We stayed at the Wingate by Wyndham in Christiansburg this past weekend. We registered for “2 Queen Beds, Mobility/Hearing Accessible Room, Bathtub w/Grab Bars” and non-smoking. The details of the room description include the following Mobility/Hearing accommodations: “ bathtub grab bars, adjustable hand-held shower wand, bathroom is wheelchair accessible, portable bathtub seat, raised toilet seat with grab bars, bedroom is wheelchair accessible, closet rods at wheelchair height, visual emergency alarms, flashing door knocker, telephone TDD, closed caption TV”.

Our room was on the 4th floor directly across from the elevator. A wheelchair accessible room should not be on the 4th floor because evacuating in an emergency without the benefit of the elevator creates a barrier to safe egress. This is unacceptable. While this room did have some accessible features, a traveler using a wheelchair should not be assigned this room, ever.

Contrary to the advertised description, the bathroom did not include bathtub grab bars, and adjustable hand-held shower wand, portable bathtub seat, or a raised toilet seat. There were grab bars by the toilet and the bathroom is large enough to accommodate a wheelchair, with proper access to the sink for handwashing.

Also, I disagree with the description that the bedroom is wheelchair accessible. It is accessible in that the door is wide enough for entry and the foyer area is large enough to turn around. However, there is no room to wheel next to the beds on either side or in the center. Furthermore, the placement of the desk chair creates an obstacle to reaching the HVAC controls. It would require moving the desk chair while operating the wheelchair. Finding a place to store the chair that would not impede movement in the room is unlikely.

There was evidence that the room is not properly cleaned between guests. The shower curtain was stained with pink, gray, and orange mold. If the shower curtain were changed out between each guest and laundered properly, there would not be an opportunity for mold to build. Also, our ice bucket had pink mold growing in the bottom and even contained hair. While a disposable liner was provided, we opted not to use it at all. I did report these findings to the front desk and was told they would let housekeeping know.

The elevator went out while we were there. Thankfully, neither of us was stuck ON the elevator, but one of us was downstairs trying to return to the room with a cart while the other was waiting. After a few minutes, the front desk staffer was able to reset the elevator. There were two elevators there, but we only saw one operate and do not believe the other is in service.

Our linens were incomplete. We reported this on arrival so we would not be charged with stealing. There were two pillows on one bed and three on the other. We were provided 3 bath towels, 1 hand towel, 1 washcloth, and 1 bath mat. When I asked for 2 hand towels and 1 washcloth so we had enough for both of us, I was given 2 washcloths and another bath mat.

I cannot offer a review of the included breakfast, since we did not partake. The coffee situation was dismal. Whatever coffee was in the urn at the end of breakfast was all there was for the day. Our first day, we had a cup on arrival. It was tepid after sitting for 7+ hours. There was no microwave to reheat it, nor were there lids so we could take it to our room and heat it there. The next two days, there was no coffee remaining after breakfast. Perhaps they do not have coffee available all day. If that is the case, the urns should be dumped soon after breakfast.

The first floor ice machine did not work. When I asked about ice, they directed me to another on the third floor. I wouldn't have known it existed if I had not asked.

After all the complaints, I’ll add a few positives. It looks like they are slowly renovating the hotel. Our room appeared to be recently painted. The hallways have sheetrock repairs underway and they were working on the roof a bit while we were there. The common areas downstairs seemed to be fairly clean. Our bed was comfortable. The pillowcases were rather thin, but the rest of the bed linens were clean and not too worn. We did set the colorful fabric stripe aside because it was stained. The bath linens were clean and appeared to be fairly new.

The hotel has potential if they put a bit more effort into proper cleaning in the rooms, maintained the elevators so they work as they should, and put better thought into providing accessible rooms to those who require them.