The Lodge at Cliff Castle Casino

The place is old, as the front desk told me, but that doesn't excuse what we found. We stayed one night, then checked out and booked somewhere else for our last night before heading back to Whitmann. That hotel cost less and was way better. I've stayed in run-down, sketchy-looking places and had better experiences. We were only there to sleep, but didn't ask for extra visitors to barge in on our vacation. We arrived at 6 p.m. on 4/17 and had to go to the casino hotel to check in. There's no front desk here if you need anything, so you have to call and hope someone brings it. In the room, more shower water sprayed onto the floor than into the tub, even with the curtain closed. The top left corner of the shower looked like a large moldy area had been covered up, and the wall vent looked like it hadn't been cleaned since the building went up. There was a moth there too. The bed felt worse than sleeping on the floor, the pillows were small, and there were bugs all over, even under the sheets. My husband woke up in the middle of the night with them crawling on him. There were fingerprints on the sliding glass door that weren't ours. The pool looked like homeless people might be hanging out there, and it also seemed like some people lived there by the month. No thanks.

Housekeeping came into my room without knocking while I was changing. We sent a complaint to the number they told us to use, but got no reply. As a woman, that safety and service issue is enough for me to never return. Check-in was confusing too, since there didn't seem to be a front desk and we had to go to the casino for our key. We paid $90 for some reason, even though I'd seen people say they paid $50. The room itself was big enough, and having a balcony was a nice surprise. But the walls are paper thin, so you hear everything all night, from coughing and snoring to worse. The outlets are in terrible spots, and we had to move the tables and coffee pot just to use one. There's no fridge or microwave. The only other plus was being close to the casino, if that's why you're there.

We checked in at 8 p.m. after driving all day, and found stains on some of the blankets. There wasn't a usable outlet for phone chargers unless we unplugged the room phone and a lamp. The TV showed one channel, then stopped working completely. The shower head was rusty and sprayed water everywhere, and the phone didn't even have a dial tone for calling the front desk. No microwave or refrigerator either. We'd asked for a room away from other people, but could hear people on every side of us. The walls are thin. We won't be back.

The casino is an impressive, clean building, and its staff were friendly. At the lodge, the room was huge, very clean, and had a comfortable, clean bed. The shower head worked well and the water got very hot. The air conditioner was brand new, and I had no noise problems. Staff were friendly, and they did return my security deposit. Still, the lodge needs a lot of work. The sliding door lock was broken, so I couldn't use the balcony at all. I can't believe they rented the room without noticing or fixing it. The outlets seem almost hidden behind furniture, except for the bathroom outlet, and there wasn't one by the desk for charging devices. The room was a bit old-fashioned. Dust was a problem too: it was still on the bed sill, as someone else had mentioned, and by morning the TV was covered in it. With a new air conditioner and everything else seeming old, I wonder where all that dust came from. I didn't check the Wi-Fi. The TVs also feel nearly useless now that people stream on their phones. The parking lot has signs saying they're not responsible for damage or theft. Given how thorough the casino's security is, I'm puzzled the lodge doesn't have better cameras and security. If security matters to you, stay at the casino. The lodge could be good, but it needs a lot of work.