We first arrived and checked into the hotel without incident. I initially booked 3 people into a double queen room for $116/night; within three days I found the AAA rate on the Best Western website had dropped to $89.99! Of course, I canceled and rebooked. We chose this hotel because for $90, the location was convenient to Mount Vernon, wireless, parking, and breakfast. You may want to keep an eye on the rates, even after you first make your reservation.
The air conditioning in the hotel is bizarre. Once you get off the elevator, cold air shoots out through one vent and the rest of the hallway does not feel air conditioned at all. Our first room featured a unit that wouldn't go down beyond 66 degrees and made a very loud noise - loud enough that we never would have slept. We asked to be moved and the hotel staff did so without hassle. For some reason, even though we had three guests, they would only give us two key cards.
The air conditioning in the new room was normal sounding (ambient noise instead of migraine inducing!) and blew cold air if you stand right in front of it, but sitting five feet away on the bed it was sweltering. We cleaned the air filter (which looked like it had never been cleaned) and used some t-shirts to keep the curtains from billowing in front of the air conditioning unit. This did help a little bit, but the room temperature was still uncomfortable for sleep.
The beds are comfortable enough, but each queen bed had only two very thin pillows and one decorative pillow. I had to fold my flimsy pillow in half.
While the room was clean enough (and carpets all throughout the hotel looked very clean and plush), a jack (phone? ethernet?) was ripped from the wall and just sitting on the floor. The fan and light over the shower was broken. The shower is surprisingly tiny in a fairly large bathroom; I am 5'2" and could reach up and touch the ceiling in the shower. If you are very tall, you may have to stoop in order to wash your hair. The bathroom was otherwise queen and large with a large counter. The wireless is free and easy to use, but is also very, very slow. I was hoping to upload some pictures from my trip to Flickr and it just wasn't possible. As a plus, though, both rooms I was put in had a microwave and refrigerator for no extra charge.
The complimentary breakfast is decent, with make your own waffles, hard boiled eggs, sausage, and the typical continental fare - cereal, fruit, juice, coffee, bagels, etc. We ate quite early, so everything was reasonably stocked and the area was not too busy.
The trip to Mount Vernon was quick and simple from this location. There are tons of restaurants up and down Route 1 as well as a Target/Walmart within a few minutes. You may want to run there to pick up a fan!!!
Overall, this isn't an avoid at all costs situation, especially since $89.99 isn't a bad price, but I'd rather spend another $20-40 and stay somewhere that isn't falling apart and hot.
