Choice Hotels Reviews

On August 9 I emailed Choice Customer Service about not receiving a confirmation. In contrast to Choice's pledge to reply within 72 hours, I was obliged to email them several more times before receiving a response many weeks later that Choice was sending a confirmation. It never came. Between August 9 and October 15 I sent 6 email requests to Choice. As in the case of Choice's first response the next two promised to send the confirmation at once but this did not happen. The last two email requests were addressed to the head manager of Choice Customer Service but he or she did not deigned to reply.

On checking out I went to the front desk to discuss that I got no rest at all in her hotel despite having paid for a comfortable room to rest in. The young woman at the desk said there was no manager available. Her attitude was one of boredom and disbelief. Her disbelief was indicated by her first and only question to me, which was this, exactly "Why did you wait until 0130 to complain about you sheets?" I have an explanation for that but her attitude was clearly rude and unhelpful, so I left a penciled message to the manager in her hands which she said she would pass on.... including my email address, as I was traveling. The remedy I was seeking was that my money be refunded, because I had a horrendous night with very little sleep due to two disgusting presences in my original room. The upgrade was irrelevant.

I had been awoken from my sleep, and was only interested in a clean bed in a different room. Besides, something that I didn't bring up...the second room smelled putrid, I think somehow because of hot tub chemicals although I'm not sure. I got exactly no satisfaction from this young woman who was in fact rude. I went directly to the Chamber of Commerce of that city, so unhappy was I with things. I left my email address with both places, but heard from neither, and as time passed, I chalked it up to a curiously awful experience handled badly by a very rude, inexperienced, and indifferent hotel employee.

Now, HERE is why I am writing. I have now learned that this employee, or her boss, took it upon themselves to call the last hotel that I had been at, in a different country, to apparently pass on malicious information about me which while bad enough......resulted in this second hotels ENTIRE STAFF being banned from a perk which they really love and which makes a great difference to them in their travels and their friends and family's travels. This is called The Friends And Family benefit; a gift which, in my understanding, all Choice Hotel members are entitled to send, as links through email, to their friends and families, enabling discounts at Choice Hotels (such as I had received from my friend originally).

THIS is why I am writing. Because malicious employees from the hotel with the rodent and bloody bed sheet called my preceding hotel (where my friend works) spoke with my friend's boss, who apparently spoke with the owner and suddenly, ALL employees of this PREVIOUS HOTEL have lost their right to use their Choice Hotel Privileges. So........I wish that somehow, through here perhaps, this all could be looked into and assessed, all parties interviewed and assessed, and somehow justice be done, most importantly, in that the privileges taken away from the perfectly innocent employees of my hotel taken the night before my night of hell be immediately reinstated AND with an apology!

NEVER in my careers as a military officer/veteran, RN, and Social Worker have I see so much malice and chaos caused to so many innocent parties by so few. All of this, from the female hotel clerk's apathy, doubting attitude, inability to make things better, to the other hotel staff managers to punish THEIR STAFFs in such a harsh and arbitrary way, needs to, in my eyes, be investigated. Thank you for your time. Regarding the verifying papers listed below, it will take me some time to ascertain whether I kept them or not. Most unfortunately, I paid in cash for my entire trip...although I did forward my VISA card to secure/hold my rooms.

The TV came in fine, but it was an old Tube Type and the small refrigerator needed defrosting badly, we did not use it. There was a place for a Microwave, but no Microwave. Only one small bar of soap was left and thank heaves, we always bring our own. As we was leaving, up higher on the wall behind where the door opened, looked like someone had wiped something from their nose. I have pictures of both. Don't use this Choice Hotel Quality Inn. Breakfast was not served until 7:30. We were long gone before that.

Now the bad part. We drove back to our home in GA on the 11th and got home late on the 12th. I checked my credit card account and found a charge for $91.84 for lodging on October 10 from Seymour Quality Inn. I called them immediately assuming a mix up on the complimentary paperwork, but was told we had stolen 2 bath towels, 2 hand towels and a bath mat at a cost of $91.84. Astounded would not be a strong enough description and I immediately called the owner, a man named Tony, who was totally unsympathetic to my strong assertions that we certainly did not steal any of his nearly threadbare towels. Indeed, he doubled down and said we had actually taken all the towels in the room (12) plus the bath mat.

I find that this has turned into a case of "he said she said" and the highly advertised free night for two stays will actually cost me $91.84. I have challenged this charge through my credit card provider and notified the BBB. I fear this is a well established scam and part of a plan to not give complimentary stays under any circumstance. I'm a retired US Army full Colonel with 30 years active service including Vietnam, and I assure you I do not steal motel towels.

When I inquired about an adjustment, I was told "Sorry, that claim only applies to our Best Available rate, not the Advanced Payment rate, which can go up or down". I pointed out that the claim is on the Rates page and does not specify that it is only for "Best Available" rates. Again I received a curt "Sorry". Thru additional research I've learned that Choice Hotels takes a large amount of liberty with their marketing claims. Lesson learned: NEVER book a prepaid reservation at Choice, ALWAYS reserve a rate you can cancel and rebook when they lower it.

Oh, but each stay also accrues points you can redeem for free nights or other gift cards and purchases! After over 2 years membership, I never had the good fortune to stay two nights in different hotels during a promotional period – or the one time I recall I did, I didn’t register first, so my stay was not counted. Then I made the mistake of booking with a hotel directly a time or two, because I prefer an operator that speaks English – I can’t put those stays toward my reward either. So, I called in recently to the customer service center to better understand this points program – maybe I can at least redeem some points for an upcoming trip.

