Clarion Inn Near Baylor University

Go somewhere else. The hallways were stuffy and smelled like old cigarette smoke. Hot air was coming into our room, and when I checked, the window was open about 4-5in. We were on the ground floor. The lock was broken. I requested a different room quickly, but that one was on the ground floor too, and its lock was broken as well. A single screw about an inch long was the only thing holding the window shut, and it wasn't fully screwed into the wall. We went out to a funeral, and when we got back, a very large roach ran across the carpet as soon as I turned on the light. At the desk I asked for a manager, but was told there was no manager or supervisor on duty, only one on-call for emergencies. They wouldn't refund us until the next day because they didn't consider my situation an emergency. We drove up the highway to the Holiday Inn in Bellmead for $20 more, and it was well worth it.

Crystal at the desk was great, and the woman serving breakfast was kind. The breakfast bar itself had no real food, just heavily processed things with an unnecessary number of preservatives and ingredients. Maintenance workers smoked outside our room, and it came through the door cracks. Landscapers were using leaf blowers around 7:30 in the morning, and there was a creepy hole in the baseboard. That's enough said. The saving grace was that they had TLC, so I got my Cake Boss on and discovered My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding. You just got Grovered.

We'd stayed at this hotel many times before, but we'll never book there again. We made a reservation in November 2012 for an October 2013 stay. On October 5, the hotel canceled it without giving any explanation. This was during Baylor Homecoming weekend, when there were no rooms to be found in Waco, Bellmead, or nearby. We tried to discuss it with the manager, but they dodged our calls. Choice Hotel, the parent company, was no help either. Being close to campus is convenient, but it doesn't make up for the rooms, which aren't that nice, unfriendly staff, and terrible food options. We put up with those things for the location, but it isn't worth it. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone. Beware, booking with them doesn't guarantee you'll get a stay.

The dining area inside looks like the one in the photos, and that's about the only upside I found. Outside our door it sounded like a block party all night, the beds were hard as concrete, and the shower barely had any pressure. Spend another $30 or $40 and stay at a Holiday Inn.