Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/10/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I booked this hotel on booking which states they have an indoor pool. That was the ONLY reason we booked it. AFTER I checked in the lady informed me the pool was closed but they were going to try to get it fixed the next day. I said oh um, that’s the only reason we’re here, will I be able to cancel. She said I had 24 HOURS and to call booking in the morning if it wasn’t fixed. I asked FOUR times the next morning between 9am and 12pm and they said they couldn’t fix it. I then asked at noon how I would go about canceling. The desk lady told me I had to call booking and booking would contact them. I immediately got on the phone, booking called and said there was no answer so they were emailing them. The desk lady LIED and said no one called. Then, the next FOUR hours I asked the same lady THREE times if they received the email yet. She once again lied and basically blew me off saying the gm probably got it and I should hear from them soon. After 4 hours I called booking back and they told me the hotel was unresponsive. I walked back down while still on the phone with booking and they put me on hold to call again. Well what do you know, while I was standing there the phone magically rang and she talked to them even though she claimed they never called before. She then stated the gm already left and she couldn’t authorize a refund or do anything. She called the gm and she said since I never mentioned it before she could only give a discount. I mentioned it at least 7 times by then!! The lady then said to the gm once again, that I had 24 hours to cancel. So then when I said I wanted to cancel she said oh no, you only have 24 hours BEFORE check in. But they never told me about the pool until after check in and BOTH employees told me I still had 24 hours to cancel. My kids sat inside almost the entire day while it rained unable to get in the indoor pool we came here for. I wanted to pay for the one night we stayed and get a refund for the next 2 nights but they refused.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/16/2024

  The pool was closed on July 8th as maintenance noticed the chemicals were not balancing. After trying to attempt to balance out the chemicals throughout the day, maintenance was required to contact Ecolab to come out. Unfortunately, they were not able to come out until July 9th. Once they came out and worked with maintenance to fix the issue, the pool was reopened. For the safety of our guests, we are not allowed per the State Health Department, to allow guests to use the pool if the chemicals are not in balance. This is to prevent any fumes being inhaled or exposed to chemical burns. We take staff and guest safety very seriously and would never want to cause harm to anyone. We do apologize that the pool was closed.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/29/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I checked into the establishment on April 26, 2024 at 11 PM. When I went into my room to look it over there were hairs all over the bed and inside the sheets, alongside a piece smell on the couch and pull out sofa with a urine stain. I went downstairs to notify the night auditor, but she was outside on her phone and when she noticed i was in the front she came in talking in her phone while i explained my problem and she was very dismissive to my complaint. I contacted the booking agency used to file a complaint and they contacted the property and the representative stated that the night auditor was rude and hung up on him. I checked out hour later at 12 once I found another hotel to go to. i’ve been trying to contact property, but they have been ignoring my calls as well as the booking agency calls.

  Business Response

  Date: 04/29/2024

  This guest tore this room apart looking for issues to complain about.  We do not rent rooms with pee on our couches.  If the guest wanted to cancel the reservation initially they could have done so the proper way.  Instead they chose to tear up our room and then leave.  They were granted a refund for the remainder of the stay.  They were only charged $219 for the one night.  The reservation was prepaid and we did not have to refund any of it.  We try our best to work with people even when they are clearly trying to get over on us.  We do not have anything else to say about this issue.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/05/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Better Business Bureau
  Central South Carolina & Charleston
  September 4, 2023
  
