Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square in Lancaster, PA

The Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square is a solid, comfortable hotel in a great downtown location. The property is basically clean and well-kept, with a nice modern feel that fits the area’s historic character. The pool was good, but there weren’t nearly enough towels available, which was frustrating. The restaurant, on the other hand, was excellent: great food and friendly staff that made it worth staying in for dinner. The biggest issue, though, is the parking. The attached garage is a nightmare. Tight spaces, confusing layout, and just not guest-friendly. Add to that a pricey parking fee with no valet service, and it really drags down the overall experience. In short, the hotel itself is comfortable with good amenities, but the parking cost and and lack of convenience, keep it from being as good as it could be.

I stayed in this hotel for a professional conference with many peers of my graduate program. There was zero security. A shirtless man was able to enter into the lobby of the hotel where two of my friends and I (all early 20s women) had been sitting and eating. He cornered us, screaming profanities, threatening us of physical harm without provocation from our part, threatening us of violence if we call the police, and getting closer and closer to us. He was extremely aggressive, stood directly behind me and sat next to one of my friends at one point. We feared for our lives and didn’t know what to do. This was around 8pm, lasted at least 30 minutes, and for the entire duration of the incident, there was nobody at the front desk and security was nowhere in sight. How can someone be so loud and overtly aggressive and not be noticed? We had to text one of our male friends, who was attending a talk in the convention center, for him to come help us as we were terrified for our lives. After the man left, our friend had to convince the employee who had magically appeared at the desk to come speak with us about the incident (which he apparently was already aware of but didn’t come to help us?). He also had to pressure for security to be called to speak with us. When security finally did speak with us, he did not take us seriously at all. He actually lied to our friend, saying that there are no cameras in the lobby, which our friend was very quick to call him out for as he could see the cameras from where he was standing. Security then recanted that statement. Needless to say that our stay was ruined and we did not feel safe in that hotel and conference following the incident. A manager spoke to us the following day, assuring us they will take action to prevent something like this in the future. I have absolutely zero trust in them. It sounded like they were trying to protect their reputation more than anything else. A police report was filed following this due to how dangerous this incident was and the hotel’s absolute failure at every level. I’ve stayed in many hotels across the country, many of which were cheaper and less fancy than this one, and I have NEVER seen such a lack of action and concern for guest safety than in this one.

The location of this hotel is what you are paying for. It is central to just about everything, and was part of the historic district. Onsite food was ok, bars were very good. Weddings were happening which was fun and kept the atmosphere upbeat. The room was a decent size (we booked a premium corner room), but the bed was not the best Marriott bed we've had, and it really could've been much more thoroughly cleaned. There were remnants of some tiny flower petals all over the floor so it clearly hadn't been vacuumed, and the vinyl wood-look floor left our bare feet dirty so it could've used a mopping. Housekeeping never came on day 2, luckily we didn't put out towels on the floor for replacement. There was no valet, only self-park in the garage which cost $15 a night with easy in-out. Saturday night it was packed and we were worried we wouldn't find a spot (but we did after a second go-round).

Spoke with Kristen the general manager about needing to cancel my reservation on September 5, my birthday weekend away and also celebrating six months of rehabilitation from a reconstruction of my ankle. I went through all the appropriate and recommended channels to rebook as I am recovering from COVID. I was told by Bonvoy that they would reach out to the Marriott Lancaster directly. I called the hotel directly a few hours later. Kristen answered. I asked why I was never personally reached out to because I did ask Marriott Bonvoy to relay this message to her, then me. She seemed bothered that I was speaking with her (she answered the phone, I didn’t even know who she was at first) and loudly said, “I received your request and I denied it! It’s a month away and you will be fine by then, there’s no reason you can’t be here! Covid does not take that long! It’s not my fault you can’t taste or smell !” I asked why she didn’t call me herself. “That’s not my job! I returned my denial to Marriott, that’s all I am required to do!” I said I would just do a charge back on my Marriott Bonvoy Chase Visa. Quickly shouting, “You can try, but you will lose!” I called back and asked for a manager, unaware she was the general manager, “I am the GM and you cannot speak to me any longer about your situation!” Click. Finally, out of desperation I reached out to Marriott Bonvoy and was rebooked for the same reservation. What Kristen never asked or even empathized about was that I may really be sick more than her medical opinion. I am a diabetic with HIV. COVID is a serious health problem for those of us who are already dealing with underlying conditions. Beware of reservations at this hotel. Its general manager is not here for the guest (spending $794 for only three nights, a full month away). Kristen is only out for your money. I guess it’s coming up for bonus time, and booking her hotel for a slow after summer weekend, is of her utmost importance. Not me or my money.

Overall great stay. As a platinum member received access to M lounge, room upgrade, and late checkout. Parking is connected and just a short bridge walk to connect to property, parking can be charged to room just bring your voucher to front desk. Staff is friendly and will try to accommodate requests. Rooms are clean and better than your average Marriott. On-site restaurants are good/tasty, the rooftop at Exchange restaurant has a trendy vibe yet family friendly during the day. The pool is large and heated, I am not sure what temperature it is kept at but 2-3 degrees warmer would’ve been nice, the sauna is perfect temperature. M Lounge / Club lounge is better than average, has breakfast offering, afternoon snacks, evening hours d’oeuvres, beer/wine for purchase, coffee/espresso. Very responsive to chat feature on app, mobile key didn’t always work so we kept a regular key just incase. Great place to use redemption voucher!