Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Staunton

Breakfast was amazing, and the woman working there was great. The gym was solid, too. The bathroom had a couple of minor annoyances: the toilet paper wouldn't roll properly, so pulling it off square by square was a pain, and the shower needed bleach and a scrubbed showerhead. I'd stay here again, though I'd take the toilet paper off the holder first.

Muriel from housekeeping was the bright spot in my three-night stay at the Fairfield Inn and Suites. After she heard my room had been missed, she was kind, professional, and followed through on helping me. The hotel itself was clean, the breakfast decent, and the location excellent, with stores and restaurants nearby. But service elsewhere made the stay frustrating. Staff at breakfast seemed to treat guests like an inconvenience, and on Friday morning, guests in the lobby could clearly hear an argument between kitchen staff. At the front desk, I got a rude response when I asked how often rooms are cleaned during longer stays. I'd also asked for fresh towels and for the used ones on the bathroom floor to be taken away. Nothing had been done by the afternoon. I was told to pick up clean towels at the desk and bring the used ones back in a plastic bag. I've never been asked to do that as a hotel guest. The first evening, I requested an extra blanket before heading to an event. I was told it would be delivered, but when I got back around 11 p.m., it hadn't arrived. I called the desk and was told no one could bring it, so I had to go get it myself. The property has a lot going for it, but the service fell short of what I'd expect. Better communication, attention to guests, and staff training would make a real difference.

The desk clerk said a reservation glitch meant our room had been downgraded. When we got there, it clearly hadn't been cleaned: it smelled of food, and food boxes were on the floor. We insisted on another room and eventually got one, but it was occupied by a poor woman who was already asleep. The hallways also looked like they hadn't been vacuumed in days.

Breakfast had a nice variety. At check-in, though, our room had empty shampoo and body wash bottles, and it took some back and forth to get that sorted out. Not a bad experience.