Comfort Suites Alexandria North

The woman who checked us in was friendly, and that was the only decent part of the stay. We’d driven all day and chose this place for the night. We couldn’t get the desk to answer the phone beforehand for information about connecting rooms, and the automated system gave different information each time without ever answering us. We took a chance and stopped anyway. The front desk woman was so nice, and we even laughed about how real “Jolene” sounded. We knew the elevator was broken and figured that was manageable since we’d just go to our rooms to sleep. But the secure entrance door was broken too, so anyone could enter the building. We couldn’t get connecting rooms and took two separate ones. After setting up the older teens in their room, we found the door wouldn’t latch however hard we tried, opened with the slightest touch, and the deadbolt didn’t work. We packed up and went downstairs for another room, then carried everything back up and set them up again. In my room, the TV had no box to get service, so it didn’t work. I was too tired to go downstairs again. The phone in my room didn’t work, and neither did the one in the teens’ room. I gave up and passed the time on my phone until I fell asleep. In the morning, breakfast choices were hot tea, hot coffee, or apple juice. The other juices were out, with no signs to stop people trying them, and water was spraying everywhere. People were sitting at tables, but nobody was in the food area. I put waffle mix in the machine, then the worker scolded me, saying she had two people waiting and she was the one who made the waffles. There were no signs explaining that. At checkout, the person didn’t even look up and just told me to put the key in the bowl. When I reported the problems, she said the desk person hadn’t written any of it down and that she’d let someone know and add it to the reservation. She acted like I was an inconvenience. We drive through a few times a year, but this place is on our do-not-stay-again list. I’m not sure I’ll consider a Comfort Inn again.

We came back after a disappointing stay three weeks earlier, but the wait at the front desk was still usually 20 to 30 minutes because nobody was there. Most of the staff were rude and unfriendly. The only person who was nice to us was a woman working Saturday. We’re always put on the second floor, but this time we got room 320. It seemed thrown together and wasn’t clean: paint was splattered over the bathroom floor, lamp, and table, there were black marks on the room floor like an exploded pen, and there was mold all over the bathroom. The whole building smelled like weed, from the first floor to the third, as if people were smoking and walking around inside. Around the tub, it looked like they painted over it each time a new guest arrived. There was no breakfast on any of the days we were there. The Wi-Fi barely worked, cutting in and out. The only reason I kept returning was that it was the only reasonably priced suite that could accommodate my family. We’ll probably start going back to Best Western and paying more for good service and quality.

AWFUL. The bathroom was filthy, with black mold behind wallpaper that was peeling up. The tub and floor looked so bad I didn’t see the point of showering, since you’d come out dirty. The carpet and curtains were stained, and the sheets had holes and stains. There was stuff all over the walls near the trash cans and couch, like nobody had wiped them down in ages. With three kids in the room, we couldn’t even watch TV because there was no remote. Worst hotel stay we’ve ever had. The whole place needs a deep clean.

Our first room had a TV with no remote, so it was unusable. The second had no working heat or AC. The third finally had both, but badly needed renovation: the caulk around the tub and severe rust stains showed how poorly maintained it was. I wouldn’t stay here again or recommend the property. Management seems poor.