Avid Hotel — Hotel in Staunton

I am not one to write reviews, even when the unexpected might occur during an overnight stay. But my recent experience with Avid Hotel in Staunton was so bad, I feel it is my responsibility to warn other travelers and the management about the behavior of their front desk person and the way this hotel changed our reservation without warning.

I was traveling with my wife and two kids and had reserved a room with 2 queen-sized beds for the night of June 24th. With a paper printout of my reservation in hand, we checked in with the front desk person whose name is Lori. She seemed unfriendly and disinterested from the get-go, like we were disturbing her from some other more important task while checking in.

No problem -- until we got to our room and saw there was only one small bed. We went down to the front desk to ask if a mistake had been made, and Lori immediately began berating my wife and mocking her in front of another guest who was checking in.

Lori told us that we had changed our reservation, which was a lie, and she showed us her computer screen displaying the room change. She refused to acknowledge our reservation printout and told us our room had been given away.

As it was 10PM and our family was worn out from a long day of traveling, we asked for her assistance in securing proper accommodations. Shrugging and rolling her eyes, Lori refused to offer any help. When we asked to contact a manager, she told us there was no one she could connect us with. She did not offer a refund, gave no help whatsoever -- just kept looking at us with a smirk as if she found humor in our situation.

IHG customer service was of no help. When we called the 1-800 number, we were connected with what sounded like international call center. One agent could barely speak English. Another hung up on us. Another, who was supposed to be a supervisor, was trying to talk over dogs barking in the background! The best he could do was offer us a room over 70 miles away at a higher rate, and a fold-up bed. He said we was going to arrange a refund as we had left the hotel to seek alternate lodgings (did not happen, we are still being billed). All of these agents did not seem to know what area of the country we traveling in, or where to look for alternate accommodations.

After driving through the night towards our next destination, we found an alternate hotel around midnight.

As I mentioned earlier, I can understand things not going as expected when traveling. I have overlooked other issues with IHG. But the rudeness, arrogance, and unprovoked hostility of the check-in person Lori is something I believe the management needs to address. I can see this person causing a massive altercation at the hotel if she is not given proper training.

Since I have stayed at this location before and found the lodgings decent, I thinks it is fair to give 2 stars to the overall rating. This most recent experience, though, makes it unlikely that we will return...

This was my second stay at this particular Avid Hotel. I previously stayed in the Spring of 2023 so I’ve been able to compare this stay to the previous one. As a disclaimer, I travel frequently but this is the only Avid Hotel I’ve ever visited so this review comes from the perspective of someone well-familiar with IHG Hotels but not necessarily comparing this Avid to another location.

First, please correct the breakfast time on the hotel’s IHG website. I mentioned in my previous review that the time was incorrectly listed as beginning at 6:00 AM but the hotel’s breakfast doesn’t actually begin until 6:30 AM. As I mentioned previously, not a huge deal but for someone traveling and making plans on when they’re trying to get out the door, it could mess that up.

The good for this stay:

Staff- the front desk ladies were friendly and welcoming. Both front desk ladies I interacted with seemed competent and definitely made this a better experience than it would have been otherwise.

Breakfast- Simple but delicious. The grab and go concept is different at Avid than the full hot breakfast offerings at other IHG hotels but still good. There were different options of fruit, granola bars, hard boiled eggs, breakfast sandwiches, and bagels out everyday with coffee and concentrated juice. Not bad for the price point of the stay.

Facility- Relatively new hotel with nice pool (did not use this visit) and fitness center. Upkeep on the facility appears good.

The bad for this stay:

Room cleanliness- The bathroom vent had a 1/2 inch layer of dust and clearly hadn’t been cleaned in a while. This did not give me confidence in the quality of the overall cleaning regimen from housekeeping. Additionally, I stayed for three nights and never had the room cleaned. The first night I had the “do not disturb” sign but the second overnight I was hoping to have towels changed out due to a leaking sink (see below).

Leaking sink- The U piping below the sink was not connected correctly to the sink resulting in any water from the bathroom sink draining onto the floor below. Staff gets points here for offering to change rooms but I figured maintenance would fix it on the second day of my stay. Didn’t find out til later that maintenance would not be in until the following Monday but still didn’t feel like I had to change rooms as long as I could put towels under the sink to catch the water. This became an issue when housekeeping did not service the room so I didn’t have fresh towels to put out.

Overall: I will be back soon as this hotel has the best combination of rate and amenities in the area. Nearby Waynesboro has some other IHG options but not as affordable as this hotel. I’d happily go back due to the friendly staff but hope they’ve addressed a few of the issues mentioned here...

I had the unfortunate experience of staying at this hotel, and I must say it left a lot to be desired. As someone who frequently stays at various hotels, I am well acquainted with the check-in process and the usual seamless experience associated with booking through Priceline. However, my encounter with this hotel was marred by several issues that left me thoroughly dissatisfied.

To begin with, upon arrival, I was surprised when the front desk attendant informed me that my reservation had not been paid for. I promptly presented her with the confirmation from Priceline, clearly indicating that the payment had been made. Nevertheless, she insisted that there was an issue and insisted that I pay for the night's stay. This unexpected setback initiated a frustrating three-hour ordeal, during which I had to contend with a tired toddler. Eventually, I reluctantly paid the full price for a room, only to later seek assistance from Priceline.

In an attempt to rectify the situation, I requested to speak with a supervisor, hoping for a resolution or clarification regarding the payment mishap. Unfortunately, the supervisor was nowhere to be found, and my inquiry was met with silence. It was disheartening to be left hanging without any reassurance or support from the hotel staff as I double paid.

In fairness to Priceline, their customer service team worked diligently to help me obtain a refund on their end. However, they required confirmation from the hotel that I had indeed paid them directly. This should have been a simple matter of communication, but the front desk attendant consistently ignored Priceline's attempts to reach her. It was only when I personally approached her that she finally picked up the phone. This lack of responsiveness and uncooperative attitude from the staff only added to the nightmare I was enduring.

Moreover, the rooms themselves did not live up to my expectations, especially for families. While they boasted a modern and aesthetically pleasing design, they were disappointingly small. This lack of space made it challenging to accommodate my family comfortably, particularly with a tired toddler in tow. As a result, our stay was far from ideal and did not meet our needs.

Overall, my experience at this hotel was marred by payment hassles, unhelpful staff, and inadequate room sizes. The frustration and inconvenience I encountered throughout my stay have left a lasting negative impression. Regrettably, it failed to provide the level of service and comfort that one would expect from a...