We did not spend the night in this hotel, however we spent several hours in it, had several conversations with front desk staff, and toured a room. That may not qualify me as eligible to leave a review, but I do have some very important information about the hotel.

Allow me to explain...

My husband had to be in town on business and we packed up the whole family for a vacation and to ride along. We were running very close on our time for him to pick up his clients from the airport so he dropped the kids and I off at the airport with instructions to "find a place to stay" after his original plan failed. He had checked out a bed & breakfast on a nearby lake but when we got there it was closed...with a gate & everything...that's another review though.

We walked into the airport to the "customer service" desk, told them what we were looking for (a nice hotel uner $150 within walking distance to shopping). I figured since they were locals they would draw on their own knowledge & experience & recommend something nice. They did. However, when I called for pricing it was out of the ballpark so we relied on a board in the "arrivals" & baggage claim area of the airport. It allowed me to call several different hotels (locally) by dialing only 2 numbers. When I called this hotel I was transferred to a different person, probably in a "reservations" area for the corporation. He asked for what location did I want to make a reservation and I couldn't tell him because there was no address listed. He said he would be VERY interested in knowing who transferred me to him.

We knew we could get to one of the hotels via shuttle and get out of the noise and maybe find an even better one. We called several and found this hotel - Country Inns & Suites by Carlson - to have internet access, an outdoor pool, and nearby shopping. Those were all plusses, the price was right ($109 for 2 non-smoking queens 1 night, 2 adults, 2 children) so we went out & waited for the shuttle. It never came.

However, it was our fault. A security man told me I needed to CALL and ASK them to send a shuttle. (My only shuttle experience has been in Mexico with groups and it seems every hotel was represented there!)

We called and shortly thereafter the shuttle arrived. It was only 7 minutes from the airport and in a very business oriented area. I saw a shopping center ahead & notice Food Lion (grocery) & Family Dollar (cheap store) in the strip and laughed to myself that if this is their idea of shopping, they've got another thing coming! That's when the driver turned on his signal to pull into our hotel across the street. I said aloud "You have GOT to be kidding me!"

Before checking in, I asked the desk clert if I could see a room. It was very nice, very clean, but also very small. With all we had been through already that day, it definitely wasn't anything I could handle. Esther, the desk clerk, was very polite. I told her it just wasn't what we were looking for. She said none of the other hotels in their chain were near shopping either. I asked what might be near shopping and she "didn't know". She also "didn't know" where I might be able to FIND shopping. About an hour or 2 after this exchange, I located a paper in the lobby that had MALLS across the top of it and directions, including estimated time and distance to THREE different malls!

We sat in the breakfast/lounge area and attempted to locate a different hotel near shopping. The internet connection was not working for us, nor was it for any of the guests who were coming to the desk to complain. One of the guests was invited back to the office to attempt to fix the problem. Thankfully my Blackberry had internet access & I was able to keep searching.

Esther later gave me a number for a cab service so we could find a different hotel. She just wasn't helpful in assisting us with other arrangements...but then again...why would she send us elsewhere?

The breakfast area was very large and overlooked a nice size pool that looked very clean. The lobby area was tastefully decorated and clean as well.

The positives: complimentary shuttle from airport, complimentary cookies in the lobby, neat, clean hotel over all, nice big breakfast area, really nice looking pool, room looked very tastefully decorated, internet access, one desk & computer in lobby for guests.

The negatives: NO NEARBY SHOPPING and don't expect a lot from the front desk.