I've posted over one hundred Yelp reviews, and even the one star experiences get a certain level of…read morecourtesy from me. This experience at the Towson Days Inn on Loch Raven Blvd was, without question, the worst hotel experience of my 40 years on this planet. Normally I would show restraint in my reviews, but this time, I feel the gloves must come off. Here is why:
Upon check in, the desk agent Claudio scanned my ID. I have no issue with that, some hotels do this. I handed him my ID, and when he returned it to me, my drivers license had two large cracks in it (see photos).
When I confronted him on this, that was the end of the eye contact and personable attention. "That's never happened before in my six years here" he said, "it was like that when you gave it to me," he said - no, it was not, as I had just presented my ID minutes earlier while near the Towson University campus, and it was Not cracked at that point. I asked him to compensate me for damaging my ID which cost me $100 from the NYS department of motor vehicles: "we don't do that here," he said. Keep in mind, there was no longer any eye contact or hospitality being offered. He instead gave me the number of Ms Woolery the operations manager.
A sane person would have asked for a refund and gone elsewhere at this point, but we threw caution to the wind and went to our room. Big mistake.
Outside our room was a scantily dressed woman smoking a cigarette, looking like she did not know which way was up. Upon entering, the locking latch jammed in a position that prevented us from being able to shut the door.
Our non smoking room was filled with a cloud of cigarette and marijuana smoke, and, being allergic to weed (yes, this is true, I am), found myself having a breathing fit. Things got worse from there when the bed was covered in black and gray ashes and dust particles, indicating this room was not properly cleaned before our arrival.
The restroom walls were covered in mold (see photos), and the bathtub was also covered in mold (see photos).
This was our cue to get out of Dodge.
We returned to Claudio at the front desk and shared the dissatisfaction and demanded a refund. Without eye contact, and with a monotone attitude, he printed us a refund receipt which displayed no indication of a refund. When I asked him to show evidence of the refund, he moped, "it will take 48-72 hours to show on your credit card. I asked again if he can print evidence of the refund, "oh, we don't do that here," he said.
In the car, I called Ms. Woolery who said she would look into the refund, but she flat out refused to consider compensation for my ruined ID card, stating, "I cannot offer that at this time because wouldn't do that to someone's ID," yet clearly, it happened. She then told me she was out of her office until next week and dismissed me with a brusque "have a nice day," and hung up on me.
I hate posting reviews like this. I hate bringing down hard working hospitality professionals, yet there was nothing professional about this experience, so if I can help someone else avoid this type of interface with Days Inn Towson Loch Raven, then that will make me feel better.