Sonesta Essential Rapid City

BED BUGS in room 102. I passed out in the computer chair, woke up, and watched some YouTube. Then I felt something on my hand and immediately knew it was a bed bug. I checked the mattress and saw three or four of them. I didn't lift the sheets, and could only imagine what was underneath. I'm glad I hadn't fallen asleep in the bed. I threw my stuff out into the hall and went to the desk for another room. They never reimbursed me or anything.

I'd booked rooms in January and March for our group to stay on August 3, one of the busiest times of year. Two weeks beforehand, I called to confirm the reservation and our check-in. While traveling, I called again at 9:16 PM, only to hear from the front desk that rooms booked through Expedia and priceline had been canceled and the hotel was sold out. Now, after disputing the charges, they've credited six of the eight rooms, but say the other two are nonrefundable and I have to go through priceline, even though they credited the Expedia rooms. We were left without a room in a fully booked Rapid City, and I think this is a corrupt hotel. Never book sonesta rapid city south dakota. I recommend the comfort Inn Rapid City instead, with its wonderful breakfast and indoor pool.

After two nights, I gave up on this place for good. Outside, it was very hot, but our room was incredibly hot too, and the thermostat didn't work. I told the front desk, but they didn't seem to care or seemed to think I was lying. At breakfast, the waffle batter looked spoiled and disgusting. The desk wouldn't fix it, saying that's how it should look and how the waffles should turn out, then closed the breakfast area for the day. I got quite sick afterward. I also saw a random red dot flash now and then inside the ceiling vent facing the beds. My camera, mic, and GPS detector went crazy, beeping loudly and nonstop by the vent, but stopped closer to the door. I couldn't see anything when I looked inside, though the detector kept picking something up. It's a bad place to stay, especially if they record your every move for their own enjoyment and poison you before checkout!

We arrived for our reservation to find a sign on the door saying the place was closed. At the front desk by phone, I was told they weren't taking reservations anymore. When I said we already had one, they apologized but said it had been canceled. Rapid City was fully booked, so we ended up there, ten hours from home, without a room. Absolutely unacceptable.