Comfort Suites

Update: he was actually charged $8 for the water, but there are also two $23.66 charges on his card. They said those were a mistake and would be returned. It’s ridiculous that he’s out nearly $50 while the transaction is pending. I let my teenage son stay here with a friend. He bought two bottles of water at the front desk, his mistake, and thought he’d paid $23. I told him to take them back for a refund, but he’d already opened them. What kind of place charges $11.50 for one bottle of water?

I’ve stayed here several times, and it hasn’t let me down. Even though it’s on a busy street, the hotel stays quiet and feels safe. It’s in a handy spot near lots of stores and restaurants. The lobby is clean and pleasant, the rooms are spacious and spotless, and they have free hot breakfast with different items each morning. It’s the best hotel I’ve stayed at in Greenwood.

There wasn’t a manager on site, and the staff had to call someone for answers about pretty much everything. It felt like an excuse for not helping. When I questioned why I’d first been told the charges were incidentals and then told they were taxes, the woman hung up on me. I called back, but she wouldn’t answer. I booked through Price Line and got a king instead of the double room I expected. The hotel wouldn’t cancel the booking and wanted extra money for two days, so I felt I had no choice but to pay. I’d chosen the place because it advertised an indoor pool, but it wasn’t working. It had apparently been down since before summer, and that should have been stated on the hotel and third party websites. When I asked to cancel one day, they said no. The refrigerator in the room didn’t work. I was asked to give it a few minutes, but after more than an hour it still wasn’t working. They said there were no other rooms and asked me to wait until morning because no one was available to switch the refrigerator. There weren’t many guests there, as far as I could tell. Breakfast was offered, but they seemed reluctant to put the food out. The next day they didn’t have flour for pancake mix, and we had to keep asking for things. Then I saw a $20.82 charge and a pending $26.03 charge on my account. At the desk, I was told it was for incidentals and would be returned after checkout. When I asked why one charge had gone through and the other was pending, she said it depended on the bank. It never came back. When I called, they said it was taxes because they don’t receive taxes from third party bookings. Why didn’t they know that when I first asked?

I’d have been willing to wait a couple of days for the charges to drop off if the receptionist hadn’t been so abrupt and rude, or refused to answer my questions. I’m still waiting for the promised follow-up call. I checked out just before 9 a.m. and noticed the two charges while driving home at 10:50. I’d booked through a third party, and the receipt said the full cost was charged at purchase, with prices and room availability not guaranteed until payment was received. It also said the payment would include taxes and fees. I called the hotel to ask why there were two additional card charges. The receptionist said there should be a $14 incidental charge. I told her there wasn’t one and asked what the second charge was for. She cut me off to ask the amounts. I said $20.32 and $16.25, and she told me the $16.25 was for incidentals and should fall off in a few days. She wouldn’t address the other charge. She said there was a lobby sign covering all charges, but none of the paperwork I signed explained those amounts. The paperwork did require initials acknowledging possible $250 cleaning or damage charges. She offered to have her manager call, but said he wasn’t available when I asked to speak to him then. The one-night stay was in a double-bed suite. The hotel was clean and quiet, the continental breakfast was mediocre, and check-in around 5 p.m. was also mediocre. The woman checking us in was efficient but not very friendly; the manager at the desk smiled and greeted me and my child. Checkout was easy, I just left the cards at the desk.