Grand Resort Hotel - Mt Laurel - Philadelphia — Hotel in Mount Laurel Township

Update: Manager was understanding and did apply a credit to our bill; however, compensation at the end of our stay really could not make up for the experience. Will not return given overall maintenance issues but appreciated the understanding and effort at the end of our stay.

I can say that this has not been the worst experience we've ever had at a hotel; however, it has been very far from the best.

Probably the most significant and uncomfortable issue with our stay has been the cooling system. Our room has not reached below 75 degrees since our arrival and often reaches 80 degrees during the day. This is not an isolated issue, as we have overheard multiple other guests in line to complain about the same issue. We were told once that maintenance would come address the issue, and they did not come. The second time he came and stated he would check on something on the roof, then never returned. No change in room temperature. The third time another gentleman came and made an effort to adjust the unit in the wall but was honest with us and told us that this likely could not be resolved during our stay. We certainly appreciated the candor and wished that, upon our first complaint, this information had been provided. Given that multiple individuals in our party have breathing issues aggravated by heat, this was very uncomfortable for us.

Also, upon arrival, we found plastic wrap covering the smoke detector. When we alerted the front desk to this, we were simply told to remove the wrap or swap rooms. As it was nearing midnight, we chose to remain in our room. Had we have been aware of the intensity of the cooling issue at the time, we might have opted to change rooms. While not a huge issue, it was a bit concerning as to why this covered and why it was not addressed when the room was clean.

Almost every time we left the room, upon return our key cards (both of them) did not work. Being aware of issues with electronics, we purposefully kept the key cards isolated; however, this still did not resolve the issue. Not a huge deal, but another added frustration.

The pool was dirty. We even noticed a cigarette butt floating in the water, at which point we chose to exit. The pool area was covered with ants. Upon our return, there were ants covering our table and the table next to ours, as well as all of our clothing and shoes. We had no food with us or anything to attract the ants. Others have noted the intense stepdown to enter the pool area. It is a pretty substantial step.

Our room was ok otherwise with a few issues. The shelves fell out of the refrigerator when it was opened, and the plate for the microwave was too big, so the door barely closed and the plate could not spin. It did not seem as though several buttons on the microwave worked. There were a few questionable stains on the shower curtain, and it seemed that only the primary areas of the room were prioritized for cleaning. Just general maintenance issues. The room was not very-well insulated for noise, and there was at least one large group on our floor. We heard doors slamming, children screaming and music playing loudly well-past midnight.

The walkways and elevators were not always completely clean, and we found the marble floors to be wet and slippery at times with no signs, particularly in and around the elevators. Elevator lights did not all illuminate. Again, more general maintenance.

Overall, the temperature of the room is just unbearable and has resulted in significant issues for our party. We missed planned activities due to aggravation of medical conditions associated with heat. Had staff have been more forthcoming about the nature of the cooling issues, we would have made other plans. Other issues, while inconvenient, could have been overlooked. Some staff members were friendly and attempted to be as helpful as possible; others, not so much. We have not been able to speak with a member of management but will try again tomorrow...

My family and I stayed here this past weekend for our daughter's dance competition. This venue was terribly unprepared and poorly set up for a dance competition, but I'll go into detail on each of the aspects of our stay.

VENUE: There were nearly 400 dances and seating for barely 100 parents. The seating that was available made seeing the stage basically impossible from any vantage. Getting in and out of the seating area required literally stepping over people or fighting through two way traffic. The photo area was directly at the top of the main staircase. The snack sales were blocking the hallway. The girls backstage area was so hot that several girls fell physically ill. My daughter was so sick with heat stroke type symptoms that she ended up vomitting and missing her final dance of the first day. I truly hope that for the sake of anyone involved, this hotel does not try to host events of this type or size in the future.

FOOD and DRINK: The "Starbucks" is a Starbucks only in that they serve Starbucks coffee. Essentially if you buy a bag of ground coffee at the store and bring it home, your house is as much of a Starbucks as this is. They have only hot coffee, VERY limited options on any type of flavoring, and the service is slow and rude. It also didn't even open until 4pm. Luckily, there is a full Starbucks just on the other side of the adjacent Westin hotel. I walked over there several times rather than deal with the in hotel option. There is a restaurant/bar option, although I didn't even see any food served. Similar to the Starbucks, this was only open in the evening, and the service was very slow and rude. I got a draught beer for my wife and I and it took about 20 mins for the two people ahead of me to be served. Instead, there is a Miller's Ale House right next to the full Starbucks that happily accommodated 20 of us on just a few moments notice with good food and fantastic and friendly staff.

