I'm definitely a few months late posting this, but wanted to write a thread on WoodSpring Suites to hopefully give some insight to other travelers. In summary, I would avoid if at all possible.

Last fall I found myself needing a place to stay for a few months in the Seattle area due to work reasons. I'm an airline pilot that was temporarily based there, so just needed a place to stay while sitting reserve duty from September 2022 - January 2023. I wanted an extended stay type hotel that I could live out of when needed. Some weeks I would be there multiple nights per week, other times it might be just one night per week.

I booked the WoodSpring in Tukwila, WA due to its closeness to the airport (about 15 minutes away) and being affiliated with Choice Hotels, though admittedly I'm not too familiar with Choice, as I usually prefer Hilton or Marriott properties. Anyway, I booked a single room (double bed) for mid September to the end of November. That covered about half of my expected work commitment in Seattle, and figured I would evaluate the second half as time went on.

The hotel room was extremely basic: Bed, Chair, 3 or 4 hangers, and a laundry basket. The sheets were so thin you could see through them. That said, the room was quite clean. It came with a full sized refrigerator, two burner stove, microwave, sink, and dishwasher. I had read that you could purchase cookware and dishes for your stay, but upon asking during checkin I was told for extremely long stays they included some in the room. The dishes and cookware had seen better days, but all in all it was acceptable. So far, so good.

Here's where the issues began: At checkin WoodSpring had me pre-pay for a week in advance (not just a preauthorization). I thought this was a little strange, but figured being an extended stay type thing maybe it was standard. No big deal. I asked the front desk agent if I would just be billed weekly like this. She looked puzzled, but eventually said yes. Fast forward a week later, I had not been billed. When I stopped by the desk to ask, a different agent was there. I was told this was against policy and I must arrange to pay in person on the same day every week. I explained that being a pilot on reserve I was constantly in and out and couldn't guarantee a certain day I would physically be there, but had no problem filling out a form to authorize my card to be charged weekly. The agent clearly didn't want to do this, but eventually agreed and produced a 3rd party authorization form. I filled it out, and for the next 3 or 4 weeks everything was fine. I was billed every Saturday.

Then, I got a notice on my door that everyone's rate was increasing immediately. Hmmm, that's not what I agreed to online. Stopped by the desk. Was told the online rate was not guaranteed. Ok, fine, just bill me. Well I had to fill out a new 3rd party form. That again worked fine for about 2 weeks and then it stopped. Went back to the desk. The district manager was there and told me that was against policy and they could not make an exception to the "pay in person on the same day every week" rule. At this point I was beyond frustrated. I've never seen it so difficult to just pay for a hotel room!

Due to a few other issues (that I will list below) I had already made arrangements to switch to an Airbnb in late November. Because I knew the definitive date I would be switching to the Airbnb, I had the district manager adjust my checkout date earlier a few days than originally booked, and I offered to just pay in full the remainder of my stay then and there. She was caught off guard, but agreed. I paid and made sure to get a copy of my receipt showing I was paid in full.

Other issues during my stay:

Housekeeping is supposed to be every other week. During a 3 month stay they cleaned my room twice, despite arranging multiple other cleanings with the front desk.

All long term guests are required to be on the first floor. This was extremely noisy as people kept going in and out the building constantly.

No breakfast is provided. Not even a continental one. Just a very shady looking coffee pot in the main lobby.

The front desk is not 24/7. Multiple times during my stay my room key would deactivate and I would find myself stuck outside after arriving on a flight after midnight. I would have to use a phone to call an agent, who would literally come downstairs in pajamas to let me in.

The clientele of the establishment is not good. Use your imagination.

Lastly, what irritated me the most besides the billing issues: When leaving my room for a few days I would set my trash in the hallway to be collected by housekeepers the next morning. On multiple occasions, I would arrive back to the hotel days later to find that someone (presumably housekeeping) had set the trash back in my room!! When I asked the front desk about this, and if there was a dumpster on property, I always received the same "Oh no, just set it out and we'll take care of it for you." Talk about horrible serve.

While this could have solely been the Tukwila, WA location, something tells me this chain of hotels has very low customer service standards and shady business practices.

Anyway, sorry for such a rant, but hopefully someone can benefit from this. If you find yourself needing an extended stay type hotel, don't choose Woodspring! My Airbnb was actually cheaper and had many more amenities.