Hotels met bar in College Park

I stayed at this brand new hotel at the University of Maryland and had a wonderful time. It is conveniently located to visit the university, but it is also very simple to go to DC using the Metro, which I did. The rooms are very comfortable and quiet. The WiFi is strong enough for video calls and work. The staff was very kind, including the cleaning staff.

This was our home away from home - literally, it’s a mile from our house - for a couple weeks. We stayed here after selling our house and en route to moving to Belgium. We stayed in a large one bedroom suite. It was perfect for us: big sofabed in the living room for our two kids, and a separate king bedroom with a sliding door. It was actually quite comfortable even for a couple weeks all together! One of the better Marriott lounges I’ve been to. We had a full dinner there every night! There’s always a warm entree (salmon was great) a salad, sides, snacks, and drinks (alcohol was extra though). Maria was the lovely woman restocking the food and tending to everyone. She got to know our little girls well! Breakfast there was good, too. Parking is easy in the huge detached garage, just a short walk. I think it’s included in the room rate. The bar downstairs had some decent food, too, and a nice atmosphere. I had several friends stop by to say farewell and it was easy to just meet there. Great place near our girls’ school to spend our final days in the USA. 😊

Title copied from another reviewer who I totally agree with. Five guests ahead of me and it took 35 minutes waiting for my turn. To save your spot 1n the check-in line, you couldn't go sit on available lounge seats obviously. There were 2 check in stations but only one was in use by Michelle. Wait was so bad that I offered to come and open second service station just to get things moving. My local Autozone in Philadelphia salespeople greet every customer at the door but at no time did Michelle acknowledge guests or even attempt to explain long line to assure customers with ”I will be with you shortly” or ”apologies for the delay” or ”the storm crashed our computers” or similar. This leads me to conclude, with some accuracy that an extremely long check-in line is THE NORM at this location . . . . The hotel did have some good aspects, such as nice rooms and adequate gym facilities. However, they were totally overshadowed by the woeful first impression at check-in. Breakfast is also an EXTRA COST add-on i'e - not included in the daily room rate. At the very least, IHG should have added it as a freebie to compensate the guests for the long check-in. IHG must be unaware that most, if not all the guests are coming from a distance - such as a long drive and/or flight, COVID protocols at every stop, TSA rules, etc. By the time most people get to the hotel, the last thimg they want to deal with is another TSA or DMV-type line just to check in. TSA line is understood. DMV line also fully understandable. Long hotel check-in = unfathomable. If I were the front desk clerk I would start with: ”Welcome to Maryland, home of Chesapeake Bay. I do apologize for the long line, if you'd like to have a seat in our comfortable lounge chairs, please put your name on this list here and I will call you when it's your turn. How was your flight/drive? May I get you a chilled bottle of water?” Above will show compassion for your clients, get IHG a better review and soothe travel weary customers Unless IHG considers above outside of their capacity . . . IJS