Wyndham Springfield City Centre — Hotel in Springfield

I recently stayed at the Wyndham Springfield City Center from 11/27/24 - 11/30/24. I've stayed there previously at Thanksgiving. ||Upon check-in at around 430pm, I inquired if we might stay in the same room type as I had stayed previously (which was a complimentary upgrade as a rewards member). My request was accommodated by the manager. He said I would be charged $10/day for parking. I advised that last year there was no mention of parking charges, and asked why was I being charged this year (the hotel and parking garage were nearly empty). He waived the charge, which was appreciated. As it turned out, there was no parking attendant anyway.||I also requested extra pillows, blankets, and a microwave. We unpacked in the room and went to visit family. Upon our return at around 1030pm, we discovered the room temperature was about 65 degrees. The pillows were delivered, but 2 mattress pads were delivered instead of blankets. ||I went back to the desk and the same manager was still on duty. I explained the situation and he said he could have maintenance look at it, but it would take some time. We were tired after a long day of travel and visiting, and did NOT want to wait for maintenance. I asked if there might be another room available on the same floor we could sleep in (without moving everything), and hopefully move back to the room in the morning. He only had a room on another floor. I asked if they could check to be sure it had heat. He had maintenance check, who said it was functioning. ||I went back to the room and spoke with the maintenance guy in the hallway who said the heat in the room would not be fixed overnight. I went down and told the manager we were changing rooms, and that it was a hassle to repack and move everything in the middle of the night, especially since my traveling companion had mobility challenges. The manager did not offer any assistance in the move whatsoever. I asked if I could get some credit for the inconvenience (I prepaid), and he said he had given me a room upgrade and parking already and instead, offered 2 coupons for COFFEE. I went up and moved everything (including the microwave) myself. By the time we got in bed it was well after midnight. ||The next day (Thanksgiving Day) we left around 11am and returned around 10pm. The room was cool (although not as cold as the other room) when we returned. I was not going to go through this all over again. We covered up with the mattress pads and turned the heat all the way up. I decided to let the desk know in the morning. When we left Friday I and asked if the heat in the new room could be fixed while we were gone. They said it would be taken care of. When we returned mid-evening, the room was minimally warmer, but by morning (check out date) it was 67 degrees. ||Upon check out, I explained all that had happened, and the desk attendant on duty was very apologetic. I asked if I could get some credit for the multiple inconveniences, and she said because it was prepaid, I could not. I asked if it was possible to get some Wyndham Rewards points instead. She said she would speak with the rewards manager on Monday and call me and let me know. ||I asked if we could get coupons for food instead of just coffee and she accommodated me ( she was very helpful and sympathetic). Mind you, there was no restaurant open in the hotel at all (which was an inconvenience in itself); only a Starbucks. ||We left with a very bad feeling from the whole experience, ruining what was supposed to be an enjoyable holiday visit, and vowed we would NEVER stay there again. ||There was no call on Monday. By Thursday, I decided to call and check the status of receiving Wyndham Rewards points. The same desk attendant answered and when I asked why she had not called, she said she spoken to her manager (the person we dealt with the 1st night) and he told her NOT to do anything for me (not even a courtesy call back?), and the he was not doing anything else for me. I asked if she spoke with the rewards manager, and she said she did not per his instruction. I felt bad for her, because she wanted to do the right thing but could not.||I submitted a complaint on Wyndham's website, especially noting the lack of customer service by the manager, hoping corporate would step in. It turns out the complaints are sent directly to the hotel, and the same manager responded to the complaint. There appears to be no corporate oversight when submitting feedback about specific hotel stays. I even called the corporate office and they said only the property could respond.||Being a seasoned traveler (business and leisure) and formerly in both customer service and service management in travel and other service industries, this low level of customer service at a hotel management level is surprising to me! The upgrade was PRIOR to any of the breakdowns; and is standard practice (upon availability) for all levels of loyalty at the other hotel brands I frequent. Even a goodwill gesture of a night's worth of points would have been acceptable/appreciated. I was given a measly 2000 points. I will never stay at that property again and will put Wyndham on the bottom of my list when...

I stayed at the "Wyndham Springfield City Center" for a convention from 12 to17 July, 2022. When I made my reservations, the Hotel made several special accomodations, that I requested. One of which was to have a refrigerator in my room to allow me to store my insulin during my stay. The others were for a room on a particular floor, and for that room to be placed close to elevators and the emergency stairwells. All of my requests were met. My room, which I found to be clean, with reasonable amenities, including the requested refridgerator, was on the fourth floor and located, as requested, close to egress and exit options.

