La Quinta Inn by Wyndham West Long Branch/NJ Shore Area

The initial customer service was great, but things went downhill. The room was fine, though paint was peeling from inside the tub. I asked for a noon late checkout, but there was clearly a communication breakdown: someone knocked at 11 to say checkout was at 11, and another person knocked about the same thing at 11:20. I was visiting from out of town for my grandson's basketball game, and rushed to get him and myself ready so there wouldn't be any problems. There's a $150 hold until you leave. I took room photos, which I don't usually do, returned my key cards to the desk lady before noon, and saw the hold had been returned to my card. Then I noticed a $17 charge. Donna had been nice at check-in and said late checkout after 12 noon was $15, which was fine. When I called to ask about the charge, she said I checked out after noon. I told her I hadn't and had timestamped photos, but she told me to dispute it with my bank. That's what makes me angry. They took my money easily, but now won't return it. It's only $17, but it's mine, and this is so unprofessional. I think the place is independently owned, but I'll check and complain to corporate too. Be careful with places that take cash and charge $150 for incidentals. Even the Hilton doesn't charge that.

Our employee had to book his own room after the front desk refused to check him in, even though I plan hotel rooms for my company and had supplied the proper credit card authorization forms. The desk attendant wanted us to email our employer's ID to a random address that wasn't associated with La Quinta. When my employer called, the attendant was even ruder and replied “good luck with that” when he said he would speak to the hotel manager. This was the night shift on Saturday 1/24 around 11p. I’ve worked in the industry and never complain about service, but this person was the rudest I've dealt with. No customer service skills whatsoever.

Coffee is only available from 6:30 to 7:30 am, and with long-term guests, expect ongoing noise and a poorly maintained pool. This place falls well below the standard of other La Quinta's I've stayed at. Hyatt prices, Motel 6 comfort. If you like staying at Super 8, you'll feel right at home.

After a 20-hour trip from Prague back to New Jersey, I checked in and relaxed in the room for an hour and a half before showering. All three bathroom towels had different stains, so I dried off with a shirt. One of the two beds had a stained sheet, and the other had stains on all three pillowcases. There was also a brown stain on the room's resting chair. That's eight stained items, so I checked out immediately rather than ask for another room. The night Clark understood why I didn't want to stay, but when I called in the morning for a refund, the manager and general manager accused me of doing nefarious things in the room because I left so quickly and wanted my money back over the hotel's disgusting condition. The local health Department investigator said the stains didn't violate health codes. He also said he wasn't surprised by my interaction with staff, and that he'd already had to call them that day and would raise the concern. I contacted Wyndham, which owns La Quinta, about getting my money back and am still waiting to hear. La Quinta is a franchise up, so they aren't responsible for the hotel's condition. In my opinion, the building's owner should be ashamed and shut the place down. The experience was completely unacceptable, and I don't want others dealing with the same service and disgusting rooms. I should have expected trouble at check-in: they require a $150 debit deposit and a $250 cash deposit. I had a feeling the manager would try to bully me. You can tell a lot from a hotel's condition, and they also say absolutely no late checkout.