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to use it.

After getting settled in and getting my bathing suit on with my suite mate we headed to the POOL!! TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT The pool was absolutely frigid. Might as well have been an outdoor pool (it was 11° this night). The pool was so cold we both were shivering after only getting our knees in. We decided to jump in to get over the shock of the temperature. Big mistake. Immediately got out and returned to the room for hot showers. This was upsetting since the purpose of choosing this location was for the POOL.

I brought it to the attention of the front desk as I was told it was a maintenance problem. Couldn’t decipher whether the employee had known it was a popsicle in there or maybe kindly didn’t care.

Upon arrival at any hotel I always check the filters on the a/c unit. 100% of the time they are filthy. I always clean them and spray them with Lysol, let them dry then put them back in. I don’t like breathing others germs. Especially COVID Germies. Sadly I completely forgot to check till the next morning when I woke up completely congested. And although the photo doesn’t really show how dirty they actually were, they were definitely not cleaned before my stay here. But again, this is with any hotel chain. ALWAYS OVERLOOKED.

The two negative things I had to say really brought the stars down because those two were very important to my stay for myself and the other guest. It was overall pleasant, but I felt like the Griswolds at Walley...

We stayed there during Labor Day weekend Friday-Tuesday and were very dissatisfied with the service. When we checked in on Friday night we were given room 301. The bathroom door was not closing even with a strong push. Mind you it was my husband, my brother in law and myself staying in a double bed room so we needed the bathroom door to close for privacy. We requested housekeeping 2 days in a row and no one came to clean our rooms or even replenish our towels. We notified the front desk staff that no one came to clean the room after requesting it Sunday and then they assured us they would come Monday but no one came. My husband had to go searching for clean towels at 5pm in the evening and apparently all the towels were being washed at that time…. Weird time to be doing towel laundry in the evening when guests are normally checking in and coming back to the hotel at the end of the day. The front desk staff never notified us of the housekeeping policy and that guests must request it a day in advance and it would get done the next day. There were no signs in the rooms or on the do not disturb sign stating the housekeeping policy. Also, I have been to plenty of hotels during covid the last 2 years and never heard of this policy where you must notify the staff 1 day in advance if you want your room cleaned and they will do it the next day. Regardless of their policy they still did not clean our room even though we requested it multiple times a day in advance. When I talked to the manager during check out on Tuesday morning she said she would talk to the owner and give my phone number and the owner would call me to talk to me about my concerns, which of course no one called. This is the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had and would not recommend staying here. There’s a Spring Hill by Marriott and courtyard by Marriott right next door to this hotel and I highly recommend staying there instead for a better experience. We were attending a wedding in this town and there were wedding guests who stayed at the other two Marriott hotels and did not run into any housekeeping problems...