Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Winchester, VA

The rooms are nice, breakfast is great, and the staff are really friendly. We’ve stayed here several times over the past couple of years, and they’ve always treated us well. It’s been a great experience every time, and I definitely recommend it.

The hotel itself was okay, but the way they handled my booking was awful. I’d prepaid through booking.com, then gave the hotel my card at check-in for a security deposit. The next morning, I found a second charge for the same night. Lorenzo at the front desk said they charged me because they hadn’t received payment from booking.com. But when I called booking support, their representative confirmed they had received my payment. The representative contacted the hotel, where the front desk then said my card hadn’t been charged. There are two posted transactions, one from booking and one directly from the hotel. When I called the hotel later, they even told me I hadn’t shown up. It seems like a major management problem, so be prepared if you stay there. I still haven’t been reimbursed, and I’ve had to spend time calling booking support and sending them proof of payment.

The lobby looked welcoming and the hotel seemed nice from outside, but the bathrooms were awful. In the guest bathroom and especially in our room, I found four dried feces stains on the wall behind the toilet. There was hair all over the unswept floor, including head and pubic hair, plus dirt packed into the tile patterns. The shower still had hair in it. Shampoo bottles were partly empty and could be removed from their holders, so I worried they could be tampered with. The showerhead had more hard-water buildup than any I’ve seen at home. It didn’t look like it had ever been scrubbed, which makes me worry about what might be left on it from people peeing in the shower and the steam. Two towels still had butt stains, and the sheets were covered in animal hair. I was worried they’d been slept in recently. Our room was on the first floor, and the curtains didn’t stay closed, leaving a gap in the middle. For its rating, our room must have been a fluke. I don’t usually have much to say about hotels, but this one needed a review.

For $100 a night, I’d at least expect the AC to work. Some rooms are set to 74, and because the units are too old, they never cool below that. I’d stay at the hotel next door instead, where the breakfast is better and the rooms are a little nicer.