Sonesta Simply Suites Denver West Federal Center

The water and elevators were shut off when we arrived because of a leak, which made for an unusual start. The manager did his best to handle things even with people upset, and they had everything fixed in about an hour. It was otherwise quiet and clean, despite the fans and people working around the property. The manager was there every morning and night during our stay. At checkout, he checked in again to make sure we were happy. I appreciated how attentive he was, and felt bad for him having to deal with the whole situation. He seems like a cool guy.

The room we reserved was ready and clean when we arrived, and the staff were helpful throughout our stay. They offered discounts when we extended and got us a rice cooker and towels when we needed them. It's a quiet hotel that stays on top of maintenance and snow. I'd recommend it for an extended stay or even a one-time getaway.

It's a good place for the price, with clean rooms and facilities and friendly, helpful staff. The location is convenient too. My only complaint was the constant smell of pot outside, though it didn't smell inside. I guess a lot of guests smoke.

My husband and I were traveling west, hoping to make it to California and up the coast. We stopped in Colorado to help our son and have now been here for three years. This isn't the Sonesta, and we hope this is our last place. When we checked in, we rented a suite and spoke with a woman who was a regional director of something, who happened to be in town. She gave us a good rate for a long stay. The hotel manager on duty was at the front desk, and she suggested he block the room out for us for a set period. He refused. We've been here at least three months. About a month and a half in, my husband went to pay and the credit card machine was down. The manager told him to come back the next day and emailed to confirm it. My husband did, but the manager refused his payment, saying he was late because he hadn't paid the day before, when the machine was down and he'd been told to return the next day. This was the third time since we'd been there that my husband had been told to come back the following day to pay. We'd always been paid up and he had never paid late. On the two earlier occasions, the manager had accepted payment when my husband returned. This time Mario, the manager then, refused it. The hotel wasn't overbooked or full, and there was no waiting list, so it didn't inconvenience anyone or disrupt another booking. My husband was upset and came upstairs to tell me. I started packing, but he stopped me and said we weren't leaving. He'd tried to pay, and Mario refused for no reason, after telling him to return the next day for the third time. My husband has a business and couldn't keep going back and forth all day with Mario, the former manager who no longer works for Sonesta. We're still happily here, working something out with the new management about the past rent, which we'll gladly pay. It was never about the money, but the poor front desk management. The rest of the staff have been very friendly and cordial. We don't have a key to our room, so one of us stays here all the time, or our son stays if we both need to go somewhere for business. For laundry, staff let us into the laundry room, but we go to the laundromat or take our laundry out and wash and dry our own towels because they won't exchange old towels for new ones. When we both leave, we have to use the main entrance by the front desk. If one of us stays, we let the other in through the side door downstairs by our room. It's been exhausting. About a week ago, the roof caved in on the other side of the building, probably from the snow, and the fire department had to evacuate the building for a while in the freezing cold. I never thought people could be so judgmental when they don't know our families, where we come from, or about our family in Florida.