Caribou Gem

We only stayed because our original plans fell through and we urgently needed somewhere to sleep. There’s no service desk, and the receptionist said the door would be left unlocked with the keys on a table, which felt sketchy. The room was dirty and smelled musty. Its door was very hard to close and wouldn’t lock at all. The bathroom towels smelled as if they’d been left wet in the washer for days, and the floor was so dirty that our socks were ruined. Under the beds looked like it hadn’t been swept or mopped in ages. We managed a few hours of sleep and left first thing in the morning. It was the worst night’s sleep I can remember. After we got home, we found an extra $350 charge on our card. We’ve called at least 25 times trying to get an explanation for why this place has charged us more than $500 for such a disgusting room. The receptionist told us the owner, Sandra, has blocked our numbers and won’t provide proof that we did anything wrong. I’m confident there is no such proof. Law enforcement is involved now. I wouldn’t trust these people with your card details. Shameful and disturbing way to run a business, Sandra.

We were charged $350 after getting home, even though the quoted rate was $95 a night. The receptionist was kind and helpful when I called, and said her manager claimed the room’s TV was broken and damaged. We didn’t touch it. We arrived at 10 pm, went to bed, woke at 9 am, then left for Lava Hot Springs. The TV in question costs $40. I was told a manager would contact me, but now they aren’t answering or returning my calls, so I’ve had to dispute the charge with my bank. My family and I chose this hotel for a day trip because it was the only one with a vacancy.

A clean, upgraded kitchenette was nice, but there were too few chairs and no nightstands. There wasn’t anywhere to put a suitcase or even a toothbrush. Trains blast their horns about 500 feet from the hotel.

The room got pretty cold overnight because the heater wasn’t working well, even with a space heater, and there wasn’t much hot water. The floor was dirty too. Still, having three beds for our family and a kitchenette was a real help. We couldn’t find a place in Lava Hot Springs, and this motel was fairly close to our destination.