Super 8 by Wyndham Benton Harbor/St Joseph

The only reason I’d stay here is if the price were dirt cheap. The room wasn’t filthy, but it wasn’t very clean either, with crumbs in plenty of corners. The A/C didn’t do a good job cooling the whole room, and I had to get the toilet plunged as soon as I flushed it for the first time.

This quiet motel is conveniently close to the freeway and a travel center, with very reasonable prices for the area. Staff respond promptly when you need something and are very helpful. They’re also making improvements to the rooms and property.

I paid $171 for a night, and the stay didn’t live up to the good reviews I’d read. There were bugs, candy, and other debris left in plain sight, as though the room hadn’t been properly cleaned in a long time. The fridge was dirty, the window A/C was caked in dust, and the room felt humid. One pillow had what looked like dried bodily fluids on it. There was a musty odor mixed with a strong incense-like smell, and the whole hotel had a heavy spice smell. The bathroom had serious problems too. The towel shelf fell off the wall in the middle of the night. The shower sprayed water over the curtain and didn’t look clean, and the bathroom door had literally been nailed back together with roofing nails. Outside, we saw sketchy behavior in the parking lot and didn’t feel safe walking to or from our room alone. At checkout, I brought up the problems and got a dismissive response that I should have reported them the night before. I understand things can get missed, but this room had too many cleanliness, maintenance, and safety issues to be acceptable. Maybe I just got the worst room, but based on my stay, the property didn’t meet even basic standards, especially for that price.

The room was clean, and the A/C worked well with lots of settings. Still, the building had a nasty smell throughout. The bathroom fan didn’t work, and the TV wasn’t set up; once we got it working, the picture was fuzzy. It also took forever to get service at the front desk. We walked up and down the stairs twice because our key card wouldn’t open the door before they finally gave us a different room.