The Mclure Hotel & Conference Center

The bed was comfortable, and I got a good night's sleep, but I’ll stay somewhere else next time I’m in Wheeling. A used washcloth was hanging in my bathroom, there was no hand soap, and the loose bathroom tile shifted underfoot. The baseboard trim was missing, the hallway lights were very dim, and one side of the room had dead outlets. The A/C was hit or miss across the guest rooms, and several people had to move rooms. The hotel smelled strongly of cigarettes, and at one point weed, too. A joint left in the hallway stayed there for three days. It’s easy to tell the common areas aren’t cleaned regularly.

The locks were almost impossible to open. It took multiple tries with the keycard, and I felt like I needed to hold my tongue in the upper left corner of my mouth, make the Sign of the Cross, and say a prayer. I suspect the batteries were so old they could barely work the mechanism. The place also had no air conditioning, and the analog cable was fuzzy and static-filled on all but channels 7.1 through 7.4, which came in clearly from the OTA transmitter across the river. Several other channels were frozen, and we couldn’t find NBC to watch the Detroit Lions game on Sunday night football. The cleanliness was even worse. The carpet looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in at least a decade, and our feet and socks turned black walking from the bathroom to the bed. The bathroom floor was filthy and needed bleach and a scrub, there was black goo on the sink, and the stained, nasty-looking sheets made us sleep on top of the bedspread. The windows seemed unwashed for years, the sills were dusty and dirty, and one had a dead stink bug. We worried about bringing something home. I’ve never stayed anywhere nastier. We came to Wheeling for the Nutcracker ballet and Oglebay Festival of Lights, and Expedia had recommended this as its number two option. It looked nothing like the listing, and the photos seemed decades old. I wish I hadn’t paid for two nights up front. I know the building is more than 150 years old, but that doesn’t excuse how filthy it was. It looks like it may once have been a nice hotel, which is such a shame. If you’re in the Wheeling area, go farther down the road and spend more. It’ll be worth the effort and money.

The lobby was inviting and the front desk guy was very nice, but we ended up leaving and finding another room. Our room number had been written on the door in pen, with no actual sign, which felt weird before we even went inside. The beds felt like old coil springs, carpet was ripped in places, and a strong citrus cleaning-product smell was overpowering, maybe covering something up. The toilet kept running after flushing. It was in the 80s, and although we were on the sixth floor with the cooling set to its coldest, it didn’t seem to blow cold air during the half hour we were there. Nothing made us feel comfortable or confident enough to ask for another room and risk getting more of the same. We checked out and left after returning from our event just after midnight. The building has potential, and I hope renovations are completed successfully. Until then, they should avoid putting guests in rooms that haven’t been renovated or find a better way to keep people from being assigned one by mistake.

The room itself was clean, the bed was comfortable, and the AC stayed cool. Free parking was handy. We paid $99 a night, or $112 after taxes, for four nights, which gave us a look at how the place is operating now. I’d be curious to see how it changes through its next stages, given its 170 years of history. There seem to be apartments and long-term residents in part of the building, and furniture was piled in the halls and stairwell. Some rooms or floors didn’t seem to be in use. Our room had a fridge but no microwave, and there was space for another piece of furniture. A couch or a table and chairs would have helped. The staff seemed short-handed and overwhelmed.