Affordable Suites Hickory/Conover

The staff were rude, and the property felt worn out and dated. The name “Affordable Suits” feels like a bad joke after what happened. I paid through Priceline and had the booking confirmation and receipt in my email and card account, but at check-in the woman said she didn’t believe me and blamed their system, so I paid again. After making a lot of calls, I found out I’d been charged twice, but they still refused to refund me. So much for affordable. I paid double.

The woman at the check-in desk is the reason I keep coming back. My fiancé and I had helped a homeless man relocate, and we didn’t get back until 4 a.m. We needed another night, but he was asleep and checkout was getting close. I explained that I had to go across town to our bank for the money to re-rent the room. She let us leave our things in the room while we went to get it, and didn’t bother us for two hours after checkout. I’ve stayed places where they threaten to call the police if you’re 15 minutes late, so her kindness really stood out. She’s not someone to take advantage of, though. I’ll keep bringing my business here, and don’t plan to use another hotel in Catawba county as long as I can make it before the help desk closes at 6 p.m. The place is tucked away behind FEDEX off fairgrove exit 128 from hwy 40, so I sometimes forget it’s there. There’s no all-night check-in or guest services, but the price is hard to beat. The room has a bedroom and working kitchen, everything’s clean and in good shape, and I’ve never had a bad smell or experience. People sometimes assume an extended stay off the beaten path will be expensive, but that hasn’t been my experience.

The woman at the front desk is really nice and helpful. My BFF and I may be here a while as we wait for approval for income-based apartments. The only bad thing I can say is that there are bugs, including cockroaches, in the room and bathroom.

We got two suites for two adults and two teens. The rooms are comfortable for two or three people unless you book a bigger one. Each has a kitchen table, a small kitchen with a stove, a regular coffee maker, a medium-sized fridge, and a comfy couch. The TV is a bit small, but there are good channels. The floors have a wood look. I’m fussy about beds and found this one kind of hard, though I slept well. The sheets and towels were clean and white. It’s a quiet place, and the price felt fair. This isn’t a typical unit or a place for princesses, but it felt peaceful. There’s no breakfast, though you can cook for yourself. Bring your own dishes, sugar, creamer, shampoo, soap, and blow dryer. Coffee is provided for the pot. It’s not in an area where you can walk to a restaurant or museum, and there isn’t much scenery, but a couple of miles down the road there’s plenty for meals, shopping, movies, and coffee. My husband and I also drove around Hickory and nearby towns to see antique stores, Victorian houses, trails, and mountains. The rooms look a little dated, but they were clean under the new management. I only spoke with the owner a few times and can’t remember her name. The manager was very nice and came up to room 211 when I asked her to smell it. There was a faint cigarette smell after we’d been out for the day. She offered several times to clean the room and walls again. I declined, let her know about it, and we sprayed Febreze, which took care of it.