Candlewood Suites Tulsa Hills - Jenks by IHG

Room 200 was clean, nicely furnished, and check-in was quick and easy. The hotel is new, with plans for a commercial strip on the ground floor, which could be a fun setup if a couple of restaurants move in. There's a top-floor bar serving drinks and food in the afternoon, plus an outdoor terrace with tables and seats. No breakfast, though, and there aren't any restaurants in walking distance. There is a gun store with a shooting range across the street.

This seems best suited to solo workers on longer stays. The full kitchen is great, and there's a bar with live music on weekends. It's close to the freeway, but there aren't places for food or outdoor recreation that you can walk to. Pets are allowed, which is a big plus, though the pet rooms aren't conveniently near outdoor walking areas, so frequent potty trips could be tricky. It's a newer, very nice hotel, but the rooms are smaller than at other Candlewood Suites I've stayed in, and feel best for one person.

The room and lobby were clean, and the facility itself is nice. But there was a strong dog smell in the lobby, and they charge a steep fee for early check-in. Useful to know if you're traveling for business.

The pool was one reason my husband and I were excited to stay at this newer Candlewood with our baby, and the area is great. But the room was a huge letdown. There was pee on the toilet seat, dirt in the shower, dirty floors, food stuck to the couch, and coffee stains on the sheets. We arrived late and only noticed the sheet stains in the morning. The card identifying who cleaned the room had been used as a coaster, and with those stains, it seemed the sheets hadn't been changed. We raised all this with the front desk and were told management would contact us. Nobody reached out during our stay. The hotel seemed understaffed, and the manager didn't seem to care. My husband even had to clean debris out of the pool himself. It still smelled like new carpet, but that was about where the good parts ended.