This was the worst hotel expierence in my life.
So I booked my stay to be for Friday, September 5th and Saturday, September 6th. I always do this when I go out of town to see a baseball game since I always fly out on a red eye so that way, when I arrive in the morning, I can check in, get my key and go to the room to rest.
I arrive at Candlewood on Saturday morning and told the front desk clerk the above scenario. She says that, as I did not check in on Friday (check-in time began at 4 pm yesterday), they could not put me in a room. Per her, this is hotel policy, even though my booking with Hotels.com says these two things about Candlewood:
1. Check in time begins at 4 pm and ends at ANYTIME
2. The room won't be guaranteed until full payment is received. I paid in full when I booked the room on Hotels.com.
Thank goodness a nearby Marriott had a room available ASAP. Go with Marriott and not Candlewood or any IHG Hotels & Resorts property (which owns Candlewood). I've never had a problem with these "start the stay on Friday, check in Saturday morning" hotel experiences until now. Sadly, from here on out, I'll have to contact these hotels to put a note in my file about checking in on a Saturday morning.