Any time I ask a question here, I get a different answer. I can use 6,000 points for a free night I'm told. Through the broken dialect on the phone, I was also told I'd better hurry because I have points that will expire at the end of the year, about 2,300 of them. Oh darn, I’d better redeem them… I'm told I have enough if I add these points with others I have accumulated - now about 7,000 I can use them for a free night as long as I do so by the end of year. Imagine my excitement… Finally, a chance to make good on this deal.

So I started looking for destinations around California and Arizona, etc. only to find that I would need a minimum of 20,000 to 30,000 points at any of the properties I looked at. So, I was told a lie, Go figure! So I'll use them to get a gift card or something – oh, contraire… The minimum points to be able to buy a gift card is 16,000 points! There is NOTHING I can get with my scrawny 7,000 points… nothing! But wait, I can use it as a donation. 1,000 points = $5.00. Is that a hoot? What a waste of time and money, seeking out these hotels to stay in a program that, unless you're a frequent business traveler, it has SCAM written all over it. Beware.

My experience has been such a nightmare that I have even turned to the CEO of Choice Hotels International, Steve Joyce, to let him know about my experience and all of the other brutal reviews that exist online, as this place does not deserve to fly his Choice Hotels flag. He apparently doesn't care at all, and I now realize that the fish stinks from the head down. As for me, it started when I arrived to check in and could not find the entrance because of all of the construction, detours, caution tape, etc. (Funny...there was no mention of construction or renovation in anything provided by the hotel.) I also had to maneuver around the crowd drinking and partying in the parking lot in the middle of the afternoon.

After making my way through the disaster that was the makeshift lobby, I stood and waited while staff chatted. I was eventually acknowledged briefly, and then immediately instructed to "come back later" because "we are getting ready for shift change." Nothing about my room or it not being ready, because we never even got to my name. In thirty years, I've never seen where a "shift change" shuts down a hotel desk. I left as suggested...and didn't plan to return. Before changing clothes in a Dunkin' Donuts bathroom in order to get to the event that brought me back to town, I immediately called to notify the hotel and the booking company that I would not be a guest there, and the reasons why. I WAS CHARGED ANYWAY! They cite 24-hour cancellation policy, but I cite the chaos, filth, fear for my safety, and the fact that I was TURNED AWAY when I arrived, as well as their "100% Satisfaction Guarantee" in respectfully requesting their consideration.

Meanwhile, General Manager Sean ** has ABSOLUTELY REFUSED to return phone calls from me for TWO WEEKS NOW. (Save the "give us another chance to wow you! " online responses, Sean. Truly pathetic!) What is he afraid of??? I'm guessing he's no longer there and has been let go considering what a dump the place is, and how rudely his staff is allowed to treat guests. So, dismissed by everyone else, I went all the way to CEO Steve Joyce of Choice Hotels International. Anyone else who has problems with this dump should call him DIRECTLY at 301-592-5006. (No matter who's voice is on his voicemail now, it's definitely his direct line.) He doesn't care, though, as my messages were referred to a flack who NEVER EVEN SPOKE TO ME, but left everything up to the desk clerk WHO IS THE PROBLEM IN THE FIRST PLACE!

If it were just me, I'd take my lumps, but I point again to TONS of other online reviews that cite just how horrible this place is. And I simply can't believe the utter blow-off I've gotten at EVERY level. It's no longer about the $152. (I'll donate that to a charity of the GM's choosing if he - or CEO Steve Joyce - decide to man-up.) Now, it's a matter of principle. They're ripping off too many people. Hope they finally do the right thing. Until then, I'm not going away.

I did tell the Property Mgr, and she explained that they were 100% booked and that building wasn't used that often. My room was cleaned with bleach, after I left for dinner, but I did have to come back to a filled Clorox smelly room (eyes burning/watering and coughing a bit), which dissipated the next day. Outside the room, in the gym, the cardio machines were broken, the AC felt like it wasn't working properly, and most of the lights were non-working.

Reason for my lengthy review is to one, inform the possible guest, as well as inform corporate to take notice of this property and current property management. Many changes should take place immediately. I did encounter a very nice guy, Mike (maintenance), and the Property Manager was nice, but apparently she has neglected this property, as she has possibly become complacent while being there 17 years. The breakfast was good, but staff was a bit unpersonable. Would not recommend this property unless you had no other choice, as I did, with a couple of big events going on this week.

I can't believe the outright lies from this company and the VERY poor lack of professionalism from them. I urge everyone who has posted on here to forward their horror stores to their CEO at: Choice Hotels International, Inc., Steve Joyce, President and CEO, 1 Choice Hotels Circle, Suite 400, Rockville, MD 20850-5140. If you wish, you may want to let him know that until they clean up their act, you will no longer stay at ANY of their properties. (However, let's be honest. I am sure you won't receive a response, I sure never did!)

Turn the clock to the day of arrival, and wife and daughter were greeted with an entirely different rate, and rudeness beyond all imagination from the Manager of hotel. (Comfort Suites, City Centre, Indianapolis). My wife was rudely told that no matter what I had to say over the phone to this manager, or what was stated on the reservation, he was STILL charging them full rate! Don't mind telling you, if I had known this were the case, I would have never booked with them to begin with! Then I call back the reservation line today after my wife and daughter were pretty much run out of the hotel by this manager to inform them of the happenings, wound up speaking to Customer relations (Chris) who was pretty worthless in his own right in not caring too much about customer relations or courtesy. (Hope they listen to the recording).

