La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Elkhart

I woke up with itchy, painful marks that looked like bed bug bites, with lesions on my leg like giant holes. The rooms and pool were filthy, and the front desk manager was rude and impersonal. I stayed because of the price, but I'd never come back to this mess. Don't make the same mistake I did.

We had no problems when we stayed two years ago, but this visit was different. The room looked like it hadn't been dusted in a while, the microwave and shower were dirty, and I had to get fresh sheets. Every night the key cards stopped working and needed to be reset.

The property felt modern and fairly new, but could use some attention. Our room was 209, and its door would close and lock, but didn't seal properly. There was about an inch of space at the top, so we could hear people outside. Staff were friendly and helpful.

The bed was comfortable and clean, but this visit was one problem after another. We'd stayed here about five times before and it had always been wonderful, which is why we kept returning. This time the hotel had gone downhill badly, and we won't be back. We parked in handicap parking because of my husband's disability and tried the side entrance closest to our room with our luggage and two dogs. The key card entry was broken. We had to go around the building, then tell the desk clerk, who already knew about the door but hadn't mentioned it when handing us our cards. It stayed out of order all week. In the room, the carpet was soaking wet and soaked our socks. The AC wouldn't work at first, and the room phone had no cord, so I had to go to the office. The clerk came up to the third floor and said we just had to wiggle the cord at the outlet. That connection was faulty the whole stay, with the AC switching on and off. My husband was even shocked trying to keep it connected, and the back of the cord was black while the outlet sparked. We told her it was a fire hazard. She just said, "ok". There was no alarm clock, and no hooks or towel racks in the bathroom. The TV died twice while we were in the middle of a movie. Halfway through the week, after a few thunderstorms, the ceiling began leaking. Plaster fell, paint bubbled from the water, and our bags and clothes on the couch were soaked by morning. We couldn't use the couch in the suite we'd paid for. When we reported the leak, the desk clerk only said it was odd because they had just put on a new roof. Breakfast was awful: the eggs were white, undercooked, cold, wet, and runny, and the biscuits were cold and hard. The sausage gravy was hidden on the far side of the waffle machine, so we didn't find it until day three. Fruit meant rotten bananas, shriveled oranges, and old apples. There was no bacon or sausage. The coffee was usually cold, though at least they had a microwave. We couldn't ask the food area attendant for anything because she didn't speak any English. On the second day I asked the front desk for toilet paper, since our room had only half a roll on arrival, and was told, "we're out right now, come back later!" No apology or compensation was offered, even though we were unhappy customers and had so much trouble. It doesn't seem like good business practice. If possible, check everything before paying in advance. We couldn't have known the ceiling would start leaking and crumbling around us, though. I hope the hotel addresses these problems, or it could be out of business soon. Word of mouth travels fast.