Homewood Suites

Overall 3.5
Decent. Not Amazing but Not Terrible.
My boyfriend and I stayed here for 3 nights from Sept 25^th until the 28^th and when we arrived in our suite there was leftover food in the fridge ! I’m assuming from the previous guests. That made me uneasy because that tells me that the fridge was not cleaned. I called the front desk and they just sent someone up with a trash bag, I assumed they were going to remove it themselves and wipe down the fridge. That was not the case. We then inspected the rest of the room and everything else was acceptable.
The staff was friendly for the most part but there was an older woman at the front desk that seemed a bit confused and like she did not want to be bothered. I had a few questions about my bill and if there was additional hot chocolate at the 24 beverage station and she was a bit snippy.
The amenities were the main reason we selected this hotel. We appreciated the free hot breakfast, free parking, fitness center and pool/​hot tub area. I did wish the fitness center was 24 hours however and that the cleaning attendant came later in the morning. She arrived around 8:30am every morning. That was too early for us, 10am or later would have been acceptable. Overall we had a decent experience.

First things first, draw a map for yourself of how to get to this hotel. The road it ‘seems like’ you should drive down no longer exists and actually has a big concrete road block up alerting drivers that it’s not a road anymore. Things aren’t as simple as ‘just driving around’ either. Seriously. Your GPS will be of no real use as one road was removed and a road (actually a whole business park) was installed in a different location with the same road name. You can’t even see the hotels from the place where the former road ends. Other Unilocalers noted that the directions to this place are frustrating and I didn’t take it too seriously as I’ve encountered several hotels not quite where the address says they should be but I always manage. This was a WHOLE other story though.
Okay, enough whining about logistics.
Overall, for a middle of the road hotel brand, I was very happy with my stay. The normal things that annoy me didn’t come up (such as finding stray hairs everywhere from the bed to the bathroom mirror and no bananas for breakfast… never happened here).
Here is a list of the things I liked most:
breakfast each day had hard boiled eggs and bananas
gym room was a little larger than expected and had four machines plus free weights
no stray hairs in bed, on tables, on mirrors or in shower
craft beer available during ‘dinner’
staff was courteous without being so nice that it seemed fake
cleaning people seemed happy– or at least content
multiple entry doors to the building allowing more options for where to park and be able to load up in the snow without having to dredge everything through the snow
Things I would like changed:
at breakfast both days, there was something that seemed like it should have been oatmeal. It was an orange-​ish brown color and very thick. I would like just regular oatmeal. Also, the breakfast attendant seemed… I think maybe breakfast needs someone more knowledgeable about food.

A very pleasant surprise.
Finding hotels for biz in Boston is always $$$. I got $ 132 a nite. Clean and VERY QUIET. Not sure how they did the quiet part but it was.
Breakfast was the usual Hilton stuff but they serve ‘dinner’ during the week. Sort I like pub food but they have salad too. It was fine for what it was. The kicker? Seasonal beer on tap and the red wine was pretty good. All was part of the rate.
Room was very clean.
I’ll be back when in town.
Did I mention how quiet it was?

Oh where to begin… long laundry list of negatives.
Drove 7 hours to reach the hotel at 9pm. Minutes after check-​in, the fire alarm went off and every was evacuated. The hotel manager attributed the false alarm to a faulty smoke detector. Needless to say, this really annoyed me because I was dead tired and wanted to go to sleep. I was given a choice of a measly 500 additional points added to my hhonors portfolio or a snack item. This was a paltry attempt at compensation/​reimbursement for the inconvenience. On top of the alarm going off, the bathroom door was missing a lock (rm.338) and after inquiring with the front desk, I was told it would be fixed the following day as it was already late (it wasn’t fixed the next day nor do I believe they ever attempted to correct the issue). Great… finally deciding to not let it get to me, I decided to shower and unwind. Low and behold, I find several towels that had hair in it and/​or some other debris. Had to ask for new towels. In addition, the air conditioner was very loud and rattled deafeningly blowing air directly onto you if you’re sleeping on the bed nearest the window (not good for an allergy sufferer). The continental breakfast was gross and though we didn’t attend the manager’s reception, if the quality was anything like the breakfast, I’m sure we didn’t miss much.
The hotel’s location was convenient to the freeway however, and the suite was spacious, but it falls short in terms of expectations. Housekeeping did not even replenish our toiletries for our second night stay. Inexcusable. Because of all the shortfalls and the $ 209/​nt price tag, I would not recommend this hotel.

