Review - Fairfield Inn & Suites Hershey Chocolate Avenue

My family and I recently returned from a one night stay at the Fairfield Inn & Suites Hershey Chocolate Avenue(https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/harhs-fairfield-inn-and-suites-hershey-chocolate-avenue/).  We live about 2 hours from the park, but since our daughter isn't a fan of long car rides when she's over tired we thought it would be best to stay the night close to the park.  Being a Platinum Elite member, my husband's only request was that I book a Marriott property and I was extremely happy to find the Fairfield is only 1 mile from the park.

Before heading to the park, we decided to drop our suitcase off at the hotel instead of leaving it in the car all day (it was predicted to be in the 90s).  From the moment we walked in, we weren't greeted with the usual hello and smile we were accustomed to at other Marriott properties.  We let the woman at the front desk know we'd like to leave our luggage at the hotel since the room wasn't ready.  At no point did she say anything remotely friendly, just business.  She assured us our bag would be placed in our room when it became ready (this was NOT something we requested, but something she offered) and we were thankful.  Off we went to the park, in the car both my husband and I commented that a simple smile would've gone a long way.

After a long (hot) day at Hershey, we were looking forward to a restful night.  We went to check in at the hotel and since we used mobile check in, we knew our room was ready.  The man who handled our check in was pleasant, explained when breakfast was and  told us they were able to get us a room on the top floor even though they were sold out because we were platinum elite members. At the time, we were happy to have the top floor room because it meant no one would be stomping above our heads all night.  As we were walking to the elevator, I noticed our suitcase sitting there with a note on it to deliver to room when it was ready.  Obviously, it wasn't.  So we wheeled it ourselves (not a big deal, but don't offer it if you cannot accommodate it.

As soon as we walked into the room, you could tell it smelled like moldy old wet towels.  We assumed it was the air conditioner, but did call to mention it to the front desk and they didn't really seem to care.  When it was time to go to bed, it was impossible to ignore a vibrating sound that turned on and off every 6 seconds right above our room.  By 1am, after neither my husband or I getting any sleep and our usually sound sleeping toddler had woken up approximately 20 times we called the front desk again to complain.  They knew exactly the sound we were speaking of, explained it was the air conditioner and they have complaints ALL THE TIME.  Seriously?  FIX IT THEN!  And DO NOT brag to your platinum elite members you secured them a great room on the top floor KNOWING how loud it is.

After a night that was far from restful, we headed to breakfast which was okay.  The coffee, as usual, was so HOT it melted the cup.  At this point, we were just happy to be leaving so we went and packed everything up and checked out. 

At check out, we again expressed our dissatisfaction to the woman at the desk, and she said she KNEW the noise and smell was an issue with those rooms.

I would NEVER recommend this property to anyone and regret wasting the money we did on it.  They are charging for a high end hotel, but you would likely get better service and sleep at a budget hotel.  We would've been better off driving home, at least we all would've gotten some rest. 

We are extremely disappointed.  We have stayed at other hotels in major cities that offered better rooms and a much better quality of sleep.  For instance, my husband just returned from San Francisco and stayed at the Courtyard downtown and had less complaints about noise!  Sadly, the Fairfield in Hershey was ALMOST the same price!