So I left it with them. I really want to see them TRY and bill me... Watch what happens. I will fight this charge to no end just for principle sake. They don't give a hoot about the customer and will deflect all information no matter what you have collected or recorded and call it "Speculation". Bottom line, I won't recommend this hotel to anyone, and will warn all I know about "Choicehotels.com" and their tactics in taking reservations. I can't even give them a rating - it was that frustrating to deal with them.

I immediately called customer service and advised them of the error. They said they would investigate but could not remove the extra room because of the cancellation policy. I explained the mistake & alerted them within minutes. I also sent an email to customer service advising them of the booking error. I received the standard "thank you for your email" reply. I called the hotel directly & was told since Choicehotels had already deducted the rooms, there was nothing they could do. A week or so later I received a form letter in the mail stating they were sorry for the incident and hoped I would still use their site again.

I later found out the their "lowest" internet rate was not even a deal since after I booked this, the hotel offered the same rooms to our retreat organizer at a lower refundable rate! In addition, I noticed today that they tacked on another $25 per room for "fees" not included in the advertised "lowest rate" option. I will never book through Choice Hotels again and it's a shame because their chain of hotels are nice places to stay but their customer service cannot be considered service!

So I pleaded with Choice privileges to reinstate my hard earned points and they refused. I since checked all of my other hotel programs and found they do not have these ridiculous rules so I will never stay at any Choice hotel again even if it is a last resort. For anyone reading this be aware that Choice privileges program is not a customer friendly service. Best to use other hotel chains especially if you are a frequent hotel visitor as I am.

Calling customer service over these issues was not fun at all. They could not find the majority of the hotels we had just stayed at over the past 8 days. Was on hold for a long time, and when I requested to talk to a supervisor, they were always unavailable for some reason; out to lunch, in a meeting, etc. One of the customer service reps hung up on me. I was not particularly kind to him, but told him in the beginning this was not any kind of a personal attack, and was against Choice Hotels, not him. He still hung up on me. Anyway, we are done with this hotel chain... we have had enough.

My bank declined the hold, because the previous hold from two days ago was still on my account, and I had no more funds in the account to secure a second hold. The clerk (I believe her name was Tocil) refused to let me check in. She repeatedly told me there was nothing she could do, and was very cold about the whole situation. I told her Quality Inn has already taken a hold on my account for a deposit, and I was prepared to show her my bank history, but she said that it didn't matter, she was required to take a second deposit. I offered a cash deposit, which she refused to accept (we all know it is unlawful to refuse legal tender, regardless of company policy).

I asked to speak to a supervisor; she said there was none until Monday morning (I find it hard to believe a company of your size, open for business 24/7/365, does not have a supervisory staff or guest relations number to contact, in order to look at possible exceptions to policies). In short, with a prepaid room we could not use, we were forced to make an emergency cancellation with Hotels.com, who was able to refund our room fees within 12 hours. Unfortunately, with no other alternatives available to us, we were forced to spend the night in our car; in 15 degree weather; taking a shower at a nearby truck stop, because you and no one else permits a room to be rented without a credit card deposit. Furthermore, because I was vending merchandise at a very popular Christmas show in Portland that weekend, I was not fully refreshed and prepared to sell, resulting in a minimum of $500 in lost sales (based on my sales activity the previous two days).

We told her that we would have no choice but to stay in our car that night, impressing upon her that the temperatures were going to be dropping into the teens. Her response was, I'm sorry, that is our policy, there is nothing I can do. I have a very hard time believing a company with any integrity at all, would be willing to turn someone away, who has already paid for their room and, has already paid a security deposit (which Quality Inn was still in possession of); in freezing temperatures knowing that this customer would have no choice but to stay in their car for the night. The coldness and disregard for human safety is appalling. We were not asking for a free room, we already paid for the room, and Quality Inn already had our security deposit!!!

The relevant part of the program says: "After your second qualifying trip and ALL TRIPS THEREAFTER with arrival between September 5 and November 13, 2013, you will be awarded a minimum of 5,000 points... " [emphasis added]. To deny me these benefits, in an email reply to my complaint, Leo at the Email Resolution Desk made up this rule which is not found ANYWHERE in any of their terms and conditions: "Please note that Choice Privileges is an individual membership account. To earn points, you must personally stay at the hotel." With that made-up rule, they actually DEDUCTED points from my account.

I've come to conclude with the amount of negative feedbacks and the fact I haven't spoken with one single pleasant (NOT ONE) representative, makes it clear that Choice Hotel is simply horrible and enforces horrible policy as they don't give a rat's ** about the people that visit their venues. Only care for the profit generated and not a single ounce of positive service to the customer. It seems like you particularly hire rude, obnoxious employees who act like they own the company (which would be alright if they did a good job representing you. YOU ARE CLEARLY THE BAD CHOICE HOTEL

I'm the founder of a start-up for a tech company (currently in Palo Alto) and I have dedicated the past few months to raising funds. Clearly like any under start up, I've had to deal with the usual struggles running out of money, as I did the weekend I spoke with the resolution desk rep, JACOB, in PHOENIX, ARIZONA as he clearly refused to give me his employee ID to be identified.

Are you kidding me? When you are traveling you do not always know where you will be stopping for the night. In addition, my name was hyphenated when I got married. I told them to change my name and they refused without me sending a copy of my marriage certificate. Really?????!!!!!! My major business credit cards didn't ask me to see that. Their song and dance is that it is protection for me. Oh sure... with those big promotions you have. I told them I wanted to talk to a supervisor because I am surely not sending my marriage certificate.

