La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Ely

The room was great, but breakfast was a total washout for the price. The yogurt wasn't really yogurt, at least there was no mention of yogurt on the carton. It was full of preservatives, with no sugar, just artificial sweetener. The sausage was inedible, and the eggs were the same. I finally settled for cereal and an English muffin.

I was traveling with my three young children and arrived late at night, worn out after a long day on the road. Even though I had a confirmed Booking.com reservation and receipt, La Quinta by Wyndham Ely wouldn't honor it after I showed them the paperwork. Being turned away with tired kids and nowhere to sleep was incredibly stressful. I've never had a hotel reject a confirmed booking before, and the lack of help or flexibility was really disappointing. We managed to get a room at the Holiday Inn, four minutes away. They were much more accommodating, charged less, and had a great free breakfast. I wish I'd booked there first. Based on what happened, I wouldn't recommend La Quinta by Wyndham Ely.

My crew had driven 4.5 hours and just wanted to rest before working the next morning, but the front desk held up our group of 12 for 2.5 hours. Our company often stays at Wyndham hotels and uses direct billing through our Wyndham account. The two desk workers didn't understand that arrangement and insisted on a credit card authorization form, even after we explained there was no credit card involved. This has happened to me with other front desk staff before, but usually they listen and are open to learning. These two wouldn't listen. They kept saying they weren't owned by Wyndham because they were a franchise, as if that meant Wyndham direct billing couldn't work there. It does. They wouldn't escalate the issue to a manager, even though we gave them a Wyndham number that could walk them through the check in. One worker refused to call and said she didn't care what they had to say, she wouldn't check us in without a credit card. My booking contact and I had to reach Wyndham corporate multiple times before corporate finally called the desk and explained how to check them in. This location needs to train its employees better, and the employees need to learn what hospitality means. If your business has a large group, stay elsewhere. We'll cancel our future bookings and take our thousands of dollars to another hotel.

Ely is a small town, but this La Quinta makes a nice oasis for tired travelers. We got the upgraded suite, and the extra $$ was well worth it. My one suggestion is to turn up the hot water heater a little so the showers are hotter.