Baymont by Wyndham Waterloo

We’ve had some rough stays at budget hotels, so the good ratings convinced us to give this one a try. The hotel and our room were both impressively clean and well maintained. I’d stay here again without hesitation.

The price was low and the room looked clean, but I killed two cockroaches as soon as I got in. They seem to be living in the walls despite the tidy appearance. Breakfast wasn’t great either. It’s decent value if you know what you’re getting into, and I’d keep any bags or suitcases you don’t need in the car.

The staff members I dealt with, apart from the person who pressed me about housekeeping, were great. They offered things like extra coffee for the room, and the breakfast was about what you’d expect. I liked finding strawberry cream cheese for the bagels. The milk for cereal was sitting in what looked like a tea kettle instead of a fridge, though, so it was warm by around 8 a.m. I also found a panty liner wrapper left behind during cleaning, which was odd. The location made it easy to get around, right by the highway, with familiar fast food spots within walking distance, including Taco John’s. I also liked the newer TV, which seemed to be a basic 40-inch 4K model. It was a much better size and picture for watching from bed than the old 27-32-inch 720p screens I’ve often seen. I was there for seven nights and spent a lot of time indoors. Some days I slept until noon and didn’t want housekeeping. I let them in on the second and fourth mornings, then left early on the sixth because of personal circumstances. On the third morning, I was confronted about not letting staff in, even though they had been in the day before and replaced towels, soap, and the usual items. Being expected to let them in every day felt strange for a seven-day stay. The actual workers were otherwise great. There were two roaches on day two: a large one in the bathroom and what I assume was a tiny or baby one coming through the poorly sealed room door from another floor. I added an image of the gap where I saw baby roaches or mites coming from. There are no rollaway beds, and there’s no elevator. The rooms also let in noise through the connecting doors, and I could hear footsteps and activity upstairs. The main issues were enough to keep me from giving it a higher score. I’d call the stay a 3.5, but since that wasn’t an option, I rounded down. I was mostly pleased with the visit.

My daughter-in-law and her two small children needed a room after her furnace went out on a very cold Sunday. I called what I understood to be Baymont Waterloo, explained that I was paying, gave my card details, and said she wouldn’t have the card with her at check-in. The woman who answered said that would be fine and emailed me a confirmation number. At the hotel, a man refused to check her in without the card. I tried to explain by phone, but I had trouble understanding his thick accent and apologized. He didn’t seem to care and hung up. I drove across town with my card. He said he was the manager and that I’d called a reservation line, not the hotel. I explained how the phone had been answered and who I spoke with, but he kept repeating that he was the manager. He refused to give her the room and canceled the reservation, even though it was in his system. I was stunned by his rudeness, especially when he then said I was being rude and told us to leave. I had brought the card in person, and he still wouldn’t accept it. I don’t know what I did to anger him. People book rooms for others with company or personal cards all the time. At least my card wasn’t charged. I got her a room at the hotel next door without any trouble. The next day I called Wyndham, but they said the hotels are independently owned and operated and they couldn’t tell them what to do. They offered to send an inquiry to the manager, but I would have had to work it out with him, and I didn’t want to see him again. After reading some reviews later, I wondered if it was for the best that my precious grandkids didn’t stay there. Stay away from this place.