Hyatt Place Raleigh / Cary — Hotel in Raleigh

Where do I begin? I will try to make this brief. This year my family and I decided to travel to North Carolina for Thanksgiving. We booked our hotel reservations through Travelocity (the lady from Travelocity was extremely rude). We traveled from DC. When we arrived no one was at the front desk to check us in. Then I noticed a etc. prepping breakfast. She kindly informed me "the lady" that is supposed to check us in will be available in about 15 minutes. I went back outside to wait 15 minutes with my family. I came back in 15 minutes later and this "other person" still hadn't arrived. The kind lady that was prepping the food ended up checking us in. At the time my observation led me to believe the only reason she had us wait was because she hadn't been taught protocol for front desk procedures. She was supper nice, warm and welcoming. We went to our room only to discover the room we extremely dirty. Hair was all in thy bathroom tub and sink. "Living area was dusty, towels had stains on them etc. We immediately asked for cleaning services. Mind you it's about 7:30/8 am. We were unpacking, showering etc. and the front desk said they would send the cleaning crew up as soon as they got it. I'm not sure what time they get in but no one came to the door until after 10/11. The cleaning lady didn't speak English and all she did was give us more towels. I asked if she would clean the bathroom she just smiled and walked away. We called the front desk again. The front desk said "the cleaning ladies had left for the day, it was Thanksgiving" (they were still on my floor and didn't clean our room). Needless to say we wanted to leave this hotel get a new hotel because our experience thus far was unsatisfactory. Long story short after I called the front desk and for a manager all issues were resolved in a matter of 30 minutes to an hr. The manager Mr. Allen listened to my complaint/ concerns and actually showed genuine concern for the problems we address. He selected a new room which was clean (he allowed us to inspect the room), he provided a microwave for our room (so we wouldn't have to go up and down the stairs to heat our Thanksgiving dinner, and he offered 3 $20 vouchers towards the hotel food. We appreciate Mr. Allen and his hospitality. To our surprise the food from the cafe was actually delicious. The gentelman that checked us out was patiently hold our food while we brought our belongings downstairs. Checkout went smoothly. Overall the customer service provided by Mr. Allen was five star! The hotel cleanliness is definitely a 2. I'm giving them a 4 because of Mr. Allen...

The hotel itself was very nice and the location was very convenient. However, making people wait hours after their check in time for a room with no explanation and not estimated time is unacceptable. I was there for Memorial Day weekend and staying 1 night for a concert in the area. Check in time was at 3 pm and I didn't even get to the hotel until around 4 pm. Now I completely understand things happen, and sometimes you need to wait and I'm reasonable and don't mind waiting a little while. But when I walked in the whole lobby was covered in people with luggage and people even waiting outside. Come to find out all these people are here for the same event and guess what - the hotel doesn't have a single room ready for anybody and some people have been waiting for 3+ hours already! The staff were all very friendly, but they were not helpful at all. All I wanted was an estimated time frame of about how long they think it might be until I get a room so I know whether I can go grab a bite to eat or do something other things to pass the time while I wait. They just state they can't do that, they won't even try. So then I was stuck afraid to leave and them giving away my room to somebody else waiting since I wasn't there and they were (I wasn't told this would happen but the place was chaos so I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't happen accidentally). So I sit and wait 2 hrs so far and no I'm getting nervous that I won't have a place to stay tonight and that I'll miss the concert if something doesn't happen soon. Therefore, I get up and speak with the front desk for the 3rd time now. I simply ask them for an estimated time or if I'll even have a room for tonight or else I need a refund and will find somewhere else to stay. All of a sudden I get pushed to the head of the line and miraculously get a room within 15 minutes. As I mentioned I understand things happen but the situation itself and the way it was handled was completely unacceptable. At the very least you could've offered a drink on the house to help people feel like you're trying to help them out. I was told that the issue was housekeeping was behind but come on....a 2-3+ hour wait is inexcusable no matter the issue. Because of this, all plans for the vacation were thrown off, we didn't even get to grab a bite to eat before the concert due to...

As we prepare to check out this morning, this 3.5 star review could have easily been a 5. If management reads this, PLEASE replace the toilet seat in room 406 before anyone else stays in this room!

The positives - Every team member that we encountered was super friendly and helpful. The bed is pretty comfortable. It’s firm enough for support but has a little cushion for comfort. The room is massive and allows for tons of space to spread out. For the most part, the room is pretty clean, and you can’t really hear much from the hallway. A mini fridge, microwave, and coffee are included. A breakfast is included, and the location is great for exploring the triangle area. Don’t forget about the 3pm checkin and 12pm checkout!

Areas for improvement - The first thing we noticed was the toilet seat (see pictures). It looked like it had piles of congealed urine on it. Upon closer inspection, it seems the paint from the seat had severely yellowed and is bubbling up and popping from all of the cleaning. It was also a bit dirty, but we sanitize every room we stay in. Such a simple fix that can’t be overlooked. CHANGE THIS SEAT IMMEDIATELY!

The sink is not designed with functionality in mind. The faucet is set so far back, that the water just clears the countertop. Your hands are forced to rub on the bowl to rinse them. Simple fix = longer spout for the faucet.

The outer shower door does not slide! It was off the track so I lifted it back on. It still did not move. Judging from the bent lower frame, it has been this way for a while. Despite being jammed shut, this side of the shower still leaks quite a bit of water right next to the toilet

Lastly, Hyatt, please make things easy for your staff! As many people do, I booked this using points from my credit card. Apparently, my bank uses 3rd party websites to conduct business. It shouldn’t take your staff to manually calculate the rate+taxes/fees we have prepaid and try to guess the amount. This causes them to stress and slows things down for no reason. Also, if I prepay extra for a “high” floor, I shouldn’t have to negotiate for it at checkin. It should already be allocated. As a comparison, my experiences with Bonvoy and Hilton have been seamless at checkin using the...