Sonesta Simply Suites Lansing

I was expecting construction since this was an old extended stay, but the room smelled like it had been smoked in. Mine reeked of marijuana and cigarette smoke. I should've taken pictures to post online. I planned to stay here at least 8 to 10 times over the next 3 to 4 months for work, traveling weekly. Check-in went fine, although the pet fee was exorbitant: $140 for a week, then $10 a day after that. It sucked for my kind of travel. The day before checkout, I told the front desk I had an important meeting from 11:00 to about 12:15 and asked for a late checkout. They said that was completely fine. But on checkout day, Natasha, the front desk clerk, spoke sternly to me like I was a child about the checkout time. I was writing this at 12:33, after going a little over, but I'd actually been out for 7 to 8 minutes already, around 12:19. I'll do what children of abused parents do, I won't be back. I'll give my business to somewhere that won't complain if I'm four minutes later than I said I'd be.

The rooms are in decent condition, but this place needs an inspection. Bugs were everywhere. On my first trip into the bathroom, there were bugs in the bathtub, more running along the back wall behind the toilet and on the floor. I saw several on the kitchen counter, and on my very last day, with nowhere else to go, there was one on my pillow. This place should really be shut down.

I'd stayed here before and had a great experience, so this visit was especially disappointing. This was Friday, September 5, 2025, booked through Expedia. I came in to an unpleasant odor, and things got worse. The refrigerator smelled strongly of mold; the kitchen was unclean, with a grimy, neglected-looking stove. The curtains had obvious stains that were highly inappropriate and off-putting. There were short, curly hairs on the sink and in the tub, clearly not mine since I have a low fade, plus long hairs hanging from the shower curtain. When I raised it with staff, they said they couldn't move me to another room and wouldn't send housekeeping to deal with it. They offered a refund instead. At that late hour, no nearby hotels had rooms available, so I had no choice but to stay the night in those conditions. A basic level of cleanliness and customer care could've prevented this. If they'd just cleaned the bathroom or made even a small effort to address my concerns, I wouldn't have felt the need to write this review.

ROACHES! I'm serious, they really do have roaches. I stayed here for a year and a half when it was an extended stay back in 2023/2024, and now it's called “Sonesta simply Suites.” Management and cleanliness are both poor, and the bugs are ridiculous. Roaches are in multiple rooms, the lobby, and the laundry room, where there are ants too. Don't stay here for even one night or for a longer stretch. The vending machines break down frequently, and the laundry sometimes takes your quarters or just doesn't work.