Homewood Suites By Hilton Columbia/Laurel, Md

Only issue was that the pool was closed. Otherwise, no problems. We stayed one night, and the room, bathroom, and sheets were nice and clean. The sheets smelled like bleach, which I love.

We were told by email before arrival that the pool would be out of service until the day after we got there. We stayed for two weeks, and it never reopened. My wife needed it for therapy, and I would have cancelled if I’d known it would be closed the whole time. The breakfast cooking appliance was also down often, then one elevator stopped working. We got the usual “I’m sorry,” but you know. The room itself was nice, clean, and quiet, and the repairman quickly fixed the things in the room. Still, a lot of things were in disrepair.

The location was convenient, with a gas station and places to eat just across the road. My room was clean, the bed was comfortable, and the full fridge was as advertised. A couple of things made the stay frustrating. They didn’t tell me before booking that the indoor pool was closed. They offered access to a sister property, but that was inconvenient with a child, and I could have booked there in the first place. The ceiling fan was noisy, looked a little bent from the side, and had no remote or other way to adjust its speed. I was also concerned it might be a safety hazard. On top of that, I left my do not disturb sign on the door when I went out, and the room was cleaned while it was still there. These may not be typical of their service, and I probably won’t hold it against them, but this trip came with some annoyances and disappointments.

We had a good stay. There are some businesses across the street, and breakfast was good. Sahmel, though I may have the spelling wrong, handled all the people in our party checking in and got us settled nicely. She made it a great experience.