La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Steamboat Springs

For a ski trip, La Quinta Inn by Wyndham Steamboat Springs had everything we needed. It was clean, comfortable, and well maintained, and the location made getting to and from the mountain convenient. The staff were friendly, and the stay was easy and stress-free. For the price, it’s an excellent value compared with many other places in the area. It exceeded our expectations.

We had an awful stay, and the way the refund was handled made it even worse. We spent seven hours at HDN airport waiting because of mechanical trouble. Alaska Airlines eventually canceled the flight and, through Priceline, booked us here for three nights. Their next flight wasn’t until Wednesday, and it was Sunday. My husband had just shattered his hip and femur, and we left early to get him home for surgical follow-ups and needed drainage. I would have overlooked the rest if we’d been refunded for the unused nights, but the hotel reversed course after saying a two-night refund had been approved and should process by 3:00pm Wednesday. Customer Service said Thursday that they had changed their mind and wouldn’t refund us. They had contacted the hotel Monday with no reply, then called Tuesday and were told one night was authorized and staff would ask a supervisor about two. On Wednesday, someone said two nights were approved. Customer Service didn’t answer Thursday. The room was at the back of the hotel and not accessible for my husband. We had asked Alaska to check for handicap-friendly lodging because he couldn’t walk far or manage steps, and they told us this place was suitable. But the doorway was too narrow for a wheelchair, the bathroom was too small, the toilet too low, and the shower unusable. The covered driveway was layered with ice, with no de-icing where guests enter or unload luggage. There were no wet-floor signs in the lobby despite guests tracking in snow and ice. The room was extremely loud. We could hear everything, even an outside door closing at the opposite end of the hotel, which only led to the second floor. Every door closing shook the whole room. That was especially hard after we’d had no sleep at the hospital over the weekend and had spent all day at the airport. It wasn’t clean either. There was hair everywhere before we’d even settled in, the soaps were mismatched and half used, paint was chipping onto the floor, and one bed had a red-brown stain. Flies kept buzzing around because the front door didn’t shut all the way, leaving a sizable gap to the hallway. The check-in woman was friendly, but gave us false information about accessibility. The woman working the morning of Jan. 19th paid no attention when I tried to talk about checking out. She was watching videos on her phone with the sound on and didn’t look up. When she finally did after I asked for her attention, she left the video playing. I explained we needed to check out “early,” even though the airline should have booked us for that night since our new flight was the next day. She just said to call someone else and offered no information about other staff. At “breakfast,” everything was gone. We asked about a coffee refill and whether food could be refreshed, and she stared at us. Eventually she seemed upset but got up, still leaving her video on. When we checked out with six bags and a snowboard bag, we asked for help with the door so my husband wouldn’t slip and injure himself further on the wet floor or ice outside. She said nothing and kept facetiming someone.

The breakfast was a joke: there was no waffle batter, the coffee makers weren’t labeled, and the eggs and sausage looked like leftovers from the day before. I’m not picky, but it came across as lazy. I booked a room with a fireplace, and it didn’t work. When I told the front desk, the employee said to “play with the wires” and try lighting the pilot myself. That felt completely unacceptable and unsafe. The room looked worn and poorly maintained. It wasn’t disgusting, but it didn’t feel clean or comfortable the way La Quinta usually does. It felt like a cheap roadside motel, not a Wyndham property. I’m a Wyndham Diamond member and have stayed at a lot of La Quintas over the years. This was by far my worst experience. When I’m back in Steamboat Springs, I’ll stay somewhere else.

I was disappointed to find an extra parking charge. Where else was I supposed to park? The pool and hot tub were at the Holiday Inn next door, a few parking lots away, even though the website said they were on site.