I checked into this hotel on Friday night with a party of 5. I chose this hotel because I had prior experience with the brand and I was not disappointed. Our room was clean and well maintained. I checked through the kitchen drawers to verify that the utensils were there. The bathroom was nice too but the actual room containing the toilet and shower was a bit cramped. The beds and the sofa were nice as were the views from the windows.
The main dining area was new and modern. The breakfast was the standard hotel breakfast with the usual waffle maker. There were no muffins that morning but we had mini donuts. Perhaps there would be a wider selection on some other day.

The location can be difficult to find but my GPS was able to basically get there. The breakfast was alright, better than most hotels with basic breakfast options. Some days I loved what they had to offer and other days their selection was weak. The room itself had a great setup and there was not too much wear and tear except the cabinet under the bathroom sink was opening and falling apart (it was just a cabinet for décor not meant to be opened). I didn’t notice the water feeling slimy after showering but I did see it when filling a glass with water. Now I probably would have given the hotel 4 stars because they delivered almost everything I would expect from a Homewood Suites. However, the second day of my stay I noticed that two of my bags were missing. They didn’t have any valuables which is why I was confused. The bags held my snacks, protein powder, protein shaker, water filter and extra filters. Total value was probably around $ 70. Now I don’t know who took them but I’m still pretty upset because that was the first time that has ever happened to me. If the housekeeper did not take the items, there needs to be more measures to protect guests possessions. Homewood Suites said they would look out for the bags if they were returned, but did not seem concerned. There’s also no safe if you have expensive valuables. I will not be staying at this location again.

In general, I like the Homewood Suites brand as the quality of the hotels are consistently good. My family enjoyed our stay in this particular hotel. The quality was o.k. but there were a few issues that led me to believe that this particular hotel fell just short of what I expect from this brand.
The room we stayed in was clean and well-​decorated. The fixtures in the bathroom were a bit worn, but you see that in a lot of hotels. The air-​conditioning system was quite loud. so loud, in fact, that we left it off at night.
The breakfast in the morning was not really well prepared. One morning, the sausages looked almost raw! They did have a nice selection of other items (toast, waffles, cereals, etc) that ended up being plenty for us.
On a positive note, the pool area was really nice. The exercise room was better than most I’ve experienced in hotels. All of the machines were in fine working order, and each had a personal entertainment system.

