Best Western Plus Pleasanton Inn

The little bedside earplugs made it clear they know the room might not be quiet, even though they offered it to me as the “quiet room.” Highway noise is a given, and the thin walls let you hear neighbors and people passing by who don’t seem to realize others are there. It felt like the hotel had given up on fixing the noise. I was also disappointed to find tiny bottles in the room at a Best Western Plus. I can’t stand those and much prefer mounted dispensers.

In pouring rain, with flooding in several places, I arrived and was told check-in was still two hours away. I asked whether that was because no rooms were available or just hotel policy. They said it was policy. There was no real attempt to find a solution, so I took my money to a better place down the street. Lack of availability is one thing, but refusing early check-in during a storm just because of policy isn’t a good approach. Good luck.

I was surprised nobody asked about refunding my points. We’d had a great stay at BW Pleasanton until the drive home, when I realized the bed bugs had feasted on me. The swelling and itching didn’t start until hours after checkout, so I only noticed once we got home. I called the next day and reported it to Dillon at the hotel. He said the cleaning staff would “look into it,” but I never heard anything else. I sent a report to BW Customer Service and heard nothing from them either. I’ve stayed at Best Western hotels often enough to be a Diamond Member, and usually had good to great experiences.

The hotel was clean, felt safe, and had great staff, but it should be listed as a two-star place. It’s not bad for a glorified two-star hotel, but Booking.com shows it as three-star, and I don’t see it meeting that level. I booked after seeing its 8.0 guest rating on Booking.com, which I found very misleading.