Best Western Plus Envy Hotel

You remember the roach motel commercial where they check in but they don’t check out? We’ll I’m pretty sure that even the roaches would take one look at this place and not even walk through the front door! As soon as we walked into our room, My wife and I immediately looked at one another, picked up our bags and left. Dirty linens on the floor, stained carpets, mildew in the shower and «scary hairys» in the sheets. When we went to the front counter and demanded a refund, the woman didn’t seem the least bit surprised. She refunded us without question.

I didn’t pay much for this hotel room because I booked it in conjunction with my flight. I wasn’t expecting much. I had stayed in the area before so I knew it was probably best to stay vigilant. I was only staying there for one night. It was January and the room was ice cold. I turned up the thermostat, showered, and left for the night. When I returned, my room still didn’t feel warm, so I played with the thermostat some more and went to bed. The room never warmed. It was an awful uncomfortable night. They don’t even have comforters on the bed, so it was me, my body heat, and a blanket. I probably would have faired better sleeping over a steam grate.

This is a horrible hotel. The neighborhood is not safe.
The bed was pretty bad, and the sheets seemed old. The towels had holes in them.
The bathroom etc is also substandard.
Outside the hotel, the area seems really sketch.

Envy Hotel couldn’t produce a clean LOOKING sheet — much less an actually clean bed linen — to save its life. When I checked in, my bed was riddled with black curly hairs. Honestly, if it had been one I would’ve brushed it away and moved on. There were 4 or 5 hairs in BOTH beds in my room. I was grossed out.
I called the front desk, asked for clean sheets, and was informed all the housekeeping staff had gone home for the night. I would have to wait a couple hours until the night laundry person came in. Fine. More than 2 hours after this call its 9:30 and I still have hairy sheets. I call again and am told if I want the sheets I have to put them on myself. Ridiculous, but okay, I guess.
The guy at the front desk brings a stack of sheets with MORE HAIR AND STAINS THAN THE ONES I ALREADY HAVE.
Out of a bargain hotel, the absolute minimum requirement for me is a bed I can sleep in without my skin crawling. Minimum requirement not met.
If you can avoid it at any cost, don’t stay here.
I know why it’s called Envy Hotel now… I’m envious of the people in every other hotel in Baltimore.

I have worked in the hospitality business my whole life and what I experienced at The Envy during my stay on Saturday, August 2^nd 2015 was embarrassing to the entire hotel industry. I made reservations at your hotel as a social event brought us to the area for the evening. My wife and I checked in, walked into our room, 711, and upon entering the bathroom I was mortified to see a cockroach on the bathroom floor, big and dead. After flushing it down the toilet I walked out to explore the rest of the room. What we found was upsetting. There were stains on the bed sheets, the chair and both (two) towels we were given looked like they had black make-​up on them.
The thermostat was not working. Most hotels have fan coil units as an HVAC system but I was surprised to see window PTAC units in this property. The PTAC unit itself would have been acceptable, however the design of the installation caused an airflow problem so we had to keep the blinds open or the cold air wouldn’t circulate.
The room was filthy and disgusting; there were dust balls on the carpet, water ring marks on the nightstand and the public areas were just poorly maintained from a cleanliness perspective — I think I know where they cockroaches came from. The elevator floors were very dirty and sticky and the ice machine area was so nasty I almost threw up. I took quite a few pictures, like the one attached of the ice machine area representative of the level of filth we endured. I even attempted to charge my phone and none of the electric outlets in the room worked.
I went down to the front desk to inform the associate of status of the room, especially the cockroach, and he said, «Oh, we haven’t had a complaint about roaches in a long time.» He then continued to offer his apologies and an insulting 10% discount, which I accepted at the time but the more I think if it the more infuriated I get over the condition of this hotel that I paid over $ 200 for. I have reached out to management and have not yet received any communication back — a month later. This place is bad — B-​A-​D.

