Port Inn and Suites Portsmouth, an Ascend Collection Hotel — Hotel in Portsmouth

After staying there 5/5-5/6 and having a decent experience based on the price point, dog friendly aspect and friendliness of the front desk when we checked in as first time guests when we had an unexpected death in family, we decided to book again this past weekend as we needed to return for the funeral/ memorial service for my husband’s brother. The front desk complained upon my arrival that I had booked through Hotel Tonight because the system was so inconvenient for them. Upon arriving to our room, we noticed the room was a bit more beat up than the room we had previously stayed in and our dogs were sniffing everywhere more intensely than normal. I have pictures of broken furniture and a door that looked like someone had been trying to break into it recently with a terrible paint job trying to cover it. We were busy and needed to meet family so I ignored this and unloaded our bags. We went outside to walk our dogs and had to avoid an aggressive pitbull with an owner who made no effort to correct the dog and just stared at us while the dog pulled on the leash and barked at us.

Sheets were clean and fresh and bathroom seemed clean so we showered and went to bed as soon as we got back and again headed out with our dogs in the early morning for things we needed to do.

Upon our return, my husband went to walk the dogs in the designated area behind the buildings and I loaded our vehicle with things we needed to transport that evening. As I was doing this, the man with the pitbull mix exited his room behind me on the second floor. Hearing the door open and close behind me, I turned around to see who was there and saw him allow his dog to run ahead of him down the stairs and around the back of the building while he was still at the top of the stairs. He appeared to have a 12-15ft leash but had no control of the dog and casually followed him down. When I saw this I yelled out to my husband to warn him but it was too late because the dog ran straight for my two tiny dogs and attacked my 11lb chihuahua, resulting in bite wounds, one of which required staples to close and a $615 vet bill, $10 new collar because of the wound that prevent her from being able to wear a harness and additional vet bills upon our return home for a follow up visit($87) and still another bill to come next week to remove the staples…not to mention the repeating memory in my head of watching a dog almost 10x the size of mine trying to kill my dog.

The overnight front desk person was actually wonderful and made me feel like the hotel would help us resolve this with the owners because they were aware of the aggressive dog and the guy walking it on a leash longer than he should. He was sympathetic to our situation and assured me that the managers coming in at 7am and 8am would help me and we would be able to address it in a way that made us feel safe. I wish I had just called the police because the same front desk person who was so friendly and lovely a month ago was cold and just told me “We are not responsible” and handed me the phone number for the couple in the room with the aggressive dog. He said something about being sorry about our dog as we walked away because I was visibly angry. I never tried to blame the hotel or expected anything from them other than providing a situation where we felt safe to be and I don’t think that’s an unfair request.

I spoke with the wife of the man who was walking the dog who had decided to conveniently disappear and she was crying begging us not have her dog taken away from her and assured us she would pay the bill.

I went back into my room to shower and prepare for the funeral and was walking around the room dressing and packing what I needed for the day for about an hour. When I went to put my shoes on, my feet were filthy from walking around the room on the carpet! I wanted to vomit. I was so grossed out. I had to wash my feet again and put on shoes immediately. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

We returned multiple times to the room to check on our dogs throughout the day and in the evening when we returned the final time, the parking lot was roped off in front of our room because they had PAVED THE ENTIRE PARKING LOT while we were out! They gave us no notice at all that this would happen. So now I have to walk across freshly laid asphalt?? And remember I need to walk my dogs!

I approached an employee in the parking lot and he just grumbled something about not being able to park there and shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

We then took the tape down, drove up to our room, packed up our things, returned the keys to the front desk and found other accommodations for the evening. I’m completely disgusted with this visit and didn’t have the mental capacity to deal with this all while dealing with the death in our family. I’m truly disgusted and will be filing a police report in regard to the dog attack, and making sure the board of health pays...

Subject : The Crowbar Inn. The doors don't work. They lock permanently.

The doors lock permanently. They won't open, not even with the master key. l got LOCKED OUT of my room and top management could not let me in, TWICE. Simply taking out your hotel room trash is a risky choice at this place. You might not be able to get back into your room.

Maintenance had to use a broom through a window (that thankfully l had left open) to work the door handle and let me back in to my belongings. l was forced to move into three different rooms in ONE two week stay. If the room hadn't had a window positioned in such a way as to use a broom to jiggle the door handle...(a fluke because it was a corner room) ...well then staff was talking about calling the fire department.

l begged them to swap out the entire door, offered to pay for the labor to do it, but that would cause them inconvenience because the doors are computerized and numbered. Much easier to just tell me to slog to yet another room. (Because of long shifts and long stays l have to haul a lot of stuff when l travel for work, dishes, food, etc.)

l lost 12 hours to this moving and re-moving and re-moving insanity .

