I was so glad to find a nice hotel on our trip to the Midwest. I was impressed from the moment we walked into the hotel with how nice everything was, all the amenities, and the room was beautiful and clean. The beds and pillows were comfortable. We had a great overnight stay and the kids wanted to stay longer!
ゲゲストDo NOT stay at this hotel unless you can survive in a room that is not at all soundproof! I booked a queen suite with separate sitting room for my daughter and I. We wanted a quiet, relaxing place to stay for a 3 day weekend and the reviews for this place were excellent.
First let me list the nice things about the property:
1. It is a full blown conference center with a huge, well maintained and manicured landscape.
2. The outdoor spaces are lovely, including the outdoor pool area.
3. The location is very close to Columbus and to the uber wealthy city of Powell.
4. A gorgeous county park with loads of picnic areas and walking trails is located directly across the street from the conference center.
Now for the negatives:
1. No soundproofing!!! We could hear every word of conversations that took place in the room next door. But the most disturbing thing is that we couldn’t sleep because of noise from the room overhead. My daughter contacted the front desk in the early evening of our first night’s stay asking them to call the guests above us with a “gentle reminder” to avoid heavy walking. She was told that the request could not be made until after the 10 pm quiet time. We had a brown noise machine running at top volume for the entire night, but even that didn’t block the heavy footfalls from above. The constant sound of people walking (it sounded like elephants) continued the next morning which forced us out of our room. (We payed extra for a suite with a separate sitting area so that we could relax outside of the bedroom, but couldn’t take advantage of it because of the noise). My daughter ended up sleeping on a couch at a friend’s house the second night because she was so sleep deprived. However, I returned to the hotel which was a huge mistake! When I turned out the lights at 11 pm, things were quiet, but at 11:30 pm the stomping family returned. The noise of the footfalls and then squeaking floors woke me up at 11:30 pm, 3:30 am and 5:45 am. I finally got out of bed at 6 am, walked to the lobby in my pajamas, and told the staff that I couldn’t stay in this place another night. I must have looked a fright, because the agent immediately canceled the final night of our reservation with no questions asked. Just to be clear, I don’t think that the family above us was intentionally loud. I think that they had absolutely no idea that their movements were creating such a disturbance.
2. Despite the fact that the lovely county park is directly across the street, it’s incredibly difficult to access the park entrance as a pedestrian. There is a single pedestrian crosswalk at the southwest corner of the conference center, but there are no sidewalks that connect to the crosswalk. Walkers are forced to either walk along a very busy road with no shoulder, or walk on the grass for about 1/2 mile to get from the hotel parking lot to the crosswalk. I find it incredibly surprising that Nationwide didn’t consider putting in sidewalks to make access to the park more accessible and safe for pedestrians.
3. Be forewarned that the conference center includes facilities that cater to weddings, so if you stay here on a weekend, be prepared for lots of outdoor evening activities.
No one should have to pay $200/night to stay in a room that isn’t conducive to sleep!!!
ゲゲストOur stay at The Lodge was nice. There were a few little things that I questioned, but that honestly is normal & did not really effect our stay. Everything in the lodge was clean & I do not know what wonderful smell they are pumping through the building... but walking into the lobby was wonderful!
The decor was nicely decked out in holiday cheer! The Christmas Trees were beautiful too. We booked a King Suite, as the pic on Trip.com showed a jacuzzi tub in the suite. This is not the case. In fact, The staff at the front desk said they have not had jacuzzi tubs in the rooms for over 8 years. That was a disappointment...
And King suites do not have a balcony, but Queen suites do have a balcony with sliding doors! They front desk did not offer to help with that misunderstanding, as offering a ”Fireplace room” (they said the jacuzzi rooms now had fireplaces after the removal of said tubs??... but no fireplace in my suite) or offering anything else... probably because I booked thru a third party(trip.com). It was definitely a spacious room, but a little overly ”roomy” with just a king bed, 2 nightstands,the entertainment/dresser, completely with a fridge in the cabinet, a very small ”dining table”, a glass coffee table & a pull out couch. The thermostat was set at a scorching 75 degrees, which I immediately turned down. At first, I figured it was just a fluke, but the power did go out one evening & sure enough, when the power was restored the thermostat reset to 75 again! We dined at the bar on a few occasions, which was nice & staffed ok, not the latest hours for a bar. The food is good & of course a little pricey. I'm sure there is a lot more to do during the nicer seasons... the answer for everything it seemed was ”it is the off season”.
Overall, it was a nice place to stay in wine country & probably will return next year.
ゲゲストI had a very disappointing and uncomfortable experience with the front desk staff.
I arrived at the hotel Sunday 01 march around 12:30 PM and politely asked if early check-in was possible. The two women working at the reception told me that no rooms were available until 4:00 PM. I said that was fine and that I would wait in the lobby.
However, while I was waiting, several other guests arrived and they were checked in immediately. It was very clear that rooms were available, which made the situation feel unfair.
Later, I approached the desk again with the same guests who were checking in and said that I had a reservation for today. The receptionist acted as if nothing had happened and looked visibly annoyed.
During check-in, she tried to charge my card again for the reservation, even though my booking had already been fully paid online. When I saw the amount and asked what it was for, she could not clearly explain it. I had to tell her again that the reservation was already paid.
Both receptionists then started checking the system and appeared irritated and nervous in front of other guests. Eventually they explained that there was a security deposit of $50 per day, which I completely understood and agreed with.
However, they attempted to charge the wrong amount again, and I had to question it once more before they finally corrected the charge to the proper deposit amount.
Overall, the situation was extremely uncomfortable and unprofessional. First I was told to wait until 4 PM while other guests were checked in, and then I had to deal with confusion about charges that should have been clear from the beginning.
The hotel facilities are good, but the front desk service was very disappointing and needs improvement.