I Wish I’d Have Read The Hotel Reviews (Before I Booked A Stay)

I find hotel reviews to be a bit of a mixed bag – sometimes you can get some good nuggets of information on what a potential stay will be like. In other cases, it feels like the reviewers are just venting about things that are not really in the hotel’s control. I usually read reviews before booking when I’m considering a stay at a lower-end hotel (often when using Choice or Wyndham points). But on more “mid-range” hotels (most Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, IHG), I won’t always read the reviews, because I generally see consistencies with how those brands operate from hotel to hotel. It’s one of the advantages of hotels vs. Airbnb.

(SEE ALSO: How hotels categorize themselves (the difference between upscale and “upper upscale”))

The Background – a 1 night stay in Columbus, Ohio

So all that is to give background on a recent 1 night stay that I needed to book in Columbus, Ohio. There’s a tech conference that I generally attend each year. The conference is at the Easton Towne Centre, which is a fairly upscale mall and shopping area in the northeastern part of Columbus. I’ve attended the conference several times, and stayed at a few different hotels while there:

• SpringHill Suites Columbus Easton Hotel Review
• Residence Inn by Marriott Columbus Easton Hotel Review
• TownePlace Suites Columbus Airport Gahanna Ohio review
• Drury Inn And Suites Columbus Convention Center review

This time I looked at a few of the options and decided on the Hampton Inn & Suites Columbus-Easton Area. I have had good experiences with the Hampton Inn brand before and didn’t really think twice about it.

Reading the Reviews (after I booked 🙁 )

My stay started off on a bad note, as I checked in and my room hadn’t been cleaned.

After walking down to the front desk and getting a new (thankfully clean) room, I started reading some of the TripAdvisor reviews. It made me wish I had read the reviews before I booked, as I would not have stayed here.

• Car was broken into!! Along with multiple other cars !! Manger refused to come in to help feel very unsafe. Front desk also said this happens alot there so beware before u stay at this hotel!!
• My parents’ truck was broken into, along with several other cars on Saturday night. We were informed by other hotel guests that their cars had been broken into on Friday night as well. The cops were called on Friday and did not show up until Saturday. Of course there was nothing the cops could do. The hotel staff told my parents that there are no cameras, despite signs being hung up in the parking lot that there are cameras
• Check-in was awful until a gentleman came up to help the guy attempting to spell my name, even with ID and the email confirmation. No elevators worked at check-in, but they did both start working during the stay; however, one only had 2 dim lights working. My boss called it the “elevator of doom.” Carpet is fraying in the room. Lots of buckets for leaks at entrances. Pool out of order. Milk machine at breakfast out of order. I’ve stayed at a lot of Hamptons. I’m shocked this one has kept the banner. Outside and the front lobby are very nice, but it goes down hill quickly.
• Just stay away. This hotel has multiple and serious issues. Issue 1: this hotel is well aware of a security issue in the parking lot. When I was there 10 cars were broken into. The hotel allegedly has security, yet 10 cars were broken into. The General Manager does not care, and points to a “park at your own risk” sign. However, the sign fails to warn that crime is rampant in this parking lot (break ins have happened in the past here and at other hotels in Easton Town Center). So, unless you want your car broken into, stay away.
• Attended Saturday breakfast at 7:40 am. Station was unattended and a mess. Food slopped all over counter, floor, tables, waffle machines dirty, toaster had untoasted bagles. Cooler empty, cereal empty. There were no forks or spoons, no napkins. A few scoops of eggs and potatoes and sausage links, a few onion bagles and only decaf coffee were left. Not what is the norm for a Hilton owned hotel. Reported to desk, one lone clerk who sat with his eyes closed.

So…. yeah. Definitely seems like a hotel to avoid.

The Bottom Line – How it turned out

In my specific situation, I was a bit nervous about my car, but thankfully nothing happened to me. I didn’t experience the breakfast issues because breakfast was included at my conference, so I didn’t feel the need to eat at the hotel.

Still…. Lesson learned. I will be better at reading hotel reviews before I book a stay and next year (when I’m back in town for the same conference), I will book somewhere else!

Have you ever been saved from a potentially bad booking by reading the hotel reviews before you booked? Leave your story in the comments below

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