Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites Tallahassee Central — Hotel in Tallahassee

BEDBUGS! My husband picked out this hotel and I’ve already warned him he is fired from hotel choosing in future lol. We arrived and were given room 429 and while it wasn’t super-super clean, it wasn’t anything I would complain about. I hate it when people complain about nonsense. There was a bit of trash on the bathroom floor, a hair in the shower and mildew on the ceiling in the bathroom because the bathroom exhaust fan was not working. But that was all live-able. Sadly, I got trapped in the shower because there were no towels! My husband was nice enough to call down to the front desk for me and ask about towels and they said he could go down and get them, so he did. He brought back way more than was necessary and I stepped out of my overlong shower a bit pruny but able to use a towel. My 16 year old daughter is super into fitness so had gone down to check out the fitness center, but was saddened by the limited options. She came back up and sat down on the second queen bed and was just getting up to take a shower when I saw a moving dot on the sheets that was crawling up the side of the bed heading for her! I had checked for bedbugs when we first came in. I know it’s crazy, but I do this every single time we stay at a hotel. My kids have thought me a bit paranoid…until tonight! I hadn’t seen any evidence of bedbugs, but I was also dismayed to see that there were no bedbug protection on the mattresses either. When I saw that thing crawling towards my daughter!!! I took a pic for evidence in case there were no other rooms or they said I was making something up, then I was out of there! I have never evacuated my possessions out of a room that quickly! 30 seconds tops. My husband stood inside the room (Yikes!) to call down to the front desk again. He explained that I found live bedbugs in the room and would like a different room on the other side of the hotel. I would have been happy to leave, but home is 3.5 hours away and it was nearly midnight. So I went down to the lobby and got the room key for 218. The two ladies didn’t even apologize for the inconvenience, or say anything at all! The one just asked where my room keys were for 429! I said I had to evacuate the room, I didn’t wait around to gather anything else. Thankfully hubby did a thorough search of the room for anything I left behind as I all but ran out of there. He came down to the front desk and gave them their room keys. It is now nearly 1am, I can’t sleep as I keep checking to see if something is crawling on me. I have to be up at 6am. Also, the toilet is loudly running and I can’t get it to stop. I can’t sleep with the lights on, but I’m scared to turn them off. So I cannot recommend this hotel to anyone unless they want extra friends in bed with them. And no, hubby doesn’t get to pick...

Overall, our brief stay was okay. The beds are firm, more so than some might like, but not to the extent of calling them boards with a little foam/cushion on top! I'm not totally sure I would trust the temperature, in the little refrigerator, to store any foods which might spoil; it didn't seem as cold as it should be. The microwave was small but it worked. We didn't use the coffeemaker and there wasn't a hairdryer in the bathroom. We didn't need or use the iron &/or ironing board, though I seem to recall one in the closet. The television, although a little small (but an average size for most hotels), worked fine and the remote worked efficiently as well. Wifi signals weren't particularly strong and there was no password to use, so I would say the likelihood of it being somewhat "secure" is on the low side, at best. One issue which could become a problem for the hotel is the length of the shower curtains, in contrast to the height of the shower rod! There was not much to keep the curtain inside the tub when showering. So, as when I showered, there's a very good chance that you may wind up with a lot of water on the floor outside of the tub if you're not diligent in making sure not to bump the curtain &/or checking to make sure the curtain stays inside while you shower! Also, tall folks may like it, but short people may find it difficult (if not impossible), to adjust the shower head since it also is rather high!

The breakfast (better get there early) food choices were significantly better than some hotels, but with no waffles or pancake options, it was not (in my opinion) as good as some others. The only meat "choice," on the particular day we managed to get breakfast, was a not so wonderful pork sausage. There was no bacon or other meat available. There were hard cooked eggs or reconstituted scrambled type eggs. Instant oatmeal packets for those who may want a hot cereal and multiple toppings/mix in options were there should you desire that, and three choices of dry cereals: frosted flakes, granola, and a fruit loops style. Although there were several choices of bagels, they seemed old/dry. There were several choices for fruits, both fresh and prepared/chunked melons..., several different pre-sliced pound cakes (hard to get to, or get a full slice, because of the placement under the "sneeze guard" - so the cakes broke apart when you attempted to pick up a slice) and a few other items I skipped as well. If you prefer yogurt, but don't care for Greek or an artificially sweetened choice, you'll probably be out of luck! Besides the usual coffee, and a couple of tea bag options, there were two juice choices included orange or a cranberry (I didn't pay much attention to that one, since I don't like cranberry) and several different...

Nice for a little older-looking Fairfield. This is my second time staying here (the first time was maybe 2 years ago). However, I noticed something different this time - hints of mustyness here and there. Luckily not too bad and not very often. I have a mold allergy and had to go to urgent care just a few weeks ago from hints of mildew at the other Fairfield in the area (the "good" rooms I frequented were unavailable 😒).

As far as staff, I interaction with a woman at check-in and she was very nice and professional. When she was unfamiliar with checking-in my type of reservation, she made a phone call (maybe to mgr) late at night, instead of letting me walk out to go stay elsewhere. Other than that, the only other staff member I interacted with was the GM briefly. He was very nice and professional as well.

The Wi-Fi was down the entire time. Not even the room TV could connect for streaming.

The room was decently cleaned, although 2 of the pillowcases were NOT changed. It takes a few seconds to change pillowcases. Just change them all after a stay. Why be lazy and "guess" what you think was used, and that's also gross only "partially" changing out a bed's linens.

There is an indoor pool. I didn't use it, but thought it was worth mentioning as I don't see this at many Fairfields. The pool room has windows on the hallway side, so I did get a glimpse and it looked nice.

I cannot comment on breakfast as I leave for work before it begins.

Overall, it's nicely maintained, but some much-needed improvements need to be made soon, or it will quickly go downhill.

*I suggest the owner puts dehumidifiers in the rooms and also have housekeeping make sure the room thermostats are set to "auto" fan, NOT "constant" (like many FL hotels, especially down south). You don't want it to get as bad as the other Fairfield in the area.

Trust me, don't wait until it's too late; preventative measures are much less costly. I stay in hotels at least 200 days per year, all over the southeast US, I was a housekeeper back in the day, and I also helped an ex with a/c service calls/installations for about 5 years - I've experienced and learned a lot. And that other Fairfield, they spent a lot on their nice remodel; however, their "moldy rooms" are still...