I should have known when I checked in and the guy at the front desk was wearing a skully (winter hat) 70 degrees outside. When we took the elevator up it was making noises and was about 90 degrees same with the hallways. Our room looked ok at first glance. Then we looked around… Stains on the curtains hair in the beds. (Both of them) sink was dirty, the tub dirty. Weird metal plate over the threshold of the bathroom every time you walk over it seems like it will cave in and makes a load crunching sound. Water pressure very low, no hot water. Then to make matters worse when we came back to the hotel at 2am after going to power plant live (very fun) we got stuck in the elevator for 40 minutes before the fire department came to save us because the employees there could not. The phone in the elevator kept ringing the front desk but you couldn’t understand what the employee was saying to you. I now have a fear of small places. Never did before… Not once did any of the employees, manager contact me to say sorry you where stuck in the elevator. I wouldn’t recommend this hotel to anyone. They did offer free breakfast I was told it was in the basement after walking up and down 6 flights of stairs several times I was not interested in try that. Then when checking out I wanted to voice my troubles to someone I was told by the front desk employee she was the only one working and couldn’t make any decisions she was pretty shaken from being yelled at from the people In front of me and wrote down
My complaints on the same paper with theirs. The elevator was down still from me and my friend getting stuck In it 5 hours earlier even though I wouldn’t have taken it In the morning people where all I the hallways complaining. The stairs are dirty and steep and scary… Ill stop with this I was told I’d get a call back either sat or Sunday and still haven’t heard from management…

I booked on Hotwire (first time trying that out) and I paid a mere $ 51 per night for a great location. What could go wrong? And what does someone expect for $ 51? A clean room, right? Not much else.
I stayed in room 216 for future reference. The staff were pleasant and the breakfast area was well-​stocked with sausage patties and scrambled eggs (from a powder stock.) There were also pastries and cereals, and some fresh fruit. Not so bad for the money.
Now for the bad news. My room was in great disrepairs. The bed frame itself was broken (if I had brought my spouse I would have had it fixed or changed rooms.) With one person, it rocked only when I was getting in/​out of bed.
The bathroom was gross. They installed a type of wood flooring that’s very difficult to properly clean — it had fairly wide cracks. The inside of the shower had a lot of mould along the inside rim that would flake off and run down the drain. The shower door barely worked. Whole thing was weird; it was likely supposed to be trendy. The walls and ceilings in the bathroom were fairly extensively water damaged (photo.)
And there was *a chicken bone* on the floor when I came in (photo.) Welcome, here are some animal parts! I actually went out and bought some cleaning supplies, and gave the room a once over before turning in.
I thought the room had a weird smell, but I also smelled it outside the room. So the ventilation system had a bad smell, apparently.
Would not stay again.

Not only was this place gross and sleazy, but they charged several hundred dollars to my card for a «smoking fee» fraudulently! While they are close to downtown, I would not think of them as conveniently located unless you consider proximity to boarded up strip clubs «convenient.» The staff were blatantly rude and unhelpful while I was staying there. I’ve tried, repeatedly, to get back the money they charged me for «smoking» (I did no such thing, btw), but not surprisingly they refuse to return my calls or e-​mails. I called Best Western headquarters, who told me that this place is no longer part of their chain so they couldn’t help me. Stay away unless you are looking to pick up bed bugs!

Ugh… This place…
— Window AC, cardboard and duct tape used to «close» opening around it!
— Toilet seat falling off, took a coin and 10 seconds to maintain for them!
— Shower spraying all over.
— Elevator skips floors.
— Breakfast is half empty with space for things never put out.
— Bathroom has very odd smell.
— All vending machines empty 3 days.
— Shady area out front, harassed for change every time I walked in or out. If you live in an urban area, it’s the usual.
— Laundry in hall for days.
— Closet storing luggage left wide open in lobby.
I’ve stayed in worse, but this one is pretty close to the bottom.

lol oh this hotel. I second a lot of what the other reviewers said. But I have to comment on the check in experience. They gave me the wrong room number. When I walked into the room, it was definitely someone else’s room. I went back downstairs and they were like oh, THIS is your room (the one next door)
So okay, that would be ok. I get mixups happen. But for the fact that my friend was also staying at the same hotel. He goes to check in and they did the same thing to him! He went back downstairs and was like «you gave me someone else’s room»
I mean come on. What if we walked in on ugly people having sex. I would have been scarred for life. (Not if they were hot people, maybe they need a third) Okay, this review is taking a turn for the worst.
Anyway. They need to get that straightened out.
Upon check out, they said they needed my room key back. I literally could not find it anywhere. I had a ton of bags. I may have even left it in the room. I didn’t even find it when I unpacked when I got home. The guy at the front desk said «We need it for security reasons» at which point I kind of snarkily said «How secure could it be if you give people the wrong room numbers» but he did not find this amusing.

you get what you pay for. My room was clean. The elevators didnt work though so that sucked being on the 4^th floor. Breakfast was fine.
Its not the hilton or marriott but its centrally located and it was safe. For 90 bucks you couldnt beat it.

