When I think of college towns, I can tell you I don’t think hotels, especially boutique hotels. But with all of the activity that happens on campus (sporting events, speaker series, graduations, etc.) it makes sense to have somewhere for everyone to stay. That leads us to my review of the Hotel Indigo-Athens.
To start, the front desk staff was personal and helpful. I asked for tips on getting around town, to and from the downtown area, and they happily answered my questions.
One thing they shared with me at check-in was that I would need to put the room key in a slot in the wall. It was like a European hotel (I wouldn’t know) where that is how you activated the power.
I walked in my room, put the card in the slot and turned the lights on. Wow, it works. Then I got curious. I took the card out of the slot and checked to see if the lamps and switches would still work. They all did. Then I thought maybe this was a timer thing. No, still worked several minutes later.
I had a double. The room was eclectically designed. I liked the little touches. The room included a coffee maker. I think it was a nice touch that they included pods from Jittery Joe’s, a local coffee roaster.
On the walk to discover the gym, I noticed the featured art on the walls. I appreciated that little touch. The gym itself was quite small, and I didn’t go inside. (I did my best to take a picture without getting the guy who was running on a treadmill.) There was art featured on the walls on the first floor leading up to the gym. I appreciated that.
All seems well. Right? Let me be more honest with you.
I noticed the bathroom shower smelled like chlorine. It was like a public pool, not like cleaning products. I inspected more and saw some hairs in there. I decided to pass on taking a shower. I was only there for one night anyway. Further inspecting the room, I noticed the sheets had an odor to them. AND THERE WAS ANOTHER HAIR. To be honest, I didn’t trust the coffee maker. They put the coffee maker in a tray below the counter. It was dusty. I wonder if that was because people forget about and it never gets used or cleaned as a result.
I adored the interior design. They were clearly intentional about the layout of the room. I liked it, but that is all hard to appreciate when you are questioning whether or not it is all sanitary. The staff were great, but poor housekeeping completely tanked my opinion of the place. Is that something that is impossible to come back from? No. But I do think that, as someone who doesn’t rock the boat, I have to take some responsibility for not speaking up to say anything. Yes, you can argue that it should have been perfect from the start, but is important to give the property a chance to improve. And then and only then will that response tell you whether or not they deserve your future business. I am writing this review on the place with the hindsight wishing I would have done that but didn’t.
My final thoughts? I would give them another chance.
This is a bit of a review of the property, but it also a chance for me to reflect on myself as a consumer. I will probably get better products if I ask for better products. How can I better advocate for myself to get the most value out of goods and services I pay for?
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A Wren Says 