Best Western Airport Inn & Suites — Hotel in North Charleston

AVOID THIS HOTEL AT ALL COSTS. I SHOULD HAVE SLEPT IN MY RENTAL CAR. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN SAFER!!

I was staying with my son and his team during a hockey tournament. It was around the time the coast was getting hit with the hurricane- but the only things we experienced at this location was heavy rain and wind. Listing this horrible experience from most concerning, down: I PICKED UP (and then stepped on!) A USED CRACK PIPE THAT WAS LEFT IN THE CLOSET OF OUR ROOM. We had been staying in this room for multiple days. There were 8 children there when it happened, and they almost picked it up wondering what it was!

Luckily- The best case scenario happened: I picked a pile of t-shirts that had fallen off the hanger. I felt something hard on the bottom, tried to take it out to see what it was, and it tumbled down my leg and I stepped on it. LUCKILY it didn't break and I saw the kids as they were reaching for it and screamed "NO!!!". Worst case scenario- It could have broken when I stepped on it- and I - or one of the kids - could have been exposed to a incurable blood born pathogen (Hep B, HBV, HEP C, HCV, HIV/AIDS) or fatal dose of a drug (fentanyl).

Our room smelled like smoke. It was a VERY obvious smell. I thought it possibly a smoking room turned NS and the smell just… didn't go away. I had to go buy plugins to try to cover it up. Management/Housekeeping/ANYONE familiar with the room/building should have recognized that the room SHOULDNT SMELL LIKE THAT and investigated appropriately. Who knows what kind of chemicals and secondhand residue we were all exposed to during the stay. I called down asked for manager specifically. I explained what happened and the women from the front desk (not the manager) came to our room. The fact that the manager didn't even bother to address this herself shows a further lack of care. I was told by management we would get one night refund- I said that wasn't good enough. She didn't even refund us that one night. OTHER ISSUES:

• Management blamed storm- but other hotels on the same road didn’t have these issues. The shower didn't work most of our stay. Boys playing hockey every day- no shower? The pool was our only answer. That’s gross for everyone. The AC in the bedroom made a horrific squeaking noise. It was hot and we needed AC but couldn’t sleep with is screeching. We use earplugs because we needed to wake early to our alarms. Basically told “sorry- it is what it is”. Running water in the bathroom sink was occasional at best. Brushing our teeth and washing our hands with bottled water. The toilet clogged every other time I flushed it. Called front desk for help- Manager came up an hour later and HANDED ME A PLUNGER. I had to keep the plunger in the room because it clogged so frequently.

We (and other families) booked a double queen- families ranging from 2-5 people. Most didn’t get the room they reserved. Multiple families of 4 or 5 got put in single king rooms. There were patches of mold on ceiling in the bathroom.

-There was a huge vagrant population behind the hotel. We parked our cars far away from the sides/back in fear of break-ins. Didn't feel comfortable walking anywhere at night. Were told specifically to be careful when leaving the hotel.

I can’t even adequately put into words how horrible this experience was. It was traumatic for our whole team (others found cockroaches in their rooms and had similar treatments and water/toilet issues). Not only was it unpleasant and gross but the uncleanliness and lack of care almost caused children (and or myself) to be seriously hurt or killed.

STAY LITERALLY...

Great clean hotel but the staff not so much. The man who was working the front desk during the day basically every day I was there was so rude. He would stay and watch people just to watch for something he could get after them about. He followed others around until they did something he didn't like, he would be little them and tell them they couldn't do those things, wouldn't allow some people to use certain things, it was like is main purpose was to stand and watch people like a hawk then pounce on them the minute they so much as even stepped on the wrong tile. I never seen him be nice or compliment or help anyone other then his regular behind the desk job duties but he was right there to get on them about anything at all. Spending to much time in the lobby, guest using the public restroom just off the lobby, guest hitting the elevator call button and deciding it was taking to long and left to use the stairs. He went after them and told them it is rude to call an elevator then not be there to use it since there could be other people on other floors waiting and they wasted their time having it called to the lobby for nothing which is not true since the elevator will close and go pick other floors up if it didn't stop and get them along the way. I believe this is the reason the elevator took longer then they liked to begin with but irregardless of any of that if they changed their mind about an elevator they called they are not obligated to take it. I felt sorry for this older couple by the time this employee was done with his lecture. It must of been embarrassing for them. The other thing I noticed is he would leave his work station at the desk to go harass people outside tht he didn't like what they were doing. Someone walking in the parking lot was told to use the sidewalk. He was going to his truck and the sidewalk did go to his truck. A couple walked from the smoking spot outback and around the side of the hotel to get things from their car before going back to their rooms. He told them they can't cut thru the property like that and law enforcement can be called to trespass them if they were seen again. They were on the side walk that leads from the smokers spot to the side of the building and along the parking lot. They weren't cutting anywhere or doing anything they shouldn't have. But jn the Same day I witnessed this employee lecture one customer for doing the exact thing lectured another for not doing. I come to the conclusion that it didn't matter if they were doing wrong or right. This employee likes to belittle and boss around the customers in a very rude and embarrassing manner. I was appalled by this and I can not believe this hotel has allowed this type of thing to go on. It's nothing new since one of the other guest told me the same man has worked there in that same position for years doing the same thing he did during my stay. If this js the kind of treatment best Western prefers from there employees towards there guest then this will be my last stay. However most of the other employees were nice the place is clean...

Last weekend was the 2nd time I stay at a Best Western, and I will not be waiting for the 3rd strike. This particular stay was by far the worst of the 2. For starters I reserved a suite with 2 beds and 1 sofa bed and indicated that we were a group of 6 (3 adults and 3 children). I then received two very early calls the check in day, asking if I actually needed a suite to which I replied I did and again informed the staff that we were a group of 6.

After heading to our room, while smelling marijuana on the way, we arrived to a room with only 3 towels and half a roll of toilet paper (for a 2 day stay). The refrigerator did not work, and the side of the room closest to the window seemed slanted and there was actually a hole in the ground at the foot of the bed, in front of the desk. Although it was inside the carpet you could definitely feel and hear all the metal in the floor boards and your foot could almost go through the floor.

The pull out on the sofa had a broken hinge which caused the head of the bed to be slanted as if sinking into the sofa, and the mattress was so thin you could feel the metal frame. We ended up closing it and sleeping on the couch instead. We not only had only 3 towels, but they were stained and had patches of missing lint. On top of that, when we went to the front desk to ask for more towels, since we'd be getting up early to go to an event, we were told that they did not have any so we'd have to wait till the cleaning staff arrived at 9am and for the towels to be washed, so we would not be getting any until around 11am the next day. We even had an ironing board, but no iron.

We saw the cleaning staff as we were about to leave and upon asking if we could have more towels when the room was cleaned we were informed our room would not be cleaned until the next day (our check out day) but could get more towels if we gave them the used ones. Sure enough we received 5 towels (still not 6) but our trash was not taken nor were we given another roll of toilet paper. The one nice thing would have been the indoor pool, which I was able to take my kids to in the evening even though it was raining out, except it was a salt water pool, there were no towels on the towel stand, and there was a dead roach by the floor drain. Clearly no one had done a check of the area to clean or restock the towels.

After driving almost 5 hours straight from NC to SC, all I wanted was to rest and not deal with having to relocate to another room, let alone another hotel, with my parents, kids and all our luggage. We ended up sucking it up and staying here, even with the hole in the ground. I suggest you, however, invest in a better hotel. I know I will next time. After all, you get what you pay for. What's $100 more for a more comfortable stay at a...