Now the fun began. I got a string of rude representatives and was told a supervisor wouldn't call back for 2 days. I cancelled my account and requested a letter stating it was cancelled. You would have thought I asked for this representative's first born child. Do yourself a favor and do not do business with this company. I am not sure where they are from and what they are about... but they are certainly not about catering to their customers and using policies and promotions that are not deceptive. In the end the $80-$100 for the free night might cost you exceedingly more.

I wonder how many people have had the frustrating issues I have and have been pushed like I have to say the ugly things that I have said, and didn't want to say. Because I got pushed way beyond my limits. They hire all the wrong people, because they are trying to save money. I could go on and on with a list 3 miles long. And I wouldn't even be repeating myself. It would take forever to tell you things here. They have false advertising, broken promises, exaggerated truths and arrogant workers and rude offensive staff. Why would anyone want to stay in their hotels. Wait till I get some agencies that oversee these sort of places.

My bank account was rectified and I received a reply from the BBB. The excess money Comfort Inn had debited was refunded to my account, and the extra $600.00 plus hold was released. I received an email from Choice Hotels and an email from the manager explaining their policy where a charge/tax is calculated if the guest does not check out but extend the stay. Needless-to-say, I paid in cash from that day forward and made sure I was checked out and back in to avoid extra charges per their policy.

I was a good paying customer and good behaving guest. I made the next payments in cash. The next week the female clerk said the rate was being increased by $30.00 per night. I did not complain, only asked, "When?" She said she did not have a date. Again, I go to the front desk to prepay for my stay and I ask about the rate increase nothing new. The clerk asked if I was still looking for somewhere to live. I answered yes. The next week at 9:30 a.m., I go to prepay, the female clerk tells me that I don;t have a reservation and have to leave. I asked, "So the room I'm staying in has been given away?" She answered yes. So I was being put out of the Comfort Inn.

I never raised my voice; turned and went to the elevator. At check out, I handed the room keys to the same female clerk and was handed a receipt; I asked if this was for me to keep. The receipt is for a ***. I put the receipt on the counter and said, "This is not me." After giving me the correct receipt, the clerk says, "We have something in smoking." REALLY! I have been staying in a non-smoking area which I'm being put out of without any warning or notice; but after being put out, I'm offered something that is detrimental to my health.

DISCRIMINATION IS AN UGLY THING! I believe that I have been discriminated against and the Comfort Inn put me out: 1) in retaliation of my complaint that invited contact from the BBB and 2) that I chose to remain a guest there but was intelligent enough to use their policy to not have to pay the excess charges imposed on customers per their policy. Though humiliated and mortified (as it was very hard finding another hotel many conferences in town at this particular time) I am glad that I stood up for myself and for what was right. They actually put me out. The Comfort Inn Conference Center in Richmond VA put me out without any warning or notice. The experience rate says "angry". I was upset and still am somewhat, but I'm more disappointed, humiliated and hurt.

It was piss poor customer service at hotel with incompetent service personnel. We were scheduled to stay for three nights. The 1st room had dirty linen and the room stunk. It had broken furniture and dead bugs in the bathroom light fixture. In the 2nd room, picture frames on the wall had no glass; the microwave didn't work; dead bugs were in the bathroom light fixture and there was dirty linen. The 3rd room had dirty linen, door would not lock and dead bugs were in bathroom light fixture. The 4th and final room had soiled furniture, raggedy furniture and headboard was broken. The ironing board was broken; it had soiled furniture chairs.

Do not waste your time with this location - what a dump- it was supposed to be a short vacation. Instead, it was a trip of musical rooms. All this occurred on day one, April 30th, 2013. General Manager attempted to credit my account with one night's credit. It's not good enough. I should receive full refund and company payment for another local hotel. I will contact Kayak.com, and corporate office for Choice Hotels.

Do not waste your time. You have been warned; it has completely inferior service. Don't waste your hard-earned money at this location. I feel angry. I want my money back and then also reimbursement for my vacation time taken for this hell on wheels vacation, and I want corporate to contact me asap. I will be further following this up with local and national news channels if no response is made with 72 hours of this posting. We've come too far with 6 hours driving time and worked too hard for money for this trip that has been a complete bust. I want positive action taken immediately - forward to anybody you know to validate all negative issues regarding Choice Hotels (Econo Lodge). I have taken pictures of current room with the issues at this location. Some of the rooms look like crime scenes after the crime. Don't stay at these hotels ever. I won't and I will post every picture and notations until I get positive results.

Housekeeping was not up to the Choice Hotel standards. When we checked in, there was an open bag of candy and an open bottle of soda in the room. I brought these to the front desk and was told that they would tell housekeeping. The bathroom sink faucet was corroded and had several hairs on it. The toilet seat was stained. There were nail clippings and other white particles on the carpet. There was a huge amount of dust in corners and along the baseboard. The electrical was not safe as the microwave, refrigerator, and coffee maker were all plugged into the same outlet. The coffee maker did not work; it kept shutting off every thirty seconds.

On 4/15/2013, I wrote an email to customer service at Choice Hotels. Two days later, I received a phone message asking me to call back. When I did, Roberta gave me the email address of **, the General Manager, and said that he would be contacting me. As of this date, this has not happened. Instead, he gave my email to **, the front desk manager. I asked for a refund, but was only given a credit for $15. I understand that the fire alarm going off was not the motel's fault. However, the way they handled it certainly was their responsibility and fault. Also, the maintenance and housekeeping issues were not at all addressed by **. I will certainly think twice before staying at another Choice Motel.

