Comfort Inn Evanston I-80

My wife and I are disabled U.S. Army veterans and travel with one or two service dogs. The staff understood what we needed and gave us rooms close to the dog rest area. We booked a weekend getaway and got the rest and relaxation we were after at this nearby spirit recharge station. We’ll be back soon!

We called ahead about bringing our dog and were quoted a price. When we asked whether it included the pet fee, we were told it did. At check-in, the woman at the counter rudely said it didn’t. When we explained that we had called and asked, she got defensive and accused us of having called someone else. We left. I’m happy to pay a pet fee when it’s disclosed upfront, or at least get an apology for the mix-up. The way the front desk person handled it was unacceptable.

I wouldn’t recommend this place. The property was in poor condition, with a lot of shady activity around it. Caution tape stayed up at the lobby entrance throughout our stay, making it awkward to get inside. Vehicles that looked like people were camping in them were parked at the adult store next door. A similar vehicle sat in the hotel lot the whole time, full of junk and with two broken windows. It took the clerk more than 10 minutes to come to the desk when I checked in. The interior looked run down, and my room smelled of cigarettes. After I’d unpacked my things and my family’s, I found a syringe beside the trash can. The clerk let us switch rooms, but that one was run down too. It was a bad experience.

After driving for 12 hours, I could barely keep going, so I stopped about 15 miles outside Evanston and called Comfort Inn Suites at 1:30 in the morning. A very nice woman, I believe her name was Sarah, answered and found a first-floor room for me and my service animal. It was very foggy, and she seemed concerned about my safety. When I arrived, she was just as friendly and did her best to get us to our room, knowing how tired I was. I’m sorry she wasn’t there when I left in the morning, but I made sure to ask the woman at the desk to tell the manager how fabulous she was.