I booked a non-smoking room with two double beds for the Memorial Day weekend and got a great internet rate of $59.30 a night. I booked through Comfort Inn's own website but had seen this hotel listed on some other places elsewhere as a 3-star hotel - yet there were no recommendations to back it up. Let me state up front - THIS IS NOT a 3-star hotel. If you can't deal with odd smells, cheap mattresses, a skimpy continental breakfast, the sound of other guests, decor from the early 90's (back when forest green was all the rage) and less than pristine conditions - don't stay here. If you need a cheap, relatively safe place to stay where you can stretch out, the kids can swim (in a pool of questionable cleanliness, but then aren't most pools and lakes questionable?), and you are simply grateful that you don't have to fight off cockroaches and don't have much of a need for a big or healthy breakfast, then this hotel will do.

Check-in
The front clerk was very pleasant and was always around when I had a question or request. From the beginning, it was obvious though that this is a family-owned or managed hotel. Looks like the sons run the front counter, mom and dad (or grandma & grandpa) clean all the rooms, and various other family members participate behind the scenes.

At check-in, I was charged $60.30 (not a huge deal, so I didn't say anything) and when I went up to the room, despite the "non-smoking" decal on the door, there was a complimentary ashtray with matches in the room and the room smelled of stale smoke (which meant our clothes reeked by the time we left). I decided not to make a big deal of it (even though I have an allergy to cigarette smoke) b/c I figured with the holiday we should be grateful just to have a place. It was moderate outside and the windows opened, so I just kept the window open to the room during our entire stay. I did not use the a/c/heater in the room at all.

The Room & Bathroom
We stayed on the third floor and so probably escaped the overhead noise of guests on other floors. There is an elevator in the center of the building so if you cannot use stairs, the elevator works. From the looks of the room and other places in the hotel, this is one of those hotels in that "approaching death" phase of existence. The operation here is one of cutting corners. The bathrooms do not appear to be cleaned and sanitized (the practice is apparently to lift the lid of the stool, so it appear it has been touched, but not to actually clean it with anything - suffice it to say we "tested" this theory), the tub was never wiped out - maybe it was dried, but I doubt the fiberglass sees a commercial cleanser with any frequency, and I had the sense that there was a film all over everything - even my shoes stuck to the tile floor. Again - it all "looks" okay from a macro view - but up close, you will see the molding caulk, the cobwebs, the beat-up trim, the stains on the stool, stained furniture and carpeting, the peeling, stained wallpaper, etc. and you know in the pit of your stomach you are kind of playing roulette here. The one thing that really got to me was the condition of our shower curtain - just plain old DIRT all over it. I don't know how that much dirt ends up on a shower curtain, but it's obvious the housekeeping "staff" doesn't clue into dirt in any way, shape or form. They barely even run the sweeper (as we found out by just hanging around while they "cleaned").

The Beds
Cheap mattresses. If you don't like the feel of springs and are very particular - you won't like this. We, however, were exhausted so we slept fine.

The Breakfast
Slim and cheap - not a sign of fresh fruit anywhere. The ONE upside is the coffee machine appears to serve fresh ground coffee on demand (very cool) AND there was a waffle machine - which saved us from giving up and going to Bob Evans (just down the road). Otherwise, you have one choice of juice, about 6-8 cold cereals, some bagels & muffins and that's it. Better than a loaf of bread, but not the fare of a 3-star place. The dining area is open all day so you can go back for coffee (there are coffee makers in the room, but from what I hear from law enforcement, you don't want to use the coffee makers anywhere in the midwest b/c of methamphetamine manufacturers who are now cooking their stuff in hotel rooms) - there is not hot chocolate 24-hrs a day as they promise, but there are a few Lipton tea bags. They do provide hot water in their dining room and there are a couple grocery stores down the road so you can augment the breakfast fare any way you like.

The Location
Close to Peru's Mall, several nice dining options and better hotels are on the other side (south side) of I-80. If we come back, I will probably try LaQuinta or Fairfield and won't attempt this place again. It is also just minutes away from Starved Rock State Park which is worth the drive. Enjoy your fresh air at the park during the day and you can tolerate this hotel for sleeping. While they do offer television - the channels are slim pickins too - best to bring your own DVD player or hit the mall's movie theatre instead.

Overall Impression
Certainly worth the $60 we spent, but not worth coming back and in hindsight, I wouldn't pay a dime over $60 a night for this place. You can tell this place is not being kept up and so chances are it is on the downhill side of it's lifecycle. That's a shame b/c otherwise it would be a great value.