La Quinta Inn & Suites Salisbury

The staff were very nice and accommodating, and the morning breakfast was a pleasant surprise. It was good, though could use more bread options. Renovations are still underway throughout the hotel, but the refreshed rooms are nice. What bothered me was the management not honoring the Friday night rate advertised by my Alma Mater' Alumni Association. The advertised rate was $143.40, but I was charged $174.50. Several alumni brought it to management's attention, yet they still refused to honor the $143.50 rate. I felt they didn't appreciate or respect some of their clients. I'll encourage others not to stay if the advertised rate isn't honored. If you do stay, double-check the rate at check-in and confirm the advertised amount again at checkout.

The employees were pleasant right up until checkout. I asked about redeeming points, and the clerk accused me of arguing, cut me off before I could finish a sentence, then walked away while muttering to another employee. It was the worst customer service I've had in years. My daughter lives nearby, so this would be a convenient hotel, but I'll never stay again. Construction wasn't the issue, since I knew the hotel was being renovated. Everything else made the stay uncomfortable. The hallway was oddly cold, around the 50s, the room's air conditioner was loud, and the bathroom had sloppy paint, chipped tiles, and gaps in the grout. Its single switch controlled both the light and a very loud fan. For the price, the hotel was overpriced, with bad food and a rude desk clerk.

The room itself was spotless, and I left the maid a good tip. I wanted to leave her a note too, but there wasn’t any pen or paper. Getting around the hotel was frustrating: I waited fifteen minutes for an elevator before a staff member silently showed us another one hidden behind a construction wall. No sign pointed it out, and nobody apologized. The refrigerator door and its cabinet were broken, and the microwave wouldn’t work because its turntable was the wrong size. Towels felt rationed. In the lot, someone hassled me for money, and one night it was full with no alternative spot offered. Getting inside meant passing smokers, and the lobby made it hard to tell staff from random homeless people. Staff wore no uniforms, just black T-shirts.

The front desk staff were so polite and upbeat, and everyone seemed happy to see me. The renovation was underway, so things looked a little messy, but the work I saw was shaping up beautifully. The morning meal was disappointing: the eggs didn’t taste much like eggs, and the apples were so mealy they turned to applesauce in my mouth. Flickering lights and a burning smell in the elevators made me uneasy about riding them. Once the renovations are finished, the place could look five-star.