Indiana Beach Hotel and Banquet Hall

This is a run-down hotel, and I’d strongly recommend staying somewhere else. Part of the hotel has cockroaches and bedbugs. I spent $148 and they refused to refund me, even though I had pictures to prove it. I’ll never stay here again.

The only reason we booked was that the hotel was by Indiana Beach, and I’m glad we stayed just one night. It cost too much for what we got. At check-in, the front desk lady kept asking whether we had a dog, even though nobody else seemed to be around. The pool was small and cold, and the hot tub wasn’t working. They gave us one tiny 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner bottle, and it wasn’t very good.

I stayed in Room 171 from June 14 to June 21 for $730. I was in the “lodge,” not the “resort,” and hadn’t realized you could be booked into either. The lodge grounds were unkept, with trash around and a general feeling of disrepair. My room was clean but dated. The light over the sink went out, though I couldn’t be bothered to ask management to fix it. I didn’t find bedbugs, but there were other insects, water bugs and such. I imagine they’re hard to avoid with the river across the way. The shower had hot water and excellent pressure. I could sleep well enough on the comfortable mattress with soft pillows, but the yellow bedspread was gross and scratchy. There was no coffee machine, and the fridge needed to be plugged in. I appreciated the cleaning lady, who noticed I was using both beds’ bedspreads on one bed and made that bed with both of them. She’s a goddess among men. My key stopped working on June 20, so I went to the front desk. They reactivated it without asking for ID, just taking my word that I was a guest in the room I named. As a woman traveling alone, I was also placed next to a couple of big dudes. Several times when I came back late, they came out and watched me until I got into my room. They never bothered me, but it was a little scary. The area was well lit, and I was smart enough to be on the phone with someone before getting out of my car.

The hotel is close to Indiana Beach, which was the only good thing. We spent most of our time there, so we only had to be in the filthy room to sleep and shower. The floors were so dirty I couldn’t let my baby crawl on them, and the tub was disgusting. The beds were uncomfortable and the service was poor. The site said cribs were available on request, so we didn’t bring one, but when we asked at arrival they said they didn’t have any. Breakfast barely counted as breakfast, just cheap donuts and cereal.