Hotels Near Dismal Swamp Canal Trail in Chesapeake

It was not the quality of the Comfort Suites that we usually stay at. We checked in and were sent to a room on the third floor at the back of the hotel. When we got there there was a cleaning cart outside and the door was propped open. We walked in and sat our bags down. There was a spray bottle and rag on the furniture. My husband started calling the front desk when the housekeeper walked in. She was pretty rude and said ”I'm not done with this room.” We explained that the front desk sent us there. She then told me to remove our luggage so she could clean the area for another guest! We went back to the front desk to get another room. With the housekeeper telling other housekeepers that the front desk had done it again as loudly as she could! The front desk person gave us another room right across the hall from the 1st one so off we went again. I have to admit that the second room was clean. The bathroom was pretty good with a large shower. One of the parts of the grab bar had fallen down and needed to be replaced. Each time we went into the hallway the housekeepers were blocking the hall with their carts and conversations. They didn't seem to care that guests were trying to get to the elevator. We will continue to stay at Comfort Suites but don't think we will come back to this one,

The General Manager (Savannah) and the Front Office Supervisor (Sharon) are two of the most caring people I have ever encountered at a Marriott property. I have been a loyal Marriott customer for 15 years. I have stayed at a number of properties, but this property will forever stand out to me. Some properties have lost their ”human” side of things and treat customers as $$$, however, this property treats people with compassion and care. My father became ill while staying at this property and needed an ambulance. Within minutes they contacted an ambulance and got him to the hospital right away. They even went as far as trying to reach out to family members to inform them of what was happening. Although they were sold out that night, they were able to secure another room for him at a sister property so that he would not be without a room, once he was released. They were able to gather all his items from the room and place them in a safe area and were very friendly to the family members that came to help. The property itself is very quiet and clean. They even provide fresh baked cookies at the desk for guest! Such a great touch!! Definitely would return for not only the hotel accommodations but for also the welcoming staff! Consider this a piece of relaxation during your travels!

Awesome

Would not recommend this hotel for families (anyone, really). Our experience here was a NIGHTMARE. Management is poorly trained and rude to customers as well as their own staff. I felt unsafe in the environment the managers created through their aggressive and threatening body language and verbal confrontations with hotel guests. It was an incredibly unpleasant and stressful weekend . Customers are not permitted in the lobby after 11pm; the manager sends them to their rooms. Yes, even adult guests. Expect to be clearly informed that the alternative will be eviction. How’s that for hospitality? On the second night of our stay there was a fire alarm. Again management demonstrated their poor training and interpersonal skills. It was clear they had no plan to support the safety of guests during the emergency. Manager Rob and Manager Joel were anything but calm and orderly, and instead screamed at guests streaming out of the lobby exit that they needed to get out of the way. No, I didn’t write this incorrectly. They were screaming for guests to get out of the way. Apparently no concern for whether guests were inside the building or not, or for keeping people safe. They even yelled at kids who had evacuated from the pool and were soaking wet, ordering them out into the 30 degree night with no towels. (A kind staff member later brought towels. Thank you, Stephanie). After the building was cleared by the fire department (false alarm) Manager Rob and Manager Joel then yelled at all guests who had returned to the lobby that the pool, bar and entire lobby was CLOSED for the night. All (PAYING!) guests were sent to our rooms at 9:45!!! Really there are so many other hotel options in the area that there is no reason to choose this one.

