An average experience at the Crowne Plaza Quaker Square
Written: Jun 07 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The round rooms are unique.
Cons: Nothing special about the accomodations, no shop with basic supplies.
The Bottom Line: See review.
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| JennJoy's Full Review: Crowne Plaza Hotel AKRON-QUAKER SQUARE |
I stayed at the Crowne Plaza Quaker Square in Akron, Ohio for three nights in May, 2006 while attending a conference. The conference was being held in the hotel so I did not consider staying anywhere else while in Akron. Before arriving, I was intrigued to find the rooms were built in the old silos of the Quaker Oats factory (hence the name of the hotel). The claim of round hotel rooms sounded like fun change from the norm so I was looking forward to an enjoyable stay at Quaker Square.
Having stayed in a Crowne Plaza hotel before I felt I knew what to expect. My room was satisfactory in just about every way. Everything was clean and functioning. I loved the extremely comfortable king size bed with tons of pillows, but didn’t love the tiny, chair-less concrete balcony overlooking a roof and the street. However, the hotel doesn’t really overlook anything scenic from any particular side so it’s not as though I missed out on anything. Be aware though that a freight train makes it way past the hotel at all hours of the day and night and few of my fellow conference attendees reported being woken up every hour or so. I didn’t have this problem the opposite side of the hotel.
The room had all the standard amenities I expected - a coffee maker & iron (neither of which I used), hair dryer (which worked just fine), plenty of towels, toiletries, glasses, etc. Quaker Square has in-room internet access and video games - at a price of course -and I did not test them out. One of my fellow conference attendees reported trouble connecting his laptop and ended up using the business center in the lobby after a few frustrating calls to the hotel’s helpdesk. The hotel also provides room service, but I did not take advantage of this service either. Ditto for the hotel’s pool and exercise room, so I cannot comment on either.
My only gripe about my room at the Crowne Plaza Quaker Square is that toiletries and such were not replaced each day. Most hotels replace these things every day even if you have not used them all up the previous day. Still, this was not of such great importance to me that I complained even though I visited the front desk a few times during my stay. I did find the front desk staff to be courteous and helpful when checking in and out - and they also happily called taxis for me and gave directions.
I ate at the Crowne Plaza Quaker Square’s restaurant and bar a number of times during my stay. The dinners I had were great and the service was quite good each time whether in a large group or alone. I had only one breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant and was a bit discouraged when the first three things I asked for from the menu were not available. Other than one less than stellar dining experience all other meals in the hotel were enjoyable enough that I did not seek out other restaurants in the area.
The Crowne Plaza Quaker Square also boasts “unique” shops in the Quaker Oats factory. I did kill some time one afternoon browsing, but found the mostly odd and out-of-place. There was a candy/bakery shop that was fun to look around and I ended up trying one of the hotel’s “famous” oatmeal cookies. The other stores included a Christmas shop, newsstand (that never seemed open when I walked by), a comic book store, and a general shop featuring cutesy country wares. The one store I would have liked - something that sold toiletries and other forgotten things from home - didn’t seem to exist.
As a business traveler I found the Crowne Plaza Quaker Square in Akron, Ohio to be satisfactory, but nothing special. All of the basic and slightly above average expectations for a decent hotel were met, but I have enjoyed my stay at other Crowne Plaza hotels much more. Quaker Square seems like it’s probably one of the better choices in Akron, Ohio but I wouldn’t recommend vacation travel or an extended stay. Although the three nights I spent here were relatively comfortable, the total experience just wasn’t what I have come to expect from a Crowne Plaza.
Recommended:
No
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JennJoy
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