Hampton Inn & Suites Mason City

The room was spacious and comfortable, and it stayed quiet. The beds were comfortable too. The front desk team was really friendly, and they waived our $75 pet fee when the room type we had booked wasn't available. My only gripe was the TV. It didn't have Amazon Prime, YouTube, or Netflix. To me, those should be available on every hotel TV. Who even watches cable anymore?

Our fourth-floor room was very quiet, with no noise at all, and it was clean. The room's layout worked really well, and the shower was excellent. There were four soft pillows on each bed, which made the beds very comfortable. The room is starting to show its age, though.

I'm sensitive to a lot of things, so please keep that in mind when reading this. I try not to stay in hotels if I can avoid it, and I bring an air purifier, which helps. I know 8/10 people might find this hotel fantastic with no complaints. It seemed fairly priced, maybe just a tiny bit high. I had an even-numbered room on the 4th floor and got to see a lake and the sunrise from my window. The location felt safe and was pretty good, not far from 35 & 18. There was some road noise, but it wasn't too bad, and earplugs meant it didn't affect my sleep. The staff were all kind and friendly, and the hotel seems to have been mostly remodeled within the last few years. The free breakfast had a decent range for people who eat gluten and meat. I was disappointed there was no plant-based milk for people who are dairy-free or vegan. Lots of places now have soy, almond, or oat milk for a big part of the population. The bananas looked really sad. I was glad there was oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts that I could eat. Nearby are Caribou Coffee, a Pizza Hut, and Z'mariks Noodle Cafe, which has gluten-free and vegan options and clear allergy information. Some things may be more of a problem for sensitive guests. There's no bathroom exhaust fan, and despite the recent-looking remodel, there was already a little mold in the shower in room 418. Construction on the first couple of floors meant dust and debris in some halls and by the elevators. I was surprised the crew didn't vacuum it up at day's end. They were painting near breakfast, and the smell was so strong I could barely handle checking in. The bathroom products are all highly fragranced. I bring my own, so it wasn't an issue for me, but I wish fragrance-free products were required, especially since the American Medical Association now recognizes fragrance sensitivity/allergy as a disability. My air purifier cleared up the smell from the heating/cooling unit, which was noticeable at first. Something else in the room was still off-gassing, and I guessed it was the carpet. I was glad I'd brought the purifier. Near the elevators, the carpets already had a surprising number of stains. That didn't bother me much, though it might bother someone else. There were a few hairs in the shower, which I just removed, and some dried splatter on the nightstand that might have been glue or epoxy. It made the nightstand look dirty, but wasn't a big deal to me. The pool was closed and there's no hot tub anymore. I don't know why or when the pool will reopen, but I didn't care since I didn't plan to use it.

The room was laid out in a really unusual way, and the hotel was very nice and clean. I liked the bathroom, especially the barn door. Breakfast one morning had scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, waffles, and cereal. The bed was a little firmer than I prefer, though I've had worse in hotels. I'd stay again.