Spark by Hilton Stevensville

When I called after seeing Spark’s response on Google, Evie answered and transferred me to a hotel manager. I said I wasn’t sure why I was calling, but thought they might want more details. He said the response was automatic and they didn’t need any. I found that impersonal and disappointing. During the call, he dismissed my concerns about his employee making us uncomfortable. He said he’d pass the information to the GM, but told me not to expect a call back. This interaction only reinforced my impression that the staff lack customer service skills. We left very disappointed, and I’ll tell people I know not to stay here. My family visits Stevensville often. We usually stay at the holiday inn express next door, but chose Spark this time. The room was small and clean, which was fine for us. We just wanted somewhere safe and quiet, but it wasn’t quiet: doors slammed late at night and early in the morning, and someone upstairs dragged furniture around through the night. It didn’t wake our kids, thankfully, but my husband and I barely slept. Our room did have a bathroom fan, despite what I’d seen in other reviews. At check-in, nobody was at the desk, so we rang the bell. A few moments later an employee came out with a long face and a bad attitude. I was told her name was Evie. She had a nose piercing and gold-framed eclectic glasses. She barely spoke, was rude when she did, and stared at us with a long face. She made both my husband and me uncomfortable. We both work in hospitality and understand people can have bad days, but this felt like more than that. The hotel is by the highway, which we knew before booking and didn’t mind. It was actually convenient and caused no problems. Still, after the poor service, we probably won’t return. If we hadn’t had young kids with us, we would have gone home that night instead.

The room was clean, nicely decorated, and had a comfortable bed. The breakfast had no hot food, just cereal, muffins, bagels, hard-boiled eggs, juice, yogurt, mandarin oranges, and apples. The coffee was in the lobby, but it was full of grounds. In the room there was no soap bar, cups or glasses, microwave, or coffee maker. Staff weren’t very friendly or informative, and told us nothing beyond our room number.

The room itself was very nice, and the hotel was clean with friendly staff. The bathroom fan didn’t work, though, and the highway noise was quite loud. We’d noted in our profile that we’d appreciate a quiet room. Breakfast was provided, but it was very sparse.

We were here for only five hours after a last-minute family emergency, so the basic room was fine. Still, it had no cups. I called the local number to book after midnight, and the person had to check with the front desk to see whether a room was available. We had to call twice before someone let us in the front door. Once we got a key, I realized I could have taken the stairs up and then come back down the elevator to the lobby. That doesn’t feel like much of a guest security measure.