Clean, modern and up-​to-​date hotel built around 2000
All-​suite with small kitchen including fridge, microwave, ice cube maker, and 2 TVs
Tip: as others have noted, impossible to find using GPS. Even email from hotel warning about issue was little help. Suggest calling hotel from ur car. And hidden from road. Website needs an accurate map that reflects new road construction.
Arrived too late to sample Happy Hour
Small gripe: found need to constantly re-​log into free Wi-​Fi
Would return.
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CHECKED OUT
I love the Homewood Suites. It is one of my favorite hotels for many reasons. In fact, when I’m working in the area this is the hotel I typically stay at.
I’ve decided to update my review because I was generous on my last review. I was still in the infatuation stage of my relationship with Homewood. Now don’t get me wrong I haven’t lost that loving feeling because I’m still in love with the brand but I may be on the rocks with this location.
Everything started out great. I was able to grab a room because if my status with Hilton. So after waking up at 3:15am in Chicago and jumping on the first flight to Boston, I was able to freshen up and unpack my bag, before hitting the office.
I started noticing things in my room. Like the handle to my bedroom door was literally falling off. The screws were totally stripped. My kitchen sink was dripping water every time I turned it on. I could hear Justin T. singing «Cry me a Waterfall»! I was going to call down but those were a couple of major fixes. First I don’t want plumbers and locksmiths working in my room, while I’m at work. What if they put my underwear on their heads and start making funny uTube videos. Hey it could happen! Or they decide to take all the cash I hid under the mattress. Don’t judge me there’s no wall safe here.
I’ve also noticed the heating wasn’t working great. I was really cold the first night and it was set at 70. Then I set it to 85 and it was still not pumping out major heat. I noticed in my last review I had issues with the AC. I can’t catch a break here when it comes to climate control.
My final straw was when I returned to my room at midnight and it was not made. Yes the maid seemed to ignore my room. It’s not a good feeling. I went down to see the night manager and he didn’t seem very concerned. He then asked me if I left the «Do Not Disturb Sign» on the door! Wow! It’s midnight and you are gonna pull the old… it’s my fault! Dude it’s not my first night in a hotel. I asked him for some fresh towels, which he grabbed for me in back. I just wasn’t happy I had to go down to inform the staff about what they usually do.
The food quality was also not great. I know everyone is trying to cut corners. I was happy the first day for breakfast with hard boiled eggs. Then on day two the hard boiled eggs disappeared. I asked and was told that they don’t have them. They were serving the most gross looking egg soufflé. Two minutes later, the hotel worker that told me he had no hard boiled eggs offered to make scrambled eggs for some other hotel guest who was grossed out by the egg dish they were offering. Hmmm! Couldn’t he had boiled me two eggs? In fact, he went on to offer scrambled eggs to other guests, who grossly looked at this dried out egg soufflé. That’s great but where’s my hard boiled eggs. It was the only healthy option.
Last but not least the water in the shower here sucks. You feel greasy when you get out of the shower. No matter what I do, I can not get the feeling of slime off my body. I have no idea who’s fault this is but it’s just not a fun feeling in the morning.
I love the concept of Homewood Suites. In fact, this is the only location I usually have issues at. I just had to say something. I just hope somebody is listening.
PS The room with the issues was #114. Avoid it at all cost.

I stayed at this Homewood Suites while in the area for a meeting nearby.
The hotel is pretty standard to other Homewood Suites. Rooms are a decent size and all suites.
The biggest problem I had was finding the hotel. The address reads as Middlesex Turnpike in Billerica but the GPS doesn’t consider it in Billerica and there are a dozen or so Middlesex Road, Steet, Lane, etc in Billerica. The hotel also sits well back from the road, to the point it’s not even visible. Look for the Hampton Inn and follow it’s driveway around to the back to find the Homewood.
If I was back in the area I wouldn’t hesitate to stay there again … especially since I know how to find it now.

First of all I want to state that this 1 star review is specifically about 1 unfortunate aspect of our stay at Homewood Suites and that overall this is a very nice establishment with large rooms, great facilities and good service.
However I feel I need to share with others what we experienced so if you are choosing this hotel for families you will be aware of this issue.
My husband and 2 small daughters traveled to the area to participate in wake/​funeral services for my father in law in Billerica. The room was large and the staff were very sympathetic to our situation.
Unfortunately the hallways and room smelled of cigarette smoke!
Although, we had booked a non smoking room, there are other rooms in the facility that offer smoking and it was clear that previous occupants of our room were heavy smokers. Since we arrived so late to our room, we could not switch (our daughters were already falling asleep).
Unfortunately, my husband and I had a horrific night sleep as waves of smoke smell kept entering our room from the air conditioning vents. My father in law died of lung cancer from smokings, so you can imaging how difficult it was for us to be surrounded by this unpleasant reminder.
We notified the front desk of our situation. Although they were sympathetic, they did not follow through on their offer to compensate us with hilton honor points for the unpleasant stay.
I then heard the facilities manager order his staff to put the «Ozone machine in the room again» which was an indication to me that smoking at this hotel is a big problem.
If you are sensitive to smoke smell like I am, and/​or have small children I would not stay at a Homewood Suites!

