Rodeway Inn Whitehall

I’m editing my review after months of trying to recover a duplicate $88.79 charge for one night at this dank, musty motel. My wife booked online through Expedia on Oct 11 2025 and entered my debit card details as required. We arrived 25 minutes later. She checked in and paid the attendant $88.79 cash. He was curt and hard for her to understand, threw the room cards on the counter, and gave no receipt, Wi-Fi details or information about the continental breakfast. He just told her to use another entrance around the corner. I now believe he took it as an insult that a 4'5" tall Christian woman handed him cash. He was non-native, possibly Muslim. Twenty minutes after we got to the room, the front desk called demanding $20 immediately because we had a dog. If we’d known about the extra charge, we could have left the dog in our motorhome. My wife went to pay. As she got out her wallet, a young girl, apparently the manager’s daughter, came from the lobby with her hand out, begging for money. My wife refused and put the $20 on the counter. The attendant grabbed it and walked away without a receipt. On Oct 29 I found the motel had charged another $88.79 to my debit card through Expedia on Oct 14, three days after we’d paid cash. Choice Hotels confirmed its records showed cash payment and told me to contact Expedia. Expedia also showed cash payment and tried to get the motel to refund the duplicate charge, but the motel refused. I kept pursuing the refund through Expedia, which escalated the complaint on Dec 8. After months of trying, I’ve given up. The managers are lying thieves, in my view, and keep giving new explanations for charging us twice. Their latest claim was that we arrived late for check-in, though we were there just 25 minutes after making the Expedia reservation. Expedia hasn’t contacted me. Two representatives said their records show we paid cash, but they won’t give me copies to take to the Muskegon county prosecutor. The motel is for sale for $2.2M. Maybe new owners will fire these criminals, or they’ll go back where they came from. They shouldn’t run a business in the USA. The review about a bullet hole in the door makes sense. My original review: My wife booked online with expedia because the motel was listed as pet friendly. We have a well-behaved, medium-sized 40lb dog. The clerk was terrible and so hard to understand that my wife misunderstood the room number. The room had a freestanding microwave and a replacement refrigerator that didn’t fit in the cabinet. The TV was smaller than typical for a motel, the two beds were acceptable, and the table was surprisingly banged up. The manager called to ask if we had a dog. I said yes, one. He said we had to come to the desk NOW and pay $20. I thought Rodeway listed the room at $55. plus tax and as pet friendly. If I’d known, I could have left our dog in the motorhome. The room came to $88.79 plus another $20 for the dog, and neither of us thought the place was well maintained. I had trouble sleeping because the musty conditions gave me a sinus headache. There was dirt and popcorn under the dresser, the bathroom curtain rod was loose and drooped enough for the curtain to slide open while in use, and the shower/tub control knob fell off because it wasn’t attached to the valve. The plumbing was loose in the shower surround, the sink support was rusty, a light bulb was missing, and there were gaps in the flooring installation.

I used 8,000 points for a room, but the first one was unsanitary, with dirty sheets and a strong musty smell. I politely asked to switch rooms, only to find the second was worse: the carpet was filthy, there was an opened bar of soap, toenail clippings on the bed, and a big pile of them on the floor. The cleanliness here is extremely disappointing and completely unacceptable. I strongly recommend avoiding this place. If needed, sleeping in your car would be preferable.

My campsite was washed out by severe thunderstorms, so I booked a simple, no-frills room online at a “Choice” hotel. The lobby smelled, but I thought it might be the storms. When I went into the room, the odor was so overpowering I could hardly breathe. The clerk moved me to another room after I raised the issue, and it seemed okay at first. But when I came back from getting my things outside, I realized the smell was throughout the hotel. There were stains on the bed linens, grime in the bathroom, and carpet that was damp and filthy. I felt physically sick and had to leave right away. The clerk/manager refused to refund me, regardless of why I had to leave. The service was just as bad as the condition of the hotel. An uninhabitable place with uncaring, unprofessional staff. If negative stars were possible, it would be a 5/5.

The owner was kind and helpful, and the amenities were enough for a comfortable stay. The room showed some wear from age, but it wasn’t dirty. I had a good experience.