Crowne Plaza Richmond Downtown

This is probably the worst «4 star» hotel I’ve ever stayed in. We had problems getting the wifi to work… finally had to call Crowne Plaza’s Help Desk because the front desk was USELESS. The bathroom was filthy and there is mildew all over the shower curtain… and the bathtub won’t drain properly. They knew we had 4 people in the room and gave us a whopping TWO towels. And when we went to the front desk for two more, the front desk people were incredibly rude. Thank goodness the housekeeping staff member who actually brought the towels was great (as was the bellhop who helped us in). I have to say, if you’re looking for a high end hotel experience, the Crowne Plaza Richmond is really not the place for you. Save your money and stay somewhere that appreciates your business.

The hotel room had a great view of the river. Was comfortable, but worn. Staff were cordial. Do not eat here. Service was not good. Beer selection was limited. Served me a salad that had rotten tomatoes and cucumbers. Checks were totally wrong. Comfortable lodging. Sketchy food. Shuttle staff ok during the day.

I came here for business and had a great experience staying at the Crowne Plaza. Since the negatives are short and sweet I’ll start with that. The parking garage is very steep and I felt like my car was going to roll down into a main road as I tried to grab a ticket (especially being short I sometimes have to get out of my car, I asked for help from the women at the ticket booth and she just sat there and looked extremely bothered). Reluctantly I got out of my car and it all was good :).
The hotel itself is beautiful, great location, welcoming and helpful staff and the restaurant is very nice. One night I went to the restaurant right as they were emptying it out and about to close. The staff was great and accommodating and were still able to prepare whatever I wanted from the menu.
Room was nice and meet my expectations for a 4 star hotel. This is my new go to hotel for the Richmond Downtown area.

I had no issues with customer service as some other reviews have alluded to. The staff was friendly and helpful during my interactions with them. Parking in the garage was convenient, and we didn’t even have to swipe our cards to exit. Perhaps because it was a national holiday when we checked out and it doubles as a city parking garage. The river view was nice. We did not check any of the clubs or restaurants in the hotel because downtown is so close. Add in the taxes that aren’t included in the rate and it was probably a little overpriced but it was also a hassle free experience which I appreciate.

My team and I travel to Richmond weekly from Sunday-​Friday for work. Our usual hotel was sold out so we ended up staying at the Crowne Plaza. It was a huge mistake. Not only did I have 3 room changes because 1) the room I was supposed to be in wasn’t ready 2) the room I was moved to had a broken heater. So the room I ended up in was gross. Sheets were stained and the carpet wasn’t vacuumed (I know this because someone dropped a fake eyelash on the carpet and it sure wasn’t me…)
The staff was ok. Susie, the hotel manager did her job in making up for the issues by giving us free ‘breakfast’ vouches. The valet staff encouraged me NOT to get valet and said «You can easily park it yourself…». Hmm.
The breakfast bar restaurant up on the 2^nd floor was a little gross. The cutlery and dishes weren’t exactly the cleanest.
To sum it up– avoid this place.

Renee and Ms. Jeanie were very welcoming and hospitable. We have an excellent stay because of them!

Had a date night planned and it was just average. I could have spent less to get the same room and service elsewhere

It was ok. Check in was easy enough. My husband is Spire Elite so we usually get a little extra special treatment. Not here and that was ok, not a big deal. We opted for the $ 15 a day parking. Lady at the front desk told us to just swipe our key card to get into the garage. We tried every possible way… no luck. Oh well, we just printed a ticket. We then went back to the front desk: «Oh yeah, it’s not working.» Perhaps you should have mentioned this… thanks?
The hotel was fine. The room was ok. We had a room with an adjoining door. We didn’t know our neighbors but we could hear every conversation through the door. I don’t think they were being loud, just the soundproofing sucks.
Perks of the hotel: we had a complimentary breakfast and the hotel was in a nice, central location.
We stayed here for free using the points so I can’t complain too much but if we had to pay I don’t think the value for the dollar would’ve been very good. m

I recently stay at this hotel for a conference. It is not a bad spot it is just average. The hotel is downtown Richmond, so make sure you have money for tolls when you get off the exit. Since it was late check in was quick, however, you have to ask about parking cause valet was no where in sight. They were lounging somewhere. The garage is 4 levels but small and dark with little to no security. The hotel is old but the rooms are remodeled. So that was nice… The bar area only had one worker which was an inconvenience when you tired trying to order before they close and it’s packed. The hotel wifi was horrible and only worked downstairs in the meeting rooms. But the rooms were clean with a refrigerator and microwave so can’t complain. The hotel restaurant food is good but overpriced.

