Candlewood Suites Durham by IHG

Disgusting. Found new hotel at 11:30pm after 3 rooms and rude staff. Run, do not walk, away from this property. First time in my life I've ever had to leave a hotel to find a new one, and this was at 11:30 at night. **Pictures are from the two rooms we were able to get into, just to show how filthy it was from the moment we walked in.** We saw reviews talking about serious cleanliness issues. The owner responded to some reviews saying it was a work in progress, pandemic, etc.... (it is 2024, so.... that excuse is starting to lose muster). We ended up having to spend quite a lot more money at the last second for a new hotel just to be able to be in bed by 1 in the morning. The story.... We encountered multiple problems across three different rooms. Two of the rooms exhibited cleanliness issues ranging from filthy and sticky floors to visible dirt and trash scattered about. The bathroom floor in our first room was so dirty that a white bath towel visibly showed dirty footprints. Various surfaces had sticky residue and stains, including the bed sheets in the third room. Furthermore, the third room smelled of smoke and the smoke detector was covered with a plastic bag, which makes me question the thoroughness of the room cleaning prior to our arrival if that was not even noticed. We arrived to drop bags and shower before dinner, and informed the front desk staff on our way out that when we returned we would like a different room due to the cleanliness issue. When we returned from dinner, we were met with rudeness from your late-night front desk staff, who cut us off as we tried to explain our request. He did provide us with keys to a new room, which did not work. On the third trip with new keys to the room, the staff member went up to the room as well without saying a word to us (we did ask "are you going upstairs?" as he walked past the elevator to the stairs. The only response given was "I don't follow." That was really a "are we on a hidden camera show?" moment) leaving us confused as to where he was going and what we should do. After the three attempts to get on, he determined the lock on the second room was broken, and got us keys to the third room. He later shared he felt we had "bad vibes" (???) because of the way we slid the keys over the desk to him when the first set of keys to room 2 did not work. We apologized, I am sure it's a hard job with a lot of rude people at night... and we tried to smooth it over because it was 11:30pm, we were exhausted from traveling, and everyone was on edge. (Upon reflection, however, the very first thing he said to us was cutting us off as we tried to explain what we needed. So, I don't feel so bad for having "bad vibes" anymore.) Ultimately, the keys to the third room worked, but the room was even filthier than our first room and the air conditioning would not turn on, with the room stuck at 83 degrees. These circumstances forced us to seek alternative accommodations at another hotel, resulting in significant additional unexpected expenses due to the higher booking cost on short notice. It would have been unreasonable to expect us to continue to check every room in the hotel on the off chance that one looked like it had been cleaned recently. One room is a housekeeping problem. Three rooms, and the staff, is a management problem. If you're thinking of staying here, find the sleaziest motel you can find instead - it would be an upgrade.

Affordable? Yes. Decent? No. I think the average traveler can agree that affordability should not equate disgusting conditions. Unfortunately, that is what I found at this location. Let me start off by saying that the front desk staff I interacted with were wonderful and incredibly friendly, and this negative review should in no way impact them and their hospitable efforts. The floor in my room was sticky! If that doesn't speak to the housekeeping efforts, I don't know what does. The drain in my bathtub wouldn't drain, making for uncomfortable showers. The AC unit I had made everything in the room damp, which I'm sure didn't help the godawful smell that permeated the room. Speaking of smells, you'll see "100% No Smoking" signs posted everywhere. This apparently isn't even a suggestion considering there's no earthly way that policy is enforced. You'll be hit with the unpleasant smell of cigarettes and marijuana on every floor. Don't let the affordable price sway you. Candlewood Suites Durham is no better than an pay by the hour motel.

We had a minor issue and they stood behind it. Well done Comfortable beds, amazing dog walking area, nicely laid out rooms, this hotel is located in a little bit quieter area with restaurants and shopping a short distance away. If you are needing an extended stay, this is ideal as they have nice kitchens, laundry and gas grills outside.

Horrible, traumatic and shocking Horrible! Avoid this place! Late getting us checked in and was extremely rude, degrading about it! Told us to come back after our football game they would be there 24 hours and when we returned after 11 pm we were locked out of hotel and no one would answer at the front desk. After finally getting in the room smelled like marijuana and smoke, Stains in the tub our room, black hairs all over the bath room, no blankets available! , no hot water. I was double charged AND The worst part- my sisters door was kicked in at 200 am because they made a mistake on the paper work and wanted to kick them out in the streets, about giving her a heart attack. When all of it was brought to the General Manager he just simply apologizes and hopes we will stay again! Are you crazy? Stay away from here it is not worth the drama!

Dirty and noisy! Two of us arrived and were told that there were only two rooms left on the ground floor. Both of us are Diamond Elite and made our reservations two weeks ago. No recognition of our status. Hallway carpets were dirty and covered with litter. Noise level from dogs and kids was annoying. Emailed the hotel GM to complain and never got a response.