ROOMS: As for the hotel room itself, I was downgraded to a regular room because the person staying in my suite hadn't checked out yet and there was no timetable for when they would. To be fair, downgrading was my choice given that there was no timetable for the room to be ready, and this other room was available immediately. I just didn't realize how bad it was going to be. I was given a room right behind the elevator so I got to listen to the sounds of the elevator shaft all day and night. The water pressure in the shower was nonexistent and I found someone else's hair in the shower. There was also no soap, so my family used the tiny tube of body wash to wash our hands. The room did have a pretty large TV, and comfortable beds.

SERVICE: Service was a mixed bag depending on who you're dealing with. I already mentioned that the food service personnel were very slow and rude, but the front desk staff was very friendly and did their best to help. On Sunday we needed to checkout of our room by 11am, but would still be at the hotel for the majority of the day as the dance competition was still going on. We were running behind a bit on getting my daughter ready for her first dance so I tried to call down to ask about late checkout options. Well shocker, the phone didn't work. So I walked down to the front desk and was told that there was no availability for late checkout due to the hotel being at full capacity. However, they said as long as we could be out of the room by 12:30pm there would be no charge for a late checkout. Again, very helpful, and I greatly appreciate the flexibility, but on the other hand that flexibility is probably why they couldn't tell me when my original room would be read in the first place. The front desk staff was really the only redeeming quality of our entire stay.

OVERALL: Overall this is the single worst hotel experience of my life. If you ever have to attend an event here (God forbid), do yourself a favor and stay at the Westin next door and just walk over when...

We are on night 2 of 3 here. We will be checking out early in the AM and not utilizing the water park on the last day. I'll break this down.

Pros: the restaurant is nice, our hostess and waiter went above and beyond for our family. the lifeguards are doing the best they can with the cards they're dealt. thank you to the girl who scooped up my three year old who was tackled in the children's area by the tween aged boys. there are baby seats in the splash pool, so nice for our family as we have a 10 month old. our rooms itself is clean. it's not the nicest CocoKey hotel I've ever stayed in but I've stayed at some awful places. This isn't one of them.

Cons:

There is NO crowd control. This place is packed by noon, lines 45 minutes long to get food at the ONLY PLACE you can get food in the water park. Y'all should consider changing the rules. The lifeguards cannot effectively "guard" anything when they're bobbing and weaving through crowds trying to observe an area. I understand the general public can attend the park not just hotel guests...but omg. It's too crowded. They can't do their job properly. The majority of their parents let their children roam free in the park. By the early afternoon the water park no longer smells of chlorine but a nice, body odor and foot smell. It's disgusting. No one showers before entering the pools. By this evening when I took the older kids back to swim, the water was cloudy. As a mother of a boy, I can understand being cautious of your child. But your 10 year old son doesn't need to use the ladies locker room, sorry. There are privacy stalls but they were not utilized by most. It's currently 10:30 and there are tween/teens banging and running down the hallways, being louder than ever. Thank goodness I sleep trained my kids to deal with noises! This morning I complained to the supervisor of the strong smell of marijuana right outside of our room. She said she would "handle it". Guess what it still smells like by room 230? � Don't bother ordering room service, it will never come. (You'll be charged for it, though.)

We are from Maryland and have never been to Sahara Sam's. I see a lot of comparisons of the two. We took a chance and booked this for a quick getaway for my husbands birthday. Changes need to be made so the staff can keep up with the crowds and run this business better. Hire more security, change your occupancy standards, train you front desk managers to provide customer service when ILLEGAL activity is going on property. We will not be returning. I've been to multiple CocoKey properties and plan on filing a complaint with their corporate office.

Adding more from our checkout today** I always remove linens upon departure, having worked in hospitality. I found 4 layers of fitted sheets, all covered in hair and stains. It's obvious they just added another layer for our stay. Pillows had no protectors. For $175 a night I expect clean sheets and pillow protectors. We brought our concerns to the supervisor this morning, and she said she would "write them down". No offer of a refund or any way to make it right. Extremely disappointed and will suggest everyone just save up for an experience at the Great Wolf Lodge in the Poconos. Worth every penny compared...