Look no further if you’re hoping to find a hotel that struggles to give guests a decent night’s sleep.

This stay occurred in April 2023

Booking

My volunteer experience related to the healthcare profession once again called me to travel. This time I ended up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown. The room rate booked for the stay was $219/night. While the room rate was covered for me as a volunteer, my opinions in this post remain my own.

Coincidentally, this stay happened when Wyndham had a promotion where 15,000 points could be earned for a qualifying stay. So I also nabbed points that could be used towards up to two free nights. The problem of course is finding a Wyndham hotel decent enough to take the family.

Unfortunately, those 15,000 points are only good for half a night at this property, as a standard room currently goes for 30,000 points per night. You could apply for one of their credit cards and earn up to two free nights here, but with cash rates as low as they are, I’m not eager to recommend it.

Arrival and First Impressions

Touching down in Pittsburgh airport at night ended up being relatively quiet, though I think I missed the rush as I knew someone getting in half an hour later than me who commented how rough it was. One thing I will say about the airport is the giant dinosaur skeleton on display. I can’t say I’ve ever seen that at another airport before.

After an uneventful car ride over to the hotel, I found the lobby where an unenthusiastic agent helped check me in. As was the case with almost everyone I interacted with from the hotel, they all seemed to just be going through the motions.

The Room

I was assigned room 2109. Once inside, I found an assortment of furniture that made me almost feel like I was at my grandmother’s house. The furniture had no theme and the room felt like it was in massive need of refurbishment, but let’s start off with the entryway. There is a wet bar immediately to the right upon entering. On the left is a large armoire that appeared heavily used, with plenty of scuffs on it.

On the wet bar is a coffee machine, two bottles of water, a microwave, and a mini fridge. I will say it’s sometimes difficult to get access to a microwave, so the hotel does have that going for it.

Further inside is a desk, a swivel chair, and an upholstered chair. Along the other end of the room was the bed and a long couch. The bed sank in when laying in it and I woke up feeling very sore. The bedsheets were also very thin with no duvet on top, making for an uncomfortable night.

The couch felt like it hadn’t been cleaned in quite some time. I avoided it.

There were outlets near the bed but they were not easily accessible. To reach them, I had to squeeze my arm behind furniture.

And let’s talk about the window coverings. It might not be obvious from the pictures above, but the drapes bow out about halfway down. Every time I entered the room, I wondered if someone was hiding in the curtains. And yes, I did kick them every time I entered just to be safe. I felt silly doing so, but I’d rather not be surprised when I least expected it…

The TV hung on the wall opposite the drapes. It was a large TV but otherwise the wall seemed rather bare.

The bathroom was unmemorable, with strong-smelling toiletries.

It might be difficult to see in the lighting below, but one of the towels in the room was stained. The shower itself also was in need of recaulking. Plus there was hair on the walls from past guests. Given the late hour I arrived, I didn’t bother requesting to be changed to another room.

The views of the outside were nice, with the room overlooking a nicely-lit walkway and a stadium in the distance.

Other Guests at This Hotel…

I debated whether or not I should comment about the behavior of other guests at this hotel, but ultimately it does help sum up my experience. There were several other large parties staying at this hotel at the same time we were there, including a fraternity reunion, a union get-together, and a wedding. Most interactions I had with the guests downstairs were pleasant. But all bets were off up on the guest floors. Every night, there was hooting and hollering well past midnight. A number of guests also decided to go to everyone’s doors and rattle them. At 2am. Every guest I saw was an adult, so I’m not sure what compels grown adults to act in this manner.

The elevator banks also seem to struggle when there are this many guests at the hotel. There would often be a lengthy wait to use the elevators, sometimes in excess of 15 minutes.

Odds and Ends

If you plan on using the conference room facilities here, please note that one day there was a strong smell of cigar smoke that persisted most of the day.

Location

The one thing I can say the hotel nails is its location. Immediately outside the hotel is a nice park where you can go take a nice stroll and get some much-needed fresh air. It’s well worth spending some time here (though I didn’t see a playground so kids might not care for it).

You could also conceivably walk to some of the stadiums around town from this hotel, depending on how much exercise you’re looking for.

Recommendation: Skip This

While the location is nice, I simply can’t forgive the rest of the problems with this hotel. Even if I overlook the other rowdy guests, the quality of sleep here is quite low and the bed sores I had in the morning helped prove it.

Have you been to Pittsburgh? Where do you like to stay?