Sonesta Simply Suites Somerset

I left feeling terrified in my own room. As a female international traveler, I felt extremely unsafe, and I wouldn’t recommend this place, especially to women or international guests. On my last day, the receptionist approved my polite request for an extra hour to check out. During that hour, three men knocked. One stood in front and spoke to me; the other two stayed behind him, where I couldn’t see them clearly. The man wasn’t in uniform, didn’t say who he was, and demanded to take something from the room without explaining why. I asked him to wait 30 minutes because I was already getting ready to leave and was waiting for my husband so we could check out together. He replied aggressively that he wouldn’t wait even a minute, said I should have left half an hour earlier, and threatened to enter whether I agreed or not. His body language made it seem he was coming in regardless. I let him in because I was afraid and felt pressured, not because I consented. I later learned he was the manager. He never introduced himself, wore no official clothing, and behaved completely unprofessionally. I had an approved late checkout, so this wasn’t a misunderstanding. It was an attempt to enter my room without authorization.

The room looked clean at first, but after my three-night stay I woke up with my eyes swollen shut and green discharge. I went to urgent care, and they told me it was a bacterial eye infection, likely from the pillowcases. The itching started after night one, and by the next morning my eyes were a little puffy too. I can’t speak for anyone else, but if you stay here, bring your own pillows and blankets.

Armando promised a written apology and service recovery training for Angela before I left on Monday. Neither happened. He also offered me his cell number in case anything else came up, but his promises were clearly empty. This was my third stay in two months while traveling for work, and it was by far the worst. I’ll never stay here again. Corporate is aware. After driving almost 300 miles, I arrived a little after 4 p.m. on a Friday and waited in line. When it was my turn, Angela didn’t greet me. She said I had a specialty room and she didn’t know if it was ready. I asked what time check-in was, and she snapped that nobody had told her whether my room was ready and that I had a special request. I pointed out the clock showed 4:15. She said check-in was at 4, but I’d have to wait until she found out if the room was ready. The couple behind me with a Great Dane looked shocked. I sat in the lobby while she was courteous to the guests after me. Then she called loudly, “MA’AM... MA’AM...” and asked whether I wanted all three nights or just one, rolling her eyes and speaking to me like I was a dog. The operations manager let her talk about me derogatorily, saying I was upset because the room wasn’t ready and she’d told me to wait. When I told Angela to stop, she said, “I’m NOT TALKING TO YOU,” and turned back to the operations manager. I said this was inexcusable and asked to speak with Armando. The manager called him while Angela kept up the disrespectful tirade. The room I was given was filthy and smelled like it hadn’t been cleaned after guests with pets. There was also a barking dog next door. I love dogs, but this was too much. As I walked down the hall, I heard Angela telling the operations manager she’d been the one to find my credit card during my previous stay and hadn’t had to do that. They were both startled when I came around the corner. I demanded to speak with the manager right away and asked when he’d arrive so I could make a formal complaint. The operations manager said Armando was an hour away but would send him to my room. I refused that room, since I’d specifically requested a different one, and waited in the lobby with my things while trying to arrange another hotel. It was Friday night and nearby rooms with accessible bathrooms were booked. When Armando arrived, I told him about Angela’s discourtesy, her misrepresenting what I’d said and speaking negatively about me to the operations manager, and the disgusting room. He showed me three rooms. One was unavailable, one was next to the barking dog, and one didn’t have an accessible bathroom. He asked how he could make it better. I asked for a written apology and for Angela to get service recovery training. He apologized and promised both by Monday. This was my third visit, after two earlier stays. I’d previously praised the exceptional employees I’d met, Kendra, Tiffany, Camron [?], and Armando. I deliberately left Angela out because of her consistently nasty, unwarranted attitude. The two other reviews I’d read now make sense. Don’t stay here under any circumstances. It’s a shame this last experience wiped out anything positive.

The bed was really comfortable and the staff were kind. The hotel itself is decent, and the service was good, but during my two-day stay I spotted a couple of R-bugs and found a few dead ones too. I didn’t see any more after the first day, though it was enough to put me on edge. If pests bother you, be careful and check your luggage and belongings before you leave. I hope management keeps working on the issue. It’s otherwise a nice place, but I just can’t deal with bugs.