Distressing Extended Stay With Package Problems, Housekeeping Limitations, Poor Communication, and…read moreLost Medically Prepared Food
I stayed at SpringHill Suites Wenatchee during an extended healthcare work assignment. As a traveling Family Nurse Practitioner specializing in lifestyle medicine, I rely on hotels for safe rest, reliable housekeeping, functioning amenities, timely access to deliveries, and secure handling of food and belongings.
Unfortunately, this became one of my most difficult hotel experiences.
The property did not provide guest access to filtered drinking water. I found the tap water unpleasant, leaving bottled water as the only practical option. The hotel also repeatedly declined to provide basic dishware and food-preparation items such as cups, plates, bowls, forks, spoons, and a cutting board. For a long-term business stay, this made basic hydration and meal preparation unnecessarily difficult.
One area deserves recognition: maintenance. The bathtub drain issue was repaired promptly, and the engineering staff made good-faith efforts to help. Maintenance follow-through was excellent.
Housekeeping was far more difficult. Service hours repeatedly conflicted with my healthcare work schedule and irregular sleeping hours. Near the end of my stay, management photographed portions of my room and sent the images to my employer. The bathroom did require cleaning, and I accept that. However, I found it deeply humiliating that the photographs were shared without what I believe was important context: limited housekeeping availability, severe sleep disruption, my work schedule, and the abrupt departure process. I was concerned that sending those images to my employer could harm my professional reputation.
Package handling was another major problem. I repeatedly had difficulty obtaining packages that had already arrived, and some appeared to remain at the hotel for extended periods. As a long-term business traveler, I should not have had to make repeated requests to access deliveries addressed to me.
My most serious concern involved two frozen boxes of medically prepared meals valued at approximately $250 each, for a total loss of about $500.
The day before departure, Theresa at the front desk told me that the two frozen boxes were still being held and could be retrieved when I left the following day. I also had one refrigerated box that had spoiled, and I specifically authorized disposal of that refrigerated box.
At checkout, another front-desk associate told me that Theresa had documented the opposite: that I wanted the two frozen boxes discarded. The valuable frozen meals were gone, while the spoiled refrigerated food had been kept and returned to me.
That was not what I requested.
I cannot determine whether this resulted from inaccurate documentation, miscommunication, or another cause. However, the result was the loss of approximately $500 in medically prepared food. I requested a written explanation and reimbursement.
The final days of my stay were also poorly handled. I spent several days trying to coordinate packages, storage bins, shipping labels, food, and other belongings. Management appears to have known that my follow-up reservation would not be honored, yet I was not given clear and timely notice until the end of my stay.
That left me managing an abrupt move, work responsibilities, belongings, shipping logistics, and severe sleep deprivation under extreme pressure.
This was an extended healthcare work stay, not a brief leisure visit. The hotel functioned as my temporary home. Reliable sleep, timely communication, psychological safety, and secure handling of my property were essential.
The cumulative impact was profound. I became severely sleep deprived, physically and emotionally exhausted, and increasingly concerned about my ability to rest adequately before caring for patients. During the early morning hours following my birthday, I required emergency medical evaluation and contacted the behavioral-health crisis support line available through my insurance.
The property itself is attractive, and the engineering team was a clear positive. Unfortunately, the package delays, housekeeping limitations, food-storage failure, late communication, and management escalation outweighed those strengths.
After this experience, I have decided to move my future hotel business elsewhere whenever possible.
Filtered-water access: 0/10
Extended-stay kitchen support: 0/10
Maintenance follow-through: 10/10
Housekeeping flexibility: 0/10
Package handling: -10/10
Handling of medically prepared food: -10/10
Management communication: 0/10
Overall experience: 0/10
I hope the property improves its package procedures, food-storage documentation, housekeeping flexibility, communication with long-term guests, and handling of sensitive employer communications.