Candlewood Suites Minneapolis-Richfield

Extended stay, that’s all I’ll say. I booked with my husband points, as he is spire elite, because I wanted to do some shopping at the mall of America. I know as rooms are suites but I wasn’t offered an upgraded or treated any different (which is not very typical. I prefer usually prefer c.w.s. Bc of their space and kitchettes) This place was pet friendly and it was convenient to the mall, but that’s all it’s got going for it. This place was shhhadddyy!!! Sleeping next to the a/​c in room 115, was like sleeping next to someone constantly cranking a lawn mower. I forgot a personal item and staff directed me towards the commissary. I felt like I was in prison. Maybe it’s a different experience if you’re staying long-​term (as it looked as most guest were doing so), it just for a night?!? No, thanks! I wouldn’t stay here again.

Book at your own risk.
I booked the Candlewood a month ahead and every thing was fine… until the day we were supposed to check in. I get a cancellation email the day of with no explanations why it was cancel and no suggestions of anything. It was like oh well too bad, you’re on your own. The messed up part was that that week in Minneapolis, something was going on that caused all hotels to be booked up. So finding another one was near to impossible. I don’t understand why, if I made the conscious decision to plan ahead and book my hotel, I was the one being cancelled last minute. I was so upset. We were travelling all day, (which is so tiring) and the last thing I needed was a hotel that I expected good service from, to disappoint me with no explanations whatsoever.
When we finally did land in Minneapolis, I called the Candlewood to see why we were cancelled and the guy was rude and didn’t provide me an explanation either. He was less than sympathetic to our situation and was just eager to get off the phone with me. His only words were «I just started my shift so I don’t know what you’re talking about». Great!
All I can say is beware, dont expect too much from the customer service here.

Decent extended stay. Rooms musty, but updated and somewhat small. Bed was old and hard. Poor fitness facility. Okay price.

**DO NOT BRING YOUR KIDS HERE. NOT KID FRIENDLY** only one bed in every room. This is my first review ever. Simply said this was the worst hotel stay i have ever had. When we arrive the front desk guy was not friendly at all. Then the room smelt horrible, like dirty laundry. No maid service, rude maids. Then both nights on our 2 night stay we got called and vistied by staff very late at night about noise complaints when my husband and the kids were in bed. We told them that and they said we were lying! Are you kidding this place is the most unprofessional hotel and ill never stay at a candlewoods again! Well definitely not this one!

Nice, clean, big rooms at a decent price. Staff was friendly. No issues. Would stay here again.

This is an extended stay hotel, set your expectations about no housekeeping and no breakfast. I stayed here 3 nights and loved it — a great value for the money. The room was recently updated, with modern black and brown colors. Beautiful bathroom, and fully stocked and functional kitchenette with full size refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, glass stove top. Big LCD tv, large desk, and ample outlets. Friendly hotel guest neighbors walking their dogs; it was a happy place. Free fresh tasty coffee 24 hours a day.

Jail house blues for 2 days: Innocently booked via cell phone on referral by Holiday Inn Express. Was not informed that I would have be in a concentration camp limited to one towel, one coffee, and no maid service. To add to the unwelcome surprise, nobody informed me of this before I checked in. Worse yet, I was belatedly told that the second day would cost $ 10. All this carried on by prison guards whose disposition resembled a lump of coal. Candlewood lives up to their motto «Uniquely Candlewood» — uniquely poor value for the traveler wishing only a typical overnite motel stay.”

