When you are trying to find a hotel that will take a cat, your options are limited. So when I recognized a very common (read: corporate chain) name in the business that offered this specific amenity, I was hoping for a little bit better than what was offered.
Sure, Rick and I have run into places like this before, but I have to rate this one at the top of the list of places not to stay. (I will not post the name here, but if you want to know, just email me, and I’ll give it to ya, k?)
First off people, never trust the picture of the place from their website. I’m sure you already know this, but they can tend to be a little too picture perfect. And this one was way overrated. If our first (yes, I said first) room looked anything remotely close to this, I would have been happy.
The headboards looked like someone had scratched them, the curtains were falling apart and the faucet in the bathroom tub dripped. For a split second, the Bates Motel flashed in my mind.
The deal breaker? The air conditioner didn’t work. Temperatures in Minnesota in late August tend to be a little warm which require some sort of cooling apparatus in hotel rooms, preferably in working order.
First trip to the front desk for Rick to see about changing rooms, which meant transporting a slightly stressed cat to another strange room in a strange building.
Lovely.
OK, room #2 seems to be a step up! A/C works and it has a decor and cleanliness that is a slightly better. OK Rick, move everything from the car up the steps to the second floor (which takes 4 trips) and we are settled in. Kinda. The key cards seem to have a “one time only” use to them.
Off to the front desk for Rick (trip #2 if you’re keeping track).
By now Nichole and the girls get checked in and pop in to say “Hi”. Nichole kneels down on the floor to look for Calie (who is under the bed freaking out) and announces that the A/C unit is dripping water and the carpet is wet.
Actually, it is soaked.
Well now, that isn’t good.
Poor Rick has to make a third trip to the front desk and request a different room again. By this time he’s a tad irked, and I don’t blame him. We’ve been on the road for 3 hours, hot, sweaty, and tired with a long evening ahead of us. Give us a break, hotel Gods!
He returns with yet another set of room card keys, informing me that this is our last shot since there are no more rooms available to us.
Haul kitty (and the rest of our stuff) to room #3 and pray for the best.
A/C? Working.
A/C leaking? Negative.
Double beds? Negative. One King.
Crap! We needed that extra bed for our grandson, Brayden. Trip #4 to the front desk for Rick to see about getting a rollaway.
In the end, the hotel ended up giving us a discount on the room and Calie got to stay for free.
So, was there anything remotely positive about the hotel?
I’m glad you asked. The one thing that was a pleasant surprise was that there were no problems with their wi-fi. That would have been an official deal breaker.
Oh, and their continental breakfast was actually very good.
If only they would take that kind of effort and use it on their rooms.
