Suburban Studios Altoona

We wanted a pleasant place to stay together, with free breakfast, while my house is being renovated. I only learned after he checked in that the hotel wouldn’t allow me, as someone living within 40 miles, to stay with my visiting family member. He had come in from Florida, and I’m just one person. The owner said this policy was due to past behavior by someone else, so everyone is affected. Be warned.

It’s a cute, quiet room, but the floor tiles were dirty, with splatters across them. The light above the kitchen sink didn’t work, and the outlet for the coffee maker was so loose I couldn’t use it. The bed is very firm, so if that’s what you like, this place may suit you.

The staff were wonderful, from the front desk to housekeeping, and the location is great. We used the 10% off at Perkins, and the free breakfast was really good. But our room needs work. The living room area stayed dark the whole trip because there was no place to plug in its light. The bed felt like milk crates, and by the end of the weekend my hips hurt badly and my husband had a pinched nerve in his shoulder. For a king bed, there were only two twin pillows. The shower knob was broken, so although the water control turned it on and off, we couldn’t shut off the shower nozzle itself and water only came through the faucet. There was a thin cloth curtain with no plastic liner, so water sprayed onto the bathroom floor, and the drain was so slow we stood in water while it drained. The wall by the shower was chipped and moldy, and the microwave interior was completely black. Someone said the rooms had been renovated, but ours definitely hadn’t. We wouldn’t stay again unless the rooms are renovated.

The rooms were clean and comfortable, breakfast was very good, and it was a nice touch to have cookies, tea, and popcorn in the lobby. There’s also a private, well-kept outdoor area with a grill for guests. I hadn’t heard of this brand before, so I didn’t know what to expect, and nearly everything exceeded my expectations. The one problem was slow Wi-Fi. Since this is an extended-stay hotel with kitchenettes, guests might work remotely, and that connection could be a problem. Improve it and this would be a top choice.