Travelodge by Wyndham Airport Platte City

The office staff were very nice when we stopped by to return the key, and luckily my son had booked through armed forces travel, so we got a refund. Still, this was one of the worst motels I've stayed in. Our room was small, in a two-room annex, and the neighboring unit had trash and junk scattered outside. The bathroom had mold, every light was a bare bulb, and the door had no seal, so bugs could come and go. We expected a decent stay because it was a Wyndham franchise, but apparently Wyndham will put its name on anything. We'll think twice before booking one of their properties again.

Getting to and from the airport was extremely simple. The dated hotel was cozy enough and met our needs. Parking and the entrance felt safe when we arrived late, and I appreciated that staff took care to check us when we left and came back in the middle of the night for an airport run. Our room was comfortable, the A/C worked well, and it had a fan option. The beds were clean and comfortable, though the bathroom smelled like its tile or grout needed a deep clean. Breakfast was sparse: hard plain bagels, stale cold cereal, two juices, coffee, bread, and a pastry. I think there were oranges, and the bananas were browning. We were ready to get on the road, so we ate elsewhere.

The grounds were in rough shape, and there were so many unfinished-looking details: trim painted half white and half yellow, and bathroom tile painted over with the old color still showing through. The doors looked as if they'd been kicked in more than once. In the room, the smell was awful, then got worse when weed and cigarette smoke came through the walls from the people next door. The smoke detectors and phone didn't work, the windows wouldn't lock, and the sink wouldn't drain. The only upside was that we didn't see any bugs. Find a better hotel!

Wyndham, Travelodge, please do better. Guest safety depends on proper maintenance, not just doing the bare minimum. Even at a cheap place like this, a working smoke detector is basic stuff. On our second night, the detector started chirping off and on. I called the front desk using zero on the phone and told the person who answered. I expected someone to come by with a battery, but about an hour later, after it went quiet for reasons unknown, it started chirping again and woke me at 1:30 a.m. I called back, got the same person, and he asked if I was in the room. He showed up a few minutes later and tried to pull the unit from its mount. I assume he was trying to work out how it came off, because then he tried pulling out the wires. When that didn't work, he removed the battery, seemed unsure what to do, put it back, and said, "that should be good." I explained it needed a new battery. He took it out again and suggested it shouldn't chirp before leaving. I told him plainly it needed replacing or it would keep chirping. He finally agreed, brought a new battery, and installed it. He fiddled with the test button even after the light turned green, making it turn red, then pressed it again until it was green. That seemed to satisfy him. Does this guy have any experience changing a smoke detector battery? I'm no stickler for fire code, but there is a reason for it. Even an idiot should know the battery lets the alarm work if the power goes out.