Candlewood Suites Carlsbad South

The hotel is clean but the decor and furnishings could use an update. The kitchenette was adequately stocked but just bare essentials. My biggest complaint is that the hotel does not offer any breakfast options. The front desk personnel were friendly and told us there was fruit available in a room off of the lobby, but we would have preferred more breakfast options.

We selected this hotel because it offers full kitchens and has an onsite laundry. They are an extended stay hotel, so their expectation is that guests stay multiple nights, which we did on our initial stay. Housekeeping is on a weekly basis. We returned towards the conclusion of our vacation for one night. The facilities at the hotel all proved to be most excellent. We were pleased that the guest laundry was complimentary. The staff was also very helpful and provided us with assistance on wifi and they also pointed us in the right direction for a restaurant for dining in town (Yellowbrix is yummy!). The reason I did not give more stars was because this is a non-smoking hotel but the smell of pot smoke seeped into our room from an adjacent room and was persistent in the late afternoon and early evenings. When I complained, they offered me a variety of air fresheners for our room. I would have preferred if they enforced their rules. Certainly, all the cigarette smokers were outside, even in unseasonably cold weather, so the "no smoking of cigarettes" is enforced, but not the pot smoking. Yuck. We did return to this same hotel for one night after we had visited Big Bend and then we stayed in a room on the first floor and didn't have any problems with pot smoke smell seeping into that room, so that was really very good and would warrant more stars, but the experience the first stay does cast a (stinky) cloud on this review. Also, there was no attempt at any recycling here.

Had a wonderful two-night stay while visiting Carlsbad Caverns. The hotel seems to be brand new -- it's modern and clean. By some stroke of good fortune (possibly because we have the IHG credit card and are Platinum members), we received a comp upgrade from a Queen Studio to a King One-bedroom. The unit was bigger and better than most one bedroom apartments. The hotel was very quiet and we were not disturbed by either interior or exterior noise. There's a handy little store off the lobby where you can purchase small food items, and pick-up the few complimentary breakfast items (such as coffee, yogurt, fruit). They also have an amazing lending library of various items. The hotel is located on the south side of town; for meals it's necessary to drive one plus miles into town. Overall it was a very refreshing stay.

We have stayed at this particular Candlewood property in Carlsbad several times. We are always cheerfully greeted here and offered upgrades whenever available, even when we are using reward points. We recently had a bad experience with a Staybridge property we have stayed at numerous times. It's refreshing to arrive at Candlewood and truly feel as though our business is valued.  The housekeeping staff obviously take great pride in their work. The rooms are immaculate. Beds are super comfy and the location is quite and offers a restful night of sleep. Great job, Candlewood! We'll look forward to staying again.