Nice, Clean, Comfortable Stay

I am writing this review because I was concerned about some of the recent negative reviews this establishment has received lately which do not seem warranted based on our most recent stay in July 2011. For the last five years, we've driven with the family (kids now 10, 12, 14) from Ottawa, Canada to NC for summer holidays. Smithfield has been a good stopping point on our travels with the added bonus of outlet shopping for a couple of days. Based on Trip Advisor reviews which had this hotel rated as #1, I booked it the first year we planned to stop here. At the time, it lived up to its favourable reviews - clean, well appointed rooms & friendly front desk staff. Every year since, I have booked this hotel but we have taken the opportunity to stop at some of the other hotels in the area and checked out their rooms. In the end, either the hotels or the rooms have not met with what we know we can expect at the Comfort Inn and, in the end, we have kept our reservation with them. This year, as before, we stayed in a clean, good sized room with comfortable beds & pillows. The breakfast was satisfactory - the typical cereals, bagels, waffles. The front desk staff were, as always, friendly and efficient. In fact, I called the hotel a few days prior to our arrival to advise them that I was expecting Visa to courier me a new credit card for my pick up at the hotel. When I arrived to check in, I happened to be with the same person that I had spoken with on the phone earlier and when I mentioned my name, he remembered me immediately, told me that my package had arrived and went to get it promptly. We would recommend staying here over the other hotels in the area. If you want to try a good authentic, Mexican restaurant for lunch or dinner check out El Sombrero right around the corner. The food and service are excellent; much better than the typical big-chain restaurants in the area.