Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Richmond Airport, Sandston

This is a hotel that is functional, clean, with basic breakfast, laundry service, and friendly staff. The internet could be better. I highly recommend it if you are in a budget.

We were under a mandatory evacuation from Norfolk, VA due to Hurricane Irene. We arrived at 7 p.m. on August 26th, 2011 for a 3 night prepaid stay at this Microtel and had to pay the 50 pet fee (a total of $200). At about 10 a.m. the next morning we lost power. We went to a nearby Pizza Hut for lunch/dinner hoping the power would be back on when we came back. The power was still off, as was the emergency generator (meaning no lights in the hallways or anywhere). Lots of customers were bringing in candles, a huge fire hazard. We had 2 towels when we checked in. We asked for more on Saturday morning before the power went out and were told to find a housekeeping cart. Each one we came across had no towels, just washcloths and hand towels. We had to take our dog out around 9 p.m. The hallways were pitch black with no flashlights or any workers around. We slowly felt along the wall to make our way outside. Our room's window only opened 6 inches for any air circulation to come in. After a hot, stuffy, noisy night with kids screaming and running down the halls playing and dogs barking in every room on the 1st floor, we went to check out Sunday morning at 9 a.m. as the power was still off. Claudette at the front desk said they would refund the money for Sunday's night (we had prepaid) since we weren't staying, but they couldn't give us anything back on the previous two nights as they aren't responsible for "acts of nature". When I'm staying at a place I do expect a certain level of responsibility for safety and comfort. We asked for the one night refund to be in writing as the credit card machine was obviously not working due to lack of power. Claudette refused to sign any piece of paper stating the refund. It has now been over four months and I still have not received credit for that one night. I have tried contacting the hotel twice with generic response emails returned to me. I filed a complaint with the BBB and even they couldn't believe Microtel would not refund me the one night I didn't stay due to their lack of power.

The hotel is filthy. Mold in bathrooms. Horrible Smell. They will double charge your credit card and hold onto it after it posts for an additional 2 weeks for the same amount. Beware !!