Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Roanoke, VA

The hotel itself was immaculate, smelled nice, and had attractive, tasteful, modern rooms. But after we paid the $75 pet fee, we found out we couldn’t leave our dogs alone in the room. We booked through bringfido.com, where pet rules are listed, and this is usually the sort of restriction shown there. It was really disappointing since my husband and I wanted to go out for dinner and couldn’t. Our dogs are well-behaved. We bring a comforter to cover the bed and furniture covers, and weren’t worried they’d damage anything. This policy should have been made clear upfront.

I stayed twice, once going to my sister’s in New Jersey and again on the way back. The staff were friendly and accommodating, and the hotel accepts pets at a reasonable rate for a dog. But on the first visit, the room smelled terrible, the tissue dispenser was disgustingly dirty, the bathroom sink drain was clogged, and the beds were uncomfortable.

We paid about $180 total with our dog for a very good one-night stay. The room was a large, neat, clean, non-smoking double queen, with no pet or smoke smell. It had a coffee maker, fridge, and microwave. Breakfast was free and had plenty to choose from: eggs, sausage, biscuits with sausage gravy, cereal, bread, waffles, fresh fruit, yogurt, juice, coffee, and tea.

We had a clean, very spacious suite with two beds and a sofa sleeper, but there were only two towel sets and no extra blankets or sheets for the couch. The sofa was old and springy, and the shower gel bottle was empty. The living room TV was broken and had no service, so we couldn’t connect to anything to watch. A hotel TV should be ready to use. The vending machines were outdated and took my money; only one on the second floor worked. We got there after midnight and had to wait for the desk attendant, who was asleep in the back. I called the hotel, and he woke up when the phone rang.