  To Whom it May Concern,
  
  My name is Jennifer M***** and I am writing to file a complaint concerning the Comfort Suites Hotel located at 2450 Prospect Dr. North Charleston, SC 29406. On July 20, 2023, I made a reservation for myself and my three daughters to stay for one night at this hotel through booking.com. Upon arrival and check in, my Mastercard was charged $158.47, which was the cost for the one night’s stay. Upon paying and receiving my keys, my daughters and I then began to unload our van, where we quickly realized that there were many construction workers, who were apparently also staying at the hotel, staring at us and commenting as we unloaded. The girls and I quickly gathered what we needed and headed back into the hotel. However, as we did, one of the construction workers quickly and blatantly began following us into the hotel. He walked right beside my 17 year old daughter, staring her down and getting entirely too close for comfort. I wasn’t sure what we were going to do at this point as I knew it would not be safe to have him follow us in the elevator to our room, but once we got to the elevator, the construction worker gave us one last inappropriate look and then turned and headed back out of the hotel to the parking lot. It was at this point while now waiting for the elevator that we realized that there was a man who “appeared” to be homeless sitting in the hallway in front of the elevator. He had all of his belongings, appeared very unclean and unkept, and was using the hallway electrical outlet to charge an electric scooter and phone. This was another unnerving situation for a single mom traveling with three teenage girls. However, we were exhausted after having driven from Florida for most of the day, so I reasoned that things would be fine for the night once we got to our room and locked the door. However, this proved to be anything but the case. Upon entering our hotel room, it was immediately apparent that this room had not been cleaned and had been neglected for some time. As we entered the room, there were not just food crumbs, but actually chunks of food on the floor. The wall and desk on the left side of the room appeared to have boogers swiped all over them. It was apparent that this had not happened as a result of a single person, but rather appeared that multiple people had likely been adding to this for some time. This was completely disgusting. The refrigerator door had a dried liquid oozing down the front of it where it had not been wiped. I did not dare to open the refrigerator. The door frame to the bathroom looked as if someone had exploded a two liter bottle of Pepsi that had never been cleaned up. It also appeared to be rusted. The curtains had stains all over them, which appeared to possibly be bodily fluids. I of course cannot say that for sure, but nonetheless, they were filthy, no matter what the substance was. One of the beds was not even properly aligned on the bed frame, thus there were two metal bars sticking out on the side of the bed which could have easily cut someone’s leg had they not seen them. I never even sat down in this room. It was so filthy, I was afraid to. I immediately called booking.com to explain the condition of the room and that I would not be staying as the room was filthy and it was not a safe place for a single mom with three girls to be. I did not wish to go back down to the front desk, as my safety was a concern. However, the booking.com representative told me that I would have to talk to the person at the front desk in order to request a refund. My girls and I then quickly gathered all of our things and loaded them back into my van. I then pulled the van up to the front door, locked the door and went back to the front desk where I spoke with a worker named Michelle. She told me that I would have to speak with a manager about requesting a refund, but that there was not a manager currently working. I then gave her my room keys and told her that we did not feel safe and would not be staying. My girls and I had been looking forward to the opportunity to explore Charleston the following day. Instead, we ended up making the decision to end our trip early and drove late into the night to go home, which was also not safe, but given the predicament we had been put in, thought it was the best decision. We were only in this hotel room for a matter of minutes and given the circumstances, I clearly believe I am entitled to a refund. I called the hotel first thing the next morning to request to speak with a manager but was told he was not available. I then asked to leave my name and number for a return call, which I did. However, I was never contacted. I called the hotel multiple times over the next few days, but was always told that a manager was not available. I was once transferred to what was supposed to be the manager, but it simply turned out to be a voicemail box that was full and I was unable to leave a message. I found a phone number for Comfort Suites customer service and was able to speak with someone. They then contacted the hotel while I was on hold, came back to the line and told me that the hotel room was clean and therefore, I was not entitled to a refund. Unfortunately, I did not take pictures of the condition of this room, as I was simply exhausted from driving all day and just wanted to get out of the filthy conditions as quickly as possible. Had I known the frustrations I would face in attempting to get a refund, I of course would have taken the time to take pictures. I do however, have my 14, 17, and almost 20 year old who were with me as witnesses.
  After not being able to successfully resolve the situation on my own with Comfort Suites, and for that matter, not ever even being able to speak with a manager in order to attempt to remedy the situation with them, I again contacted my credit card company to dispute the charges. However, this past week, I received a letter from the credit card company stating that Comfort Suites had sent them a copy of the receipt I had signed showing that I had made the charges that were in dispute so I would not be receiving a credit to my card. I attempted to explain to two different customer service agents with the credit card company, that the dispute had never been over whether I had made the charges, as I clearly had allowed Comfort Suites to charge my card before seeing the room, but rather over the deplorable conditions the room was in and the safety for my family, as well as the fact that I did not stay at this hotel and was actually only there for a matter of minutes. Adam Allen who is the general manager of Comfort Suites also sent a letter to my credit card company stating that I “supposedly” left without telling anyone. This claim is simply not true, as I spoke with a girl named Michelle at the front desk before leaving who told me I would need to speak to management about a refund, but that the manager was not currently working. I also told Michelle that my girls and I did not feel safe, returned my keys to her, and told her that we would not be staying within minutes of checking in. Michelle was also the person who checked me in. So the allegations the assistant manager is making that I supposedly left without telling anyone simply are not true. The general manager also claims that I said there were homeless people in the parking lot and that their staff checked the parking lot. I made no allegations that there were homeless people in the parking lot, but rather that they were right inside the hotel at the elevator using electrical outlets to charge there scooter and phone. I find it to be very unprofessional that the general manager would write a letter making these untrue statements when, one, he was not on site during the short time that I was at this property, and two, that he has never once returned any of my calls or made an attempt of any kind to reach out to me as the customer to hear my side of the story. I am asking for your help in resolving this issue with the comfort suites and in attempting to get a refund for the $158.47 that was charged to my card for a stay that never occurred due to the circumstances. Please let me know if I need to provide any further documentation in this case. You may reach me at ************. Please note that I am a teacher, so the best time to reach me by phone would be after 3:30pm, but you may also email me at *************************. Any help that you could provide me with this situation would be greatly appreciated.
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Jennifer M*****

