Days Inn by Wyndham Great Lakes Naval Base

The room smell was rough. The windows need to open to air it out, and the carpet could use steaming. Still, housekeeping and the rest of the staff were really nice. The hotel looks beautiful, especially by the front desk, and there’s a bar and restaurant. Rooms are good, and the price gets even better with the military discount. Sam's club and Walmart are practically next door, about five feet apart, it seems. I booked for my daughter’s boot camp graduation, and the base was 18 minutes away.

We had two rooms, and the property kept both deposits. They haven’t returned my calls, so I plan to take the matter to the local consumer protection agency and possibly small claims court. The rooms were filthy: there was feces on the back of a bathroom door, stained sheets, and a lamp with a smudge that looked like blood. Staff barely spoke English and didn’t seem to care about our concerns. The people were awful. Don’t stay here. There are better and cheaper places nearby, and they won’t take your money. If you do stay, document everything and take pictures before you leave.

Our room key stopped working at 11:00 PM, and I was locked out. Luckily, my daughter was inside to let me in. I returned to the desk, but nobody was there, and repeated calls from my cell went unanswered. I finally used the lobby phone. Someone eventually came out looking completely unprofessional, and the key issue wasn’t fixed until morning. Earlier, when we checked in, there had also been no one at the desk for about 30 minutes. Housekeeping didn’t offer help while we waited. The most serious problem was our safety. A family member we did not want to have access to us went to the front desk, gave our name, and was told our room number without any identity check, verification, or call to ask us. My daughter and I were left in a very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous situation. This severe privacy failure is why we left early. It should never happen at a hotel. We found another hotel in the city for the same price, with much better rooms and proper security. This isn’t about a refund. Military families with children deserve to feel safe, and I strongly suggest visiting families stay in a safer area and take an Uber to the base. Days Inn should know this location isn’t meeting brand standards. The room was also unclean and poorly maintained. There was dust on the phones and lamps, and dry blood spots on the sheets that weren’t ours. There was no in-room safe or gym, the room had no microwave (only one in a shared area), and the refrigerator was tiny. The walls were so thin we could hear everything around us. The “free breakfast” was just bagels, muffins, juice, and coffee. There wasn’t much to do nearby, another thing to consider if your Sailor wants to spend time together after graduation. Unsafe, unkept, and substandard. Avoid at all costs.

I filled the jetted tub, only to find pubic hair floating in the water, and the tub didn’t work anyway. Check-in was a hassle too: I waited 15 minutes in the lobby before anyone appeared. We left a day early, but they refused to refund that last day. Breakfast was lousy and cold, with hard-boiled eggs, tator tots, and even lukewarm water in the hot water pitcher. The place is nasty and run down. I won’t stay there again.