When they called the front desk, the clerk stated the manager had to authorize the rebooking and advised Orbitz and me that he would be there at 9 am the following morning. I called and Orbitz called the front desk for 2.5 days before a manager was available and I had to call Choice Hotels' corporate line to report that no manager would get in contact with me. For the 2.5 days, I was told 5 different names of managers which were all wrong names. I finally got a hold of a manager named Devon who told me that once a room was booked, there was no way to refund the room which was a lie, because I spoke with Orbitz and Choice Hotels' corporate who said they could rebook and issue a refund once a manager or general manager told Orbitz it was okay. The manager said to call him after 1 pm with Orbitz and he would speak with them.

When Orbitz called that day after 1 pm, the front desk said that Devon, the manager, works mornings and to call again the next day which they have said since Sunday. When I contacted Choice Hotels' corporate, they stated that they don't own the hotel so they can't do anything. If you are a parent company and a guest has been trying to get a manager to simply speak with Orbitz since 9 pm Sunday and it's Wednesday currently and the hotel said to call again the next day, is that acceptable or customer service oriented?

I have a friend who has a Facebook account with over 2000 people and a large amount of followers on Twitter. I will let them know my experience and the lack of care that Choice Hotels has for its customers. For the $168 that Choice Hotels refuses to contact Orbitz about, I guarantee that if I stop just a few people from using this hotel, the cost to the company will be far greater than $168. My issue is still not resolved.

We were contacted by Choice Hotels Customer Care who sent a letter but did not offer any restitution. This experience was extremely stressful and uncomfortable, caused me to seek medical treatment and is especially concerning because most, if not all of the guests at this hotel, are staying there while undergoing medical treatment at MD Anderson. This is a very vulnerable population with compromised immune systems. I would like Mainstay to acknowledge the problem, inform us on what was done to treat the infestation and drop the charges by the hotel for our stay which were $286.50.

There is absolutely nothing even halfway decent I can say about the property. It surely is not worth nowhere near $100 plus tax per night. It seems like some kind of crack hotel or prostitution hole. My trip was ruined. I missed the casino cruise. I came there to visit because I had to find another hotel. There was absolutely no way I'd allow my kids or myself to sleep there and I definitely would never recommend this chain to anyone or even my worst enemy. I have attached some photos of the property and hopefully it gets the attention it needs!

When I returned to the front desk, the receptionist got the manager and he came out and told us we obviously did not want to stay there and said this conversation is "over" and made me leave. We had booked the room for 50,000 Choice Privilege points and had to call Choice Hotels to get our points back and find some accommodations. All he could get us was one night in an Econo Lodge that was absolutely terrible. We did stay the one night as we had no choice. This man at Clarion Inn had no right to ruin our vacation which I could hardly afford to take, and then he reduced my wife to tears. I know you can't do anything about it as these are all franchises and you really have no control. For that reason, I will no longer stay at a Choice hotel.

This hotel caters to day laborers and the like. It's scary seeing random people just hanging around like they may rob you at any moment. I believe it was all a setup because the hotel staff didn't care and they knew there were breakings because there are others who posted about the same thing. Choice Hotels honors their brand and won't even provide a refund. Please spend a little more money to go elsewhere, because with the money you spend replacing a window, you could have stayed at a 5-star hotel for two nights. Please have a lawyer contact me. I have more details on this issue.

When I went to talk to the morning manager (**), he was unprofessional, rude and he and another lady at the front desk cursed at me. He denied that he had been given the glass with the captured bed bugs. He said that since our reservation was booked through a third-party, we got what we got. He was so arrogant and pretentious that he called the Columbus police and they arrived at my room while my wife was on the phone with the Choice Hotels’ customer relations department.

The police officer told me and my wife that the desk manager said that there was criminal activity going on in our room. We offered for the police officer to come into our room and look around and asked that the Choice Hotels’ customer relations representative (Libby) to acknowledge that she was on the phone line at that moment and was making note of our dissatisfaction with the hotel staff. The police officer apologized and said that he was obligated to at least knock on the door, but he could clearly see that there was not any criminal activity on our behalf and that talking to Choice Hotels’ customer relations was the correct way to handle the situation.

I understand that when rooms are reserved through a third-party (i.e., Hotwire), the individual must accept whatever the hotel has available. However, this Clarion Hotel was supposed to be rated as a 4-star quality, but what I received was less than 1-star quality with unsanitary rooms and deplorable customer service. The call was made to Choice Hotels’ customer relations on Saturday and I was told that I would hear from the manager within 72 hours. On Thursday evening, I still had not heard from anyone regarding the situation. I called the Choice Hotels’ customer relations several times. I attached pictures of the bedbugs and the bedbug bites that my wife and grandson receive. I never heard from the general manager of the Clarion Hotel or a representative of the Choice Hotels International concerning the incident that occurred during my stay. I would not recommend the Clarion Hotel or the Choice Hotels International!

I used both my charge card and my debit card at separate times in the hotel. A number of extra charges were on both cards. Several charges duplicated several times. Some more than duplicated. I filed a complaint with the Virginia Consumer Complaint office. I faxed all the stuff I had to them and Choice Hotels, both. They took the wrong charges off, but I wasn't able to do more about it because I guess someone being rude doesn't count. I have stayed at Choice Hotels twice since then, but only because of extenuating circumstances. I certainly would never stay there willingly.

