Guest User
December 3, 2022
On December 30, 2022 I scheduled a pick up at Skinner’s Auction in Marlborough, Ma and since it was nearly a 5 hour drive each way I decided to find a room nearby and take my time and enjoy a 2 day getaway. I am a Gold Choice Privileges Reward member so decided to use my points for a stay, and found a nearby Quality Inn in Worcester that seemed to offer what I needed and a hot breakfast to boot. Since I trusted Choice Hotels from previous experience I had no concerns in booking, until I arrived in the late afternoon. Even from the parking area I could see that this 3 story building housed a questionable clientele, with balconies with the belongings of the homeless stored in plain view. Entering the lobby it seemed like a low end Motel that should have had a number in the name, but because of the time checked in. In short time while bringing in my things started feeling uncomfortable with the clientele milling around and no one speaking English. We locked ourselves in to a very sad room (Room 125 if you need to see) that was at least 50 years out of date. The place was in poor repair, the molding was coming off the wall, the fixtures rusty; but the beds were clean and no sign of bugs (but the smell of bug spray could give you a headache. On waking I went to the Hot Breakfast, what a joke. The hot breakfast was packets of Instant Oatmeal without hot water. We packed up early so we could find a dinner for breakfast. Now our fear of robbery came true, not from outside but from the Desk. I was told that even though I had paid in full with my reward points I was liable for a $44 “convenience fee”. Of course I knew this was a scam and provided documentation showing I had paid in full with points, but this wasn’t enough. We were held against our will and in complete humiliation until they could locate a General Manager and weren’t allowed to leave. After time passed and no General Manager showing up I just left, I wasn’t paying their “convenience fee” and believe me there was no conveniences. On arriving home later that day there was an email from the General Manager with an invoice showing $0 balance. You would think that this would be enough, but I made the decision of advising Choice Hotels and Barclay Bank of my experience. This was an even worse experience. After multiple calls to their Customer Services in India after a total of 5 hours (mostly on hold) I eventual was given a Supervisor named Heider who was the most useless human I have ever dealt with. He could care less about our treatment, being held against our will, and being charged $44 convenience fee. So please avoid this hotel, sleep in your car instead. Don’t expect any care or satisfaction from Customer Service at either Choice Privilege or Barclay Bank. Not all Choice Hotels are like this, maybe it’s just a sign of the times. All I can say is that I don’t plan on using my Barclay card to accumulate rewards. If you want verification my case number is 11115757 at