Comfort Inn (New Cumberland)

John's Diner is right next door, and if you get there before 10 p.m., it's a great dinner option. We picked this hotel twice because it's right off I 83, and for us it offered the best price in a good location. The service was friendly and personal, and breakfast was decent, with fresh coffee, bagels, eggs, sausage, waffles, pastries, cereal, and more. The rooms had comfortable beds, a microwave, mini-fridge, desk, and a good flat-screen TV. There's also an exercise room, so for the price and what you get, we felt it was a good deal. In the first room, the heater didn't work and it was freezing, but they moved us to another room immediately. The room seemed clean, though there were a few little issues, like a small stain on a hand towel.

We ended up putting fresh linens on the beds and cleaning both rooms ourselves after 11 p.m. The clerk eventually got access to clean bedding and a push-sweeper, but by then our kids had fallen asleep in the pack n' play beds we brought along. At checkout, the manager showed little sympathy and offered 10% off, then told us to make a formal complaint through the hotel line. We did, and they kept pushing discounts for future stays. Why would I want to come back? The best offer was another 15%, for 25% off total. That doesn't make up for staying in rooms that gave us the creepy-crawlies because they clearly hadn't been cleaned. We'll avoid Comfort Inn hotels in future. We'd reserved two rooms and arrived after 10 p.m., after giving advance notice. The carpets were littered with food, the sheets had questionable stains, pillowcases were missing, and there was a dirty fingernail, a toy, and drinks in the fridge. We called the front desk and waited more than 30 minutes for the clerk to come look. The kids were falling asleep, so two of us finally went down ourselves. There was no manager on site, and the clerk said she had no access to clean linens or a vacuum. At 10:30 p.m. and later, we were being asked if we wanted to move rooms. Why hadn't we been given clean rooms to start with, and how could we know the others were clean?

I first picked this place by accident because it was closest to where I needed to be, and I'd had good stays at other Comfort Inns. I've come back twice more this year, 2012, and plan to return next month. The renovations inside and out have been extensive, and the exterior looks much better than the picture. A new entrance with wide automatic sliding doors was due to open to the left of the current one. The rooms were clean, everything worked, and the renovated rooms had very good new mattresses. I slept well, and the nights were always quiet. Staff were very friendly and went out of their way to help. The TV was excellent, shower and toilet worked fine, outlets were plentiful, and the fridge kept our sodas cold. Breakfast was fine, with well-stocked items, little pancakes, warm sausages, fresh cereal, skim milk, and juice. There are several places to eat within walking distance, and showing the room key gets you 10% off at John's Diner, which we appreciated and used. We also sat by the pool in chaise lounges at night, a lovely, peaceful spot.

The soundproofing wasn't great, so outside noise came through, especially the loud housekeeping in the hallway. The bed was rock hard, though I guess some people prefer an extra-firm mattress. There was mold along the shower caulk, and the place didn't feel very clean. It wasn't for us, but someone else might be fine with it.