Comfort Inn at the Zoo

The first-shift woman was nice, but I felt unsafe here and would not stay again. Around 3 a.m. on my first night, someone climbed into the gap between the room wing and the next building and banged on my window, asking for Jamie. The halls were dirty, there was trash around the property, and the hallway ventilation had missing panels with alcohol bottles shoved inside. I also saw police when I arrived and was told they had been called about people staying there three separate times. My first room’s lock didn’t work, and the replacement had no towels or washcloths. The desk gave me towels but said there were no washcloths, so I bought my own. The tub was rust-stained, and the room smelled of cigarette smoke. There was no breakfast despite the advertisement, and the pool was closed. It felt like a place for transients. Do not stay here.

The beds were comfortable, and the weekend staff member was really nice and helpful. Still, the room smelled odd, so I bought cleaning supplies and cleaned it myself, then used a plug-in air freshener. There were only two towels, no soap, and no coffee maker. I had to move the microwave to find an outlet that worked, and the pool looked gross. The first-night clerk was rude and said we had no reservation. Breakfast was messy even at 5 p.m., with cereal all over the place. It wasn’t horrible for the most part, but bring your own supplies.

We got a good rate for one night, and the lobby looked attractive, but trying to sleep was nearly impossible. From 9 p.m. until 2 a.m. there was repeated noise. My husband went to the lobby around 1 a.m. to see what was going on; he saw several people milling around, including some he recognized as cleaning staff, talking loudly. People kept going up and down the stairs and calling to each other. He said nobody seemed to be in charge. The front desk called police twice to remove guests, and there seemed to be a lot of riffraff inside. The motel itself seems fairly new, and our room was large, though the furniture looked old and out of place. The tub was stained, there were no towels or extra toilet paper, and the single shampoo tube looked partly used. Also, there’s no in-room coffee maker.

The employees, especially Corinne, were fantastic and the main reason I’m giving this three stars. Our room was comfortable and very clean, including the sheets, and we never felt unsafe. But the building needs a lot of work: the walls are unfinished and being painted, the second-floor elevator doesn’t work, and the first-floor ice machine is out of order. Fixtures look worn and outdated. For the hotel’s condition, I don’t think the price was fair. The staff are working hard for guests and to fix the place up, and with improvements it could be outstanding.