This hotel is an acceptable, well taken care of, newish property, but in a poor location.
The clientele I saw are all hardworking businessmen traveling on a budget. The front desk receptionist, breakfast hostess, and cleaning staff were all top notch.
The amenities are average for a Hampton Inn:
- Interior access hallways are more secure than motels with exterior room doors
- Enhanced continental breakfast with a couple of premade hot items. This saves you a considerable amount of money, especially for families. Don't expect too much from this free breakfast, but it's pleasant enough.
- Smallish pool (indoor at this location with separate whirlpool) and small exericse room
- Tiny guest laundry with one washer/dryer.
- Free parking
- Free coffee/tea 24 hrs.
- They have the updated bedding that seems to have been rolled out to the Hampton's this past
year
- Windows heating/AC unit is noisy design, typical, though.
- Free wireless internet in rooms and lobby area (works well, many more expensive hotels charge $10/day for this)
- Free computer access provided at lobby workstation, handy for checking email for those not traveling with a computer.
Plusses compared to some Hampton's I've stayed in:
- They do serve the free cookies in the early evening. Many Hampton's don't do this anymore.
- Room has a true closet vs. an armmoire.
- Mini Fridge and microwave in all rooms.
- Couple of restaurants within a couple of blocks (Red Lobster, Bob Evans)
Minuses compared to some Hampton's I've stayed in:
- 3rd floor where I stayed has a mix of smoking and nonsmoking rooms. It's much better when the entire floor is nonsmoking. I can smell traces of smoke, and the room
is not fresh compared to an entirely nonsmoking floor.
- Only 1 elevator for this 3-floor property
- No water cooler in exercise room, no weights or universal gym, only cardio machines
- Minimum number of towels provided (two sets). It's more common to see three or four sets of towels in most Hampton's I've stayed in.
- Undesirable neighborhood (dead end road with mini storage warehouse on two sides, Large factory (grain elevator?) looming nearby. Freight train track behind the mini storage warehouse has late night trains going to the factory. (The odd numbered rooms are on the side of the building facing away from the tracks).
- Garbage truck came to empty the large dumpster at 2:30am Monday and 6:45am Wednesday, and this makes quite a noise.
- Hotel is situated in a low spot near a freeway overpass.
- Area appears "dead" at night.
- Indicators of possible security issues in this area: several signs in the hotel parking lot saying park at your own risk, security camera pointed at parking lot, nearby Red Lobster
restaurant hires a security guard to be on premesis.
- Pretty expensive (averaging $100) considering the neighborhood which is not centrally located, just a freeway exit on the outskirts of the Columbus area. I'd expect $65/night for a Hampton in this type of neighborhood and area of the country.
- Rooms have drywall walls - some Hampton's use concrete walls are are more soundproof.
- Columbus Hampton Inn
- Hampton Inn Columbus
