La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Indianapolis Downtown

The one thing going for this place was its convenient location near the event I attended in Indy. Everything else made it the worst hotel stay I’ve had. The whole building had a strange smell that stuck to my things even after checkout. There were bugs crawling around, the beds were uncomfortable, the rooms poorly lit, and the heating and cooling unit couldn’t be relied on. I could hear every word from the couple next door through the paper-thin walls, including their baby crying all night. I’m not blaming them, but I got only four hours of sleep. The elevator was small, outdated, and felt precarious, and the stairwell gate was broken. In the underground parking area, lights flickered, pipes dripped, and the ceilings were low. Room doors slammed shut but still needed a pull to make sure they latched. Nothing unusual went wrong. The quality just seemed to be set that low. They appear to have fixed up the outside and left the rest in shambles. A really poor stay, and I’ll avoid LaQuinta / Wyndham in the future.

The staff were friendly, and downtown restaurants were a 10-15 minute walk away. I barely slept more than a couple of hours at a time because it was noisy, and the window did nothing to keep out road sounds. The car park fills up early, and the height limit in the underground garage means only a sedan can make it down the ramp. My room also felt like it needed a proper cleaning.

For a 3.5-star hotel, it’s good value, and I’d stay here again on a downtown Indy visit. The location is great, within easy walking distance of downtown and Gainbridge Fieldhouse for Pacers games. Included parking is a big plus in a major city where many places charge for it. The room was comfortable and mostly clean, though the tub had peeling paint and rust, and the shower head and handle were loose. Breakfast comes with the room, so its limited variety and basic spread weren’t a big deal, but it could be better. The only elevator felt dated and small, with room for about three people at most.

Finding parking was a hassle, or you had to pay for valet, since the hotel had only about 15 free spaces. The receptionist had no apology or response to our problems. The elevator barely fit two people with luggage, and the rooms were in terrible shape: cracked walls and ceilings near the bathroom, some kind of bodily fluid on the walls and curtains, and a bathroom floor that stayed wet even when nobody had used the toilet or shower. One room was excessively hot no matter how far the temperature was turned down. In another, you could see outside, leaving guests exposed to the December Indianapolis air all night and causing people to get sick. We could hear other rooms yelling and playing music all morning.