Their trash locks could have lost me my employment. Thank god l wasn't in the midst of heading out the door to my ER shift. My car keys were locked in the room.

Not Pet Friendly!!! DOGS ONLY to the tune of $30 a night for the first, $15 for the second. This princely sum NOT mentioned on the webpage. l have absolutely no problem with a significant damage deposit AND a one time per stay cleaning fee. But $45 each and every night ongoing during a long term stay is predatory. 10 night stay here - $450. Hampton Inn charge - $150.

NO CATS. Cats aren't "pets" to these people. BAIT AND SWITCH. Show up to a "pet friendly hotel" and be "informed" at the front desk that cats aren't pets. (Also not "mentioned" on the webpage.) Certainly a set up for a weary traveler to think they have secured lodging and abruptly learn (late at night) that they have nowhere to stay because their cat isn't a pet. Deceptive. Callous disregard. Unsafe.

Phone did not work in two of the three rooms l was in. First bathroom (room 134) smelled like the carpeted bathroom my sister potty trained her twin boys in. (A plunger already in the motel bathroom - never a good sign...though points for accepting reality.)

Crater in the center of both king mattresses. Slept on the floor on the air mattress l travel with.

They don't answer their phone.

One day desk clerk comically rude and self-important. When l was locked out of my room, his surly response was "l'm too old for this." Yes, me being locked out and having to move (yet again) was such a travesty...for him. The other desk clerks were very nice, despite working for a company too cheap and short sighted to prioritize properly functioning doors. When something as core basic as the doors don't function, it is logical to wonder what else is going on. How are the employees treated? ls the ice machine safe to use?

When l expressed incredulity at doors locking permanently l was told that this was not an unusual hotel event, told that my astonishment was naive, unrealistic. ln this establishment's parlance l had simply encountered a "dead" lock. Certainly l have had many hotel keys fail temporarily, but l ALWAYS regained entry to my room with a fresh keycard. According to this motel manager, a permanent lock out is a common event, par for the course, and l was a rube for not knowing this.

Terrible, exhausting, creepy experience. lf you want to risk random loss of access to your room and belongings (pets) (medications) stay here, but keep your keys, wallet and a crowbar with you...

I'll break this down using google's rating categories.

Overall: 5 stars.

Room: 5. I was a bit weary based on reviews I read previously, but they were all old, and I figured I'd take the chance. I'm glad I did. The room was fine, small, but plenty cozy. As far as motel rooms go, fairly standard. That being said, we couldn't figure out the coffee maker, but the free coffee in the lobby (wasn't amazing, but that's not important - and it's a hotel, not a Starbucks.) more than made up for it. The non-functional coffee maker would be the only reason I may take anything off the rating, but the room was absolutely fine and suited us perfectly. One other thing I read in reviews was that "the shower head was screaming", which based on past experience is a water pressure issue. Changing the massage mode on the shower head stopped the squeak (which was very amusing, we all appreciated your serenade in the shower, shower head thanks for your service)

Service: Based on previous reviews, and the fact that the owners actively monitor this and take time to give feedback on left reviews - I was looking forward to this, because feedback usually means they're actively taking steps to improve, and I absolutely appreciate that. The service was absolutely stellar. They let us check in early, which I also very much appreciated. (Took a bit to make sure the room was ready, but hey, at least they checked!)

Walking in we were warmly greeted, she met our dog, she offered him treats, (and let us know they have doggy bags if needed) and as quickly as she could got us checked in. I mentioned we'd have a couple extra cars joining us later in the evening, and she gave us a heads up that a large group was on the way - so parking may be an issue later (It wasn't at all.)

Hands down 5 stars for service. We didn't need much attention as guests, but I'm sure if we had they'd have been met. Thank you guys for this.

Location: On the corner of a large, busy road at an equally large, not very busy intersection. At night, there's almost no traffic. It's neighbors are a big field of nothing, and a distant car dealership. Plenty quiet at night. Parking, which we were "warned" about (I wouldn't even call it a warning, more of a circumstantial heads up) was ample.

About 10 minutes away from some beaches, and downtown. Honestly a great price for what we got, and if we're up in the area again there's a pretty solid chance we'll stay here again.

Thanks for your hospitality, and sorry I took forever to write this! Keep up...