Sleep Inn Marion - Cedar Rapids

At 9:30 the next morning, we were suddenly told the hotel was fully booked and my grandfather had to be out by 11. They said there were no exceptions or other options because they'd overbooked. This came after we called at 2 a.m. when my grandmother had a massive heart attack at the property and was taken to St Luke's. After an emergency heart cath, she was placed in ICU. We had called several times and been assured her room was extended through the weekend. We updated the card on file and were told again the booking was confirmed. We had to rush to find my grandfather another room, with no empathy or compassion from the hotel, even though they'd assured us the situation was handled. Because of the last-minute change and ongoing activity in Cedar Rapids, the new hotel cost almost twice as much. I initially would have given the property five stars, since I'd booked it for my grandparents during their visit to Iowa. But the lack of compassion, the assurances that turned out to be false, and being hurried out after the hotel's mistake left a horrible feeling. We won't return, and I'll tell anyone who'll listen about this. And now, despite saying there were no rooms and making them leave, the hotel still charged them for two extra days when they had no room. People should check their invoices. For the record, staff at 11:30 p.m. and 3 a.m. told us the original room was held for us. At 9 a.m., staff said the whole property was sold out and overbooked. They never offered other accommodations. If you're responding, be honest and show some integrity. There's no need to lie.

I'm grieving my grandfather and was on my way to his repast when I was told I had to check out if I wanted a refund for one day. Where was I supposed to go? We were in town for his funeral, and this was the last thing I wanted to handle. The city of Marion had no running water because of water main breaks, so asking for a reasonable refund shouldn't have turned into games. Customer service is agreeable when things are fine, but when something serious happens, they need to come through. This was their chance to show good service, and they dropped the ball. Very disappointing. To the owner: this is definitely the right location. The manager I spoke with was named Joy, and a short man with a ponytail checked us in. My last name is Leslie. I stayed Thursday, Nov. 20th through Sunday, Nov. 23rd.

The room was on the small side, but it was clean and quiet. The water was VERY SOFT, which caught us by surprise. It's pet friendly, too.

Breakfast ending so early was a real letdown. I've been used to it running much later at other places. The room itself was nice, though a little small for the price, and we had a great stay.