Place is horrible. It’s cheap and we’re only here for one night so thank God for that. The elevators are disgusting. Sticky mess. Our room is small and there wasn’t any toiletries. I went down to the front desk to ask for some and he didn’t even look for any. He said «don’t got none.»
Later I go to the soda machine and my $ 5 bill isn’t accepted so I go downstairs and ask the guy for change (he was laying down on the sofa and watching television) every time I go to the front desk he huffs and puffs like I’m bothering him to the point where I feel uncomfortable. I ask him for change «we don’t got none» is his popular answer of the night. I was like «are you kidding me? I wanna get a soda outta the machine.» «Don’t got none» he says again like he was happy to inconvenience me.
Bottom line is –this place is horrible. I’d actually rather spend time at one of those flea bag hotels on route 40 than this place again.
The location is in a good spot. My girlfriend and I waked to fells point and back and it was 4 miles in total. Nice leisurely exercise. As far as this place –spend an extra $ 40 and stay at the Sheraton hotel. I will never come back to this place again. You shouldn’t either. It’s disgusting and the hospitality (if you can call it that) is absolutely dreadful.

this place sucks!!! we booked a room here 6 weeks ago we have a con # and everything. good thing we called to check because they had not record of us booking with them. They said they had room available but wanted to charge us 2x what we had been confirmed for. when i asked to speak to a manager there was not one on staff and is 2:00 pm in the afternoon!!! dont book unless you want to worry about not having somewhere to stay on vacation!!!

If you’re used to staying in suburbs, this place may make you uncomfortable. It’s an old building redone in an edgy, modern way. It’s in the middle of downtown giving you great access lots of interesting restaurants, clubs, and attractions. Yes, being downtown means the people along the sidewalk will ask you for change and parking is probably an issue (we took a cab).The rooms are small with small windows. Ventilation in the hallways is lacking a bit, but it wasn’t an issue in our room. Breakfast is in a small room in the basement, but includes all the standards hot free help-​yourself hotel breakfast favorites. This is a good downtown option to the expensive glass towers. The shortcomings are made up for with character.

I suppose I could be spoiled with staying at great places but the quality of this hotel is shameful. Every area including the breakfast room is 80 degrees, even with the air conditioner on (it’s not even that hot outside yet today) the receptionist was VERY nice but she told me to walk down the block in the middle of the night for toothpaste and she had to use her own wallet to give me change for a $ 5 bill so I could get a bottle water (which they don’t provide u a comp one in the room and I had to visit 3 floors to find a vending machine that wasn’t sold
Out) the threshold to the bathroom was metal that popped in and out EVERYTIME I stepped on it which made a loud noise and would make me jump bc I got scared EVERYTIME bc it’s so loud. Hahaha. The parking garage is also not attached to the hotel and I had to walk a block with my suitcase in the middle of the night to get to the hotel. Kinda scary. The breakfast bar is shameful. Not one healthy thing to eat, they didn’t even have peanut butter. Tjere were empty trays saying eggs and sausage which they never filled and weren’t in the middle of making another batch bc there was only one other person in there eating. Worst comp breakfast at a hotel I’ve ever seen. The only positive is the beds are more comfortable than most other hotels. In fact I canceled my second night stay here bc it is not very accommodating.

WE WERE LOCKED IN THE ROOM AND THEY HAD TO DRILL OPEN THE DOOR TO GET US OUT!
My boyfriend and I booked this hotel online and got an amazing price, since he’s from Baltimore I thought we scored a deal. Now I have a lot of patience when it comes to service because I deal with people every day however after the first night I could no longer be patient. I arrived in Baltimore at noon and asked about early check in and they said no without even checking if a room was open, we had to wait in the cold for hours before being able to check in. I didn’t complain, I understand things happen, when we were finally able to check in we had no blanket and only one towel. We called down to get a blanket and towel and no one answered, we went downstairs and they said they would send someone up and no one came. We had to call again for them to actually send someone up, while waiting we found underwear in the dressers next to our beds … We were utterly disgusted. Finally room service came up and the deadbolt on the door got stuck, we were not able to open the door from either side. The man at the desk began to yell at us like it was our fault … After an hour and a half, a lock smith and a general manager, we finally were able to get out. The next day we went down for breakfast they told us it was from 6:30 to 10am we went down at 9 and there was no more food left and the lady said they weren’t going to put out anymore. When I stayed at the marriott they put in fresh food every half hour and continued to put food out until the last half hour. The service here is crappy, the area isn’t that great, the hotel is right in font of a local bus stop and there are people standing in front of the hotel constantly, dirty sheets in front of the vending machines, broken elevators, and bathrooms smell of mold… I will conclude with this … if you can get a room for 50 bucks that’s great, you get what you pay for but don’t pay anything more then that when you can stay at another hotel for the same price … You will be disappointed.

