Wyndham Garden Southgate

Update: I talked with Theresa and Mimi at the front desk, and they were fantastic. The late-night check-in really was rough, but the morning staff were outstanding. Breakfast was very good, and the pool was the best hotel pool we’ve ever experienced. The kids had a wonderful time playing, and our whole stay turned around. Original: That first night was a bad start. The staff seemed rude and completely apathetic, and the hotel felt run down, dirty, and awful smelling. Our first room smelled like someone had gone number two in the toilet, so we left. The musty mildew and mold smell was strong. After a long walk back to the front desk, we changed rooms. The new room smelled better but the floors were very wet. The bathtub was scuffed, there were clumps of dirt in the corners, and the lampshades were broken and ripped. The hallways were old and musty too. We were told the pool was open, but my key didn’t work. The front desk said to try another door, but that didn’t work either. We’d now had two rooms below standard and couldn’t use the pool. When I tried to discuss it, Chelsea raised her voice and blamed other people. I understand the rooms weren’t her responsibility since she didn’t work in housekeeping, and she couldn’t be expected to know the exact condition of every room. But she could at least have said she was sorry instead of blaming everyone else. She said the pool door must be a maintenance issue, though the light was yellow, and she could have tried to help solve it. They expected me to move rooms again at 11 p.m. with two children who’d been traveling all day. Absolutely not worth the hassle or the money. A very negative first impression. Don’t stay here if you want somewhere clean, good smelling, and staffed by pleasant people.

The staff were really nice, but the rooms need a real upgrade. I’m a Wyndham member, and this hotel used to be a Holiday Inn until January 2022. I didn’t see any upgrades, and after paying over $150 a night, I was ready to go home the next morning. It didn’t meet the quality I expect from Wyndham, and I wouldn’t recommend it if quality matters to you. It wasn’t worth the money. I booked a hot tub room to relax for my birthday, just for one night. The button wouldn’t start the tub properly, so I called the desk. A man came and told me to push it really hard. It was so stiff I used one of my house keys to press it, since I would have broken a nail otherwise. Once the tub was running, water from the faucet flowed onto the floor and I nearly slipped. It was late, so I didn’t call again, but I told the front desk woman. She said she’d tell the manager, Sam, and that he’d call me. I still haven’t heard from him. I’m posting pictures.

The check-in staff were friendly, and the front desk was very helpful when our first room reeked of smoke and moved us to another. Unfortunately, the second room was filthy too, with wrappers on the carpet and sticky pop and red sauce on a table. The pool floor had cigarette butts, band-aids, fake nails, and chicken bones all over it. I calmly and politely told the housekeeping manager how dirty everything was. At first she apologized a lot and said she was sorry. Then I heard her mocking me to other staff for complaining. I called her out and said I’d been polite, and that I didn’t like being talked down to. I’d read other reviews saying some staff were friendly but the place was unclean. I should’ve checked those reviews before staying.

We’d been at another hotel nearby that was the worst, and the staff here went out of their way to accommodate us and my elderly parents. They were very helpful. The breakfast was great, too. There were lots of kids having a blast in the indoor pool, but the rooms stayed very quiet and we couldn’t hear our neighbors. The beds were comfortable, with a nice choice of pillows. My father wanted to take his bed home. This place was excellent.