Seriously, do not eat the food here. Staying for business, wishing I had read reviews. The hotel itself is fine. Check in was fine, parking fine. Room is pretty standard, phone was slightly broken, super blue CFLs, mostly just seemed old. Neighborhood isn’t great. Ordered a caesar salad with «grilled» shrimp from room service. Terrible. Beyond terrible. The shrimp certainly wasn’t grilled, and was totally inedible. Disgusting.

WORST experience at a hotel EVER.
Can’t find their online survey so i’m posting it here and will copy it over if I ever find who to contact at hotel.
I rarely write negative reviews because I believe if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all… with that being established, I also cant turn a blind eye to horrific customer service as I also happen to be in the business of customer service. Keep in mind that my boyfriend, his sister «D», and I drove to Virginia for a family member’s wedding.
Here are all of the strikes against the hotel:
–Strike One: When my sister in law called them about two months out to book the room in the wedding block, they initially told her that it wasn’t possible because all the rooms were gone in the entire hotel… her dad calls the week of the wedding and asked because he thought that was weird and its not a problem of course we can be added to the wedding block of rooms.
–Strike Two: Upon arrival, the woman at the desk seemed to be struggling to check us in, and ran my sister in law’s card twice, and finally seemed to figure it out. «T» and «D» went to the store while I went up to shower… only to have the key open the door to a room with someones luggage already in there and lights and a TV on, so I yelled «SORRY!!!» and ran back downstairs.
–Strike Three: I arrive back at the front desk not 5 minutes after leaving it in the first place and am greeted by the same woman who has no idea who I am. Instead of saying «sorry for the inconvenience» or anything of the sort, she doesn’t believe me that I was standing right next to «D» as we checked in. She then proceeds to completely give up on helping me and starts answering phones and talking to other customers… without any word to me that she’s waiting on the man next to her to help.
–Strike Four: Both the woman and the man don’t believe me that I has just been down there. I say to both them «Okay, well maybe check that folder next to you as you will find TWO papers signed from „D“ when you guys ran her card twice about 15 minutes ago now». So tweedle dee and tweedle dum check and sure enough I am not a liar, there are the papers! STILL, no «Sorry» or anything. They then ask ME «well how did this happen?»…because you know I totally work there???
–Strike Five: Finally the woman walks away abruptly and the man is silent for about 5 straight minutes and then decides to talk to other customers while I stand there wondering if i’ve somehow gone invisible? Finally like 20 minutes later he realizes she somehow checked us in to their DAD’s room because apparently its weird to have a wedding party at your hotel where anyone has the same last name. He takes MY card for incidentals, and hands new room keys over to me (still not a single «sorry about that»).
–Strike Six: Shower leaked water all over floor, hardly drained, and there was gum on the shower rings.
–Strike Seven: When their Dad got back to the hotel that night, neither his or his wife’s keys worked, and the desk was yet again confused as to why, but eventually figured it out and were not very sorry about it.
–Strike Eight: Day of the wedding: we were asked by other wedding goers if we received our little wedding goody-​bag at check in as all guests in the room block should have received… no we sure didn’t.
–Strike Nine: Day of the wedding: we were told that after the ceremony we could come back to the hotel and be shuttled to the reception which was 3miles away. We got back from ceremony to be told that this was not something they could possibly do… then of course their Dad calls them and they say «yeah sure, no problem!». But of course no one knew where the keys were to the shuttle so we had to wait for another one to come back and take that one instead.
–Strike Ten: Checkout was a nightmare (and sort of still is?). «D» and I realized that they had taken a ridiculous amount of money out of BOTH of our accounts (hers was more since they ran it twice). The amount they took out of my account was $ 80 more than what the room cost us for the weekend. They assure us both that the transactions would be reversed as soon as we checked out. «D“‘s was, however mine is still there, ‘pending’. I’ve stayed at many hotels and I can’t say i’ve EVER been charged even the room amount (let alone more!) prior to check out, and whatever was ran was instantly reversed as I checked out. Hotel says «no we didn’t» and bank says «well, we’ll find out tomorrow».
So here we are two days post check out and this hellish place is still haunting me. I am praying its truly reversed tomorrow as it says its pending until tomorrow. Please wish me luck.
ON A GOOD NOTE:
At checkout there was a woman, I believe here name was Crystal, and she was awesome. She apologized for our checkout being crazy and gave us a free breakfast.

