Designed to be more like home than your typical hotel, Candlewood Suites features spacious studio and one-bedroom suites with kitchens. It’s a popular choice for military travelers and families on deployment, training or PCS. The hotel also offers the Candlewood Cupboard, a 24-hour store featuring items for sale or borrowing, and the Lending Locker that provides guests with various household items they may have forgotten to pack.
The new Fort Jackson hotel was built with Lendlease’s innovative Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) construction. CLT is a sustainable building material that is stronger and more durable than concrete and produces 13.2% less carbon dioxide emissions. It was the first hotel to be built using this method in the United States.
Inside my suite I found a comfortable bed and large sofa with recliners. Opposite the bed was a long desk area with chairs and a wall-mounted TV. There was a closet to the left of the door and a full-size washer and dryer. The room’s kitchen was fully equipped with a refrigerator, oven and microwave. The bathroom had a tub/shower combination with a stand up shower curtain.
The hotel is located in a nice area in Lake Charles. It’s just a few minutes away from the Prien Lake Mall in one direction and many other stores and restaurants in another. It’s also close to a park and a few minutes from the interstate. The internet speed was decent and the pool wasn’t too bad.