Sheraton Rockville Hotel

The hotel was clean, which mattered most, and the location was convenient. But it's very outdated and understaffed, and the Google rating of four stars seems far too generous. The club lounge had no selection, not even morning coffee, and you were lucky to find bottled water in the fridge during the day. The gym was tiny, like the ones at Courtyard or Residence Inn. The room TVs were small and old, with no internet for streaming.

The bathroom door was odd because it wouldn't lock, and the showerhead was really old. The bigger issue was being called by the front desk at 9:15pm to say someone had complained about noise. I was in the bathroom helping my child bathe and rushed to answer. We weren't even in the room at the time, and when we were there, we were only talking normally, with no yelling, crying, jumping, or laughing. It was only 9pm, and there's no rule against talking then. I could hear doors closing in another room too, so why blame us for poor sound insulation? The desk and hotel should apologize, whether it was a mistaken call or just our ordinary voices. To the person who complained, if it's too noisy, wear earplugs. I'll never stay here again.

The $250 incidental fee was another major problem, more than twice the room price. Mayah said management raised it because some guests smoke in rooms. That feels excessive and unfair to guests who aren't causing the problem. Other hotels I stay at usually hold $50-100. I had booked a king room for two adults through a third-party platform, but Mayah at the desk only took my last name, processed the incidental fee, and handed us keys without confirming the room type or mentioning a change. We found two twin beds in the room, which didn't work for two adults sharing a bed. When we went back, she said they had run out of kings and third-party bookings get whatever is available. I had the confirmation on my phone and pointed out that she hadn't checked the room type. She said she usually does but must have missed it that time. She was dismissive and never apologized. She said management had pre-booked all the reservation slots, essentially blaming them. It's unclear why booking offered a king bed if it wasn't guaranteed, or why nobody told us about the change before we went to the room. Between the poor communication, dismissive response, lack of apology, and high fee, this was a very disappointing experience. I won't be back.

The stay was mediocre from beginning to end. My room had no running water, so they moved me from a king room to one with two doubles. The replacement room had no TV remote, and the rooms smelled musty. The elevators are old too. It just didn't meet Marriott standards.