Country Inn & Suites by Radisson, Waterloo, IA

We picked the hotel because it was near my sister’s home and met up there with family for pizza. The hot tub wasn’t working, and we hadn’t been told when booking. There was a sock in our room, and my mom found what looked like animal feces in the coffee maker. The rooms have no carpet, so rolling around in an office chair was noisy; the hallway floor was very uneven, with carpet coming loose in spots. In the evening we had to call the front desk about a dog barking for a long time. Later, we were accused of breaking the fitness room mirror, though they wouldn’t show us video even after we reported the mirror was already broken. Wouldn’t recommend.

I often go to Waterloo, so I’ll have to find somewhere else to stay. We had to cancel because of a family situation and called both the hotel and Choice Hotels a day ahead. Both said an exception had been made and we’d get a refund. A week later, nothing had come through. When we called, each company told us to ask the other one to start the refund. The local hotel eventually stopped taking my calls and never called back. I asked for the General Manager, but was always told they weren’t available. Choice Hotels at least tried to reach the hotel desk while I was on hold. In the end I disputed the charge through my credit card company, something I’d hoped to avoid since chargebacks are part of my work. It shouldn’t have been so hard for everyone to join a three-way call and sort it out.

Breakfast was pretty weak: eggs, potatoes, and something else I couldn’t identify. They had the usual waffle maker, but no fruit and just one coffee pot, with no decaf. There’s a Perkins nearby if you want a proper breakfast. Our four-night stay was in an old, shabby hotel, and no one cleaned the room. They left towels once and emptied the single wastebasket one time. For more towels, you had to go to the desk. I tried calling, only to learn the room phone didn’t work. When I brought it downstairs, they said they still had to call the phone company to have it installed, so our room never had phone service. On several days there was also a wet spot on the floor in the same place, though we couldn’t see anything on the ceiling.

We were here for a wrestling tournament. The rooms were very clean, and breakfast was tasty with a good selection. The new management seems to be working hard to bring the property back up to standard.