Candlewood Suites Ft Lee - Petersburg - Hopewell by IHG

A Fantastic Hotel For an Extended Stay Starting off the hotel is really close to the 295 freeway, but for some reason the hotel doesn’t show up properly in either Apple Maps nor google maps; helpful hint is use navigation to get you close and then drive towards either the Denny’s or the Food Lion. The hotel staff were very friendly and helpful (they also recognized my tier status with IHG). Once I had checked in I got to see my room, and it was well appointed. It had a full sized fridge, a dishwasher, and a stove; so I could save some money cooking myself dinner (or at least try to). The bed was very comfortable, and was almost too warm. The bathroom was good overall. The shower was decent. Unfortunately the bathroom mirror was damaged. The hotel gym was perfect for what I was looking for. The location was near a few food places and being close to base was very nice. Though the lack of sidewalks in the area was annoying. Overall this was a decent hotel and if you are in the area for an extended period it is fantastic.

Housekeeping and door key card problems There were severe issues with housekeeping and the door key cards were incredibly annoying. In all, I will definitely never stay here again and will question ever staying at another Candlewood Suites anywhere ever again. In the 58 days I stayed here, I went without housekeeping for 23 days straight. It was bad enough that mold and bacteria were growing in my shower, sink, and toilet. It was disgusting. I cleaned what I could with my own supplies, but there's only so much you can do with Clorox wipes. It was not rectified despite me complaining to the front desk every other day for weeks. I was also told it had been cleaned 2 weeks ago, which it blatantly had not. The trash hadn't been taken out, kitchen floor hadn't been swept, none of the towels had been swapped, the mold in the shower was still there, the toilet hadn't been cleaned, the toilet paper hadn't been restocked, no amenities were restocked, and the bed had not been made. I'm not sure what else they would have done that would constitute "cleaning". The only reason I didn't leave is because the person at the front desk in the evening went out of her way to swap towels, take out the trash, and refill amenitites. She did her best to make up the gaps, but she obviously couldn't abandon her actual job to do a thorough cleaning of my room. And even when I did receive housekeeping, they often forgot to replace towels, toilet paper, and trash bags and so I was still contacting the front desk for things on a weekly basis. I thought more than once about leaving but I kept thinking surely they were just having a bad day and it would get better, and by the time I decided it wasn't going to change, I was so close to leaving it didn't seem worth packing everything up just to have to do it again shortly after. I understand that the housekeeping staff was understaffed, but with all respect, as a customer, that is not my problem. IHG promises cleanliness and this hotel failed miserably. In light of the cleaning issues, the key cards seem trivial, but it was still an incredibly annoying problem. The key card system is old and often would not properly program the card. The key cards would get wiped any time it came into contact with a credit card or cell phone, and sometimes it just stopped working for no apparent reason. I was also sometimes told that my card had expired. I'm here for 2 months, why was it set to expire before my checkout date? Regardless of why the card stopped working, it would happen every 3-4 days and I'd have to walk around the building to the front desk to get a new key card and then hope that the card actually worked on my door. Sometimes it didn't and I'd have to come back down, carrying all my work bags with me. I know I wasn't the only one affected by this, several of my colleagues made the same complaint. Other things that were trivial but I feel deserve a mention. There's only 1 elevator, so when it goes down for 4-5 days as it did while I was there, stairs are the only way to access the second and third floor. If you're disabled, I would definitely request a first floor room. And the kitchen is not what I would call well-stocked. I had brought my own plates, cups, can opener, sharp knives, and other various kitchen implements and I was glad I did. They provided two small salad plates, a small juice glass, and a can opener so rusted I assumed it didn't work. I ended up buying cheap utensils to supplement the 1 fork, 2 spoons, and 3 knives provided by the hotel, and mostly used my own equipment (you're welcome to whomever gets my room next, I left what I purchased). I was quite busy while I was here and was rarely in the room. So maybe if I had been around more I would've made more noise about the issues or went through the trouble of getting a new hotel room, but I was incredibly busy and most of the hotels in the area were fully booked. So lesson learned for the future. Don't stay here.

Best hotel ever. I want to say Great housekeeping services, and excellent staff and front desk. I want to give a great apperation and recognition to Ms. Deborra Hill and Ms. Ieshia Green there profound help made my stay wonderful.

Needs a refresh Staff was very nice and friendly and there did seem to be some Covid protocols in place. Grounds are well kept and location is convenient. The room itself could use some updating- cabinetry especially in the bathroom was pretty beat up. Room seemed clean but the bathroom floor is such a material and color - looked worn and not so clean. Beds were OK and linens seemed clean. Room was quiet. Great for a one night stay with a pet- not sure I would stay long term until some updating was done.

Exceptional Service All services were phenomenal, including the front desk personnel, maintenance/groundskeeper, all the way to the cleaning personnel. Huge shoutout to Jesse for making my stay one that I will never forget. He accommodated all of my needs. Would definitely come back and recommend this hotel to anyone.