We don't usually stay at the Comfort chain, but chose this one in Newport News because (1) it had a very good rate for the area (S89), and (2) it got very good ratings from my fellow reviewers on TripAdvisor. We certainly did not find this venue unacceptable, but our experience was apparently much "iffier" than that of most reviewers. There were some good points. The venue is close to the interstate and many restaurants and stores. It was clean, the free breakfast was better than average, and there was a free morning newspaper. But there were also flaws, one serious. Soundproofing was one on the minor level. Our room widow overlooked an area were there were two large noisy A/C compressors/vent fans and they made a constant whirrring sound in the room. Also showing poor sound proofing, we could easily hear people in adjacent rooms. You couldn't hear what they were saying, but you could distinctly hear the voices and occasional other sounds. Light sleepers will be challenged. The desk clerk who checked us in presented a bigger issue. When checking us in she had the air of being put upon. She wasn't rude, but welcoming seemed beyond her. When we got to the room, we found that there was no desk chair. So I went to the lobby and mentioned that. Her response was that we were in a handicapped room and that they did not have chairs so that wheelchair-bound guests could get to the desk. That seemed enough of a response to her. I said that we were not handicapped and had not requested such a room. I suggested we move to another room. She said they were full and couldn't do that, which is why we had been assigned the handicapped room. I said that I thought we ought to be able to use the desk and she should get maintenance to bring up a chair. With a not fully suppressed sigh, she agreed to have one sent up. About 90 minutes later, and with no chair having arrived, my wife went to the desk an reiterated that we had no chair. The clerk went through the handicapped room reasoning again. She had clearly done nothing, nor did she have any attention of doing so. Fortunately, the maintenance man happened to be standing near the desk, overheard the conversation, and offered to bring a chair up. It arrived within minutes. He merits praise. The desk clerk needs an energy drink or maybe some time in caring and courtesy camp to help her adjust her I-couldn't-care-less lethargic attitude. Just in case management reads this and cares, they can figure out the offending clerk by knowing that we checked in on Tuesday, July 23 at about 5:30 p.m. A final note is that the hotel can be hard to find. We had it in our GPS but drove by it several times (and on a divided, busy road, coming back was a bit of a chore). It is not visible from the road. It is in a shopping mall (the Patrick Henry?), but there is no sign for the hotel among those indicating the stores there. When we mentioned this issue to our friendly desk clerk when we arrived, her response was that, yes, it was a problem that many people noted, but that the hotel was worth the struggle to find. All in all, despite its low price, we disagree. We left sure we wold not want to find it again.
