Comfort Inn

We spent five days at Quality Inn while stopped in Defiance for emergency surgery during a U-Haul drive from Toledo to Arkansas. It was a good place to recover: the room was clean, quiet, and moderately priced. They let us bring our cat in a pet-friendly room for a one-time $100 fee, which didn’t seem bad given the weather and circumstances. The staff and cleaning service were excellent, professional, and friendly. There’s a small hot and continental breakfast, plus free coffee, tea, and yogurt 24 hours a day. The internet is free and easy to access. The well-lit lot has plenty of space for trucks and other service vehicles. One more thing for parents of autistic children: this place felt safe.

Even for a budget hotel, this was bad. A strong, musty smell hit me as soon as I entered the room. It looked clean at first, so I tried to put up with it, but then I saw disgusting stains on the pillows. One looked like it could’ve been blood, and the other was yellow and discolored across nearly the whole pillow. In the shower I spotted a very clear patch of green and red mold or mildew on the wall. This place is disgusting, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. 0/10.

The WiFi worked, and the breakfast was edible, better than most Quality Inns, I’d say. Room cleanliness is unpredictable, though. Sometimes it was fine, but my last stay wasn’t. There was hair on the bathroom floor, and in the morning I found a dirty paper plate, a used toothbrush, and a soiled thong on top of the coat rack. Maybe somebody was just having a bad day.

I’d stayed here several times over the past four months without a problem, until this weekend. On Monday morning I got a call saying my card was declined. I said no problem, I wasn’t sure why, and told them I’d come down. I had signed for a second night at $177.00. I cleaned up, showered, and kept getting calls and knocks, many times within an hour. I took my things to the truck to charge my phone and contact the card company. Every two minutes my phone rang, and between calls I got alerts that Quality Inn was trying charges that were declined: 178, 180, 500, 300, 350, 800, 25, 50, 75, 20, and 15. This kept going for days. I told them they were committing fraud and to stop. I was trying to find out what was wrong and had said I’d look into it, but he screamed that he’d do what he wanted and take what he wanted. I have receipts showing the room was paid. Meanwhile I was in Columbus with my daughter while she was having heart surgery, and this p.o.s. was draining every penny from my account. I’m prosecuting. You don’t steal from people, as I told the owner. He can say he’ll take what he wants, but the police department and my financial institution say otherwise. His inability to wait one hour while I figured it out is going to cost him. If I had to choose between freezing outside and staying here, I’d use the place as kindling to keep warm all night. Crooks.