Absolutely the rudest staff ever! Secure your room reservation with a credit card & not a debit card, or they will freeze your bank account for the inflated «room damage deposit» — I had to feed my family pb&j for all of the days I was there because their damage deposit froze my account so money I had budgeted for food couldn’t be touched. Then, they refused to let me have my deposit back for 10 days… AFTER THEY SAW THE ROOM WAS CLEAN &NOT TRASHED!!! These people are DISHONEST & I would NEVER RECOMMEND ANYONE STAY HERE!!! It should be called Clown Plaza, not Crown Plaza…

Absolutely terrible hotel. If you enjoy waiting in line for over an hour to check in, dealing with rude staff, and experiencing a level of incompetency on par with a child trying to build a space shuttle then this is the place for you.
Besides the long wait to check in, I get upstairs to my room around 330pm to find it’s not ready. Down I go, wait another half hour and get a new room. Guess what? Keys don’t work. Back down I go. Ten more minutes to get new keys. Was I offered anything for my hassle? Not a chance.
Lastly. Just past midnight I’m awoken by someone who was given a key to my room. Called the all star front desk to find out they thought this room was empty.
Do yourself a favor and do not stay here. If I could give negative stars I would. A complete waste of time and money.

Your trip to the Crowne Plaza probably starts with paying a toll in an old fashion toll booth complete with coin catcher (though your EZ Pass probably works) and then you pull onto a street that looks rather industrial. The Plaza has a little turn around area you can park while you check in — but mind the shuttle buses as you find a spot.
The lobby of Crowne Plaza is beautiful. High ceilings, wonderful architecture — really feels like a luxury hotel as you walk in. The staff manages to continue the feeling with gracious greetings, and letting you know they will be with you if they can’t help you right away. The check in process wasn’t fast — but it wasn’t bad either.
Next we had to to figure out parking. You can pay a bit extra and get the parking garage (we did this) or they have an open air lot that I thought looked sketchy, but the next morning really did look fine. The garage is a bit aged, and the elevators are slow, — but it worked.
We then took the elevator down, which put us back in the lobby, then found the other elevator — also slow — to get back up to the room. The architect really didn’t think that through.
The room itself was really nice — plenty of mirrors, spacious — had a nice sized tv, heating lamp in the bathroom, a mini fridge and a microwave. All in all, quite nice.
Downstairs, there was a pool and a hot tub. The pool guy really nicely adjusted the temperature of the hot tub for us, and it was nice enough — though not super memorable or beautiful.
The location was kind of convenient. You’re downtown-​ish, but it is a bit of a walk to get to the restaurants in the area. Its also not hard to get your car, or to take a cab, but there are more conveniently located hotels — though they may cost more.
As a side note — we were there for the marathon, so we got a wonderful little gift bag of water, granola bar and a few other things — these little things really count.

The price was affordable, the check in staff was very helpful, and the room was clean and nice.
Unfortunately, I could hear everything going on in the room adjoining to us and hallway. We stayed on New Years Eve and by the very late hour that we were trying to go to bed, we heard a dog barking next door. SERIOUSLY!!! Prior to that all evening when we were in and out of the room, we could hear literally everything going on next door, TV show they were watching etc. In the morning I heard all the children running up and down the hallway.
The staff apologized and switched us to another room in the middle of the night and gave us free breakfast and comp’d our parking but SERIOUSLY, for a nice hotel, they need to work on the thin wall situation. I am NOT a complainer but it was miserable!
I read another review that said this was in a «dumpy part of town». I’ve lived in Richmond my whole life and we picked this hotel because it’s so close to Brownes Island which has a big New Years event that we could walk to. This hotel is in the city. It’s close to the fan and a lot of fun downtown bars. I don’t really consider the city «a dumpy part of town».

