Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Harrisburg West

Customer service was satisfactory, but I can’t recommend this low quality hotel, which sits in an industrial area. In Room 310, the lighting was poor without sunlight, and the place felt depressing. The mattress padding was so thin I could feel the springs in my back. The internet was extremely slow, under 200KB/sec, with no paid upgrade available. The door wouldn’t shut and latch unless slammed hard, which felt like a security risk. It was filthy and dusty, with hairballs on the floor and wet hair in the tub drain. The tub also wouldn’t drain, so dirty water pooled there. Several outlets, including the USB ones, didn’t work. Those were the main problems, though there were smaller ones too.

I reserved through Hotels.com and my card was charged, but at checkout the front desk said I still had a balance and needed to pay again. That’s unacceptable. If the hotel uses Hotels.com to bring in customers, it should honor its agreement with them. After I paid a second time, I asked for a receipt, but it showed $0.00. The representative said that was the only receipt the system would let her print. That makes me wonder whether the issue is really with Hotels.com. You can imagine what might be going on.

The rooms are good, but breakfast doesn’t start until 7 a.m., which is ridiculous for guests who need to start their day earlier. They’re left having to go out and buy breakfast. Rooms feel overpriced when breakfast isn’t included as an amenity. When the hotel has lots of guests, management should start breakfast earlier so it isn’t overloaded once the doors finally open.

The bathroom cleanliness is why I gave this three stars. The faucet in the shower looked bad, but I got it shiny with just water and a washcloth. The mirror was poorly cleaned, the trim above the sink was in rough shape, and the floor behind the toilet was disgusting. The sink drain wouldn’t stay open, so water collected unless I plugged it with something, as shown in my picture. Make sure you don’t get a room on the freeway side, either, because the traffic will keep you up at night. There were some nice points: four full pillows on each bed, so I didn’t need two or three to prop up my head. Breakfast was the usual hotel spread of eggs, sausage, waffles, French toast, muffins, cereal, and fruit. The young woman at the desk was pleasant, and it was nice to see hot chocolate in the lobby as well as coffee. Maybe I’m being nitpicky, but the things you notice in a hotel affect how you see the place.