This hotel has so much going for it… Spectacular location, wonderful Riverside walk, outdoor area, lovely views of Norfolk waterfront, open attractive lobby, etc. How many hotels can boast of an aircraft carrier view outside your room window? Unfortunately it deserves no more than two stars due to poor service and lack of attention to detail by hotel management. Having stayed at hundreds of hotels I can confidently say this Hotel does not deserve the Renaissance brand. Renaissance is supposed to be a premium brand according to Marriott. Our experience was nothing premium. In fact it was more like a basic self service Courtyard! Hotel Management need to step up, staff need training on BASIC service standards and they need to enhance room quality. The lobby area is open and nice. At checkin, let alone smile, the woman behind the counter seemed angry and lacked basic courtesy to greet guests. Awesome start to the stay!! Interestingly our room did not have bottled water - not even for purchase! And mind you this was their concierge level for elite guests! That was a first! I couldn’t call the front desk since the room phone was a dud! Used my cell to call the hotel external number about water. The front desk seemed to use the Covid excuse and directed us to the lobby marketplace. Seriously! You want me to come down 17 floors for a bottle of water???Talk about a premium hotel!!! Next morning breakfast in the lobby restaurant was completely disorganized and chaotic. Management was struggling to keep up with guests, clean tables and stock the buffet. Again not something you expect at a Renaissance. Overall rooms were decent. Appreciated the large windows and view of the river and shipyard. But there were annoying things like not enough towels, one tiny bottle of shampoo, missing bottle of conditioner, jumble of extension wires on the floor, no towel hooks, no safe box, etc. Any requests to housekeeping via the chat took hours to fulfill (remember room phone not working!) so we waited to take a shower which delayed our sightseeing schedule. A lot of these seemingly minor issues collectively made for a less than premium experience. All of these can be fixed by proper management oversight. Again not something you expect at Renaissance!

We checked in on May 13, 2023. Not happy at all from the start.................... First off lets start with the front desk.... 1. The front desk associate was highly rude to my family and I, upon getting to the front desk he gave us a head nod for us to proceed to the desk ( not professional at all) We did not get a hey how are you, welcome to the Sheraton none of that!!! The response that we got from the associate was” this is how I talk to everyone” If this is the case then the front desk is not where he should be working at all. However, there was a young man Tyquorie I think that is his name that works at the front desk he was very sweet when I went back to the front desk to ask for assistance. 2. We get upstairs to our room and I instantly pull back the sheets and there is hair in the beds and the mattress pads are dirty. To put the icing on the cake the corner of the mattress was disgusting... I did not want my children nor myself and girlfriend laying in that, but all the surrounding hotels were sold out and we were there celebrating my moms birthday. When I approached the housekeepers he got upset with me because I asked for clean bed linens and her response to me was ”I just cleaned the room and she was not gonna change the sheets” this made me even more upset than I already was. The housekeeping supervisor (Kenneth) he was awesome, I showed him what I was talking about and he attempted to get me straight. 3. The room had a 32 inch television that sat in the corner of the dresser 4. When we got into the room we only had 1 wash clothe ( it was 4 of us in that room) I went down too the front desk and asked for 3 towels and 4 wash clothes (at 6 pm) and we never received them. I then called at 7:30 and asked again and did not receive them, the third time I called I was told that they could not give me what i was asking for. Then at 9:30 someone knocked on our door with linens. I work at a hotel and no one should be treated like this at all!! It was really sad honestly. I most likely will be contacting corporate office about this because I know all hotels have a standard and I am pretty sure that this is not acceptable at all. I expected so much more from the Sheraton on the water in Norfolk VA!!!! The sad thing about it is that I was hoping to have a great experience. We did not at all!! Not even worth $243.00 per night

This hotel was absolutely beautiful. From the stay, to the staff, the brunch, everything was top tier. The location is great, near a lot of restaurants and chill spots with good vibes. Would definitely recommend and we will definitely be returning. We've found a go to spot when staying in Norfolk.

At check-in the clerk seemed a bit irritated or ready to go. I usually get great customer service when I stay here. I guess she was having a bad day.

All of the staff are very helpful. If you need something they will do everything in their power to get it for you or will direct you to where you can get it. And it's an ease to reserve your room online and stay in the same room that you're in if you should add extra days.

Here is the scoop On the positive side the rooms are large, the location is very good, especially for Old Dominion University, and the breakfast is okay with a couple of good hot selections. The shower was decent as well. On the negative side, the rooms and furniture are dated, the air con and heating system is old, loud, and located so that most of the air blows between the curtain and the window (after running all night at a setting of 70, our room dropped only to 78 degrees). The rooms are only serviced if you make a specific request (although you are not told this until you question why the room was not attended). After two nights someone finally came in and made our bed, provided clean towels, and did nothing else. On our hall there were a number of rooms with trash placed outside the door, where it sat for more than 18 hours waiting for the ”cleaning” staff. Not very appealing as you are walking to your room. Neither at check-in or in the room was there any written information provided about the hotel. It's also helpful to know the internet password, how to navigate an unfamiliar TV set up, and the hours for breakfast, the grill restaurant, the pool, etc. When