Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Statesville

The front desk service was great, and the room was clean, comfortable, and very nice. In the early evening, the bed started vibrating. We later figured it was probably because our room was near the laundry, and it stopped after housekeeping finished. Breakfast was a letdown. We went down at 9:35, after being told it was available until 10, and found little left, as the photos show. The front desk staff found an English muffin in the kitchen, but the eggs were gone and there were no hard-boiled ones. Then, when breakfast was nearly over, a little more food came out.

The hotel is new and nice, but Bonvoy travelers should know that it didn’t honor the benefits. I’m a lifetime Platinum member and asked for a noon checkout, just one hour past the 11 AM standard checkout, rather than the guaranteed 4 PM option. They denied it, saying all late checkouts for the day had already been given out. When I pointed out that it was a guaranteed benefit, they said they don’t honor those and don’t have to. These hotels attract loyal travelers who book because of the brand, then won’t provide the benefits that make all our travel away from home more comfortable. I’ve marked this as a do-not-travel hotel for our 400,000 employees, since we depend on those benefits during the huge amount of travel we do.

I’ve stayed at plenty of Marriott properties and usually find the staff welcoming and the hospitality reliable. This visit ended with me cancelling my last three nights and going back to the Marriott where I’d been staying before, where I’d had no problems. The trouble started at check-in. Vickie spoke to me rudely when I asked whether I could email my Explorer form for her to print. She said no and told me I should have it printed already, so I dug it out of my luggage. My first room was opposite the ice machine and elevator. When I asked for another, she said there wasn’t one, but less than half a minute later she handed me a new key. That attitude felt unnecessary. I also had a reservation for the next three days and said I’d return the following day to pay. My account name change was still being processed, so the reservation had my other last name. I showed Vickie the official email about the change and both licenses, one with my former married name and one with my new legal name. While customer service was trying to help by adding the other last name to the reservation, Vickie kept arguing she couldn’t process it because “the original name wasn’t changed.” She called it a “shared reservation” but couldn’t explain what that meant, and told me to ask customer service. She also said my rate had disappeared even though customer service confirmed it was still active and unchanged. I decided to cancel. Then, after I left the desk, Vickie called my sister’s workplace and said I had been “cussing her out.” My sister works for Marriott and had got me the Explorer form. I don’t curse, and my sister’s coworkers know me well enough to understand that isn’t my character. I’ve been a nurse for 17 years and know people can have bad days, but making up that claim was shocking and unprofessional. When I was leaving, I called to ask for a luggage cart and another young woman at the desk said this was “not a full-service hotel.” That was another dismissive response. I’ve never had anything like this happen at a Marriott. Other staff I’ve met have been kind, helpful, and respectful. Vickie’s conduct was rude and dishonest, and I won’t return to this location.

We’ve used this hotel a couple of times as a halfway stop and found it clean and quiet. This past week, though, breakfast was a letdown. I only expect a little protein and some kind of carb, but on my first two stops the hot dishes were empty, and there was no bread, yogurt, boiled eggs, or fruit beyond two grapes in a bowl. On my third try the hot food had been replenished, but there were just two English muffins and still no fruit. Maybe it was a bad day, but for what the hotel charges, they could put in more effort.