Hampton Inn & Suites Oakwood Village-Cleveland

Breakfast was ready by 6 am and delicious. The chef was great and seemed so happy to be there overseeing her work. We arrived on a snowy day, even by Cleveland standards, and Chance greeted us warmly with a smile. Our room was warm and comfortable, and every staff member we encountered was great, no matter the time of day.

This was a ridiculous situation, and I don't usually leave bad reviews. My girlfriend had booked a trip months ahead for a book convention. While she was at the convention, she got an email saying the payment details needed updating. When we arrived after a day out, the desk clerk called the manager during check-in. The manager said our reservation had been canceled and that he had called and left a voicemail. But no call had been made, and there was no voicemail. We showed the clerk that her phone had no missed call or messages. They'd sold our reservation out from under us because they could make a few hundred dollars more on a busy weekend.

I want to warn people about bedbugs in room 123. I was moved to the third floor, where I saw no signs, but the infestation in 123 has not been properly handled, in my view. The general manager had personal emergencies, which I understand, but he never returned my requested call, so I couldn't explain what I believe he's doing wrong. I checked in after my van, which is my home and travel vehicle, broke down on the highway. I was grateful to have a safe place while it was repaired. I relaxed on the couch, then moved to the bed to sleep and felt something crawling beside me. There was a bug by my pillow that looked like a bedbug I'd encountered while working as a nurse. I squashed it and it burst with blood, as bedbugs do. Horrified, I ran out. The front desk employee was very empathetic and did all he could: he gave me garbage bags and let me use the laundry room to clean and heat my belongings. I stayed up until 3 in the morning washing everything and bathing my animals and myself, so I barely slept. Before leaving, I noticed the bed had no enclosed mattress cover, and what looked like bloodstains on the couch. The mattress was stained too. I didn't see activity in the next room, but that mattress also had stains and no cover, and there was hair on the counter and a dirty washcloth. Every room has carpet, which I see as a major problem. I learned the next day from the housekeeping supervisor that the room had been fumigated several times. I don't believe the furniture was discarded the first time. They fumigated again the next day, but I think that's all they're doing. They keep renting the room before making sure the bugs are gone. The employee who put me in the room was kind and had no idea, so this wasn't his fault. My stay was comped, but I didn't feel the GM showed much empathy or understanding. I heard how he spoke about the issue on speakerphone, not realizing I could hear him. He questioned whether I had really seen a bug, despite this being a known issue in that room. A free stay wouldn't help if I brought the infestation into my van. He seemed not to understand how readily the problem could spread through the hotel, or that the furniture hadn't been thrown away after the first incident and all the rooms have carpet. I wanted to explain this to him. On speakerphone, he asked, "why is she so upset? We comped her room?" That suggests to me either a lack of empathy or a lack of understanding that these bugs are extremely hard to get rid of, and guests could carry them home and face huge costs and loss of belongings fighting them. I consider it criminal to rent a room with a known problem when furniture hasn't been replaced and the bed doesn't even have a mattress cover. I took great care not to bring anything into my van or the next room. Other guests might not be as cautious or stay up until 3 am doing laundry. I keep hoping that being careful will be enough. An infestation in a camper van would be worse than I can explain. The employees were incredibly kind and sympathetic, and felt terrible this was happening. Edit: Fumigation only kills bugs it touches. At this point, they should be doing much more: using heat, throwing away furniture, treating nearby rooms, and encasing mattresses. They need to throw away the two stained ones I saw, which were disgusting.

The room on the third floor was fairly quiet, and I slept comfortably. Breakfast was tasty, with eggs, potatoes, and sausage. The staff were friendly and helpful, and check-in went smoothly. There were just four tissues in the box and no spare. The toilet paper was running low too, and it took a minute to find the backup roll. Starbucks was next door, McDonald's was nearby, and the convention center was off I271.