Supercharger - Charleston, WV

[1101011]

Just an update and FYI. Using the supercharger here at 4:30am EST and the hotel staff for the Courtyard by Marriott will not allow Tesla owners to use the restrooms on the premises. I called Tesla and they were not aware either way if that particular detail was defined on their end. However, it seems a bit disengenuous to allow a supercharger, but then put a petty restriction on something like the restroom. I'm planning on calling the hotel management tomorrow because something like that is bound to tip me over to staying at the hotel 100 yards away after I finish supercharging in the future. Can anyone local shed some light on this?

We had a similar experience in Warsaw, NC at the Quality Inn when the receptionist claimed they had lost the key to the locked restrooms.

I encountered the same attitude in Warsaw, when I went in to thank them for "hosting".

Such a strong contrast to the manager of the Holiday Inn in Plymouth, NC. She came out to talk, and invited the carload in to sit in the air conditioned lobby, and provided coffee and local lore/chat.

 

[RedFiveZero]

We had a similar experience in Warsaw, NC at the Quality Inn when the receptionist claimed they had lost the key to the locked restrooms.

Wonder where she goes to the bathroom?

 

[John Stuckey]

Thanks for the info. I visited this forum to research a stop on a future trip. Looks like plenty of other places to spend $ where I will feel welcome.

 

[supratachophobia]

I encountered the same attitude in Warsaw, when I went in to thank them for "hosting".

Such a strong contrast to the manager of the Holiday Inn in Plymouth, NC. She came out to talk, and invited the carload in to sit in the air conditioned lobby, and provided coffee and local lore/chat.

Same for the supercharger in Columbia. A hotel staff person came out and asked if we wanted to bring our chicfilet picknic inside where the AC was nice. Do you want customers for life when choosing hotels? Because that's how your get customers for life.

 

[Dublin 'Eer]

We stayed in the Charleston Courtyard (nice hotel by the way--would definitely recommend it) Friday night and let the manager on duty know that we stayed due to the Supercharger. I also let her know that people had posted about not being allowed into the restroom while charging. She said that is not their policy and that Tesla owners are welcome inside while using the Supercharger. Hopefully there were just one or two employees who weee unaware of the policy due to the newness of the Supercharger. She also mentioned they've seen many more cars charging there than they expected.

 

[jrreno]

Yesterday we headed out from Pittsburgh to go home to Sarasota with a stop in Blythewood at the Holiday Inn. When the NAV wanted to route me east to 95 I ignored it and drove to Cambridge. When I selected Blythewood it again gave me a very roundabout route. This time I noticed it was because Charleston was listed as offline. I called Tesla and they informed me that only two of the stalls were working and they had a technician scheduled for repair. They said 2a and 2b were ok. We stopped and charged at 2b and had a nice frap at Starbucks, no problems.
I'll also mention that when we pulled into the Holiday Inn in Blythewood I was surprised to find two level 2 chargers ( not Tesla) . Charged overnight and we can skip the Columbia Supercharger!

 

[RTPEV]

Just wanted to pop in and say that this is a pretty convenient stop (at least when heading east, although I suspect it's not bad when heading west either). Easy on/easy off. Not a ton of amenities. There is a Shoney's, but well, those are not for everyone. If you just want to grab a coffee & bathroom the Starbucks is really nice. And of course there is the hotel, although based on the above, I guess they don't like you using the restroom late at night. But overall, good access to the highway.

 

[Dublin 'Eer]

I wanted to share a story from this past weekend so others won’t have to experience the same issue we did. We made a reservation at the Courtyard by the Supercharger months ago. When we showed up at 1 AM with two sleeping kids, I unloaded half our luggage and headed inside to check in while my wife stayed with the kids as the car started charging after arriving with about 30 miles left. After 20 minutes of waiting inside I was told they had sold our room and were full, so they had moved us to another property. Of course when we arrived there, the Courtyard hadn’t let them know, it took another 30 minutes to get that straightened out. By then the kids were awake and crying in car and didn’t go back to sleep until 6 AM. They comped the first night but not the second—they expected us to pack up everything, take it with us the next morning, and return to the Courtyard that night, check in again, and carry everything back up to the room even though we’d be getting in very late again after my parents’ 50th anniversary party. After a long discussion with the GM the next morning when I returned to finish charging, she finally agreed to comp our second night at the other property (which had no chargers of course) but it was still a major inconvenience. I’d much rather have paid for the room we booked. Bottom line—if you have a reservation at the Courtyard and will be a late arrival, they will overbook and sell your room, so book there knowing their policy.

 

[Redmiata98]

A suggestion which might help you avoid a repeat of your situation. Call the desk around your reservation time and let them know that you will be checking in late and expect them to ask for a credit card to charge you for the first night. Another way might be to prepay the first night when you make the original reservation. I have done the aforementioned and always got my room but I have never been at this Courtyard. The manager’s main concern is getting paid rooms on the books, it doesn’t matter to the bottom line if the room is actually inhabited or not. Unfortunately, there are customers who make one (or more) reservations and never cancel them even when they know they will not use them and then the desk is left with an unfilled and unpaid room. You ended up inconvenienced because of this ongoing situation. I am sorry your family fell into this situation but try the above next time and it might work out better.

