Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Knoxville Lenoir City/I-75

The staff were very nice, and breakfast was the usual hotel breakfast. What brought my rating down to a 2 was the room temperature. I set it to 67, but it never got properly cool. If you run hot like I do, you know how disappointing that is. I’ve never had that problem at a motel before, let alone a hotel. There was also the hassle of having my name and email entered wrong even after I handed over my ID and spelled everything out. My email is literally my name, and I needed the receipt for my company to reimburse me, so I had to go back four times to get it sorted. For what I paid, I’d rather have rude staff and working air conditioning.

The front desk woman was patient, friendly, and helpful. Breakfast was better than expected and had plenty of choices. The place seemed clean, checkout was at a convenient time, and the room temperature itself was fine. We didn’t use the gym or pool. Still, the internet had apparently been out for weeks, and the room cost more than $350, which didn’t feel justified. It was quiet and clean, with no bugs except maybe a stink bug or two in the hallway, nothing serious. But the room was extremely humid. Sitting on a bed or chair for a few seconds left my pants damp when I stood up. I suspect dust clogged both the air conditioning intake and filters, and no room service staff were available to help clean them. That should be handled as routine maintenance, every couple of months or quarterly. At this price, I shouldn’t have to deal with a damp room or worry about bathroom safety. There was nothing on the shower floor to prevent slipping, and I nearly fell. If upkeep gets skipped, a hotel will gradually go downhill. Our stay was good in some ways, but not worth the charge.

I filed a police complaint against Christy, the General Manager, and Heather, the front desk manager. They said I had thrown a fitted sheet in the trash and charged me $150 for it. That did not happen. They wouldn’t show me any supposed evidence or discuss why they were making the accusation. Marriott customer service gave me additional points, but the actual issue is still unresolved, and I’ll keep escalating until I get justice. The stay was already going badly. The first room hadn’t been cleaned before we arrived: the carpet was dirty, it smelled, and the sink and bathtub wouldn’t drain, so we asked to move right away. The second room wasn’t much better. We had to ask repeatedly over several days for housekeeping before we finally got service. We were traveling with a baby, which made the stay miserable, and we left early because we were worried about what else they might accuse us of. I’m shocked this is a Marriott hotel.

I stayed almost two weeks and found it really peaceful. The room size was okay, the staff were friendly, and Walmart is just two minutes away. I’d recommend it.