We opted to stay in the room we were already in, but of course had to ask for more towels again. We were told that they didn't have any available at the moment - they were in the dryer and it would be another 20-30 minutes before they would be dry. At this point, it was so late we just went back to our dirty room and went to sleep. The next morning, we had to go down to the desk and ask again for the extra towels. When it came time for checkout as the desk clerk was completing all the paperwork, she asked me how our stay was. I told her that we had not had our room cleaned the day before. She just looked at me, totally ignored what I had just said to her, never responded at all and handed me my copy of the statement. I was blown away! I didn't expect anything major to be done about it. I wasn't looking for the room to be compensated or a discount to be given. All we were looking for was a sincere apology. We didn't get one from the night manager or from the person working the desk the next morning. It was like we were made to feel like we were out of line for complaining. Is this how the Clarion Hotel does business?

It was one thing to not have our room cleaned, but what bothers us the most is how we were treated after we reported it! I have never been treated so rudely! Are your employees instructed to ignore patrons’ complaints? We are from the north and you hear about southern hospitality - if that was hospitality, I am very disappointed. I can promise you we will never stay in a Clarion Hotel again or any other hotel connected to this chain. All it would have taken would have been for the staff to let us know how sorry they were for our inconvenience and that they would report it to the cleaning staff. It probably wouldn't have hurt if they had gone out of their way to make sure we had the extra towels we had asked for that night that were in the dryer taken up to our room that next morning. It could have been taken care of so simply if your staff had acted professionally and it would have made the difference in our continuing to patronize your chain of hotels. Not only am I making you aware of this, but I will also be making someone in community relations or human resources for this company aware of it, too.

This hotel is anything but pet friendly. Another room had a German Sheppard going nuts against the glass. I wonder which room had the lion’s tigers and bears. A nice pleasant getaway idea turned out to be a nightmare. The manager yelled at me because I dared to ask for help. I was mortified and embarrassed by his treatment towards me being in shock at the time due to this incident. Manager was most unprofessional and screaming out in lobby like it was my fault. Hotel is not a secure place to bring your loving pet or humans since the hotel apparently never trained in management properly in dealing with crisis of this magnitude.

I would not recommend this place for anything more than directions to another hotel in the area. They won’t even pay the life saving medical treatment, medical bills for my dog nor return the points I saved up. Keep in mind people, do not go there who have pets. Their lives are in jeopardy when you don’t screen the animals you accept or limit type of breeds you allow.

If you look up American Terrier, which I did when I came home, you will see these animals are by design breaded to fight. What parent allows small children to pet an American Terrier or German Shepherd without fear of being mauled? If you have children, be careful. The back doors aren’t secure and can be opened by accident from the outside as well as not closed properly to begin with. The lighting at night is almost nonexistent. No room numbers to indicate which room it is. All factors when making a decision which hotel has the consumers best interest in mind.

To wrap up this disaster, hotel says its pet friendly and since they don’t care what kind of animals they take in, I would agree. However, that makes it no human friendly. Be on your guard at all times because you never know when a dog or multiple dogs will escape and try to maul your dog, an adult or unfortunately, one of your precious children. To add insult to injury, they won’t accept financial responsibility for their negligence. Remember dogs are like people and sometimes react differently under fear.

There is an expression, caveat emptor, which means buyers beware. It most certainly applies to this hotel.

We even ruined our socks because we walked with just our socks in the beginning of the trip and those socks are ruined! The black stuff would not come out all the way on our socks after washing them! This was not enjoyable at all for any of us and we hope that you can make it right. We will be returning to Miami this summer and wanted to stay here again but only if management can make this right with us.

We always use Choice Hotels and have never had an experience like this before. There were even hairs in the shower and on the bathroom floor! That is so disgusting and we have never had an experience like this with Choice Hotels! Hope to hear from you soon with a resolution!

When we got to the room, there was a used towel hanging from the bar by the shower and a used bar of soap was at the sink with a nasty hair on it. We immediately called the front desk and I was told they would send housekeeping to clean it. I said no, I wanted a different room, which I did not get. I also felt like the girl at the desk had an attitude. So we got a refund and went across the street to the Best Western where we usually stay every year. I will never stay at a Comfort Inn!

They lost our business forever and I will tell everyone I know not to go there ever!

I will pass the word to never book reservations with Choice Privileges ever again. It is just too bad that this hotel chain will lose hundreds of future bookings because of a few points that most of the guests will never use anyway!

Finally, I got tired asking for what we needed. We had nowhere to go and our family was tired and we asked for a rollaway so we would not sleep on the floor. They took one, it was broken and left it there. That was all they could offer and extra sheets so we ended putting ourselves some phone books from our room. The other, we had to balance the bed so that my son would not fall off. We called the manager on the following Monday and no news to this date.

I contacted Choice Hotels who we booked through and they filed a compliant with the reference number, and asked to wait to hear from the Comfort Inn hotel and no attempts where made. Choice said they tried to reach me by email but none have been received. I've called Choice Hotels various times over this matter as well as Comfort inn!

# 2 - Second stay was Aug 13 2011 at Comfort Inn Newark CA. I made a reservation for 3 rooms non-smoking; one was under privilege points while two where paid for. When we got there, the clerk told me that they only had smoking rooms and the hotels was full. She stated that in her computer, it was smoking rooms. I showed her my confirmation printouts and she apologized but nothing could be done!

Finally, we did get one non-smoking room but not the others. We where told to contact Choice Hotels for further complaints. On the following morning, the new shift clerk asked why we had opted for smoking rooms and why we settled to one king if we had reserved for two doubles non-smoking. I asked her how did you know? She said, I'm looking at your reservations! She gave me the info of the manager. The manager did contact me and I contacted Choice Hotels; we where reimbursed for one room.

