Baymont by Wyndham Minot

I only saw the reviews after booking. Since I’d reserved through a third-party site, I couldn’t cancel. It turned out to be a normal three-star hotel, and not bad at all. My room was clean and had no smell. There were carpet stains in the hallway, but they didn’t bother me. The staff were amazing. The TV might not work, but tell them and they’ll fix it or move you. The guy at the desk, who had dreadlocks and spoke softly, was great, and the new person he was training was pleasant too. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road and stayed in much worse places. It wasn’t the best, but I slept comfortably and felt safe.

For the money, the accommodations are hard to beat, and the location is right off both main highways through Minot, so you can get up and hit the road. The rooms, beds, and sheets were unbelievably clean. They even had name-brand ultra-soft toilet paper, something I haven’t seen in more than 40 years of staying in hotels, even at resorts. I booked partly for the pool and wish someone had told me ahead of time that it was closed. Staff who spoke English were scarce. That’s on us, really, for our own shortcomings.

I’m pretty sure the pool has never been open to the public. The first room I got, though, was the bigger problem: the beds weren’t made, there was trash from the previous guest, and there weren’t even any sheets. When I went to reception for another room, the staff member said she had to do all the housekeeping and couldn’t take care of it. If housekeeping couldn’t be done, why give anyone that room? I was moved to an accessible room, and that one was made up the way a normal hotel room should be.

I was there almost a week, and it was the roughest week ever. The rooms seemed already beat up: the dressers had big notches, and the paint was peeling and had been slapped onto the walls. The first floor smelled strongly of weed. Housekeeping was awful. I didn’t get fresh towels, shampoo, or anything else during the whole stay, and staff couldn’t speak English with guests. The pool was tiny, maybe big enough for seven people, and the hot tub never worked while I was there. This place isn’t worth the money. You’d get better service at a Motel 6 or Super 8. Definitely not somewhere for kids.