Springhill Suites by Marriott Tampa Brandon

We left before dawn after barely sleeping. The heater kept starting up every 20 minutes, roaring like a leaf blower for around ten minutes each time. We’d come from about an hour away and booked for New Year’s Eve to avoid the traffic and crowds. We’ve stayed at plenty of SpringHill Suites over the years and have usually found them dependable for a 3-star hotel. Check-in was awkward too. A sign said the clerk would be back soon, but after about 12 minutes she came back wiping her mouth with a napkin. I get that staff take breaks, but she knew I was waiting, and it came across as unprofessional. It was a cold night by Florida standards, so we needed the heat. After four hours of trying to sleep, we gave up at about 5 a.m. and drove home. This stay fell short.

My employer paid for my business trip, but a mix-up at check-in led to a hold of more than $1,200 on my personal card for the full stay. I thought they were asking for it just for incidentals. They switched the charge to my employer's card right away, but the hold on mine stayed there until I checked out six days later. I asked at the front desk several times and was told each time that it had been cancelled, which clearly wasn't true. The money itself wasn't a problem for me, but it could have caused a serious issue for someone else. They just don't seem to care.

Our flight from Baltimore was delayed and then cancelled, and my fiancé and I couldn't get there as planned. We had booked through hotels.com. When I called, the front desk person, HOLLY, said she wouldn't change the date. hotels.com called her too, and she gave them the same answer, adding that we had booked through a third party. Why should the booking site matter to the customer? We had no control over the airline. She showed no sympathy or compassion, which is a poor way to treat someone when your job involves customers. I'll be taking the complaint to higher management and pursuing this as far as I can.

The breakfast attendant was the one bright spot. She was extremely nice. At the desk, the man was neither friendly nor helpful, and he wasn't sympathetic when I asked about the noise. If you're here for business, getting work done may be impossible: hammering and power tools went on constantly from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., loud enough that I couldn't hear the TV. They wouldn't move my room. I've spent 45 nights at Marriott properties this year, and this was the worst by far.