Magnuson Hotel Fort Wayne North – Coliseum

This was absolutely horrific. The place was incredibly dirty, and the online pictures don't reflect its current state. The lobby smelled moldy, and the appliances and floors were filthy. We left without staying, but they refused a refund for what I consider false advertising. There were horribly dirty, stained mattresses piled outside. The windows had to be open to air out the rooms, and I can only assume there was a bed bug issue. It cost as much as Hilton, and the stay wasn't cheap. I can't stress enough that people should book somewhere else. This establishment should be closed.

We arrived shortly before 11 p.m. for night 1 of 2. Check-in was easy, though the front desk didn't do the usual welcoming spiel. They just handed us keys, said the rooms were on the second floor, and told us breakfast started at 7 a.m. The room was dark because one of the two lights didn't work, and a smoke detector battery outside the room kept beeping until someone said to just take it out. You could hear everything in the halls, and people walking on the floor above us woke me at 2 a.m. The curtain had a hole. The toilet needed a brush, one blanket we removed from the room had stains, and the double room had only two towels and washcloths. A double room should have at least three sets. Each bed had just two flat pillows, and the beds sat very low. The shower water pooled. The bathroom mirror extends behind the toilet and sink, which I can only imagine would be awkward for a gentleman using the restroom. The desk chair was a school chair, not an office chair, so don't plan on doing computer work. The TV was small, maybe 26 inches and no bigger than 32. At 7:45 breakfast, the warmer held three biscuits, a scoop of gravy, and tots. The counter wasn't maintained between guests. There was nobody there when we arrived, which would have been a good time to wipe it down and refill things. The lobby trash was full, making the lid hard to push, and the microwave was full of spilled oatmeal. It looks like they tried to upgrade the rooms on a budget.

The room we ended up in on the first floor had debris between the sheets, a strange smell, and black mold all along the wall behind the beds. The floors hadn't been vacuumed, either. We first went up to the third floor and were hit by a strong smell of pot, so they moved us. I know that wasn't the workers' fault, but it was a rough start. You can hear a lot between rooms, too. I wouldn't recommend staying here.

The room was dirty, musty, full of crumbs, and I saw a bug crawl into an open hole in the corner of the wall. I was with my two children, and we weren't going to stay, refund or not. Someone in the lobby had also been complaining about roaches. I booked a nonrefundable stay on Booking.com through a third party to save money, since I knew I'd be there on that date, and documented the problems. The two people at the front desk looked at the room and assured me I'd get a refund once I contacted Booking.com. They ignored Booking.com's three attempts to reach them, but Booking.com gave me a full refund from their own funds while they try to recover it. This establishment is not up to their standards. Thank you, Booking.com. TRU By Hilton down the road gave us the best service and most kid-friendly stay I've ever experienced. Don't stay here.