I could not understand why my personal information would be given to the general manager (GM) at the hotel that I complained about. I expected a response from the customer (guest) relations department since I sent them a three-page letter. When I asked the corporate guest relations why this was the case, I was met with excuses as if they sided with the GM of the Comfort Inn. The reps I talked to knew little about my complaint and when I asked to speak to a higher up (Dean **), they were evasive, not wanting to divulge his information. Dan ** (CR supervisor) did make it clear that he would explain his side to Dean while I would not have a chance to contact him at all. Dan ** also downgraded my complaint experience as "not really biased, scapegoated, or stereotypical" without experiencing or having full knowledge of the events contained in the complaint.

The one thing I learned from this experience is that Comfort Inns are independently owned and operated, which means they can treat customers any way they want. Choice Hotels only relays information back to the GM. If the GM was so sorry, she could have apologized during my five-day visit.

I am willing to submit the full complaint at your request.

He stated my bank account would have been debited immediately and since it was not, I did not have a reservation! I gave him my information and asked him to try to look it up because I did not want to make another reservation elsewhere and be double billed. He said again if my account was not debited, there was no reservation. I provided him with my name, check-in date, the date I booked my reservation online, and the hotel I was to stay at. Again, he said I would have no reservation booked since my debit card was not debited.

I went ahead and booked another hotel at a higher rate. On Sunday, Oct. 17, 2010, I arrive at my house and check my bank account online. I had a debit of $100.79 from Econo Lodge. I called Choice Hotels reservations number and was advised that I had to call the customer relations unit in the morning. I explained my situation and the customer service rep asked for my information. She was able to pull up my reservation. She also apologized for the person I had spoken to on Friday night and stated that he would have been able to pull up the reservation as well if he would have tried.

On Monday, Oct. 18, 2010, I called the customer relations unit. I explained the entire situation again and they state that they will look into the situation and get back to me. On Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2010, I receive a letter from Choice Hotels dated October 18, 2010 stating that they thank me for contacting them and apologize for my frustration but that's about it. The letter was extremely generic and led me to assume nothing was going to be done. I figured I'd give it a week or so and maybe, they were "looking into things."

On November 2, 2010, I decided to contact them to see if my situation was being reviewed. I spoke to Chris ** at Choice Hotels at approximately 2:35 pm EST. Chris advised me that I need to contact the actual hotel, Econo Lodge in Groton, CT, because they charged my debit card and only they can return the money. I told Chris that no one advised me of this when I had called. He apologized and provided me with the phone number to the hotel.

I then called the Econo Lodge hotel in Groton, CT and spoke to Minny. She stated that I was charged for being a no-show at the hotel when I had booked a reservation and that they had to charge my card. I explained all the above details to her and she stated there was nothing she can do and Choice Hotels was at fault for this.

I then call Choice Hotels again and explain what Minny said to me. I spoke to Lonny and she said that only the billing department can do anything and the "billing department" is the actual hotel. She also told me that I should have called the hotel to confirm my reservation. In other words, I book through Choice Hotels but shouldn't rely on their customer service representative's word that I did not have a reservation. I explained that the person I spoke to insisted I had no reservation, therefore, I did take his word for it.

I'm going back and forth between Choice Hotels and Econo Lodge in Groton, CT. It is so frustrating. I will never book with either company again! Now I'm fighting to get my $100.79 back.

Please allow this email to serve as a summarized version of the attached Letter of Complaint serving as documentation that between the dates of August 31, 2010 and September 13, 2010, Choice Members Robyn ** and Mr. Morey **, suffered maltreatment extended by your Choice Privilege Member Services staff, and Comfort Inn, located at 55 Hampton Boulevard, in Capitol Heights, MD. We were told we abused the Two Nights Stay One Night Free promotion after spending almost $1000 with Choice Hotels within the past 2 weeks (http://www.choicehotels.com/earnafreenight). *You will find a chronological order of events on the attached official Letter of Complaint, along with documented attachments of support.

Please be advised that we, said customers, called Choice staff on several occasions to receive guidance and direction on how to benefit from the aforementioned offer. Although a vast variety of opinions and contradicting information was offered, we continued to communicate with the Choice organization to ensure we were adhering to the proper procedure. I am certain that your database and telephone system maintains records and emails to verify these countless efforts.

In a nutshell, we were ultimately accused of abusing the Choice Privilege Rewards policy, which unfortunately questions our integrity, and is deemed offensive as continual patrons of Choice Membership Services, including extensive stays at the Comfort Inn. As a result of this unfounded and bogus claim, the Choice Members staff took it upon themselves to strip all existing earned points (points earned through previous stays at other facilities; current stays at the Comfort Inn; and points personally purchased with our credit cards; some which had been redeemed and then retracted) without prior notification, concrete facts, or considerable deliberation from us, the customers.

Hence, based on the level of activity, consistency of unresolved issues, unauthorized charges, and purchases invested within a 2-week stay, there is no logical reason Choice Membership Services would penalize us for alleged privilege abuse. You will see by the attached documentation that your organization regularly updated the website of current and pending stays and points, sent confirmation and congratulatory emails, and person-to-person telephone adjustments. If we abused your system, it is not likely that we could have 'hacked' your system with updates, stole phantom points, and distributed falsified electronic correspondence sent to ourselves; while making sure you took the money from us daily. Sounds a bit unintelligible and impractical, wouldn't you agree?

