Courtyard by Marriott Akron Stow — Hotel in Stow

Do NOT stay at this hotel — from start to finish, my experience was awful.

My sister and I stayed at the Courtyard Inn by Marriott on Saturday, July 26th, and checked out the next day — and I can honestly say I’ll never stay there again.

The bad experience started the moment I walked through the door. The woman at the front desk looked like she couldn’t have been more annoyed to be there. Her attitude was unwelcoming, and she came off cold and irritated, like she had no interest in doing her job. After checking in, I politely asked if we could have a couple of extra pillows. Her response was rude and dismissive — she said, “If we have any, I’ll send someone up” in a tone that made it clear she didn’t care.

Then we got to our room, and it was gross. There was a large brown stain on the bottom of the bed skirt on the bed closest to the window — the same bed I ended up sleeping on. One of the chairs looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in a long time, with black spots all over it. The room did not feel clean or well-maintained.

Unfortunately, it only got worse. Later that night, my sister and I started itching. By the next morning, we were both covered in red, clustered bites on our legs, arms, feet, and hips. These were not mosquito bites — they were classic bedbug bites. We were so grossed out and immediately worried about bringing them home.

I called the front desk and explained everything. The woman I spoke to took down my information and said she would call me back. A few hours later, she did — and told me that someone she described as a “professional” checked the room and found no bedbugs. She even claimed she went up there herself and told me maybe they were mosquito bites. That response felt completely dismissive and insulting. I know what mosquito bites look like. These were bedbugs. We know we got them from there.

After feeling completely unheard and brushed off, I contacted Marriott’s customer service. They told me to send pictures and my case number to an email — but never gave me the email address. I had to call back, get it, and then send the pictures and complaint again. Still no response.

Eventually, I spoke with a supervisor, who said they did receive my email and that someone would follow up. That was days ago. Still no follow-up.

So now not only did we leave that hotel in pain and discomfort, but both my sister and I have to hire exterminators to ensure we don’t bring an infestation into our homes. Yet the hotel refuses to take any responsibility. No apology. No real concern. No refund.

This entire experience has been disappointing, disgusting, and completely mishandled. I truly feel like they’re just trying to cover it up and hope we go away.

Save yourself the stress — I would NEVER recommend this hotel to anyone. Marriott should be ashamed of how this has...

The overall experience was fantastic. I will be staying in the area four nights almost every week through Christmas, so I am looking to create a long-term relationship with a hotel that will take care of me while in town on my business trips. When I called to make reservations they put me through to their corporate salesperson, Ewa. She was very accommodating and friendly.

The staff was excellent all around. When I picked up my key at 8:00 on Sunday night, I was greeted with a smile and warm hello. The same was true of everyone I encountered.

A special call-out to housekeeping, the unsung heroes of all good hotels. I used the Marriott phone app ahead of time to request a certain amount or kind of towels, shampoo, pillows, blankets, etc., and all my requests were met and ready in my room on arrival. They did a phenomenal job during my stay.

The Bistro-I did not eat dinner there but the breakfasts were made to order, hot, and very good. It opens at 6:30 AM (something that should be on the website but is not) and I go into the office early, so I was there right at 6:30-6:35. The staff in many places hate to see people come right at opening and you can see it on their faces and in their attitudes. Not here. Friendly smiles and good mornings. The food was ready in 5-7 minutes. You can eat in but I took mine back to the room.

The Room-Quiet and more than spacious enough. It was very clean, modern, and most things were in great condition and working order. The room was VERY quiet, had a balcony, and faced back into an open field. The internet was strong, even without ordering the fastest wifi speed. If I have two small quibbles, it would be that 1) the top dresser drawer would catch on the middle drawer when you pulled one out. I had to lift on the top drawer and push it back in to get inside the middle drawer. A slight annoyance. 2) The satellite service. When I came into town on Sunday night, I planned on unpacking while watching a very popular show's season finale on AMC. Approximately 6-8 channels had "No signal" and AMC was one. It was not a case of them not getting the channels or bad weather because the weather was fine and which channels did not work seemed to change from day to day. There always seemed to be some channels out. They were just not consistently the same ones. That was more annoying but more than made up for by the great smiles I saw all week.

Again, an exceptional stay. If they continue, they will keep my business...

THIS IS A TRUE WARNING. LOOK AT THE PICTURES. I was in town for a wedding Friday-Monday, 9/23-26/2022. Typically upon check-in, I thoroughly check my room #221. However, due to rehearsals, family meetings & greets, etc, I just checked-in and commenced with the wedding schedule.

Due to the fact that I've been in hotel mgmt for over 10 years, I am always considerate of the housekeeping department. In turn, Mon 9/26/22 after showering, I removed all of the linen and made sure all dirty laundry is in a pile. Upon pulling the linen from the beds, I was disgusted and appalled. I immediately called to the front desk and requested for mgmt to come to my room, it was approximately 730amish. The desk agent informed me that there wasn't a MOD on property but as soon as the GM arrived she would inform him of my request. I went to the desk 2xs, the 1st time I showed my pics and video to the agent and she was very apologetic. While standing there the GM Steve Patris walked in. I introduced myself and told him I would come back once he was settled in. I came back down around 10:30-10:45ish. I begin to explain to Steve how I felt and I allowed him to review the pictures & video footage. He apologized and said he would give me points. I informed him that I wasn't a Marriott member, in turn I prefer to get 1 night stay refunded. He stated he couldn't do that and thar he would give me 50% refund of 1 night stay. I informed him that, that wasn't suffice. I then asked him to put himself in my shoes and inquired what would he want. He didn't answer the question. I again reiterated that 50% wasn't suffice and I preferred a 1 night stay refund of $119+ tax. He said he couldn't do that because he needed to analyze the situation. I said well I requested for you to come to my room. I then said we can go now. He didn't move. I then informed him that facts don't lie. The room was despicable. So I inquired again, as a GM you're telling me that you, as the GENERAL MANAGER of the hotel can't refund me a 1 night stay. He said no. I then asked for his boss information. He then passed me a sticky note that he had ALREADY written Marriott's customer service number on. I was like wow, so you were prepared not to help me. After going back and forth with each other for another 5 minutes, I just ended the conversation and he said have a...