Pros:
1. THE MATTRESS!!!. best mattress everr!
2. fresh baked cookies at the front desk (made every 30 – 60 minutes)
3. very clean and comfortable room
4. full size refrigerator/​stove top/​microwave
5. very helpful staff, mainly John.
6. free wifi. not sure why quite a few people were saying its wired, but its definitely wireless.
7. UNBEATABLE price for a suite. 112/​night for a king size bedroom. *free breakfast
Cons:
1. the location. GPS doesnt pick up this address as «billerica». type in «burlington» its also located behind the hampton inn so when u see that and pedros restaurant, turn in there.
2. water seems to have moisturizer in it. after shower/​washing hands/​dishes/​anything there seems to be a slimy residue.
3. no dish washing liquid. bring your own. they give you a thingie for the dishwasher but nothing to wash the dishes in the sink.
4. pool is small/​no lifeguard (ever)
5. town is boring. but close to boston so its a cheap option if you’re going to be driving its like 10 min away.
FYI:
middlesex turnpike has decent restaurants, shopping area (nordstrom, sears, bed bath beyond, etc), supermarket further down past the hotel if u drive down middlesex.

Rooms and service are top shelf all the way.
My only complaint is that it was impossible to find with my GPS. Reason, the hotel actually is in Bedford, Massachusetts. So use that to find the address. I can’t understand why they would call it «Billerica» when it’s not.

They really need to raise the prices or something. The past two trips I have taken to Billerica, I have noticed that the Homewood Suites has changed. Where it used to be a nice, pleasant and quiet stay, it is overrun by people now. Going to the breakfast buffet looks like feeding time at Seaworld with throngs of people, kids running around and people cutting in lines — all for mediocre (at best) food. This trip saw a waffle maker on Friday — and you would have thought people had never seen one before. The line was through the lobby and half didn’t know how to use the gadget. Saturday had pancakes and that didn’t go any better. I have staggered by visit between 7 – 9 and usually I end up eating in the lobby on a lobby chair because the dining area is full.
Both of my recent visits also saw me going downstairs in the evening for some hot chocolate. Each time they were out and hadn’t refilled it yet, so I had to ask for some from the back. After getting that accomplished, the first trip I discovered there wasn’t any water left in the hot water bucket, and this weekend there was, but it was room temperature. Both trips the internet wasn’t working properly and required a little maintenance action.
The pro is that the staff is helpful when called upon, but the bad (besides the screaming, ill-​behaved kids and crowds of people) is that there should be some attention to detail and observe the patterns of the dining area. When I visited yesterday they were all out of forks and had to switch to plastic ones (which do not cut pancakes well). Being proactive instead of waiting for someone to say there are no forks, there isn’t any hot chocolate, «where can I sit?» would be helpful. There is a meeting room off of the dining room — and I saw tables and chairs in there. If it is swamped and there are no places to sit, open it up. It’s not that hard.
I used to enjoy staying here, but the two most recent trips seem to indicate that it is declining.

Nice rooms, friendly staff, great location
Just a mile from the Burlington Mall and convenient to Route 3, I-​95, and I-​93, the Homewood Suites in Billerica (though your GPS will actually think it’s in Bedford) is one of the best hotel deals in the Boston area.
As with other Homewood Suites I’ve stayed in, there isn’t much character. But, if you are looking for consistent quality, clean and well-​maintained rooms, friendly staff, and a free breakfast, the Homewood Suites delivers at a reasonable price. This Homewood also features both an indoor pool and a whirlpool, too, which is nice for unwinding after a day trudging around Boston.

What is my problem!!! I booked a hotel out in the middle of the sticks!!! Seriously, this place really out there and tough to find. Even my GPS could not find it!
One star for Hilton being just plain dumb about location!