Staybridge Suites-Knoxville Oak Ridge by IHG

Let me first off start by saying this could have been a great stay. My first impression was good when I initially checked in. The room size was good, it was equipped with kitchen utensils, the location had a small gym, and an indoor pool. Which were all things I was looking for when I booked. However, things went amiss from there. And let me start off by saying, if you have any issues with your stay, don’t go to Donna Sneed at the front desk. When I checked out I told her of my issues and she became very defensive, short with me, and essentially told me that because I used google as a search engine to find the hotel, that I didn’t book directly through the hotel. And it was not their fault even though I booked through the link that said “official site” with the blue certification shield showing it to be the official site. She told me because of this, the room description was inaccurate that I was given. At any rate, here’s what ensued: I checked in on a Friday. I had upgraded my room via the “official site” to a one bedroom suite so my daughter’s mother in law could stay at the hotel with me instead of being cramped in my daughters small house with a newborn. So we get back to the hotel around 10pm Friday and we go to pullout the sofa in the living room for the mother in law to sleep on, only to find there’s no pullout. The description of the room I booked said it had a sleeper sofa (although Donna implies that I lied or am mistaken). And let me just ask you all, have you ever booked a suite with a separate living room that didn’t have a pullout sofa? In my experience, and I travel a lot, I have not. So that was strike 1. I slept on a very small couch that night due to the fact we only had a king bed and I felt uncomfortable sharing a bed with the mother in law that I barely know. So that night I go to lock the deadbolt, and find that it won’t lock. We check it in the morning and there’s no hole in the door casing for the lock to secure to. Not a huge issue, but would have been nice since I had to stay the remaining two nights alone since the mother in law had to book another hotel because mine didn’t have room for her (and yes, I had her on my reservation as a guest). On to strike 3......Sunday morning I’m in the gym working out, in a full sweat, when the fire alarm goes off. So I get my stuff and head for the door. It’s 50-ish degrees outside, I’m sweaty and have on shorts and a sports bra type workout shirt. Well crap! Ok, accidents happen. We finally get let back in after about 15 minutes or so. Then Sunday night/early Monday morning rolls around at about 12:15am, I’m fast asleep and the fire alarm goes off again. This time, I say some curse words, grab my purse so I can sit in my car this time if it happens to take a long time to get back in. The fire trucks come yet again, and clear us to go back in within about 10 minutes. All of this would have been ok with me had I been A) given a discount on my room and B) not been treated rudely by Donna Sneed when I brought up my concerns with her. The first thing they teach in Customer Service 101 is that you don’t cut a customer off who is talking, you try to empathize and you don’t essentially tell them they are lying or not responsible. This woman cut me off mid-sentence to tell me that their website says no such thing, then went quickly to her computer to pull up how I booked my room so she could tell me that it wasn’t their website and it wasn’t their fault. Luckily Heather Brown the sales manager was the there and she profusely apologized which Donna never did do. And then she at least tried to remedy the situation by saying she’d credit my IHG account with 2500 bonus points. Was it the remedy I was looking for, no not really. But at least she was pleasant, apologetic and was trying to make things right. Which Donna was not. She was combative and wanting to cut me off to tell me I was wrong. Some people just should not be in a customer facing role and Donna is one of them. I would like to say she was just having a bad day. But she sent me an email replying to the review I had given the hotel (they emailed after I checked out and asked for a review) and her behavior was just as poor. So unfortunately it’s just her personality. At any rate, this could have been a great hotel stay had these issues not occurred. I even disregarded the comforter that had purple marker on it and the conditioner pump in the shower that wouldn’t work because I felt those were small items that didn’t really matter. I would stay there again if not for Donna and her behavior. PS - don’t book through the site labeled “official site” as apparently it’s not. (See picture below)

Kitchen was nice and had all that you would need to prepare meal

Our three day visit with family Plus work was a nice getaway for us. We enjoyed our 4th room suite that was quiet in the back, living area had desk for husband to do some work without disturbing my rest in bedroom. Location is nice. Plenty to see in Oak Ridge plus more.

Mattress was awful. Everything else was good.

This was an extremely nice arrangement. Rooms was comfortable, breakfast was great, service was terrific.

Bed very comfy! Bathroom hard to get around in. No privacy at sink

Everything was very good about our room except that the counters in the kitchen and bathroom had not been wiped clean of dust or fine debris in some time. The building is relatively new, the amenities great, the staff responsive.

I could not believe the service I received from this location. Right off the bat my first impression was altered by the night auditor calling me at 11:50pm asking where I am because he would like to close out the day. My family and I were here evacuating from hurricane Dorian and it was a 7 hour drive for us. We were right around the corner when he called. Throughout the stay there was NEVER a front desk agent present at the desk. If you needed service, you had to ring a bell and wait to be helped. Breakfast and dinner was mediocre and there was never a staff member there to make you feel at home which is the Staybridge suites promise. Housekeeping went into our room even though there were two “Do Not Disturb” signs on our door. But worst of all.... because of our circumstances we asked Donna at the desk if there was a discount available that can be applied to help us. She did not have a manager present to authorize this so she told me she would call me back after she called her manager. Which she did about 30 minutes later and confirmed that she could honor a lower rate. Donna was very sweet and helpful. Then we went to check out and noticed our bill was in accurate. That’s when Misty, the manager, told us that she couldn’t honor the rate even though her staff already honored it for us. We have it noted on our bill where she adjusted our lower rate to a higher rate! You cannot give something to someone and take it back. And her response was “well if $30 really means that much to you...” how rude! What Manager talks to a guest that way? I understand if you weren’t able to honor it in the first place but your hotel confirmed it for me and the way I was treated at checkout was unprofessional. Misty continued to through threats at us, stating she could have charged me this and that but she didn’t “out of courtesy.” Which in those threats, all of what she was saying was false. I work with Staybridge Suites and have for over five years and am very much aware of corporate policies. I never leave reviews but my experience here from start to end was anything but satisfying. Next time we are forced to evacuate our home we will not return to this location.

I give this place a 10, It is perfect in every way

The hotel is a good option for government travelers. It's close to Y-12 and has good access to the town for dinner options. The breakfast is very basic but not too bad. The rooms are large, which is great for longer stays.