Tru by Hilton Lawrence

The room had smudges and handprints all over it, including orange handprints in the bathroom. The blind chain was broken when I arrived, though I fixed it myself. In the bathroom there were hairs on the toilet, in the shower, and on top of the soap and lotion. The TV had only a handful of basic channels, no guide, and several channels didn't work. Staff didn't seem friendly either. One woman glared when I came in, and at breakfast the next morning another didn't even look up from her phone.

We had an awesome weekend, thanks to Ms.Janell, the first jewel of this property. She knew the area inside and out and helped us find food and fun. My husband drove in while I flew from Tennessee, and a snowstorm delayed my flight. He checked us in and asked her all about the area, and her help made it easy to navigate a city I hadn't visited before. I wouldn't trade that experience. We called about checking in early. She explained upfront that they normally don't do that, but several guests had checked out early and some from the previous night hadn't shown up, so there was availability. Thank you Jenelle. I've traveled all over the world and the country, but this was a new city for me.

I picked this hotel because tru is usually paired with home2, where I've had good stays. This place felt cheaply built and already coming apart, so I checked out early. The wallpaper was peeling, the wood trim was banged up, and there was mold in the shower corners and where the caulk had worn away. The shower door had clearly been ripped off before, and the crumbling repair was falling apart. There was mold around the sink drain and a big stain at the foot of the mattress.

Coffee was gone every time I looked, when I arrived, at breakfast, and again at checkout. Around 8:30 at breakfast, there were no eggs, the pancake machine was out, and the juice was almost clear. I ended up washing down a plain bagel with peanut butter and cream cheese spread using that juice. I asked the front desk, but the person was on a call about someone checking out and back in the same day, and said the breakfast staff member would come out soon. The TV listings came through a QR code instead of a printed sheet, but the channel numbers and availability didn't match what was shown online, and about a dozen channels didn't work.