Super 8 by Wyndham Gurnee

The room was clean enough, but the bathroom counter had cigarette burns and one dresser drawer wouldn't stay shut. There was no in-room coffeemaker despite the ad, and the pool was closed. Breakfast was laughable: cold coffee with an empty creamer basket, cereal without milk, and a juice machine that served water. I raised the service rating because the housekeeping staff were very friendly and thorough. I've stayed in really cheap hotels, but this one was absolutely terrible. Stay somewhere else.

They call it breakfast, but it was just cereal, and I don't remember seeing any milk. That bothered me most. The pool area was closed, and I doubt it will ever open. The hotel feels like a catfish. Go to La Quinta instead, where they have real breakfast, a heated pool that's open, and a clean place. One front desk woman was rude. The bathroom blow dryer didn't work, and luckily I checked before washing my hair because I'd have been out in -4 weather and risked hypothermia. I tried unplugging and reconnecting it, and then the bathroom lights stopped working too. The floor had odd dips in parts of both the room and bathroom, enough to make us feel like we might fall through. The elevator was broken and scary, with a strange smell; the hallways smelled too.

This is a budget hotel and decent for the price, with helpful staff and reasonably maintained common areas. The basic breakfast is what you'd expect at this level. The newer refurbished rooms seem much better than some reviews describe, so quality may depend on which room you get.

The area around the hotel is quite nice, with plenty of places to walk to for food. Inside, though, I was shocked by the state of the room: the floors were coming apart and the shower shampoo bottle, which should have been attached to the wall, was broken off. Breakfast was disappointing too, with only juice and coffee offered.