The reality of the matter Mr. ** is we, the customers, were not accommodated hospitably; the turn around time for management feedback from Comfort Inn was lengthy and towards the end, Choice Member Services staff became disrespectful, impatient, unemphatic, and demeaning in tone. Through the tension and excessive challenge in conducting a positive and regular participation in the Choice Membership program (although mine was short-lived), we, the customers, do not believe we were advantageous in benefiting from the Choice Hotel special offer gimmick, and false advertising scandal. In addition, customers had to technically purchase more than two stays based on the 72-hour reflection in your system, and wait for a certain indicated amount of point accrual in order to truly earn a free night.

At this time, we the customers are requesting an explanation and apology, along with a retraction of the false accusations, unfair and derogatory investigative findings conducted by Choice Member Services and Comfort Inn, and discrediting deformation of our character humiliatingly thrust against our record of longstanding integrity as citizens and patrons of the Prince Georges County community and local businesses here in Maryland. You can keep the total remaining 10, 720 points you stripped from us (not including Mr. ** points). The points we paid for through hotel stays and separately to earn the free stay, the points your organization says we don't deserve; the points whereby your staff member, Greg, who of course could not give me his last name, stated that we actually owed 14, 000 back after spending almost $1000 (not including prior points Mr. ** obtained before coming to the Comfort Inn two weeks ago), with your establishment.

We no longer desire to be part of the Choice Membership facade, and will never participate in the Choice Hotels International scandals again. In fact, we, the customers, will never stay at another one of your establishments again which is unfortunate, because months ago, we stayed at the Shady Grove Sleep Inn in Rockville, Maryland for weeks at a time, and they were phenomenal. Based on our past credible experience with them, we thought we would give Comfort Inn a try, which was the biggest mistake we could have ever made. Never once did I get to watch television, spend quality time with our daughter, go to the gym or pool, or relax, because we spent our entire time combating undocumented inconvenient 'policies,' getting fussed out by your staff, and chasing management.

We, the customers, never enjoyed a quality stay. Your promotion was not worth the waste of time, effort, and frustration. With this said, we, the customers, are in high hopes that when dealing with future clientele, especially us proud and upstanding Prince Georgians, the Choice Hotels International family will come to the understanding that people [customers] will spend money with or without rewards and gimmicks if they experience courtesy, appreciation, and respect as your website states, "Your values shape who you are (http://careers.choicehotels.com/)" in bold print.

Mr. **, at the end of the day, to be hospitable: "given to generous and cordial reception of guests; promising or suggesting generous and cordial welcome; offering a pleasant or sustaining environment;" and worthily accountable: "an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility for one's actions; (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/);" are the most important elements in providing optimal customer service, generating new customers, and producing repeat clientele long term. Last, Mr. **, when it comes to international business ethics and etiquette which your establishment may feel you are eliminated from, one of the first rules of success in a global industry such as yours; especially the Hospitality Industry barely surviving in a waning economy is to be sensitive, inclusive, and nondiscriminatory in building positive partnerships and relationships with your neighbors within each locale, the surrounding businesses, and the culture of your existing and potential clientele.

In the interim, thank you for the unforeseen learning experience, and we truly appreciate your time and consideration in review of the matter at hand, as we anxiously anticipate your timely response."Try not to become a man of success but rather try to become a man of value." -- Albert Einstein.

By 8pm all of us had had enough (I'm allergic to smoke and two kids in our party have been diagnosed as asthmatic) so I paid for the rooms and left. The next day, I went to the hotel to speak to the manager at 10am. He hadn't arrived. Went back at 2pm and he had already come and gone for the day. So I asked the day hotel clerk to please call him. She did and the manager told her he was aware of the situation and that he would reverse the charges. He never did. Sent him an email "reminding" him, but again, he never replied to my email nor reversed the charges.

I opened a drawer on a nightstand next to the bend. What did you think I found? It is drug paraphernalia; to be exact, a crack cocaine pipe. I grabbed a garbage bag and placed it in there. I took it to my husband and showed him what I found. He told me to see if we can get another room. I went to the front desk and showed the black gal that was there. Her eyes bulged and said, “What is that?” She then called over the maintenance guy. He said, “Wow!” She asked, “What is it?” He said a crack pipe. She then took and labeled it. I stood there waiting for an apology. When I didn't receive one, she proceeded to ask the maintenance guy what she should do with it. He told, "We usually put all of those in that container where all the needles are found." I asked her what she was going to do. She smiled and didn't say anything. I then walked away. I came back and asked them to have the manager call my room as soon as possible. I never received a call.

We knew I was already charged for the room, so we thoroughly looked at the rest of the room and found a baby bottle under the sleeper couch, a few crumpled receipts under the desk, and crumbs on the chair next to the desk. I cleaned up the room as best as I could and decided we needed to make the best out of it. I tried to call the complaint hotline however and spoke with a gentleman named Bob. He informed me that there wasn’t anything he could do for me as long as I was staying in the hotel. I explained the situation. He said, “Well, go back to the front desk and ask what they can do for you.” I said I did. He said, “Did you ask for another room?” I explained there wasn’t any other rooms the size I need; otherwise, I would have. I do not want two rooms. He said, “Well, if you aren't willing to speak with them about getting two rooms, I can’t help you.” He kept saying, “What do you want me to do.” I said, “You should know and I shouldn't have to tell you.” He frustrated me more than anything so I hung up.

The rest of the weekend went fine until the day after my stay. I got charged the full amount to my debit card. They release one day charges and still have a hold on an additional day. I called the hotel to get things straightened out. The lady stated she couldn’t help me and I needed to speak with the manager Ryan, and he arrives to work at 8:00 a.m. I say, “Okay, I will call him then.” I just got done calling at 8:45 a.m. and he of course has not arrived to work yet. They do not know when he is going to arrive.