Cottonwood Suites Savannah Hotel & Conference Center — Hotel in Pooler

We decided to do a week stay in Pooler for our vacation and I wanted a place that could cater to my two little ones. This place offers a Deluxe King Suite with a bathroom, sink area with closet, wide bedroom with kitchen attached and full sized fridge. If on the first floor, you get a cave like experience for a patio which is kinda magical to children or a cozy patio on the second floor. I dived right in without checking the mixed reviews which kinda saddens me but that's my fault.

We stayed regardless because I saw many reviews say once their money was locked in, getting a refund was near impossible and we paid in advance of two weeks I believe.

Here are the pros and cons of staying.

Pros : • Main floor has access to the lavish pool from their patios and is only 5 ft deep. Towels are provided near by but i don't know if they're changed out daily.

• The fridge is in good shape so if you'd like to keep snacks and drinks available, there is more than ample space.

• The staff checks in for towel changes and makes sure you're seen to daily.

• If you'd like a DND sign for your room, they're available at the front desk, just ask for one.

• No noise issues so great area for children who wake easily.

• Closet area wide enough for family of 4, provides ample space below for bags, enough rail for hanging clothes, top rack useful for shoes, and ironing board with iron in same area for quick access.

• Bed was inspected for bed bugs due to a prior review I read and none was found, no indication of trails or spots under the sheets, cases or headboard. Inspection was done before family and bags entered room.

Cons :

• Wasp nests are near entrances, in patio areas, among the pool area and in the bushes. We had to call for maintenance for a baseball size nest and we decided not to use the patio for our stay due to ongoing wasps. I felt bad for the maintenance guy because he had chemical cleaner instead of wasp spray. We bought and left behind a can of wasp spray for use to prevent any chances of him potentially getting stung lol. Biggest wasp nest we saw was nearly the size of a cantaloupe 20 feet above our entrance to the side of the building.

• Access cards only work on your actual door, not the access door to the building. Anyone can gain access from sides of building even if they don't have a room.

• Rust around the ring to the shower head's metal pipe. There is water scum and build up on the shower head and could be replaced. Rust on lamps too.. it's weird.

• Black and pink mold along the inner wall of the tub. We did a bleach clean before every use and didn't stay in for long. We did more wash offs at other locations.

• Toilet is missing caps that keep the seating secured and wasn't properly cleaned so use at your risk and bring your own cleaner if you decide to stay.

• Desk chair was overly used and had dried up pleather coming off the arms and backing. We didn't use it due to smell.

• Ice machine doesn't work and was dirty. We brought our own ice maker luckily.

• Table came with two chairs that had build up of dirt so we kept towels draped over during the times we sat.

• Floors were stained and hasn't been shampooed and deep cleaned. Had to keep our youngest in socks, on a blanket or in her pack n play because it would dirty her clothing and body if she crawled too much.

• Patio was never cleaned before or during our stay so leftover wasps that had died stayed out there during our time. I was disappointed by that but overlooked it since we went out and did stuff. We only stayed in one day for pool time.

• My biggest peeve was the DND sign. Even with it on, we had knocks. At one point, someone unlocked our door and attempted to walk in to inquire about our stay. We understand checking in on our stay but a telephone was always available.

• Pet hair and toe nail clippings???? Had to clean the floor.

They're renovating but I wish we had gotten a better room to see that for ourselves. Better luck to the next guests if your family...

So Imran at the front desk is amazing. He works very well under pressure and stress. Super nice. If i could give him 5 stars alone i would.

Edit: he was able to accommodate me soon as check out was over the next day. And again was also juggling everything on his own.

Now for my complaints. I did book a wheelchair accessible room. I have some health conditions that required it. Did not have one available on arrival. When asked if the 2nd floor was ok i assumed there was an elevator. Like any hotel I've been to. I was wrong. Boy did that flare up my knee injury and heart condition. Also bought groceries as the room i booked had a full fridge online. But the pictures aren't updated. So I'm sure my stuff will be spoiled. Not happy about that.

There seems to be dried blood under the bathroom counter of my first room. The mini fridge barely works. The furniture is dated and doesn't look very clean. And yes. The pillows are hard and uncomfortable. You have to perform WWE moves with your weight to get a little dent in it for your head to rest. Woke up with a headache. Mildew in the bathroom on the ceiling.

Ac in a king room was hardly working. So i struggled with my heat intolerance. And the common areas seem to struggle with ac as well. But it is a large hotel. They seem to be cutting corners as far as being cheap with certain things. But overall it's not the worst place.

The continental breakfast was one of the better ones I've seen. But you can't take the food to the rooms.

They have a nice property. But some minor updates and renovations would make a huge difference. There is a lot of opportunities to turn this place around. It could honestly steal the spotlight of all the hotels around if they just give it a little more umph. I didn't see any bugs. I watched staff clean pretty thorough. I actually like this hotel and would be willing to come back. I'll just make sure i can be properly accommodated first lol.

No complaints about our new room. Overall the stay is enjoyable. Salt water pool is open and very nice.

Also give...

I made reservations for this hotel because I checked its reviews, and by what they said on the web page plus the price it looked a good deal to me. I arrived earlier to the hotel, and I spoke to the front desk lady. I was hoping to get a room. I knew the check in was at 3 pm, but I have worked in hotels before and there is always somebody who is going to leave earlier than the check out time, so if the guest has made a reservation, the front desk could check, and find out with the housekeepers the best time for an available room, and make it possible too just to please the guest. That what is called to be proactive, and to know how to give a good customer service. I also know housekeeping works from 9 am, but front desk made clear to call at 1 pm to find something. I work on a 3rd shift job, so i spent 3 hours sleeping in my car on the back side of a parking lot!, then I called back almost begging to get finally a room! When I get to the room (I am not germophobic) the floor was dirty, the sink counter was sticky, and I found a hair on the edge of the bathtub. When i was getting ready to go out The housekeeper was talking loud on the radio close to the door of my room and kept banging the door of the next room she was cleaning. The next morning they were remodeling closed to my room. I woke up by a hammering sound. Who does a remodeling in the middle of a holiday weekend?. At the time of the check out the same front desk lady asked me how was everything. When I told her about the noises of the day before she looked at me like she didn't know there was people making improvements inside of the hotel... SMDH! The only reason I gave a single star is because the only good thing this hotel has was the bed.... I am not coming back to this place and neither recommend it even to my worst enemy. There are lots of options on that area... Guess what you get for...