Americas Best Value Inn & Suites Bryant Little Rock

The room was clean, and that bed was a welcome sight. Dogs are allowed, though the fee is $10 for each one.

I was so surprised by how quiet it stayed that I might’ve slept past checkout if I hadn’t set an alarm after arriving late. Checkout was a fair 11, and I didn’t hear people running around in the morning or the cleaning crew trying to rush us out. The only noise was the couple upstairs coming in and slamming doors, but it stopped pretty quickly. That kind of thing can happen at much nicer hotels too. For a Saturday night, the total after tax was $78. I’ve spent well over $100 at plenty of so-called cheap hotels that didn’t meet my basic needs: feeling safe, having a clean room, a fair price, and some peace and quiet. Here, I had all of that. No bugs, and nothing questionable going on in the area. The water pressure wasn’t ideal, and there were some old holes in the sheets, possibly because the hotel also has smoking rooms, but the place itself was clean. I’ve travelled a lot in recent years and don’t hand out five stars lightly. For the money, this is the kind of straightforward hotel I remember from growing up in the 80s, and I’d almost given up on finding one like it.

The air conditioning kept the room comfortable on a hot day in July, which made it much easier to sleep. The room was clean, too. My only real issue was the bed, which felt much too firm for me, though I know some people like that. Still, I was comfortable overall.

The coffee maker only worked while I kept its button pressed, and the bed wasn’t comfortable.