A big disappointment
By A Yahoo! Contributor, 08/15/06
The Choice Hotels corporate web site states that the Comfort Inn North in Absecon, NJ won the company's "Choice Gold Hospitality Award". Per the web site:
"Winners of this award exceed Choice Hotels' quality standards for Customer Service, Housekeeping and Product Quality. Only those properties that achieve scores in the top 20% of the brand during an unannounced inspection for each of these categories receives the Choice Gold Hospitality Award."
The fact that the web site states that this Comfort Inn location is in the top 20% of the brand was a major influence in my decision to book a standard room for 8/13-8/16 (2006). I expected the hotel to be very clean and was disappointed to discover upon arrival that it's filthy.
When I got into the elevator to go to my 3rd floor room I started to question the quality of the hotel. The walls of the elevator were very dirty. They appeared to have large stains - perhaps some kind of liquid that had been splashed on them. When I got off the elevator I walked into a hallway that had terribly stained carpet, the walls and doors to the rooms were covered with stains and scuff marks, and there was definitely a moderate stench in the air.
The room was not a whole lot cleaner than the common area in the hall. There were liquid stains and scuff marks on the wall. Wallpaper was peeling off in multiple places. At least one gouge was in the plaster wall. The lamp shades and cloth covered chairs were stained. The bathroom wasn't too bad, although the rim of the toilet wasn't clean. And there were small hairs on my bed sheet. I slept on top of the bedspread.
After staying one night I cancelled the remaining two nights that I was booked to stay in the hotel. I then went down the highway a few miles and checked into a brand new Quality Inn & Suites (which ironically happens to be another brand owned by Choice Hotels). The Quality Inn cost $20.00 more per night, however it was exactly the opposite of the Comfort Inn in terms of cleanliness. It also has a pool and fitness center which the Comfort Inn North doesn't have.
The staff at the Comfort Inn North was friendly and politely accommodated my decision to check out early. The staff can't be held fully responsible for the condition of the Comfort Inn North. Clearly Choice Hotels corporate headquarters needs to invest some money in repairing and replacing things at this location. The hotel clerk told me the hotel won the company's "quality award" in 2005. I find it hard to believe that the hotel fell into such disrepair within the past year. Was the company inspector drunk or on acid when inspecting this hotel?
If I were an executive at Choice Hotels I would be embarrassed that the company web site states that this hotel is an example of the highest quality the brand has to offer. If this is really true, I hate to imagine what the rest of the locations are like. Choice Hotels should consider investing in repairs and updates to their current facilities before investing in new buildings.
I do not recommend this hotel for anyone.