Bed Bugs Bite and more fun at Marriott Residence Inn

My son was at scout camp this month and my wife and I decided to make a romantic outing out of picking him up in Charleston, SC. We arrived on the 1st and spent the afternoon on Folly Beach, dining late at Locklears on the pier. The good food, sea breeze and panoramic view of the ocean made for a lovely evening. In the morning we picked up our son and grabbed breakfast at the Boulevard Diner on Maybank Hwy, which was also quite nice! In between the two meals was unfortunately a different story.

It was a holiday weekend and rooms were a little hard to find. We booked a room online at the at the Residence Inn North Charleston, at 7645 Northwoods Boulevard. It was farther from The shore and camp, but right on the highway. My wife and I arrived about 11:30 PM. We checked in to room 1023, grabbed a shower and immediately turned in for the night. The accommodations seemed adequate, although the air conditioner rattled loudly.

About 12:30 there was a loud knock at the door. I called out but received no response. We then heard the sounds of a key card being inserted in the door. I called out again and there was still no response, so I prepared to call 911 on my cell phone. I also dialed the front desk on the room phone. After explaining the situation to the night clerk, I was told that the knocking was the security guard at the door. She said that our room was listed in the system as "dirty." She told me she would contact the guard and we wouldn't be disturbed.

I explained this to my wife and we tried to understand what it all meant. How was the room dirty? Why would a security guard be dispatched to a dirty room? Why didn't the guard answer me when I called out?

The room seemed like it had been serviced and there were no further knocks at the door, so we eventually went back to sleep. The next morning by wife woke me and pointed out little red bugs in the bed. We identified these as bedbugs using our Ipad (we had never seen them before) and took photos and even captured several in a zip lock bag. There were fresh spots of blood on the sheets and older stains as well. Was this what the clerk meant when she told us the room was dirty? Had a security guard been sent to catch us before we settled in? We showered thoroughly and went to the lobby to ask some questions.

(Pic-My blood from one of the bites!)


(Pic -Lots of similar stains, some fresh and red, some old. I think the red spot on the pillow may be one of the bugs, but my camera isn't great with tight detail.)

A desk clerk who identified herself as "Momma" took our complaint and looked at the bag of bugs, which she stapled shut and set aside. She expresses concern but told us we needed to speak to the manager. We were told that because we had booked online through Priceline she couldn't offer us a refund. I called the number she gave me for the manager. I got a recording and left a detailed message along with my email and phone number. I asked the manager to call me about the incident.

We were too disgusted to trust Residence Inn continental breakfast, so we left to pick up our son. On the way we discussed the strange stay. Did the staff know the room was dirty? The sheets certainly had enough stains to indicate that someone should have been aware of the problem.

After picking up Sean, we spent the day at the beach before heading home. Aside from the Marriott it had been a pleasant trip, but we had to inspect everything and sanitize all the clothing and luggage on our return. I was a little surprised that the manager had not returned my call.

After the holiday passed with no word, I began to write emails. I filled out surveys from both the booking agency and Marriott on the condition of the Residence Inn. I sent a "customer concerns" email from the Marriott website. Another day went by and I began to get a little annoyed. I would think a customer complaint of this kind would prompt a response. I did receive a reply from Marriott that they would forward my concerns to the hotel, but the hotel did not contact me. I decided to email the Board of Health for North Charleston. They replied that they had no authority over hotels but they would take my information and contact the hotel to urge action. I sent them a detailed account and photos.

A word of warning to travellers in SC--it seems there is no government agency with oversight over your hotel being sanitary. Restaurants are inspected, but not hotels. I emailed Marriott again to let them know that I had no word from the manager of the Residence Inn North Charleston. They replied again that they would forward my concern on to the hotel. At no time during my correspondence with Marriott did I ever feel any sense of urgency on their part. At most, I would describe the reaction as ineffectual sympathy.

Six days after my request to speak to someone about the problem, the General Manager finally emailed me. She regretted that my stay was "less-than-satisfactory." She told me that pest control was being called in (good!) and that the staff who sent the guard to my room was receiving additional training. What she was receiving training for or why the guard was sent was not addressed in her email, so we'll likely never know if the staff had been told not to rent the room with the bugs. She added that she wanted to restore my faith in Marriott hotels, so she was sending me a coupon for a free stay.

I discussed this with my wife--who has a long history in customer service--and some friends. It seemed to me this was a very minimal response to my complaint. Everyone I spoke to agreed. I felt that this was a situation which might have been salvaged by a quick response from the manager (even a note saying they were looking into the problem and would get back to me later in the week would have been nice.) Instead, I waited six days to get a "thanks for bringing this to our attention" letter and a coupon to drum up more business for Marriott. The final straw was when the coupon arrived and I discovered it was not an offer to stay the night at any Marriott, but a coupon to return to the Residence Inn North Charleston!

In my 48 years on Earth I've visited Charleston only three times and have no plans to return any time soon. If I do, I certainly will not share a room with parasites at 7645 Northwoods Boulevard! I replied that the level of customer service from Residence Inn was not satisfactory, nor was my stay, and I requested a full refund of my money. I copied Marriott customer care on the email.

It's been several days since I sent my response. Marriott has since told me they have forwarded my concerns to the local hotel. The Residence Inn North Charleston has said nothing.

PS: I contacted Priceline about my problems, and they promptly got me a refund.