 

[Dublin 'Eer]

Thanks for the tip. I typically stay in the Hilton chain and have spent hundreds of nights with them and never experienced this issue. I didn't considered calling in advance because I thought a reservation guaranteed your room since they already had my credit card, and I'm certain I would have been charged if I didn't show up even if they sold the room.

It wouldn't have been so bad had we not booked the hotel solely for the Supercharger. We had to do a lot of traveling in rural WV the next day and needed to charge again the next morning too before heading home a trip that uses 90% of the range with no charging options until we're almost home. It was a terrible inconvenience just with the charging aspect--I don't think there are any other hotels in Charleston with even level 2 charging.

 

[Guy V]

Thanks for the tip. I typically stay in the Hilton chain and have spent hundreds of nights with them and never experienced this issue. I didn't considered calling in advance because I thought a reservation guaranteed your room since they already had my credit card, and I'm certain I would have been charged if I didn't show up even if they sold the room.

It wouldn't have been so bad had we not booked the hotel solely for the Supercharger. We had to do a lot of traveling in rural WV the next day and needed to charge again the next morning too before heading home a trip that uses 90% of the range with no charging options until we're almost home. It was a terrible inconvenience just with the charging aspect--I don't think there are any other hotels in Charleston with even level 2 charging.

One of the important perks of most loyalty programs is guaranteed reservations.

 

[Dublin 'Eer]

I always though my credit card did that.

 

[Guy V]

I always though my credit card did that.

Live and learn

 

[RTPEV]

It was a terrible inconvenience just with the charging aspect--I don't think there are any other hotels in Charleston with even level 2 charging.

There is (always check plugshare.com). Generally it's a bit riskier (as I almost found out on my last trip through) as you never know whether the charging stations are even working, or in use, or ICEd, but I do prefer to use L2/destination chargers at hotels (usually it's free and is good for getting you up to 100%) rather than dealing with Supercharging at a nearby hotel, although in the case of the Charleston Supercharger/Courtyard, I suppose it wouldn't be a hassle at all to go move the car once it's done charging.

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn in South Charleston. They have 2 charging stations there, although when I was there only one was operational, and when I arrived there was another Model 3 using it (darn!) but by the time we got up to our room and I looked out the window, I noticed the other Tesla owner was unplugging, so I was able to get a charge after all.

I just checked plugshare and as of Sep 30th one of the stations was still down, which is very disappointing since I told two front-desk staff about it and they told me it had been called in. As a backup, there is a charging station at a library a block away that I would have used. Part of the problem is that it's the city that installed the charging station (the hotel probably "allowed" them), and so the hotel doesn't have a sense of ownership over the charging station (even though it probably attracts EV owners to their property).

Another option, not right in Charleston, is the Hampton Inn in Hurricane, WV. They have a 3 Tesla destination chargers and a J1772.

At hotels, I would always recommend talking to someone prior to arrival and let them know you are intending to charge your car when you arrive and have them verify (if possible) that it is working. Sometimes they will even be able to block the station for you so it doesn't get ICEd. Also check plugshare reviews to get the latest reviews and news on the charging stations.

And yes, make sure you ask for guaranteed late arrival at hotels. Just giving your credit card number does not guarantee that, although it's odd they would ask for it if not to guarantee your room.

 

[Dublin 'Eer]

I didn't know about the Fairfield in South Charleston. I knew about the chargers in the city and remember when they went in (a year or two ago I believe), so when I checked PlugShare, I didn't even look at the dots by in South Charleston thinking those were all they city ones. Thanks for the option--I won't be staying at the Marriott again, and it's good to have another hotel with a charger. I also prefer the level 2 chargers when staying overnight. Hurricane isn't bad either--I come down US-35 from Columbus, so that's only a few miles from the route.

 

[WVhybrid]

I didn't know about the Fairfield in South Charleston. I knew about the chargers in the city and remember when they went in (a year or two ago I believe), so when I checked PlugShare, I didn't even look at the dots by in South Charleston thinking those were all they city ones. Thanks for the option--I won't be staying at the Marriott again, and it's good to have another hotel with a charger. I also prefer the level 2 chargers when staying overnight. Hurricane isn't bad either--I come down US-35 from Columbus, so that's only a few miles from the route.

The J-plugs in South Charleston are all managed by the city government, even though some are located on private property. (As an aside, South Charleston and local businesses are pretty well known for close cooperation to benefit everyone.) According to PlugShare, it looks like the J-plug was still out a couple days ago, so I put a call today in to the maintenance manager today to alert him to the out-of-service plug at the Fairfield Inn,