La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Alvarado

I’ve been staying here three or four years in a row, and it’s easily my favorite place. This year we arrived from overseas at 9 in the morning, exhausted from long flights and without breakfast. They let us check in then and brought refrigerated breakfast items to the room. We ate and went straight to bed, which was wonderful. The staff are consistently cheerful, kind, and helpful, and they work with you to meet your needs. I can sit in the breakfast area all day, and when the conference room is empty I’m welcome to use it as long as I need. If someone in my party arrives a few minutes after breakfast closes, they’ll extend breakfast time; if I ask afterward for plasticware, paper plates, or napkins, they help. Coffee and hot water for tea are available all day. They go out of their way to make guests comfortable.

The staff were really nice, there was plenty of parking, and the elevators and luggage carts were useful. There are restaurants nearby, a workout room, and supposedly a pool, though there were no towels where you’re meant to pick them up. The AC and heater worked well. Still, I probably won’t stay again. The bathroom was dirty, with black hair in the sink and on the counter, water splashed on the mirror, and hair on the toilet. I’m blonde with longer hair, so it wasn’t mine. It looked like someone had used the room and moved elsewhere. I stayed two days and the room was never cleaned or straightened. The bed was hard as a rock, and the pillows were too big for me to get comfortable. I couldn’t bring myself to try the continental breakfast after the bathroom. The walls are so thin you hear everything next door. On Monday mornings the trash truck comes early and bangs the big roll-off bins around, making horrendous noise. The hallway windows on my floor weren’t sealed properly, so wind howled down the hall and under my door. There was also a pool, supposedly, but no towels at the pickup spot. I did stay here, and you can see how I watermarked my pictures.

The itching started the first night, eased after I showered and went out the next morning, then came back when I lay down the following night. I checked the sheets and found little black fuzz and tiny white flakes all over them. In the mirror I saw a full rash across my stomach and arms. I called the front desk for clean sheets, but they said nothing could be done until morning because housekeeping wasn’t there overnight. So I was left choosing between the bed, which might have had bedbugs or worse, and the rash, or sleeping in a chair and hurting my back. I was there multiple nights. What’s the point of a hotel if you can’t sleep properly? Horrible place, 1/5 stars.

Housekeeping ran up and down the hall screaming, yelling, and slamming doors, and I couldn’t sleep. I called the front desk about it, then tried to shower before work, but there was no hot water. I got dressed and asked for my money back. They said the manager would refund me the next morning, but the manager wasn’t available then. Four days later, after repeated calls, they still refused to return my money. The staff are completely unprofessional. I don’t recommend staying here. Go to Holiday Inn or Super 8 for more respectful service and better rates.