Travelodge by Wyndham Edmonton South

The desk clerk was polite and refunded me without any trouble when I decided to leave. I’d paid for an upgraded room because the rating wasn’t great, but what I saw was a mess. The bathroom was gross, the window covering was torn, there were holes in the closet door and stains on the carpet and sheets. The TV only showed the guide, with no channels. The hallways were run down and smelled of smoke and weed. The online photos didn’t match the room I got. I don’t recommend it.

This place needs a bulldozer. It’s dirty and unappealing, and the beds and pillows are uncomfortable. The pool and hot tub are closed, and breakfast is terrible, with sticky tables and awful juice. The bathrooms need renovating. Shampoo was either refilled or so old it had thickened. The toilet ran all night, and the fan sounded like a 747.

The key cards kept failing, so I had to make several trips back to the desk. When I raised the problems, the front staff didn’t do much to help or sort things out, which made an already frustrating stay worse. Cleanliness was the biggest issue. The bed didn’t seem properly cleaned, the carpet looked worn and dirty, and the bathroom fell short of basic hygiene. The hallways smelled unpleasant too. The appliances and general upkeep also felt badly overdue for attention. I wasn’t expecting luxury, especially with so few options in the city, but the basic standards still weren’t there. The parking lot was roomy, though the amount of slippery ice made it unsafe. If you can, I’d spend a little more to stay somewhere else.

I checked in around 1:30 in the morning. Rooms were listed on Trivago for about $65 to $85 that night, but the clerk said I’d have to wait until 3 p.m. to check in that day to get a similar discounted rate. There seemed to be plenty of rooms available, so offering the lower price would have felt like better service. The place was clean enough and somewhat comfortable. Breakfast was the usual cereal, toast, juice, coffee and fruit. Other updated places offer eggs, breakfast meat or pancakes. It also took a bit of looking to find the coffee and juice, since they were set apart from the rest.