  Business Response

  Date: 09/05/2023

  I apologize for the inconvenience and the issues you have encountered.  I tried to contact you several times and every time it went straight to voicemail and stated the voicemail was full.  We do not have any person by the name of Michelle working here.  The Booking.com rep that called the desk to inform us that you wanted a refund stated that you said there were homeless people in the parking lot.  No I was not on property but my staff monitors the hallways and parking lot at all hours and will contact police if there is any shady activity.  We do have a lot of construction workers staying here.  That is the majority of our business.  If you felt someone was being inappropriate towards you or your family, you could have immediately reported it to the front desk.  We take those things very seriously and have the contact information for all of the managers of the workers that stay with us.  We do not hesitate to put them out if they are causing issues and our workers understand that.  The room that you were checked into was checked by the housekeeping staff the next day and it was a clean room.  I apologize that you don't feel our property was up to your standards or expectations, but we work very hard to run a safe and clean facility.  If you would like to give us another chance to prove that to you in the future, please reach out to me and I would love to offer you a discounted stay for you and your family.  Best wishes to you in the future.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/07/2023

  The response received from Comfort Suites is simply not true and in my opinion is unacceptable.  First of all, I am certain that I spoke with Michelle at the front desk both when checking in and when returning my keys.  At least that is what she told me her name was.  Second, they state that they tried to contact me several times and every time it went straight to voicemail and stated that the voicemail was full.  I check my phone daily and would have obviously seen any missed calls and I delete messages daily, therefore my voicemail is not full, nor has it ever been full.  They also stated that housekeeping staff checked the room assigned to me the next day and it was a clean room.  In my opinion, if a customer is complaining about a room being dirty enough for them to request a refund, the room should have been checked by management immediately upon the customer leaving.  However, it was not.  This also gave housekeeping plenty of time overnight to clean this room.  But since they state that the room I was assigned was clean, this is just another reason why I should receive a refund.  As I stated in my initial complaint, my girls and I were only in this room for a matter of minutes before returning the keys to the front desk and asking for a refund.  The hotel management also states that they have the contact information for all of the managers of the workers that stay with them.  This is obviously not true, as anyone can walk into this hotel on any given day and request to book a room if there are vacancies, just as I was able to do through booking.com.  Any random person can stay here, so no, they did not have the contact information for every single manager of workers who may have been staying there that night.  They state that the majority of there business is construction workers, which is not an environment where I would feel comfortable staying with my daughters as a single mom.  Therefore, why offer me a discounted stay in the future.  Simply refund me the money that is owed to me.  I did not stay.  The room was found to be “clean” the next morning and we were only there for a matter of minutes, so the room could have easily been rented out to another guest that evening if desired.  Not refunding my money is simple not acceptable.  I have been very nice about this situation.  I have not left any bad reviews, I have simply asked to be reimbursed.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/13/2023

  We do not have anything else to say. I have better things to do than argue over something that isn't changing.  I said my piece.  Best wishes