Candlewood Suites Merrillville

Worst hotel experience in 69 years!! I prepaid through Priceline for a 2 bed room. It was a quick trip to Chicago for 3 of us. My granddaughter had a basketball scholarship camp on the line and needed to be rested and ready to go. When I checked in, the clerk told me they had no 2 Bed rooms available, even though I had reserved and paid for one 6 days in advance. She said there were no rooms available. I was understandably upset by now, the clerk didn't seem to care nor did she try to offer any assistance in finding accommodations for us. I informed her that we would be sleeping in the lobby and suddenly she found a 1 bed handicapped room. I took it. I attempted to sleep in a chair, and my granddaughter and daughter had the bed. The room was pretty gross. The TV was on when we went in the room, it is obviously a very old hotel with an ac unit under the window, like in the old days. It just seemed dirty with some kind of mold or rust around the bathroom sink. Mind you, I didn't expect the Ritz, but I did expect a clean room with 2 beds! I have learned a good lesson, No more 3rd party booking for me, and next time I will just stay in Chicago and pay a little extra instead of trying to save a few bucks.

I tried to stay here for a 13 week travel job. I left after 30 days because they kept charging me random amounts for the room. I could never straighten it out. Even called corporate. They finally refunded what I was owed after I got my bank involved. That was Nov 2022. Today (March 8th, 2023) they deducted $507.42 from my account. When I called they said my account wasn't settled. So, if you want to pay random amounts more than once a week, then definitely stay here. The rooms are just okay. I'll be getting a lawyer.

This place is an absolute dump. The rooms are filthy. Desk and counter surfaces are sticky. The TV didn't work. The USB plugs didn't work. The bathroom didn't lock. The latch on the main door didn't work right. The water pressure in the shower was weak. And the front desk staff is nowhere to be found throughout the entire stay. Save your money! Shut this place down!

Candlewood has a nice setup if you realize what you are getting. If you want full maid service, on site dining, room service, and so on this isn't the place for you. They cater to extended stays and those of us needing pet friendly locations with some space and a kitchen. This hotel is located next to an extremely busy highway. The noise is constant and incessant. There is little to no reduction at night so you're going to hear trucks and vehicles going by 24 hours a day. Bring a nice white noise generator or earplugs - you'll need them. Other then that this hotel has a lot going for is. The staff is extremely friendly and attentive. They called me after I arrived in my room and had time to check it out to make sure everything was to my liking. I was able to chat with the desk clerks and housekeeping from time to time during my stay. If I had needed anything all I needed to do was ask. Candlewood has a little pantry where you can pick up snacks or forgotten personal items. I didn't have time to use their other amenities. My room was clean and well put together. The bed is relatively comfortable. For some odd reason the clock was unplugged when I got in the room and I never could figure out how to reset the time. Those controls are hidden and not well labeled and honestly I was just too tired that first night to bother with it. I could have called someone but again - my own laziness. A huge thanks to Candlewood and to the manager who followed up with me after my trip to make sure I had a good stay. With this kind of service I'd be happy to return to this hotel if I have other trips to the area.

I was welcomed as an IHG Rewards member but my special request for the floor I requested was not honored. Some of the front desk agents wore their name badges and some did not which lacked consistency and professionalism. I did like that the hotel policies were prominently posted at the front desk and in the rooms, including its Green Policy where towels and bed linens are not replaced every day unless more frequency is requested. Other pluses are the location of the hotel is near every kind of store and restaurant imaginable along Hwy 30 and parking is free. You can check out kitchen cookware including large crockpots, board games and other items usable for an extended stay. There are barbecue grills for guests outside on the backyard patio but the front desk agent on duty didn't know where the grill utensils were. I was annoyed that my request for a third floor room was not honored even though the hotel was not full. When we got to our second floor room, the TV was running which surprised me because the hotel has a green conservation policy that asks guests to turn off all electronics when leaving the room. Our room was pretty clean except for the few pieces of Chex cereal on one of the desk chairs and below on the floor. The bed in our studio suite was not situated in the middle of the wall so one side was almost against one wall. For that reason, I would not recommend a studio suite for two people. Also there was no "Do Not Disturb" magnet in our room so I had to go down to the front desk to get one and put outside our door. While at the front desk, I mentioned the running TV to the front desk agent who explained that was how housekeeping made sure your TV was working. I think the housekeeper was watching TV while eating Chex cereal for breakfast. The full refrigerator with icemaker was a nice touch until the plumbing that runs the water pipe from the wall to the ice maker has to make some type of loud adjustment every several hours which woke us up at 4 a.m. None of the above hiccups would have kept me from returning to this CS but I will tell you what did. At about 5:20 PM and while we were taking an afternoon nap, we woke up to loud knocks from someone announcing "Housekeeping". I got up, looked through the peephole and saw a black woman with red or orange streaked hair or wig in the hotel uniform so I yelled through the door and told her we were not checking out until the next day. She apologized and said the front desk did not tell her that. I found her to be suspicious because: (1) Even if she thought we were checking out that day, it was after 5pm and checkout is at noon. What hotel waits until 5 hours AFTER checkout time to see if a room needs cleaning?; (2) We did not request housekeeping; and (3) The 'Do Not Disturb' placard was clearly posted on our door where she could see it. Her behavior disturbed me because it reminded me of when I was a past victim of a hotel room burglary (not this hotel) where hotel employees would first check to see if guests were out for the day and would then burglarize the room if it were empty. I was so upset I got up and went downstairs to complain to front desk agent Jackion. Jackion looked up the list of rooms that requested housekeeping for the day and confirmed my room number was NOT on it. As a result she did not try to provide a believable reason for this housekeeper's actions, but told me the woman I described was the supervisor of the housekeepers, all of which was even more disturbing news. Jackion promised to forward my complaint to the hotel manager who was not on duty that night. I do not know if she did or not but it does not matter because I am not returning to that hotel and would not recommend it to others.