Extended Stay America Lynchburg University Blvd.

Shelly, the on-site manager, does a great job keeping things running smoothly. When something comes up, she handles it quickly. The staff and atmosphere are great, and the rooms and rates are especially good for this location.

The manager's attitude made an already poor stay worse. She was short with me, my coworkers, a guest who reported bugs, and even her own coworker when that person was trying to help me. She also lives at the hotel and reserves her parking spot with a cone when she's away. I've worked in customer service and retail for nearly 20 years, and I've never seen a staff member put herself ahead of guests like that. The first spot should go to people with special needs or disabilities. The bug problem affected two floors, not just one room. We told our superintendent we wanted to leave because of bugs. After he informed the hotel, the manager went into our rooms, took pictures, and blamed us instead of addressing the problem. I have a picture here similar to the one she took. I'd rinsed my pans and thrown the food out, and only needed to scrub and wash what remained after work. There were other problems too. The hallway air felt stagnant, and the coffee pot's filter holder was moldy, as shown in my attached photo. The room itself was clean, but to use the kitchen amenities I had to call. The placard said they'd be brought to my room, but I had to go downstairs and collect them myself. When I called about making copies, the manager paused and sighed, then asked if they were for business or personal use. After I said business, she told me they cost 10 cents each. I only had quarters, so I had to get five copies when I needed two. I guess 20 cents would have broken the bank. Breakfast wasn't always available at 6am as stated, and the desk area is so shielded it's hard to reach anyone. The oddest thing on arrival was the manager asking from her car whether I was checking in. When you're ready to get as far away as possible, the highway is conveniently close. The hotel can respond or disagree, but our company has blacklisted it, so future coworkers won't have to deal with what we did.

For all 10 days I was there, I hardly ever saw anyone at the desk. On arrival, nobody was there to check me in, so I had to call for help. Whenever someone needed something, the staff seemed annoyed. My room was dirty and outdated, below par, and nothing like the online photos. It smelled of marijuana about half the time, which staff blamed on other guests cooking. I left disappointed.

The maintenance man's response to a TV outage was hostile and unprofessional. After a short storm with wind and rain on the second day of my three-week stay, the TV lost its signal. The weather cleared, but the TV still didn't work, so I asked Reception to have someone look at it. The maintenance person checked the wires in my room, found nothing, then checked several other rooms and confirmed all the hotel's TVs had no connection. He said, “There nothing I can do about it”. I asked why, since the storm was over, and whether he could contact the service provider or see if the satellite dish needed adjusting. A professional response could have been that he didn't know the problem, satellite work wasn't in his duties, and he'd check with the manager about a fix. Instead, he raised his voice and nearly yelled, “THERE NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT!!!” I said there is always something that can be done, and told him that if one of my employees treated a customer with such discourtesy, I'd fire him. I meant it. He shot back, “I’M GOING TO GET WITH THE GENERAL MANAGER AND HAVE YOU IMMEDIATELY ESCORTED OFF THE PROPERTY!!” He obviously had no legal right to do that. I spoke with the General Manager the next morning. She explained that after a storm it normally takes a few hours for the satellite signal to come back, and she was right. The signal returned not long after my encounter with the maintenance man. His attitude was still unacceptable, hostile, and unwelcoming. He should take an Anger Management class or be replaced. I won't be back any time soon. The cleaning product was also a problem. The hotel uses an “odor neutralizer” that masks smells instead of removing them. Its artificial fragrance was strong and stinky, overwhelming my sense of smell within minutes. I consider products like this toxic air pollutants, unhealthy and unwelcome, and believe the EPA should ban them federally.