Candlewood Suites Wilson by IHG — Hotel in Wilson

I stay at IHG properties quite often and I am not an overly picky person but I have to say my stay last week left a really bad taste in my mouth. For starters I reserved a queen suite and when I arrived they tried to put me in a double and charge me more than I was supposed to be charged. Then they switched me to the right room but in the process they held the full amount for both rooms on my card. Which isn't a huge thing but I travel every week and I really don't like having unnecessary amounts held on my card. I waited a couple days to see if they would remove it and then the higher amount for the room that I didn't stay in posted to my card. When I asked the desk about it I was told that the other amount would drop off and I would get a credit back after I checked out. This didn't sit well with since the total never posts to my account until after I check out. As far as the facility goes it was fair but just not really clean. The elevator needed to be vacuumed and had the same wrapper in it for 2 days sitting in the corner. My room was again fair. Some of my dishes in the cabinet were dirty. The pillows were flat and seemed worn out and the recliner had rips in it. Had one night that the wifi was out for the night, not a huge thing, but then the next day I come back for lunch and see that maintenance has been in my room and taken the TV. I understand they were changing out equipment, however I had a do not disturb sign on my door because I don't like people in my room when I am not there. If they needed to be in the room I would think they should have put a note under my door the night before so I would be aware of it. Then to make matters worse the new system didn't work in my room that night and when I came back the next day for lunch it still wasn't working and they had to move me to another room. I am pretty easy going but I do have certain expectations, especially after staying at your property in Plano another Candlewood where the general manager took great pride in her facility and it was always immaculate. I actually canceled a reservation at the hotel right next door and by they second day was really regretting it. On one last note and this didn't apply to all of the staff but most of the front desk staff needs to work on their customer service skills. Simple things like acknowledging guests as they walk through the lobby goes a long way instead of putting their heads down hoping we don't...

This stay was the worst by far of all my IHG reservations.

I made the reservation in advance for a 2 night stay for my son to attend our family reunion, It began with the staff informing him at check in that I'd already checked in. This was not possible since I was not in North Carolina. They found their mistake, checked in someone whose name was similar to mine, and allowed my son to check in.

Question 1: Why was there no requirement for ID to be shown? That would have prevented the mixup in names for check in.

My son spent the night and left for reunion activities in the morning. He returned at 3:00AM after an entire day and evening with family only to find out his key did not open the door. When he returned to the lobby to find out the reason or get the key rescanned, he found out he had been moved out of the room completely. His luggage and toiletries were at the front desk. Yes, that's right, I said his things were at the front desk. I applaud my son for not losing his cool, for had I been there it would have been a very different scene. The representative could not explain why his things had been moved. the reservation was for 2 nights and he had only used the room for one. UNACCEPTABLE.

Question 2: What was the hotel's rationale for their actions? They had none.

My son demanded another room and the clerk gave him another key for a room. When my son went to the room designated on the key, the door opened to the security latch because a family was already in the room.

Question 3: Why didn't the clerk know that there was a family in the room?

When my son returned to the desk and informed the clerk of his findings, the clerk gave him another key to another room. All of this happened from 3AM to 4AM!

My son stayed in that room for another 4 hours and had to leave for a family event. He wrote a letter to the CandleWood Suites management about his awful experience.

When he called me in the morning before leaving and informed me of his experience I was livid.

I called the hotel and the staff acknowledged their mistakes. They also assured me that my points used for this reservation would be restored to IHG. They have not been restored to date.

I will NEVER stay in a CandleWood Suites hotel. This experience was substandard and totally unprofessional.

My advice: Don't Stay at the CandleWood Suites in Wilson,...

I love staying in hotels and figured based on the reviews this one would be pretty good. I was wrong. My biggest complaint would be that the AC didn't work, I called the front desk twice (once not long after check in and once around 1am after we realized we couldn't sleep in the heat and gave up) and they couldn't help, they were sold out so we were stuck with the room. It was so bad we even tried calling other hotels and were willing to leave in the middle of the night (all sold out). The next morning one of the staff lowered it to 54 down from 60, and told us that was why we had issues, but lowering it 6 more degrees isn't going to make the AC suddenly cool to 68 if it wasnt cooling below 80. it was tolerable enough to get a short nap in before check out, but it was still 70+ in the room when we left, not comfortable. I know other guests had issues because the staff told me they had given fans to other people throughout the night. It seems they are aware their ACs suck but aren't addressing it.

The hotel was also dirty and had a weird smell, It felt damp from humidity. The hallways had stains and the rooms floors felt sticky, I had to wear my flip flops the whole time. It just didn't feel how I expect a hotel to feel, I felt sweaty and dirty the whole night even after a shower. The toilet paper roll was also half used, not a deal breaker, but I'm used to fresh things when I stay in hotels.

Pros: The bed was comfortable, the sheets were soft. I would have slept well had the heat not been an issue. The staff, while not terribly helpful, were polite and they did give us a small discount for our unpleasant stay. A couple of restaurants were walking distance.

Cons: The smell, the lack of cleanliness, the AC issues, no pool or breakfast (neighboring hotels offer these).

I wouldn't...