My wife and I stayed here in September 2013 for a long weekend. If you’re looking for an inexpensive hotel within walking distance of major Baltimore attractions and/​or public transportation, this hotel is a fine value.
We relied upon the area light rail system to get from BWI airport to the hotel. We also walked to Baltimore’s harbor area and then used water taxis to visit the Fells Point area and Fort McHenry.
Two items I would mention to anyone considering staying here: The rooms are clean, but small. This hotel is also located near the border of downtown and a not-​so-​great surrounding area.

Abysmal customer service. Upon checking in, the hotel discovered they had overbooked double rooms and the two double rooms we had booked 10 months prior were now NOT available to us. They provided us with 2 single rooms and promised a 10% discount and a lower room rate upon checking out.
The room my boyfriend and I stayed in was okay. Typical mediocre hotel room. A/​C worked and that was good enough for me. However, our friend’s room (and whole floor) lacked A/​C which is unacceptable for Baltimore in August. Luckily for him, the weekend’s weather was mild but it was still incredibly humid and uncomfortable in his room during the day.
Check out day was by far the worst experience I’ve ever had in a hotel. My boyfriend handed the woman (an employee I hadn’t seen the entire stay) our key. She responded with, «Ok, you’re checked out.» We requested a receipt as it had never been clear what we were going to be paying after the initial mess-​up. To our INCREDIBLE DISAPPOINTMENT AND ANGER, we were given a receipt totaling our stay around $ 1100 which is $ 200 more than what we were expecting to pay with 2 DOUBLE hotel rooms!!! No discount was applied and no lower room rates were given. We immediately asked what was wrong and the (now frustrated with us) employee got her manager.
Who we assume was the manager (he did not introduce himself) came down and a confusing dialogue ensued. He didn’t know what the hotel’s rates were, made my boyfriend bring up his original reservation e-​mail so he could figure out the rates himself on a calculator and provided us with little to no solution. He took around $ 140 off of our bill, still higher than our original double room reservation and offered no more help. He told us he couldn’t take any discounts off (the 10% or the AAA discount my boyfriend has for participating hotels) and sent us on our way.
Along with the other small problems that piled up (no A/​C on a floor, out of stock soda machine all weekend, elevator doors that slam into you with no motion sensor, room service who walks into your room unprompted, sewage pipe smell in bathrooms) none of us will ever be staying at a Best Western ever again, and especially not this location.
I advise anyone who likes a quick, easy check in/​out and fair rates to go somewhere else. I come to Baltimore once a year, every year, for Otakon and while that won’t be changing anytime soon, my hotel location next year will.

The location is alright. I had a difficult time finding the hotel and had to drive around it twice to eventually find some decent parking. The entrance is right next to a bus stop so it’s really crowded in front of the hotel. I tried calling the front desk as I was driving around to ask for parking, but the line was busy. When I eventually walked into the lobby, I found the front desk guy on a personal call. Figures.
The rooms are clean and look recently renovated. No complaints there.
One thing that irked me was when I went to the lobby for some toothpaste, they told me they ran out and I had to walk three blocks to the 7 – 11 at night. I guess you could argue it was my fault for not having any toothpaste on me or for checking in so late. But you have to wonder… what kind of hotel doesn’t carry any extra toothpaste on them? What else are they missing in their inventory?
My experience overall was okay. I may or may not use their services again. I haven’t made up my mind yet.

Nice room in an OK location in Baltimore. It was really difficult to find at first. If your driving down the street there are no signs that scream this is a hotel. I had to park my car and walk up and down the street until i saw a little sign that said Best Western.
Check in was easy, rooms were clean, and the bed was comfortable. One big downfall was there was no parking but fortunatley on the weekends there is parking around the courthouse for free. Great location right near the harbor and only a mile walk to federal hill and a short cab ride to fells point. All in all i would stay here again.