Quality Inn - Storm Lake

We brought our dogs for a long hunting weekend, and the place was very pet friendly, with poop bags around the property's perimeter. The King Suite was nothing like I expected from a chain hotel. It felt more like a ski lodge, with high ceilings, beams, lots of space, and a huge jacuzzi. It was very comfortable. Staff were friendly and helped us sort out a few glitches. Shout out to Chrissie and Henry for making the stay even nicer.

We showed up around 8 pm after booking the King Suite a month earlier, only to be told it wasn't available. The front desk girl was nice, and I didn't give her a hard time since that was probably above her pay grade. They downgraded us to a double double room. The fabrics were clean, but the room smelled intensely musty, like water damage, and there were old urine stains all over the toilet. For $89 it was somewhere to sleep, but I wouldn't recommend staying for any other reason. If I needed to stay more than one night, I'd have left. The workers were all nice, though. Breakfast was all right, with warm options like eggs, sausage, and a waffle maker. The orange juice tasted bad and the coffee was basically hot water. The musty smell hit hard again when we returned from breakfast, after apparently getting used to it overnight. One key card had also stopped working. It's okay for $89 a night if you're just passing through. And no, that Belgian waffle doesn't make up for the rest.

The room and bathroom were exceptionally clean, and the front desk ladies were friendly. I think they let me check in two hours early, which was nice. The room was a bit narrow, but the brand new TV made it feel smaller in a good way. It had responsive controls and newer streaming apps. Parking was the problem. I had a truck and medium sized trailer, and the back lot filled quickly. After I left for about 30 minutes to get food, my space was taken. I had to squeeze the truck and trailer into a parallel spot between cars. Still, it was a very good value.

We had a huge King Suite, though the balcony was just okay. It faces the pool, so it might suit parents watching their kids, or creepers. The room's furniture was old, the lighting wasn't great for desk work, and several track lights were burned out. I reported those when checking out. There was also a whirlpool tub, but we didn't use it, and there were puddles of water in it. We booked through the Choice Hotels app for a "king suite with balcony," but first got a tiny room with two queen beds. I showed the front desk person my confirmation email, and then we were given the suite. Looking at the reviews, this bait and switch seems to happen often at this hotel. Weekday breakfast runs from 5-8 AM, so we missed it, which was very disappointing.