My hubbie, daughter and I had to go to a family event in the Virginia Beach area. I was supposed to stay with a relative, but booked this hotel two days prior to our stay of, May 24 - 25, 2008. I booked directly through their 800 number. Basically, I chose this property because it was centrally located to the family event. I was not seeking a beach property. I was looking for a room with a refrigerator, microwave, iron and one that offered comfort, cleanliness, secure parking and an indoor pool. The hotel provided comfort, secure parking and an indoor pool, however, cleanliness was lacking.

We booked a Smoking Room, with a king size bed and a pull out sofa. When we arrived, apparently a mistake was made and we were listed to stay in a Non-Smoking room. Thankfully, I had brought along my Confirmation E-mail which verified what I booked. Even though I did not make a fuss, the front desk clerk immediately apologized and not only upgraded us to the Executive Suite, but also gave us a free movie rental. We were pretty happy with the decision. Every staff member we encountered were not only friendly, but were also professional.

The hotel has a lounge, a restaurant, an indoor pool with a maximum occupancy of 20 and a 4 seater indoor jacuzzi. Additionally, the hotel has a tiny business center that has a computer, a printer/fax machine and an ATM machine. Last but not least, the hotel also had a small snack/souvenir shop, with the usual expensive fare. The hotel also offered 24 hour room service.

The Executive Suite is located on the first floor, which reeks of cigarette smoke. For a smoker to complain, you know it is pretty bad. In addition, I was not too thrilled with the first floor location, but I assumed in the long run, it would be more convenient. The room was quite large, but it is definitely showing its age and is in need of a face lift. It had a desk area, a sofa, a large television and obviously a bed. I found the bathroom rather small, the kitchen/area quite dirty, very few electrical outlets and a closet that contained an outdated key lock safe. The ammenities included shampoo, conditioner, lotion, a shower cap, face soap and hand soap. They were typical lower tier hotel/motel quality.

Apparently, the Crowne Plaza is known for its bedding and alarm clock system. The bedding was outstanding and top quality. In addition, included in your room is a lovely bag with lavender linen spray, ear plugs and an eye mask. Inside the CD Alarm Clock, there was also a CD that had relaxation techniques to help you sleep. We needed none of the above, but I thought it was a nice touch.

When we were not attending the family event, we did enjoy the pool, which stayed open until 10:00 p.m. There was a side window that was attached to the Atrium Lounge, in which one could purchase a beverage. There was a courtyard with an overgrown garden, right outside the pool/Jacuzzi area that had wrought iron loungers, tables and chairs.

In sum, usually the Crowne Plaza is a step above a Comfort Inn, but in this case, I would say it is not. I have experienced cleaner and better kept rooms at Comfort Inns, for less money. While the staff is friendly, I strongly feel that this hotel needs some updating. Since it was Memorial Day weekend, we paid a premium price and it was not quite worth it. Would I stay at a Crowne Plaza in the future? That would depend on what condition the place was in. Since no other hotels had availabilities in the area and the Days Inn on Bonney Road was partly under construction and the rooms that were not under construction, had hookers plying their trade, I guess we were lucky to have stayed at the Crowne Plaza.

I have had nothing but excellent experiences at this hotel. It's exactly where I want to be (close to my clients and even closer to good dining and night life). My room has always been exceptionally clean, and everyone from the people at the front desk to the housekeepers I see on my way to my room have been nothing less than helpful and friendly.

I don't even bother looking at other hotels anymore. I stay at this place every single time I'm in town, which is a lot!

Stayed her 1 night for a concert in May 2008. At first glance looks like a beautiful place to stay. At check-in I was not greeted very friendly which was only the first problem. The floor they put us on was non-smoking but when we entered our room it smelled like a bingo hall - when I called they said they would send a maid up to spray something....I was inclined that except that offer so I asked for another room. I walked back down to check-in and got new keys for a room on the 4th floor, which was even worse because when I entered that room I found someone else sitting on the bed watching TV. Another trip back to the check-in desk and it was brushed off as an honest mistake, finally I got another room this one was okay. Overall, for the price this hotel charges and the service it was crap the room itself was okay not as clean is would like, i.e. you could see piles of dirt between where the carpet and walls meet, as if they didnt ever use a sweeper.

All in all it would have been better to spend half the money and stay at a chaper hotel for a cleaner room and better service. Oh and by the way stay away from the Tines restaurant in the lobby for breakfast the buffet is crap and costs $10 a person. And be aware room service is not available between the hours of 2 and 5pm?? Not sure why but no where else to order from unless you like chinese or pizza.

BRIEF review:
(I chose to stay in a handicapped accessible room, as this was the only room w/ a King bed available when I checked in...maybe the other rooms in the hotel are better, maybe not.)
The room was OK, it had a little bit of a smell to it. Being HC accessible, the bathroom was larger than I expected. The whole hotel had a rundown feel to it, definitely NOT NEW.
There were 2 major problems I had:
1. When getting ready to leave, I unplugged my laptop from the electrical outlet & nearly pulled the whole damned thing out. So, if SAFETY is a concern, that's a problem. I don't ever notice safety concerns when I stay in a room, so that alone was an indicator to me that they're not taking real good care of this place. (Oh by the way, 1 of the doors on the cabinet in which the room fridge was located was off its hinges; that was nice. A maintenance repairman showed up not long after I checked in to fix it, but I turned him away.)
2. The "command center 3000" alarm clock was just too much...way too many buttons, way too many options, I kept hitting the "Alarm" button to set the alarm, but it was just too hard (and no, I'm not an idiot). A wakeup call solved that, but what ever happened to an ALARM CLOCK just being an alarm clock?
Nothing else noteworthy - the HSI connection was good, dependable and fast. The bed was OK - not great, but definitely not bad. I would look elsewhere next time I'm in the area.