Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Valdosta Valdosta, GA

Nice property and very accommodating staff. We drove south overnight to get here to avoid the blizzard in Atlanta. We arrived at 5 am and they had a room they let us check into for that night so we got from 5 am until 10 am the next day for one night price. As is the norm at Marriott properties there is no internet. This is our fourth Marriott property on this trip all with no internet. They say it is because Marriott switched all their internet service to Bonvoy rather than individual hotels and it doesn’t work. As a Bonvoy member of over 20 years I usually have stayed at Marriott properties but I don’t want to have to go to McDonald’s to get internet.

I recently stayed here for a 2-week work trip and have mixed feelings about this hotel. I'm a frequent traveler who typically stays in Fairfield or Courtyard hotels, so I generally know what to expect, but this stay was a combination of pros and cons. Starting with the positives: The staff was friendly throughout my stay, always greeting me with a smile. The bed was very comfortable (though on the softer side), the air conditioning worked well, and the shower had excellent pressure and temperature, which was refreshing after long workdays. The lobby and other common areas appeared recently updated, and the complimentary breakfast was consistently good and well-stocked. Now for the downsides: Housekeeping was a significant issue. The hotel claims to offer service every other day, but during my first week, my room was only cleaned once. Even after requesting service on the fifth day, nothing happened until I asked to be moved to a clean room. Margaret at the front desk was very apologetic and upgraded me to a suite, which I appreciated. She assured me the housekeeping issue would be resolved, and for the next few days, the service improved. Unfortunately, it stopped again in my second week, and by that point, I let it go since my stay was almost over. The rooms themselves are outdated compared to the common areas. The furniture in both rooms I stayed in showed wear and tear—the first room had a stuck dresser drawer, and the desk in the second room was sagging as if someone had put too much weight on it. Water damage was visible on the old popcorn ceilings, and there were minimal USB ports. Worst of all, I found a long hair in the microwave, which remained there even after three housekeeping visits. This was quite surprising for a Marriott brand. Additionally, amenities seemed to be removed, such as empty spaces where ice machines once were. Also, construction work was visible near the pool area, with a giant welding job on an interstate billboard in the parking lot. While this didn’t affect my stay, it was an odd sight to have from the room. I have a follow-up work trip to Valdosta soon, but I’ve decided to stay at a different hotel with better amenities and a lower price. My stay at this Fairfield wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great either—overall, a mixed bag.

I stay at this hotel a few times a year. Valdosta is a small town with not a lot of hotel options. The hotel is usually clean, and breakfast selection is reasonable. This stay they seemed to be out of a few items and staff was somewhat disinterested. Maybe they had a couple of bad days. The bed was comfortable, but pillows need work. The thing that really led to my rating was the ceiling in the room. There was, what appeared to be water damage. Some looked to have been hastily repaired and some not repaired at all. The area was hit with some bad storms just prior to my stay, so maybe that was the issue. Still, I cancelled my stay for this weekend. I am planning to go back next moth and hope things are better.

If you get up early, go watch the sunrise over the swamp behind the hotel. It is the best thing about this location. The staff was both polite and eager to please. My complaint is not with the front desk folks. The breakfast looked ordinary (I skipped it for the Waffle House down the street). My issues are 1) the terrible decision by ownership to put off the internal makeover it so desperately needs and 2) the housekeeping management’s failure to hold the staff to reasonable standard. I was in room 405 and there were pubic hairs on the wall of the shower and on the toilet. There were scuffs on the walls where no one had bothered to use touch up paint. The room smelled musty and it is clear that it is the lack of cleaning / servicing the room unit air conditioner. It was so bad that we turned off the ac while we stayed - in July in South Georgia. Not sure why this stood out to me, but the desk in the room was sagging in the middle. As if some great weight had been put on it and the wood was bending. I should not conjecture how this happened over time. This is all nothing that would surprise me at a motel 6 off the expressway in South Georgia near a military base. But I paid 24k points for his stay, which is worth about $200. Again, no issue with the front desk staff who met a number of special requests with a smile. But the folks who manage the housekeeping clearly do not hold the housekeeping staff to the right standard. The real complaint is against the franchisee here. I get wanting to make profit. Additionally, the exterior and the lobby show signs of an update in the last 1-2 years; they look fine. But this property needs to shut down floor by floor and replace all the surfaces and the fixtures. It would not pass the standards set by Marriott for their franchisee. Maybe the economics do not work, but if they were going to charge me $200 for a room in a part of the country with some of the lowest labor rates in the country for hospitality staff, I think this is an example of unreasonable greed. Marriott Corporate, do a review here and pull their franchise. It is hurting your brand. The pool is closed; I think it is because they are either removing or renovating two large billboards next to the hotel. The boards are sitting on the ground next to the pool, ripped and dilapidated. It is a great metaphor for the rot inside this property. If you are a traveler, you might consider stopping about 30 miles north in a town called Tifton. I have not stayed at any of the properties there, but they look like newer construction.

I really wanted to like this hotel as my husband often visits on his trips, but the rooms really need a good cleaning. It is truly a 2 star hotel. Until they remodel, I'm not sure we will be back, especially at $180 per night and we travel through this way several times per year. We found hair and gunk below the vanity in the bathroom and the carpets were pretty dirty, leaving stains on our socks when walking across the room. Beds and pillows are mediocre for sleeping. The good news is that the hotel staff seemed very nice, carts were readily available, the hotel guest rooms are very well insulated from the expressway noise right next to it and that the free breakfast in the morning was surprisingly good and offerings better than expected. Finding the "front" entrance can be a bit tricky, so be prepared to turn a bit earlier than expected off of the road and drive down a long, odd road to the hotel front door.