A great deal!
I found a really good deal plan included free breakfast buffet and free parking.
We had to wait for a while and the staff gave us free coupons for food and drinks. We went to the bar next to the front desk. The bartender guys are super friendly and fun. And we got free upgrade.
They have a small gym but their pool is under construction. Breakfast is good enough. Fresh omelet, fruits, yogurt, bread, oat mill, sausage, bacon, fresh fruit juice, fresh coffee and tea,… I wish they had a huge salad bar tho. The room we stayed has a very nice river view. Clean, wide, but nothing in the fridge. Free internet.
I wanna stay there again after their swimming pool is fixed.

Like many other reviewers of this property, my main issue was customer service. It’s pretty bad. When I checked in, they were training someone and so that experience was great, albeit slow as molasses. It went downhill from there.
I’ll spare you the play by play of each negative experience, but I do want to point out the jerk behind the bar in the «Great Room» restaurant. Dark hair, clean shaven, and totally NOT in to helping people. Wish I’d read his name tag so I could call him out, it was that blatant. I won’t go in to it, but this guy was completely rude and disinterested in doing his job.
My room was fine — clean, modern, everything fully functional, etc. It wasn’t the nicest room I’ve ever been in, but it certainly wasn’t the worst.
I also had breakfast in the lounge (or whatever you call it on the 2^nd floor — NOT the «Great Room» restaurant) and it was good, a little above average. The grits were lacking, which was a big disappointment for me because I love grits and they don’t serve them at most places where I now live. Everything was hot and fresh, though.
I may give this place another chance but then again, there are a lot of hotels in RVA.

Agreed with Brad S. Review.
This is NOT a 4 or 5 star hotel. It is in a dumpy part of Richmond and it is a dumpy hotel. Room service and housekeeping take forever. I’m sure it was beautiful in 1970 something when it opened but it hasn’t been renovated or updated since. Valet takes forever and there’s not always someone at the front desk. Hit and miss on friendliness of staff.

I had an overnight stay here for a fundraising event and found this hotel to be LOADS better than the Wingate by Wyndham in VA Beach — it was also cheaper in Richmond (I guess that’s to be expected…). Aside from a rusted drain in the shower, the room was very clean and felt clean. The staff was nice whenever we had a question or needed directions somewhere. The wifi was free, but was spotty, at best. If you need to get work done within a decent time frame, it’s best to plug in your computer for DSL instead. There is no free continental breakfast, so you’ll have to fend for yourself when it comes to meals unless you want to pay the hotel prices for their in-​house restaurant.
I wouldn’t say the walls are thin, as I didn’t hear anyone talking, but there is no way to close the front door quietly. You can hear doors being closed on your floor at any time. The outside had some minor construction going on, but it was quiet overall and not too cumbersome. The bed is a little on the stiff side, but it was a decent stay.

It was an excellent experience! Pulling up to the hotel to check in, I was instantly welcomed by the friendly front desk staff. As the checked me in, I observed fresh baked cookies and beverages in the lobby for the guests. The lobby is clean and neat.
The three elevators are fast and smooth and are positioned so you don’t wait long no matter which floor you’re on. I stayed on the top (16^th) floor.
Getting off the elevator, you’re greeted with a beautiful, warmly decorated hallway leading to the rooms and a separate seating/​breakfast area to your left.
My room was nicely decorated, very clean and warm. Each room has high speed internet, refrigerator and a microwave. Additionally, I had a hair dryer in the bathroom, an iron and ironing board and large closet and dresser for my clothes.
The bed was very comfortable with 5 large pillows and a simple, but very tasteful, decorative sham.
Housekeeping was no different. Each day my room looked and smelled fresh and clean. I left a nice tip for their efforts and my appreciation.
I enjoyed a delicious breakfast on the 2^nd floor restaurant each morning. They have juices, coffee, milk, tea… etc. A great assortment of fruits, cereals, bagels, breads and muffins. Eggs, potatoes, bacon, sausage and grits. Did I mention a full omelette bar with a chef? Delicious!
Lastly, the parking garage. They have a large garage and also offer valet parking. The garage is the only low point of the place. The problem is it’s very tight for two-​way traffic passing in turns. At times you have to back up to allow one another to pass through the turn. Secondly, the hotel room card reader wasn’t working so you have to get a ticket each time and take a separate trip to the front desk to have them validate your ticket to leave the next day. This was a very minor inconvenience, so it didn’t affect my final grade on my evaluation.
I hope to stay here again if I have the opportunity to visit the Richmond area again.