Keith, (front desk) was very helpful, professional, courteous and seemingly always on duty. Francis, (guest relations) who helped me with my luggage and showed me to my room, was courteous, professional, and honestly wanted to help make my stay comfortable and on more than one occasion came to my rescue with a key or a cart at just the right time. Additionally, he was a wealth of information, about the City I was staying in, and where to visit for dining surrounding the Hotel.

The cleaning crew only visited the room at my request for clean sheets and towels made to Keith at the front desk in the morning on my way out. (I made a list, of things I was requesting and my room number, to facilitate the information exchange.) That evening, upon my return at 5:30pm, the work had been completed.

Next, a word on the in Hotel dining option. "The Grill", located adjacent to the front desk lobby, was only open for dinner during my visit. "Tara", a server and bartender, was personable, friendly, attentive without hovering and professional. "Ray", also a server at "The Grill", I found to be a more acquired taste with a distinct "downtown" flare.

Also, there is a breakfast kitchen, across from "The Grill", run by "Chef Alonso". If you get a chance, buy a ticket from the front desk,(see Keith) and enjoy an all you can eat, buffet style meal, with home made items. (I highly recommend the biscuits and sausage gravy. However, the eggs, bacon, drop biscuits and pancakes were excellent choices as well.) Of course, Chef Alonso keeps the steam-line trays full, the coffee hot and the milk and juices cold. Everything a grown man needs to fuel the body for a day on the go. I really enjoyed it.

During my stay, I had the opportunity to utilize the conference rooms, on the Mezzanine level, daily and found them in good repair with professional tables and chairs at our disposal to organize the room as we found most advantageous to our needs for the day.

I also visited the semi-private meeting rooms on the 29th floor. What a wonderful panoramic view of the downtown area. Initially, there were some water issues, but the Hotel staff did all they could to handle the problem, clear things out and make the space available for a formal dinner the following evening, that went off without a hitch. Well done to the maintenance staff!

Is the "Wyndham Springfield City Center" the "Waldorf Astroria"? No. But, it is a budget friendly Hotel. Not a motel, motor lodge, inn or hostel. It clearly has management and ownership issues, and those issues are beginning to show in the general up keep and the dreaded delayed maintenance. However, if you can look beyond the occasional bubbled wallpaper, stained carpet and outdated styling, it continues to provide, safe, clean, comfortable accomodations with most of the additional amenities, unavailable at the other travel destinations noted above, in the heart of the downtown, in our...

Sadly this is not going to be one of the better reviews I've given in a while. How far has one of the great hospitality institution in Springfield IL fallen too? Well.....

Maybe it's because of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown which cause a labor shortage because that once bustling hotel is a now a former shell of itself. It was apparent from the moment I checked in at 4 pm on a Tuesday there was nobody in the lobby, I mean nobody. It seemed dark and desolate to put it mildly. Keith the receptionist who checked me in was friendly and pleasant, even when I pressed him a bit about the closures of a few iconic spots inside the hotel, and what really shocked me was the absent of other staff in a place as big as it is. The amenities that make this Wyndhan awesome is its bar/lounge The Pentacle, and high end restaurant Nic & Ninos both on the 30th floor were still closed, as well as the hotel's restaurant The Grill, Keith didnt really say or maybe WANT to say why all three were closed at the same time with no future dates for reopening given, but at this point I think we all know why. Nothing in that place was open except a Starbucks, and to make it worst there was no room service which in the past was the pride of the facility. Before this particular stay, my girlfriend and I had stayed there 4 years ago and our stay was memorable and wonderful. A great dinner at Nic & Ninos, and a relaxed time at The Pentacle. Room service was timely, accurate, and professional friendly. We experience none of that this time.....and it was sad. Also a lot of the ice machines on different floor were out of order forcing you to go to lobby to get ice if any was available, which is a slight hassle if your on the higher floors.

I love this Wyndham, it has been a proven, tried and true place to get quality rest with a few nice gems within, but it seems now that is a thing of the past. I do not know how this place will survive with the way things are now. For a hotel that size it needs people staying there, it needs to have said places open and more importanly help from the city to open up the BoS convention center for concerts, and or conventions allowing more out of town people to come and stay, and for home town people to come dine and socialize.

Something.

In summary, where as I'm still holding out hope for this iconic hotel to return to its former glory, or at least half its glory, I fear it won't happen. Like every other thing in life that people have once enjoyed in the past, it simply never come back, and if it does its not the same. I was not impressed with my last stay, while the room was clean, the view from the 26th floor was nice, and what staff was present were courtious and helpful I'm afraid it's not enough for a return visit, not at the price I paid (even with the Wyndham points used). Again no fault to the staff of Wyndham, or the work they do, I appericate all of them, but until they bring back the things that made staying there special and dear to me, I must sadly say...