Red Lion Inn and Suites Brooklyn

Scarlett at the front desk was the one real bright spot. She did all she could to improve our stay, though she was only working the morning we arrived. The bathroom was also lovely, with good shower pressure, just-right water temperature, and nice quality amenities. The folded eggs with cheese were surprisingly good, and the mini Boston Cream Donut was fresh and flavorful. That's about where the good parts ended. The hotel is tiny inside. There wasn't room for guests' bags, so they were piled by the single elevator, and the rooms were very small. They were mostly clean, with a minimalist white and white oak look broken up by bright red. The A/C seemed older than my 31 years, and pieces were falling off. Direct TV kept lagging or disconnecting after about 15 minutes. The lobby and the rest of the hotel were clean enough. The neighborhood was covered in graffiti, with rundown cars and huge empty lots. The hotel seemed to be the only building without graffiti, but the surroundings felt so uncomfortable that walking through them was unpleasant. At night, the walk felt like a horror movie preview. Parking was a mess. There are only 15 spaces, and when I called weeks ahead, I couldn't reach the hotel because, staff said, their phone lines sometimes go down. The main office told me there was plenty of parking and not to worry about calling ahead. Later I was told that calling ahead could have gotten me a space, and another employee said staff sometimes have to park on the street when the lot is full. They don't even have enough spots for everyone who works there. We had to park elsewhere and walk a mile. I wasn't willing to leave my car on a street where cars were covered in graffiti. Breakfast was mostly gone before it ended. One person was trying to restock everything, which was too much for one person, and many items ran out. The juice tasted watered down and was unpleasant. The waffle batter dispenser was half broken and falling apart, and there was no measuring cup or extra cups, so everyone used the same cup to pour batter. That raised cross-contamination and health-code concerns. The pastries, though, were excellent. We couldn't get extra blankets or pillows because they were out of both, and we couldn't check in early. We only managed to get part of a breakfast. If not for Scarlett, the eggs, and that donut, I'd give this place zero stars. I wouldn't recommend staying here.

I found the rate affordable for the area, so I'd recommend the place. The room was clean and well furnished, and I did manage to get a parking spot, though the lot could use more spaces. Staff were helpful and friendly. There was a computer glitch when I checked in, but they still got me settled, and they also gave me a very good tip for a nearby pizza place.

The street felt pretty empty at first, which put me off a little, but over my five days there I felt safe and comfortable. The location was close to everything, with nearby subway stops that made getting around easy. The rooms were great, the beds comfortable, and the showers good. I'd recommend it and would come back.

The room was only tidied once during our four-night, five-day stay. We specifically told room service it was ready to be cleaned, but they said it was too late that day. We thought maybe that was the reason, so we left earlier on the following days, and it still wasn't done. The hotel kept our deposit, which made the stay more expensive than it already was. It wasn't a cheap hotel, though the price seemed decent compared with other options. The website is run by a third party and it's easy to pay, but I couldn't reach anyone who could help get the deposit back. When I did get a response, they said it wasn't their responsibility, and that was it. I couldn't find a way to contact the hotel directly.