Spark by Hilton Orangeburg

What bothered me most was that we asked for a room near the elevator because of my husband's mobility issues, but they put us on the top floor, as far from the elevator as possible. It felt like our request had been ignored. Water was $7 a bottle, even though it's $1.39 at Walmart. For a first stay, the room was missing basics like soap, a clock, a coffee maker, and water. The ice machine was only in the lobby, which was inconvenient. The young man who checked us out was polite and friendly, but the women working there seemed to have attitudes. One of my worst hotel experiences. When I raised the issues, they said that's why they charge so cheap. Other hotels charge the same, and I don't have to hear dogs barking there.

The rooms themselves were very nice, clean, and in a great location, but I don't appreciate being lied to. On our first night the door malfunctioned and the key wouldn't let us in. Luckily someone was inside. The front desk employee was rude when we asked for help and insisted it worked, so we stayed in that night rather than deal with her again. The next day we went out and couldn't get back in. The manager was nice, and after we waited an hour in the lobby for maintenance, she offered another room, which we took. She said she'd refunded one night's stay, and we appreciated that for the major inconvenience. Two hours later we got our things from the other room, so we had to stay at the hotel longer than planned to move everything. At checkout the next morning I reminded them about the refund, as I was told to, but they knew nothing about it. The manager later said it had been issued and would take 48 hours. Fifteen days and four calls later, there's still no refund. I've never written a review before, but don't lie to me!

The breakfast choices were bagels or bread, muffins, cereal, yogurt, and apples. It was so limited that we had to go out for breakfast. Nearly every other hotel in this price range has a waffle maker, more fruit, and sometimes eggs, so I was very disappointed. Even cheaper hotels do better.

The nightly front desk clerk was downright rude. At check-in she asked if I had pets, then yelled at me to tap my card. She handed me the key and said, "down the hall to the left." Nothing about Wi-Fi or breakfast hours, or offering help. I travel a lot and had my wife and son with me, so it was a bad experience. This place is old and dirty, and it's not a Hilton. The bathroom door was rusted at the bottom and the carpet was filthy. Breakfast was basically two choices, a bagel or cereal, plus one packet of oatmeal.