Candlewood Suites Charleston – Mt. Pleasant by IHG — Hotel in Mount Pleasant

If I could give zero starts I would. I am extremely disappointed with how Candlewood Suites handled my reservation, and I feel it’s important to share my experience for other travelers—especially those traveling alone and as a woman.

I booked three nights through Expedia for Labor Day weekend. Due to a flight delay and potential cancellation, I knew I would not arrive until very late at night or not at all until the next morning, so I proactively called the hotel to let them know. The front desk confirmed they would make a note on my reservation, reassured me it would be fine, and said I could call back in the morning if my flight was canceled. At no point did anyone explain a policy about a required call-back time or a risk of losing my ENTIRE reservation.

When I called the next morning around 10–11 a.m., after a cancelled flight and long updated travel night/morning, to update them my arrival time, I was shocked to learn the hotel had marked me as a “no-show,” charged a fee, and canceled my entire reservation for the weekend. To make matters worse, because it was a holiday weekend, they told me no rooms were available. I was left as a single woman traveling alone without accommodations, through no fault of my own, despite doing everything reasonable to communicate with the hotel in advance.

When I tried to resolve this, both managers, Eric and Rachel, were dismissive and extremely unhelpful, and refused any sort of compensation and did not take ANY accountability for their team not communicating to each other that I would be arriving late. I even have a time stamped call the night before and proved I called and they eventually admitted that they did find a note stating I would be arriving late, but STILL put all blame and responsibility on me for not calling "in time" even though I was unable to due to my new travel plans to get there, and offered no help, compensation or anything.

They repeatedly cited a “policy” that was never communicated to me and contradicted what their own staff had told me. Rachel even stated that payments were handled by Expedia, which was untrue—Expedia confirmed the hotel already had my payment. The inconsistency and lack of transparency was alarming.

After lengthy back-and-forth between the hotel and Expedia, Eric eventually agreed to issue only a partial refund for two nights while still charging me for the first night. However, this did nothing to address the real issue: they canceled my full reservation without warning (no notification via email or call or anything) leaving me stranded on a holiday weekend with no help, no alternatives, and no accountability from Rachel and Eric.

The screenshots attached show the only communications I received from the hotel after booking. Nowhere was this so-called “policy” mentioned.

In the end, Candlewood Suites failed to honor a confirmed reservation, failed to communicate clearly, and treated me rudely and dismissively when I tried to resolve the issue. For a brand that is supposed to provide hospitality, this experience was the opposite. I would strongly caution anyone considering booking here to think twice, especially if you’re traveling solo or during peak times.

I would be extremely cautious counting on them, even if you do everything you can to update them. Do not book here and don't expect any help from...

I would give negative 500 stars to these thieves! I had my room booked for two weeks for a business trip. On my third day after working a 12-hour shift, my card to my room was not working and had my card reactivated at the front desk. Once I entered my room, I discovered over $2,000 worth of my personal belongings were stolen from my room - including my personal computer and keys that I really need. There were mud tracks everywhere which was one of the first things I noticed upon entering the room. I reported the incident to the front desk and they said that nothing can be done because the manager was not on duty (I have to emphasize how irresponsible the manager is coming from someone who deals with customer service). I then called the police to file a report and magically a supervisor (not a manager) showed up. The supervisor showed some sympathy but when I said I was not staying another night, still charged me for the room on that same day. I left - shaken by the whole situation. The manager was suppose to call me the next day after a supposed investigation was to occur. The front desk mentioned they can track room keys and claimed to have no surveillance. The manager never called me. I let a day pass by waiting for a response and proceeded to file a complaint to IHG customer service. IHG customer service claimed an incident was never reported! IHG customer service gave me a case number and said someone would call me by today (07/04/2022). Now 5 days later, no one has called me! Any chance of getting my stuff back is now long gone! It must be an inside job! They saw me walk in with my stuff on day one, watched my schedule for a couple of days, let someone in my room when I went to work, and then proceeded to steal my belongings! They are thieves! I am devastated by what has occurred knowing that someone was watching me and how much I lost. I'll be paranoid to stay at hotels for the rest of my life! I travel for work 6 months out of the year and have done so for over 10 years. Nothing like this has ever happened to me. It blows my mind how truly disprespectful and careless the hotel, manager, and IHG have handled this incident. DON'T stay here, your stuff/car might get stolen, stay far...

I would give negative 500 stars to these thieves! I had my room booked for two weeks for a business trip. On my third day after working a 12-hour shift, my card to my room was not working and had my card reactivated at the front desk. Once I entered my room, I discovered over $2,000 worth of my personal belongings were stolen from my room - including my personal computer and keys that I really need. There were mud tracks everywhere which was one of the first things I noticed upon entering the room. I reported the incident to the front desk and they said that nothing can be done because the manager was not on duty (I have to emphasize how irresponsible the manager is coming from someone who deals with customer service). I then called the police to file a report and magically a supervisor (not a manager) showed up. The supervisor showed some sympathy but when I said I was not staying another night, still charged me for the room on that same day. I left - shaken by the whole situation. The manager was suppose to call me the next day after a supposed investigation was to occur. The front desk mentioned they can track room keys and claimed to have no surveillance. The manager never called me. I let a day pass by waiting for a response and proceeded to file a complaint to IHG customer service. IHG customer service claimed an incident was never reported! IHG customer service gave me a case number and said someone would call me by today (07/04/2022). Now 5 days later, no one has called me! Any chance of getting my stuff back is now long gone! It must be an inside job! They saw me walk in with my stuff on day one, watched my schedule for a couple of days, let someone in my room when I went to work, and then proceeded to steal my belongings! They are thieves! I am devastated by what has occurred knowing that someone was watching me and how much I lost. I'll be paranoid to stay at hotels for the rest of my life! I travel for work 6 months out of the year and have done so for over 10 years. Nothing like this has ever happened to me. It blows my mind how truly disprespectful and careless the hotel, manager, and IHG have handled this incident. DON'T stay here, your stuff/car might get stolen, stay far...