Best Western Mountain View Inn

The way the payment problem was handled left us feeling insulted and completely dissatisfied. Our family was asleep when, around 12:40 am, the very loud room phone woke everyone. The front desk said our card had a problem and we needed to come down right away to pay. My husband and I had to get dressed and go downstairs, where we learned their machine had come back on and they'd tried the card, but it didn't go through, so they wanted another payment method. The staff acted as if waking us in the middle of the night was justified, like we were trying to avoid paying. Nearly half the room had been covered with loyalty points, so the balance wasn't even significant. At check-in, we had been told their credit card machine "quits working every night at about 10:00(pm), we don't know why that's just what it does". They didn't try our card then. Instead, they had me sign a form authorizing them to run it once the machine worked again. I thought that was strange, but didn't expect how disruptive it would become. They could have dealt with this at check-in if their equipment worked, or waited until checkout in the morning. Their ongoing equipment issue and choice to wake us overnight made us feel both unhappy customers and insulted.

The room felt like an old, dirty apartment building, and I was glad we only had to stay one night. There was mold on the bathroom door, hair in the shower and in-room hot tub, and stains on both in-room couches. The ottoman and desk chair were peeling and visibly worn. Around the hotel, the caulking was obvious, the tile work was poor, and the shower door screeched so loudly each time it opened. The bathroom door stuck and dragged against the tile, and there was grime on doorjambs in the room and along the hotel staircase. The charges were another problem. We were billed for the room before check-in, minus the $20 tax, then charged the full room amount again when we checked in, leaving us unable to refuse the room and stay elsewhere. The internet didn't work in the room, so we couldn't watch TV. Don't let the online pictures fool you. NEVER AGAIN.

The front desk clerk was attentive when the smell in our first room was too much for us. They let us choose from a couple of other rooms, and the one we took was clean, quiet, and fine. Without that help, we probably would have left. The place does have a pool and a fair breakfast included. It's beside the freeway and a truck stop, so it attracts a certain crowd. Smokers gathering at the side entrance got to be a bit much, and the hotel ads are somewhat misleading. Our pet room showed clear signs of pet use, including evidence that a dog had been locked in there before.

The room was clean and really nice, and the breakfast was good. I've never had a bad stay at a Best Western, and they seem pretty consistent. Prices do vary, especially on Booking.com or Expedia. I'd stay again.