We recently stayed at a SpringHill Suites in Houston. When we went to make up the sleeper sofa for my son, I found a wad of black hair (not a few strands, a huge wad) on the blanket. That was gross enough, but when I looked closer, I found some brown debris, which, when I smelled it was human fecal matter! (We all know what that smells like!). The blanket also had a one inch orange spot that looked like dried candy or frosting. I called front desk and asked for another room. However, I'm disabled and really preferred a disabled access room. They didn't have any more ha rooms available that night, but promised me the next day (we were staying for three nights), they would have the original ha room cleaned thoroughly. Well, when we checked back into the ha room the next night, I discovered several long, black hairs on both beds. I also found the same orange stain on the blanket for the sleeper sofa--obviously they hadn't changed out the bedding at all!I called front desk and they said they were fllled up that night, there were no other rooms to transfer me to. (Actually, they had other Marriott properties in town and could have offered to transfer us to another one of their properties, but never offered to do so.) I asked for fresh bedding to be sent up. It took three tries to get it right--they kept sending up the wrong combination of blankets, sheets, etc. I finally wrote down the missing items and went down to the desk to ask for them. Keep in mind I did all the work--stripping the bedding, replacing it, and setting the used bedding out in the hall (neately folded). All the while, I was exhausted with two tired children. When I complained to the manager the next day, instead of apologizing, she attacked me. She said since I had so much trouble with housekeeping I could check out and not come back! (I had already checked out before complaining to the manager, why would I stay in such a dump?) I said I had no intention of paying for the stay, but she charged my credit card anyways. She said "we don't need people like you here". I pointed out to her that the problems were with the room, not the guests. She then said that I had problems with housekeeping on a previous stay. Actually, they were more problems with maintenance. The toilet backed up and overflowed (no, we didn't clog it), and the closet door stuck. She tried to act like I was some sort of trouble maker. I pointed out again that maintenance and housekeeping problems were problems with the hotel, not the guest. No one could be expected to ignore an overflowing toilet, or sleep in $hit. I disputed the charge on my AMEX, and have yet to hear a resolution (just happened a few weeks ago). Hotels are gross and housekeeping is a farce. Oftentimes they make up beds between guests using the same sheets, and they only wash the blankets and spreads every four to six stays. There's been 20/20 reports to this effect, and other investigative reports as well.
Unfortunately, if one wants to travel one gets stuck in hotels. For my part, I will bring my Lysol, wipes, etc. Also, my own sheets. I don't feel I'm harming my kids immune systems by using these products since I don't use them that often. If it makes me feel better, its worth it!
One must wonder why, if you had previously had a bad stay, you chose to stay there again.
