It seems like there is a mixed bag of reviews here. I thought I would add one review not so much about the hotel, but rather about the staff. I normally would not share an email this personal or the response, but I think this thread and property could use the positive recognition.
This is an email I wrote to the General Manager, Brian Hutchins, about a member of the front desk staff who helped put a smile on the faces of my family in an otherwise difficult time.
Mr. Hutchins,
My wife, my mother-in-law, and I recently drove to Charlotte the night after Christmas and stayed at Le Meridien Charlotte. As an Auburn family, I would have loved nothing more than to visit Charlotte to watch our former Heisman quarterback in Bank of America Stadium with our Aunt and Uncle as we had discussed doing so many times over the past couple years. Unfortunately, our visit to Charlotte was due to my wife's aunt suffering two massive strokes on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Aunt Dianne was in a coma in the ICU at Presbyterian and a decision had already been made by her husband (Uncle Jim) and her doctors to remove her from life support.
We normally plan vacations around our non-business stays with the Starwood hotels. I have definitely enjoyed the various benefits I have received as a Platinum member of the SPG program and we have been able to travel the world with Starwood, whether it was our honeymoon in Hawaii, a quick getaway to New York, our 2nd anniversary celebration across Europe, or our upcoming 3rd anniversary in Greece. This was one of the first times - perhaps the only time - that I have had to book a room at a Starwood hotel for something so unplanned and so unfortunate.
We decided to drive straight to the hospital, so I called the hotel to make sure the front desk knew that we would be late to check-in. I explained to Renee the situation and she was incredibly understanding and told me not to worry about anything with the hotel room and to focus our energy on the more pressing matters at the hospital.
We arrived to the hospital late on Friday evening. After a few hours with my wife's aunt, we checked in to the hotel to grab a few short hours of sleep before returning to the hospital. For once, a hotel we were visiting was being used for its core function: a place to grab a few winks of sleep.
Please understand that we spend a lot of time with Starwood and our travels are almost always planned around locations where Starwood hotels exist. I am intimately familiar with the various personal touches extended to me due to my status within SPG, such as upgraded rooms, champagne and chocolates in the hotel room, etc. I am perhaps the most low maintenance Platinum guest in the entire SPG program, so these little "extra miles" have always made my wife and I feel special when we arrive to our room/suite and notice the personal touches and/or surprises.
When I walked into the room and my wife handed me a handwritten letter from Renee and signed by the front office team members, it nearly brought tears to my eyes. This was single-handedly the most special token of acknowledgement I have ever received during my travels. It was not something that was placed in my room because of my status with the hotel chain, but rather it was something that was left by someone who genuinely cared about a family who was going through a rough time. This puts a smile on my face and warms my heart.
Aunt Dianne passed away on Saturday afternoon and we laid her to rest on New Year's Eve morning in Georgia. We have had many laughs and smiles this holiday season and we have definitely shed many tears of sadness. Please know that Renee and your staff touched our lives in a way that I'm not really sure I can adequately describe with words. It was a small gesture, but it had a much larger impact than she will likely ever know.
I just wanted to let you know about this thoughtful gesture by one of your employees and let you know how much it meant to all of us.
Sincerely,
Jibi
P.S. - When we finally make it back to Charlotte to see Cam and the Panthers, we will be certain to book our rooms at Le Meridien Charlotte.
Mr. Hutchins responded shortly after thanking me for the email, expressing his condolences, informing me that it was read to his management team during their daily stand up meeting, and asking me to introduce myself if/when we return to Charlotte.