I’ve stayed at this Candlewood on two different occasions for 2 weeks at a time, both times for business.
When I first arrived (both times), I did a basic bed bug check; checking the mattress seams and any other cracks that bed bugs might be living which all came back ok. However, being paranoid about the ever-​growing bed-​bug epidemic, I kept both of my 2 suitcases and clothes on the very large desk. The large desk was certainly my favorite feature of this place as I had plenty of room to spread out; and having 2 computers, I had plenty of space to work alongside my luggage.
On day 3 of my first visit, my room began to smell very strongly of cigarette smoke. In fact the whole hallway on the way to my room at that point smelled of it too. I let it go for about a day until I came back to it being even worse from which I made mention. Quite frankly I was afraid my wife would think I met a chain smoker on my business trip so I kindly made mention to it at the front-​desk from which the woman at the front-​desk was understanding and accommodating. She mentioned that they had fined that particular resident a nominal cleaning fee and were going to have the carpets cleaned. I’m quite positive that my neighbor was a late night tv watching chain smoker as I could hear the TV and her smoker coughs at various times in the night. I should also mention this was the only room of 3 that had a shared door which could explain why it seeped in so easily. In the end, the front-​desk offered another room from which I gladly accepted… and so I inconveniently moved all of my belongings (quite a distance) down the hall and to the second floor.
The second room did not have any neighbor or smell problems. The desk was larger in my second room as well
For the rest of my review, I’ll just list out my observations and notes below:
Pros:
— decent gym (few treadmills, ellipticals, and a very adjustable rope machine)
— on-​site laundry
— very large desk space
— full refrigerator
— electric stove top
— garbage disposal
— dishwasher
— 3 cup coffee maker (if you’re into that kind of thing)
— 42″ flat screen adjustable /​wall-​mounted w/​some complimentary HBO channels.
— hot water /​shower not a problem
Included:
— travel size bar soap, shampoo, dish soap, 2x forks/​knives/​spoons/​bowls/​plates/​etc
— scrub brush for washing dishes (not a sponge)
— a few pots/​pans
— iron /​full ironing board
— laundry basket
— decent size closet
Cons:
— Hallways not well ventilated which could be the cause of the various odors and smells.
— I could easily experience 4 different types of odors walking through the hallways/​elevator on the way to my room; which could vary from musty to smoky to who knows what. Someone coming back from their smoke break (common)? The smell will be sure to linger in the hallway.
I would say the carpets and the odor of bad house guests are to blame. Some serious de-​odorizing or replacing is due for these carpets.
Overall, the room isn’t all that bad (once you get past the smells in the hallway on the way to the room). Would I stay here if I was bringing my wife? Most likely not. Did I mind my stay while I was there? No I didn’t mind. It was okay for just me. The only questionable thing for me, cleanliness. While this place really only offers once a week cleaning some things were just not done as thoroughly as I would hope. For example, I didn’t feel like any of the plates or utensils were up to my cleaning standards; that is, I felt the need to clean anything that I planned on eating on or with. I was also a little grossed out to smell stinky feet when sitting on one of the pleather-​ish chairs. A quick wipe down with water and a paper towel solved that problem but I think that goes back to the thoroughness of the cleaning that happens here. The room is clean but there’s things about the room that could be cleaner. Wiping down the chairs with a wet cloth and ensuring the eating utensils are super clean would be the main complaints. The carpets are also a brown pattern which makes it nice for hiding dirt so I wasn’t a big fan of walking barefoot on the carpet either.
On the plus side, the sheets on the bed were very clean. The towels and the bathroom were very clean and the hot water would easily run for 30 – 40 minutes without signs of running out. The large space heater also worked fine in all 3 of the rooms I’ve stayed in; in fact, the 2 times that I was on the second floor, I had it set to Cold and set the temperature to around 72 degrees as the heat from the first floor would really warm up the room (making it kind of stuffy). Other notes, the internet was reasonable fast but on occasion in the late evenings, it would reboot itself. The bed is decently comfortable and the bed-​side lamp had a wall plug making it a perfect spot for an iPhone charger
For how much this place goes for a night, I would say its a good value. I wouldn’t pay more than $ 60 a night and again would prefer something much nicer for a getaway w/​my wife

I usually don’t write many reviews but felt it my duty to tell you to stay away. I had to stay here for work, and came home with Bed Bug bites. Disgusting. I also don’t usually check Unilocal for Hotel reviews, but I will from now on. This place was the worst and you couldn’t pay me to stay at a Candlewood Suites again.

By far one of the worst hotel experiences I’ve had in many years. From being given a smoking room by an apathetic front desk clerk, to then having a room that wouldn’t cool off, to being ignored by hotel management and IHG management when I complained, this property represents all that is wrong in the hospitality industry. Avoid this property.