Home2 Suites by Hilton Vicksburg, MS

Our last stop before home turned out to be a poor experience, and I can’t say we’d return. We left at 4 a.m.; the TV didn’t work, and the coffee downstairs was barely warm. We also watched the lawn guy blow grass all over our car. We had booked the fourth floor but somehow ended up on the second, and no one at the desk could say why, even though the hotel wasn’t full, not even at 4 a.m. Check-in was at 3, but the room wasn’t ready until almost 4. The cleaning crew had apparently just finished, yet the floors were sticky, with splatter on the floor and wall; the shower was dirty, with hairs on the counter, floor and walls, and soap scum on the glass doors and handle. The fridge door and both counters had stuff on them, and the room hadn’t been dusted in at least a week. They’d only swished the toilet, it seemed. We had to ask the cleaning crew for a do not disturb sign, and I wondered whether the bedding had even been changed. Thankfully, we had Clorox wipes. The kitchenette outlets didn’t work, the bed was hard, and the pillows were so soft my head sank to the mattress.

The rest of the staff were great and went above and beyond while I was there, but the manager on duty was dismissive and treated me as if I were less than. Sunny, the General Manager, was very disrespectful and had a distasteful attitude toward guests. He may not want the night shift, but professionalism and hospitality matter. He belongs in a job that doesn’t involve customer care. The heater didn’t work on a 30 degree night, with my 2 year old child in the room, and he wouldn’t get the maintenance person to fix it. Staff later confirmed that the maintenance representative lives next door and is only a phone call away, available 24 hours. The hotel doesn’t provide daily housekeeping, and on another night Sunny wouldn’t bring extra towels when I asked. I take pictures as receipts when I review. The manager’s handling of both things showed a lack of character, and I can’t imagine refusing towels to guests who have none. His last name may be Patel.

The room smelled so clean, better than at other places I’ve stayed, and the breakfast was tasty. I loved spending the weekend here, with incredible service.

The clean room and nice front desk staff were the good parts. I’m here for a month working nights, six or seven nights a week, and after 15 years of work travel, this is the first extended stay hotel I’ve found that makes things hard for so many guests by only offering housekeeping from 8 a.m. to about 3 p.m., right when night workers need to sleep. Other hotels adjust housekeeping hours for us. I was told to leave dirty towels outside with a note and they’d leave fresh ones, but they only took the dirty towels. The housekeepers couldn’t even put the trash bag in the can, just left it thrown at the bottom. The bathroom door scrapes the floor halfway through opening and closing, and takes a fair bit of force to get past the high spot. The phone in the living area doesn’t work. The bedroom HVAC works off and on, but they can only look at it while I’m asleep. There are two washers and two dryers, but one washer is broken. The working washer says a regular wash costs $1.75, then adds another 25 cents when you try to start it.