Best Western Plus Sparta Trail Lodge

My son was in town for National Guard drill, and I booked our room directly through the Best Western website using the military discount. I had the confirmation screen shot on my phone, but the hotel kept insisting I’d booked through a travel agent and argued about it without letting me show them the booking information. When my son came back from drill Saturday, his CO sent a form for a tax exemption based on his military visit. The hotel refused it even though he had a copy of his orders on his phone. We don’t rely on his military status for discounts, so it wasn’t a deal breaker, but the exemption would have been nice. I don’t want to argue with people who have such limited customer service skills. In a military-heavy area like Sparta, Tomah, Volk Field, and Camp Douglas, you’d think they’d know how to handle this. Oh well. The room itself was nice, though a bit dated, and could have used a better dusting. Breakfast was good.

I’ve never written a review before. I work with people and places and try to be understanding, but I’m disgusted by how we were treated. We’d paid for a weekend to celebrate my daughter’s 5th birthday because she loves swimming. We chose a central location so her grandparents could stop by to watch her swim and have cake in our room. The pool was ice cold, and the pool area was freezing too, with icicles forming on the vent as cold air blew out. We could only use the hot tub. It was so cold we wore gloves and hats, but we didn’t complain at first because my daughter was enjoying her birthday swim. The halls and rooms smelled like weed as well. When we tried to raise things the second time, a staff member came into the pool area. We thought she might address the temperature, but she rudely said non-swimmers had to pay $25. We went out to work out what we were supposed to do. She got agitated, wouldn’t show us the policy, and we were willing to pay for the kids to swim, just not the adults who weren’t swimming. We also asked if there could be a discount since the cold temperatures limited the amenities the kids wanted to use. With our hats and gloves on, we didn’t think it was unreasonable to ask. Instead, the worker became belligerent and called the police during a 5-year-old’s birthday stay. We left because of the hostile atmosphere and didn’t want to pay $180. We were willing to pay $100 for the kids, which still seemed ridiculous for a Sparta hotel with only four vehicles in the lot. The officers also said she was the unreasonable one, and that we hadn’t said anything mean. It was embarrassing and disappointing for my daughter and family, who had driven up to an hour. We decided to go home. For the price, the freezing pool area and weed smell made even the weekend rate feel overpriced. I’d already tried to overlook the cold pool, the weed smell, and the fact that our concerns hadn’t been addressed the night before. When we brought it up again, she made things hostile and called the police, leaving us with the decision to go.

The front desk was nice, and breakfast had decent options, but I wouldn’t recommend staying here if you want to use the pool or are coming with a sports team. We booked a couple of months ahead for a hockey tournament weekend. Parents found they could book on their own for much less than our block rate. Once there, we were told they hate hockey teams, with an explanation given to one parent that sounded pretty insane if true. That made the list of things we weren’t allowed to do, and the unavailable items shown in online photos, make more sense. For context, our team is in a U8 league. Our room was clean, though the headboard had chunks missing, as others had mentioned. The pool was the main attraction for the kids, and it was a letdown. The pool room was freezing, the large pool too cold to stay in, and the kiddie pool only marginally warmer. The kids stuck it out, but everyone came out with a rash. My child was screaming in pain that night and now has scabs all over his body. Parents on the second floor said the elevator wouldn’t take them down to the first, so they used the stairs. I can’t confirm that myself because I wasn’t on that floor.

The pool was the worst part of the stay. The chlorine and chemicals were overpowering, our kids got skin breakouts, and it ruined all their swimsuits. Paint was missing from the slides and rough patches scratched their legs. The hot tub was filthy, with dirty hose water running over the floor and into it. It felt unsanitary and unsafe. Our room was in terrible condition too. Foam was missing from the headboard, with flakes all over the sheets. The chair cushions looked chewed up, as if by a dog, and had been covered to hide the damage. The microwave had the wrong glass plate and didn’t work properly. For a Best Western, that room was unacceptable. We booked through Priceline, which confirmed we could get a refund for the remaining nights if the hotel approved it. Linda refused to let us leave early or refund anything. We waited all morning to speak with a manager. Melanie at the desk couldn’t say when Linda would arrive and barely helped, giving short, one-word answers with a poor attitude. When Linda finally came in, she was rude and dismissive, as if our concerns didn’t matter. We asked for contact information for the owner or someone above her, and she said she didn’t know how to provide it. It felt like they were making it impossible to get help or a resolution. Management showed no concern about the serious problems, and the manager, Linda, wouldn’t help resolve them. The dirty, damaged room, unsafe pool, and uncaring management made this one of the worst hotel stays we’ve ever had. I wouldn’t recommend it and would tell people to look elsewhere. In response to your reply: if you’d really cared about our satisfaction, you would have listened while we were there and allowed us to leave early. Instead, you wouldn’t let us end our four-night stay and refused to refund the nights we didn’t want to stay. You offered no compensation for any of the problems.